[JPRT 112-30, Volume II]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                 S. Prt.
1st Session         JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT                      112-30
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

 
                    COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
                           PRACTICES FOR 2010
                               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 2010
                               VOLUME II




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112th Congress 
 1st Session             JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT                  S. Prt.
                                                                 112-30
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     


                    COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS
                           PRACTICES FOR 2010

                               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

                                     


                                     

                 COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS        

            JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts, Chairman          
BARBARA BOXER, California            RICHARD G. LUGAR, Indiana
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey          BOB CORKER, Tennessee
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr., Pennsylvania   MARCO RUBIO, Florida
JIM WEBB, Virginia                   JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire        JIM DeMINT, South Carolina
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware       JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia
RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois          JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
TOM UDALL, New Mexico                MIKE LEE, Utah
             Frank G. Lowenstein, Staff Director          
       Kenneth A. Myers, Jr., Republican Staff Director          


                                     
                  COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS        

             ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida, Chairman        
CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey     HOWARD L. BERMAN, California
DAN BURTON, Indiana                  GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York
ELTON GALLEGLY, California           ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 
DANA ROHRABACHER, California             Samoa
DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois         DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey
EDWARD R. ROYCE, California          BRAD SHERMAN, California
STEVE CHABOT, Ohio                   ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
RON PAUL, Texas                      GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
MIKE PENCE, Indiana                  RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri
JOE WILSON, South Carolina           ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey
CONNIE MACK, Florida                 GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia
JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska           THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida
MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas             DENNIS CARDOZA, California
TED POE, Texas                       BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida            BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio                   ALLYSON SCHWARTZ, Pennsylvania
BILL JOHNSON, Ohio                   CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut
DAVID RIVERA, Florida                FREDERICA WILSON, Florida
MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania             KAREN BASS, California
TIM GRIFFIN, Arkansas                WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts
TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania             DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina
ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York
RENEE ELLMERS, North Carolina
               Yleem D.S. Poblete, Staff Director        
         Richard J. Kessler, Democratic Staff Director        

                              (ii)        

  


                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

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

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

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

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

                                Volume I

Africa
    Angola.......................................................     1

    Benin........................................................    20

    Botswana.....................................................    30

    Burkina Faso.................................................    41

    Burundi......................................................    51

    Cameroon.....................................................    72

    Cape Verde...................................................    92

    Central African Republic, The................................    98

    Chad.........................................................   122

    Comoros......................................................   137

    Congo, Democratic Republic of the............................   143

    Congo, Republic of the.......................................   186

    Cote d'Ivoire................................................   196

    Djibouti.....................................................   218

    Equatorial Guinea............................................   227

    Eritrea......................................................   240

    Ethiopia.....................................................   257

    Gabon........................................................   284

    Gambia, The..................................................   292

    Ghana........................................................   305

    Guinea.......................................................   320

    Guinea-Bissau................................................   335

    Kenya........................................................   344

    Lesotho......................................................   368

    Liberia......................................................   384

    Madagascar...................................................   395

    Malawi.......................................................   408

    Mali.........................................................   419

    Mauritania...................................................   429

    Mauritius....................................................   444

    Mozambique...................................................   452

    Namibia......................................................   465

    Niger........................................................   479

    Nigeria......................................................   493

    Rwanda.......................................................   525

    Sao Tome and Principe........................................   544

    Senegal......................................................   549

    Seychelles...................................................   565

    Sierra Leone.................................................   571

    Somalia......................................................   589

    South Africa.................................................   610

    Sudan........................................................   628

    Swaziland....................................................   655

    Tanzania.....................................................   670

    Togo.........................................................   692

    Uganda.......................................................   702

    Zambia.......................................................   728

    Zimbabwe.....................................................   744


East Asia and the Pacific

    Australia....................................................   783

    Brunei Darussalam............................................   794

    Burma........................................................   801

    Cambodia.....................................................   823

    China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau).................   843

        Tibet....................................................   882

        Hong Kong................................................   891

        Macau....................................................   906

    Fiji.........................................................   914

    Indonesia....................................................   928

    Japan........................................................   949

    Kiribati.....................................................   961

    Korea, Democratic People's Republic of.......................   966

    Korea, Republic of...........................................   979

    Laos.........................................................   989

    Malaysia.....................................................   999

    Marshall Islands.............................................  1026

    Micronesia, Federated States of..............................  1032

    Mongolia.....................................................  1038

    Nauru........................................................  1050

    New Zealand..................................................  1054

    Palau........................................................  1061

    Papua New Guinea.............................................  1066

    Philippines..................................................  1076

    Samoa........................................................  1093

    Singapore....................................................  1101

    Solomon Islands..............................................  1116

    Taiwan.......................................................  1123

    Thailand.....................................................  1132

    Timor-Leste..................................................  1160

    Tonga........................................................  1169

    Tuvalu.......................................................  1175

    Vanuatu......................................................  1180

    Vietnam......................................................  1187


Europe and Eurasia

    Albania......................................................  1213

    Andorra......................................................  1224

    Armenia......................................................  1229

    Austria......................................................  1261

    Azerbaijan...................................................  1270

    Belarus......................................................  1295

    Belgium......................................................  1332

    Bosnia and Herzegovina.......................................  1340

    Bulgaria.....................................................  1358

    Croatia......................................................  1371

    Cyprus.......................................................  1389

    Czech Republic...............................................  1415

    Denmark......................................................  1433

    Estonia......................................................  1441

    Finland......................................................  1449

    France.......................................................  1460

    Georgia......................................................  1472

    Germany......................................................  1515

    Greece.......................................................  1530

    Hungary......................................................  1547

    Iceland......................................................  1565

    Ireland......................................................  1573

    Italy........................................................  1581

    Kosovo.......................................................  1594

    Latvia.......................................................  1615

    Liechtenstein................................................  1626

    Lithuania....................................................  1631

    Luxembourg...................................................  1643

    Macedonia....................................................  1648

    Malta........................................................  1663

    Moldova......................................................  1673

    Monaco.......................................................  1699

    Montenegro...................................................  1703

    Netherlands..................................................  1730

    Norway.......................................................  1741

    Poland.......................................................  1750

    Portugal.....................................................  1766

    Romania......................................................  1773

    Russia.......................................................  1796

    San Marino...................................................  1840

    Serbia.......................................................  1844

    Slovakia.....................................................  1861

    Slovenia.....................................................  1877

    Spain........................................................  1885

    Sweden.......................................................  1896

    Switzerland..................................................  1907

    Turkey.......................................................  1917

    Ukraine......................................................  1939

    United Kingdom...............................................  1965


                               Volume II

Near East and North Africa

    Algeria......................................................  1979

    Bahrain......................................................  1996

    Egypt........................................................  2009

    Iran.........................................................  2027

    Iraq.........................................................  2061

    Israel and the occupied territories..........................  2089

    Jordan.......................................................  2139

    Kuwait.......................................................  2157

    Lebanon......................................................  2169

    Libya........................................................  2188

    Morocco......................................................  2203

    Oman.........................................................  2222

    Qatar........................................................  2230

    Saudi Arabia.................................................  2243

    Syria........................................................  2266

    Tunisia......................................................  2288

    United Arab Emirates.........................................  2305

    Western Sahara...............................................  2317

    Yemen........................................................  2324


South and Central Asia

    Afghanistan..................................................  2347

    Bangladesh...................................................  2372

    Bhutan.......................................................  2395

    India........................................................  2403

    Kazakhstan...................................................  2437

    Kyrgyz Republic..............................................  2457

    Maldives.....................................................  2472

    Nepal........................................................  2485

    Pakistan.....................................................  2505

    Sri Lanka....................................................  2541

    Tajikistan...................................................  2560

    Turkmenistan.................................................  2573

    Uzbekistan...................................................  2586


Western Hemisphere

    Antigua and Barbuda..........................................  2609

    Argentina....................................................  2614

    Bahamas, The.................................................  2630

    Barbados.....................................................  2640

    Belize.......................................................  2646

    Bolivia......................................................  2655

    Brazil.......................................................  2668

    Canada.......................................................  2688

    Chile........................................................  2702

    Colombia.....................................................  2713

    Costa Rica...................................................  2742

    Cuba.........................................................  2754

    Dominica.....................................................  2768

    Dominican Republic...........................................  2775

    Ecuador......................................................  2794

    El Salvador..................................................  2812

    Grenada......................................................  2827

    Guatemala....................................................  2833

    Guyana.......................................................  2850

    Haiti........................................................  2859

    Honduras.....................................................  2873

    Jamaica......................................................  2892

    Mexico.......................................................  2904

    Nicaragua....................................................  2923

    Panama.......................................................  2940

    Paraguay.....................................................  2957

    Peru.........................................................  2970

    Saint Kitts and Nevis........................................  2987

    Saint Lucia..................................................  2991

    Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.............................  2997

    Suriname.....................................................  3003

    Trinidad and Tobago..........................................  3011

    Uruguay......................................................  3020

    Venezuela....................................................  3028


Appendixes

    Appendix A: Notes on preparation of Report...................  3061

    Appendix B: Reporting on Worker Rights.......................  3069

    Appendix C: Selected International Human Rights Conventions..  3071

    Appendix D: Description of International Human Rights 
      Conventions in Appendix C..................................  3079

    Appendix E: FY 2010 Foreign Assistance Actuals...............  3081

    Appendix F: United Nations General Assembly's Third Committee 
      Country Resolution Votes 2010..............................  3107

    Appendix G: United Nations Universal Declaration of Human 
      Rights.....................................................  3115
?

                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       Department of State,
                                     Washington, DC, April 8, 2011.
Hon. John F. Kerry,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: On behalf of the Secretary of State, I 
am transmitting to you the Country Reports on Human Rights 
Practices for 2010, prepared in compliance with sections 
116(d)(1) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as 
amended, and section 505(c) of the Trade Act of 1974, as 
amended.
    We hope this report is helpful. Please let us know if we 
can provide any further information.
            Sincerely,
                                 Michael H. Posner,
                         Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, 
                                           Human Rights, and Labor.
    Enclosure.

                                  (ix)

                                     
                                PREFACE

                              ----------                              

    Today, the eyes of the world are focused on the Middle East 
and North Africa, where people are demanding that their 
governments live up to the guiding principle of the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights, that all people are ``born free 
and equal in dignity and rights.'' The promise of this 
principle is the driving power behind every movement for 
freedom, every campaign for democracy, every effort to foster 
development, and every struggle against oppression. We are 
inspired by the courage and determination of these activists, 
and we see in their struggles the true manifestation of a 
universal yearning for dignity and respect. We stand with them 
and with all citizens, activists, and governments around the 
world who peacefully work to advance the causes of democracy 
and human rights.
    As President Obama has said, we are guided by a simple 
idea, `` . . . freedom, justice and peace for the world must 
begin with freedom, justice, and peace in the lives of 
individual human beings.'' This idea represents values we 
cherish in the United States, but they are not ours alone. Our 
belief in the universal principles of freedom, justice, and 
peace guides us on a daily basis as we work to make human 
rights a human reality. The world has witnessed that without 
meaningful steps toward representative, accountable, and 
transparent governance, the gap between people and their 
leaders will only grow. We will continue to promote, support, 
and defend democracy, in its many forms, knowing that it is the 
best political system for allowing individuals to enjoy their 
human rights.
    The 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices provide 
a record of the state of human rights in the world and raise 
awareness of the progress made in 2010, the ground lost, and 
the work that remains. This year marks the thirty-fifth year we 
have reported to Congress on human rights around the world. 
These reports were initially envisioned as a tool to help guide 
the United States in its foreign policy, but they have grown to 
be something much greater. Other governments, individuals, and 
organizations now use the human rights reports as essential 
sources of information about conditions in countries around the 
world. For activists, many of whom confront a shrinking space 
in which to operate and do so at great personal risk, these 
reports also provide evidence that the world is being made 
aware of their struggle.
    As I travel the world, I make a point of meeting with those 
people working to advance the cause of human rights within 
their own countries. I am consistently impressed by the power 
of the human spirit, and the unwavering commitment of these 
brave individuals. Their work inspires us and confirms the 
importance of holding governments, including our own, 
accountable for the treatment of their citizens.
    Once each year we submit the Country Reports on Human 
Rights Practices to Congress, but advancing freedom and human 
rights is a daily priority for the men and women of the 
Department of State, both in Washington and in our embassies 
overseas. Through these reports, through our diplomacy, and 
through our example, we will continue to press for the 
universal human rights of all individuals. Now is the 
opportunity for us to support all who are willing to stand up 
on behalf of the rights we cherish.
    In that spirit I hereby transmit the Department of State's 
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2010 to the 
United States Congress.
                            Hillary Rodham Clinton,
                                                Secretary of State.


                      OVERVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

                              ----------                              


                      WHY THE REPORTS ARE PREPARED

    This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department 
of State in compliance with Sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the 
Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended. The law 
provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate by February 25 ``a full and 
complete report regarding the status of internationally 
recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) 
in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) 
in all other foreign countries which are members of the United 
Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human 
rights report under this Act.'' We have also included reports 
on several countries that do not fall into the categories 
established by these statutes and thus are not covered by the 
congressional requirement.
    In the early 1970s the United States formalized its 
responsibility to speak out on behalf of international human 
rights standards. In 1976 Congress enacted legislation creating 
a Coordinator of Human Rights in the Department of State, a 
position later upgraded to Assistant Secretary. Legislation 
also requires that U.S. foreign and trade policy take into 
account countries' human rights and worker rights performance 
and that country reports be submitted to the Congress on an 
annual basis.

                      HOW THE REPORTS ARE PREPARED

    The Department of State prepared this report using 
information from U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, foreign 
government officials, nongovernmental and international 
organizations, and published reports. The initial drafts of the 
individual country reports were prepared by U.S. diplomatic 
missions abroad, drawing on information they gathered 
throughout the year from a variety of sources, including 
government officials, jurists, the armed forces, journalists, 
human rights monitors, academics, and labor activists. This 
information gathering can be hazardous, and U.S. Foreign 
Service personnel regularly go to great lengths, under trying 
and sometimes dangerous conditions, to investigate reports of 
human rights abuse, 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.
    Once the initial drafts of the individual country reports 
were completed, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and 
Labor, in cooperation with other Department of State offices, 
worked to corroborate, analyze, and edit the reports, drawing 
on their own sources of information. These sources included 
reports provided by U.S. and other human rights groups, foreign 
government officials, representatives from the United Nations 
and other international and regional organizations and 
institutions, experts from academia, and the media. Bureau 
officers also consulted experts on worker rights, refugee 
issues, military and police topics, women's issues, and legal 
matters, among may others. The guiding principle was to ensure 
that all information was assessed objectively, thoroughly, and 
fairly.
    As has proven the case in the past, we anticipate that the 
reports will be used as a resource for shaping policy, 
conducting diplomacy, and making assistance, training, and 
other resource allocations. They will serve also as a basis for 
the U.S. Government's cooperation with private groups to 
promote the observance of internationally recognized human 
rights.
    The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices cover 
internationally recognized civil, political and worker rights, 
as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 
These rights include freedom from torture or other cruel, 
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, from prolonged 
detention without charges, from disappearance or clandestine 
detention, and from other flagrant violations of the right to 
life, liberty and the security of the person.
    Universal human rights seek to incorporate respect for 
human dignity into the processes of government and law. All 
persons have the right to nationality, 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.
    With this 2010 edition of the country reports, DRL expanded 
the use of hyperlinks from these reports to other key human 
rights documents produced by the Department of State. 
Specifically, readers are asked to follow hyperlinks for 
complete information on religious freedom issues by consulting 
the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report, the 2010 
Trafficking in Persons Report, if applicable, and the several 
current publications produced by the Department's Consular 
Affairs Bureau on international child abductions, if applicable 
to the country in question.
    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: Eric Falls, 
Robert Boehme, Jeffrey Hawkins, Douglas Kramer, Jessica 
Lieberman, Mark Mittelhauser, Susan O'Sullivan; Senior Editors: 
Jonathan Bemis, Douglas B. Dearborn, Daniel Dolan, Jerome L. 
Hoganson, Patricia Meeks Schnell, Marc J. Susser, and Julie 
Turner; Editors: Naim Ahmed, Cory Andrews, Sarah Buckley-Moore, 
Laura Carey, Elise Carlson-Rainer, Della Cavey, Eric Concha, 
Sharon Cooke, Susan Corke, Stuart Crampton, Kathleen Crowley, 
Frank Crump, Bonnie Daley, Tu Dang, Mollie Davis, Mort Dworken, 
Sindbad Fennimore, Karen Gilbride, Joan Garner, Carrie George, 
Safiya Ghori-Ahmad, Patrick Harvey, Caitlin Helfrich, Matthew 
Hicks, Alexandra Hoey, Kimberly Holbrook, Victor Huser, Jill 
Hutchings, Stan Ifshin, Dianna James, Sarah Johnston-Gardner, 
David T. Jones, Simone Joseph, Malac Kabir, Yelda Kazimi, 
Mancharee Junk, Min Kang, Katharine Kendrick, Orly Keiner, 
Stephen Kopanos, Alyson Kozma, Douglas Kramer, Sarah Labowitz, 
Gregory Maggio, Stacey May, Stephen Moody, Sarah Morgan, 
Perlita Muiruri, Sandra Murphy, Daniel L. Nadel, Genevieve 
Parente, Blake Peterson, Meredith Ryder-Rude, Peter Sawchyn, 
Robert Schlicht, Monica Sendor, Wendy Silverman, Marissa Smith, 
Rachel Spring, Jason Starr, Leslie Taylor, Jennifer Terry, 
James C.Todd, David Wagner, Micah Watson, Chanan Weissman, 
Mareham Youssef, Sarah Yun, Rachel Waldstein, Bernadette 
Zielinski; Editorial Assistants: Carol Finerty, Stephanie 
Martone, James McDonald, and Regina Waugh.


                              INTRODUCTION

                              ----------                              

    This report provides encyclopedic detail on human rights 
conditions in over 190 countries for 2010. Because we are 
publishing this report three months into the new year, however, 
our perspectives on many issues are now framed by the dramatic 
changes sweeping across countries in the Middle East in 2011. 
At this moment we cannot predict the outcome of these changes, 
and we will not know the lasting impacts for years to come. The 
internal dynamics in each of these countries are different, so 
sweeping analysis of the entire region is not appropriate. In 
places like Tunisia and Egypt, we are witnessing popular 
demands for meaningful political participation, fundamental 
freedoms, and greater economic opportunity. These demands are 
profound, they are homegrown, and they are being driven by new 
activists, many of them young people. These citizens seek to 
build sustainable democracies in their countries with 
governments that respect the universal human rights of their 
own people. If they succeed, the Middle East region, and with 
it the whole world, will be improved.
    The United States will continue to monitor the situations 
in these countries closely, knowing that the transition to 
democracy is not automatic and will take time and careful 
attention. In Egypt, we await the lifting of the state of 
emergency, which the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has 
promised to do prior to parliamentary elections. In Tunisia, we 
are encouraged by the creation of a fact-finding committee to 
investigate human rights abuses that took place during the 
uprising.
    While we address these and other short-term repercussions, 
historians will have the benefit of time and perspective to 
help us understand what triggered these popular movements. But 
three trends clearly contributed to their development and to 
other changes that occurred throughout the world in 2010. The 
first is the explosive growth of nongovernmental advocacy 
organizations focused on a wide range of democracy and human 
rights issues and causes. Fifty years ago, when Amnesty 
International was created, few countries outside of North 
America or Western Europe had any locally based human rights 
organizations. Today, local nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs) exist in almost every country in the world. The growth 
of these organizations has been dramatic, and in many countries 
such citizens' organizations have been created against great 
odds and only because individual human rights activists were 
willing to face great personal risk. Secretary Clinton 
highlighted the importance of these organizations in a speech 
she gave in July 2010 in Krakow, Poland, to the Community of 
Democracies. As she said, ``societies move forward when the 
citizens that make up these groups are empowered to transform 
common interests into common actions that serve the common 
good.''
    In closed societies, where repressive governments seek to 
control and stifle the debate on sensitive political and social 
issues, governments view these independent local citizens' 
organizations as a threat rather than a resource, and democracy 
and human rights defenders are singled out for particularly 
harsh treatment. For example, in Belarus, over 700 prodemocracy 
activists, including seven presidential candidates, were 
arrested during public demonstrations following the flawed 
December 2010 presidential elections. In the weeks that 
followed, the offices and homes of civil society 
representatives, independent journalists, and political 
activists were raided as part of an effort to stifle 
independent political activity and free expression.
    In the last several years, more than 90 governments have 
sought to pass restrictive laws and regulations, hampering the 
ability of organizations to register, operate freely, or 
receive foreign funding. A proposed NGO law in Cambodia, 
introduced in December, is emblematic of these efforts. The law 
would impose burdensome reporting requirements on NGOs, erect 
significant barriers to the registration of foreign NGOs, 
require foreign NGOs to collaborate with the government, and 
outlaw unregistered NGOs. In Ethiopia, a new civil society 
organization law entered into force in February, following a 
one-year grace period. The law prohibits charities, societies, 
and associations that receive more than 10 percent of their 
funding from foreign sources from engaging in activities that 
promote human rights and democracy; the rights of children and 
persons with disabilities; equality among nations, 
nationalities, people, genders, and religions; conflict 
resolution or reconciliation; and the promotion of justice. 
During the grace period, Ethiopia's leading human rights 
defender organizations adjusted by re-registering either as 
local charities, meaning that they could not raise more than 10 
percent of their funds from foreign donors, or as ``Resident 
Charities,'' which allowed donations but prohibited activities 
in the enumerated areas. There were 3,522 registered 
organizations before the civil society organization law was 
adopted; after the law only 1,655 remained.
    Secretary Clinton acknowledged these troubling restrictions 
on civil society in her speech in Krakow, when she identified a 
``group of countries where the walls are closing in on civic 
organizations'' and cautioned that when ``governments crack 
down on the right of citizens to work together, as they have 
throughout history, societies fall into stagnation and decay.'' 
As we have seen in the Middle East and elsewhere, governments 
cannot suppress civil society indefinitely, and they can never 
suppress it legitimately.
    A second important trend is the dramatic growth of the 
Internet, mobile phones, and other connective technologies that 
allow instantaneous communications to billions of people across 
the globe. As Secretary Clinton observed in a recent speech on 
Internet freedom, the Internet has become the town square of 
the 21st century. Much has been said and written about the 
effects of these connective technologies in allowing Egyptians 
and Tunisians to mobilize in the weeks and months before 
demonstrations actually began. While it is the courage of the 
people themselves that led the way and was the driving force, 
the amplifying impact of these new technologies, coupled with 
the power of television stations and the Internet to broadcast 
videos obtained by citizens using these mobile phones, cannot 
be denied.
    Today there are more than two billion people with Internet 
access spread across most countries of the world, and around 
five billion mobile phone subscriptions. These numbers are 
projected to grow dramatically in the next 15 years. And as 
more people gain access to these remarkable technologies, and 
use them both to gather and impart information on human rights 
and to communicate with other activists, an increasing number 
of governments are spending more time, money, and attention in 
efforts to curtail access to these new communications outlets. 
More than 40 governments are now using a combination of 
regulatory restrictions, technical controls on access to the 
Internet, and technologies designed to repress speech and 
infringe on the personal privacy of those who use these rapidly 
evolving technologies.
    In Saudi Arabia in 2010, the government restricted access 
to the Internet and interfered with citizens' privacy while 
online. The official Communications and Information Technology 
Commission (CITC) improperly monitored e-mail and Internet chat 
rooms and blocked sites, including pages about Hinduism, 
Judaism, Christianity, and certain forms of Islam deemed 
incompatible with Sharia law and national regulations. In 
Sudan, the government monitored Internet communications and, 
during the elections, blocked access to the Sudan Vote Monitor 
Web site. The Government of China tightly controlled content on 
and access to the Internet and detained those expressing views 
critical of the government or its policies. In Vietnam, the 
government orchestrated attacks against critical Web sites and 
spied on dissident bloggers. Police arrested 25 dissidents over 
the course of the year and forcibly entered the homes of a 
number of others to remove personal computers, cell phones, and 
other material.
    A third trend, and one that points in a negative direction, 
was the continuing escalation of violence, persecution, and 
official and societal discrimination of members of vulnerable 
groups, often racial, religious, or ethnic minorities or 
disempowered majorities. In many countries this pattern of 
discrimination extended to women; children; persons with 
disabilities; indigenous; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) persons; and members of other vulnerable 
groups who lacked the political power to defend their own 
interests. Often members of these groups were denied economic 
opportunity or the ability to abide by their social or cultural 
traditions or practices or were restricted in their ability to 
speak freely, to assemble peacefully, or to form associations 
or organizations.
    In Pakistan, religious freedom violations and violence and 
discrimination against religious minorities continued. The 
blasphemy laws were used to harass religious minorities as well 
as vulnerable Muslims or Muslims with minority views. (In the 
first two months of 2011, two senior government officials who 
publicly challenged these laws were brutally killed.) In Saudi 
Arabia, there were severe restrictions on religious freedom and 
discrimination on the basis of religion was common. In China, 
the government continued to demonize the Dalai Lama and harshly 
repress Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and Tibetan Buddhists. There 
were reports of increases in anti-Semitic acts around the 
world, including the desecration of cemeteries, graffiti, and 
blood-libel rhetoric, as well as Holocaust denial, revisionism, 
and glorification. There have also been spikes in expressions 
of anti-Semitism during events in the Middle East.
    Persons around the world continue to experience 
discrimination and intimidation based on their sexual 
orientation or gender identity. Honduras saw an upsurge in 
killings of members of the LGBT community by unknown 
perpetrators. Meanwhile, in many African, Middle Eastern, and 
Caribbean nations, same-sex relations remain a criminal 
offense, and through such laws and other measures the state 
reinforces and encourages societal discrimination and 
intolerance. In Uganda, for example, intimidation and 
harassment of LGBT individuals worsened during the year, and 
some government and religious leaders threatened LGBT 
individuals.
    Exploitation of laborers was also a problem in many 
countries, often compounded by threats against workers for 
attempting to unionize. Again in 2010, the government of 
Uzbekistan mobilized thousands of adults and children as forced 
laborers during the annual cotton harvest. In Bangladesh, poor 
working conditions caused needless deaths, notably in the 
garment industry. Bangladesh was also the site of frequent and 
at times deadly labor unrest during the year, particularly in 
the Ready-Made Garment Sector and Export Processing Zones.
    These trends are further illustrated below by the thumbnail 
sketches of 27 countries (listed alphabetically by region). The 
section on country highlights provides illustrative examples of 
the human rights trends in 2010. In some of these countries 
there have been negative developments or the human rights 
record has been a mix of positive and negative developments. In 
other countries highlighted below, we reflect on positive 
trends in 2010. The body of this report is a much more detailed 
examination of these and an additional 167 countries.
    2010 marks the 35th year that the State Department has 
produced the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. 
This year's report covers human rights conditions in 194 
countries. What began as the response to a Congressional 
mandate to report on the human rights situation in those 
countries that were receiving U.S. assistance in the mid 1970s 
has blossomed into a detailed analysis of human rights 
conditions in all countries that are members of the United 
Nations. The country reports provide an overview of the human 
rights situation around the world as a means to raise awareness 
of human rights conditions, in particular as these conditions 
affect the well-being of women, children, racial and religious 
minorities, trafficking victims, members of indigenous groups 
and ethnic communities, persons with disabilities, sexual 
minorities, refugees, and members of other vulnerable groups.
    As the scope of the State Department's reporting has 
increased, so has the use of these reports around the world. In 
addition to providing data to Congress to inform their funding 
and policy decisions, these reports are used throughout the 
U.S. government and by many foreign governments. And, 
importantly, they are increasingly being used by individual 
citizens and NGOs as critical sources of information on what is 
happening in the world. To facilitate the sharing of this 
information, reports are translated into over 50 languages and 
made available online.
    The U.S. government compiles the human rights report 
because we believe it is imperative for countries, including 
our own, to ensure that respect for human rights is an integral 
component of foreign policy. We provide these reports as a form 
of comprehensive review and analysis.
    The reports do not cover human rights in the United States, 
although this Administration has made a commitment to take a 
close and critical look at our own performance on these issues 
even as we cast a spotlight on the practices of other 
countries. In November, the United States presented its first 
report on human rights in the United States to the UN Human 
Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva through the Universal Periodic 
Review. In preparation for that report we conducted extensive 
consultations in the United States with a wide range of civil 
society organizations and Native American leaders. Last month 
we appeared again at the UNHRC meeting in Geneva to report our 
response to the recommendations made to us by other 
governments.
    We also continually report on our human rights record 
pursuant to our treaty obligations. In January 2010, we 
submitted periodic reports on our implementation of the 
Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the 
Child. In 2011 we will be submitting periodic reports regarding 
implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture, and the 
Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In 
2010, for the first time, a section on the United States was 
included in the State Department's Trafficking in Persons 
Report, and the United States was ranked based on the same 
standards to which we hold other countries.
    A final word about the production of these reports. These 
194 country reports are comprehensive, if not exhaustive. Their 
production is a Herculean endeavor requiring extra-ordinary 
efforts by a team of talented and committed human rights 
officers at U.S. Embassies around the world, and by their 
counterparts in Washington, D.C., including the dedicated staff 
in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Each 
country team collects, analyzes, and synthesizes information 
from a variety of sources, including domestic and international 
human rights organizations, other governments, multilateral 
organizations, and members of civil society. Once the reports 
are drafted, they are rigorously edited, reviewed, and fact-
checked, to ensure accuracy and objectivity.

                           COUNTRY HIGHLIGHTS

    In 2010, governments around the world continued to commit 
severe human rights violations and abuses. The paragraphs below 
describe the human rights situation and key trends in specific 
countries where abuses were especially serious. We also 
highlight Ukraine, where in 2010 there was backsliding after 
positive developments in previous years. The section begins 
with a discussion of several countries--Colombia, Guinea, 
Indonesia--that are highlighted for notable positive human 
rights developments in 2010.
    Colombia is a country where there were notable improvements 
in the human rights situation in 2010. Soon after taking office 
in August, President Santos and his administration strengthened 
the government's relationship with civil society and human 
rights defenders, holding high-level consultative sessions, 
publicly expressing support for human rights defenders and 
engaging them in dialogue, and supporting efforts to increase 
penalties for threats and violence against human rights 
defenders. The government advanced a Land and Victims' Law to 
provide for land restitution and victims' reparations. 
Extrajudicial executions decreased substantially from 2008 and 
2009, and several senior military officers were convicted of 
human rights abuses. Some human rights abuses continued, such 
as some threats against human rights defenders and trade 
unionists. The Ministry of Defense began implementing an 
agreement with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human 
Rights to monitor ministry measures to improve adherence to 
human rights.
    In December 2010, Guinea inaugurated its first 
democratically elected president since independence from France 
in 1958. The people selected longtime opposition leader Alpha 
Conde, the candidate of the Rally of the Guinean People Party, 
as their president following two rounds of elections. Although 
there was some violence following the second round, the 
elections generally were regarded as free and fair.
    Respect for human rights in Indonesia continued to improve 
in 2010, 12 years after the country's transition to democracy. 
While weaknesses in the justice system persisted, President 
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, democratically reelected in July 
2009, remained a strong proponent of the rule of law and 
accountability and civil society, and the media remained among 
the most vibrant in Asia. Professionalization of the military 
continued, although some serious human rights abuses by 
military personnel occurred, particularly in Papua, and 
punishments, when imposed, were often not commensurate with the 
crimes committed.
Africa
    Cote d'Ivoire ended 2010 in a standoff over the presidency, 
following October elections in which incumbent President 
Laurent Gbagbo, candidate of the Ivoirian People's Front, and 
opposition party leader Alassane Ouattara, candidate of the 
Rally for Republicans, advanced to the November 28 presidential 
run-off. On December 2, the Independent Electoral Commission 
declared Ouattara the winner with 54.1 percent of the vote as 
compared with 45.9 percent for Gbagbo. The election was 
declared fair and democratic by the UN and international and 
domestic observer missions. Gbagbo refused to accept the 
results, alleging voter fraud and intimidation in several 
regions, and both Ouattara and Gbagbo took oaths of office on 
December 3. At year's end, President Ouattara operated his 
government from the Golf Hotel in Abidjan under a blockade from 
pro-Gbgabo forces. Gbagbo retained control of state resources 
including the national television station, the security forces, 
and the treasury. There were credible reports of human rights 
abuses during this time. On December 16, security forces fired 
on supporters of President Ouattara during a demonstration 
march. At least 20 persons were killed, many more wounded, and 
hundreds arrested. In the one week period from December 15-22, 
the UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire human rights division 
reported 173 persons killed, 90 subjected to torture and ill-
treatment, 471 others arbitrarily arrested and detained, and 24 
persons missing. The overwhelming majority of these cases of 
extrajudicial killings, torture, detention, and disappearance, 
were committed by security forces loyal to Gbagbo. Human rights 
violations which took place after December 31 are not 
documented in the 2010 report.
    Serious human rights abuses continued throughout the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), particularly in the 
mineral rich, conflict-affected eastern and northeastern 
regions, where state authority remained non-existent or 
extremely weak. Human rights defenders have been intimidated, 
beaten, and, as in the case of prominent activist Floribert 
Chebeya, even killed. Armed entities-including elements of 
state security forces-perpetrated abuses with impunity and 
engaged in the illegal exploitation and trade of natural 
resources, particularly minerals. Revenues derived from the 
illicit trade in minerals, some of which supported armed 
conflict, fueled the continued insecurity in eastern DRC, 
aggravating an already precarious human rights situation. Rebel 
and militia groups in eastern DRC continued to engage in rape 
and looting campaigns in efforts to control communities 
residing near lucrative mining areas, and to reap mining-
related profits that sustained the conflict and attendant 
abuses. Credible sources such as the UN Group of Experts on the 
DRC presented information indicating that some Congolese and 
international corporations' supply chains originated with 
suppliers who traded with armed entities-including elements of 
the state security forces-that committed serious human rights 
abuses.
    Nigeria continued to be plagued by serious human rights 
abuses during the year. Security services personnel, including 
police, military, and State Security Service officers, 
committed extrajudicial killings and tortured, beat, and abused 
demonstrators, criminal suspects, detainees, and convicted 
prisoners. The Joint Task Force, formed in 2003 to address the 
instability in the Niger Delta and consisting of military, 
police, and security services, conducted raids on militant 
groups and criminal suspects, resulting in numerous deaths and 
injuries to both alleged criminals and civilians. Corruption 
was pervasive at all levels of government and throughout the 
security forces. Ethno-religious violence also resulted in 
deaths and displacement during the year. Jos and the 
surrounding farmlands were the site of two major attacks in 
January and March. Up to 1,000 individuals, mostly women, 
children, and the elderly, were murdered, hacked to death, or 
burned alive.
    Violence continued in Sudan throughout 2010. Nationwide 
elections held in April were not deemed fair and free by the 
international community, and observers noted numerous problems 
throughout the process. In Darfur, fighting involving 
government, government-aligned militias, rebel groups, and 
ethnic groups continued to kill, injure, and displace 
civilians. This violence killed 2,321 persons during the year, 
according to the UN, an increase compared with the 875 persons 
killed in 2009. The government continued to conduct aerial 
bombardment. Gender-based violence, the use of child soldiers, 
and the obstruction of humanitarian organizations and the 
United Nations-African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur continued 
to be problems. The government harassed, arrested, and beat 
civil society members in the north. In Southern Sudan, 
interethnic fighting and Lord's Resistance Army attacks 
continued to kill and displace civilians. According to UN 
estimates, violence in the south resulted in an estimated 986 
deaths and the displacement of 223,708 persons during the year. 
Registration for the 2011 Southern Sudan self-determination 
referendum occurred in November and December. Lack of progress 
on preparations for a separate referendum on whether the border 
region of Abyei should be part of the north or the south led to 
sporadic violence and rising tensions in the area.
    In Zimbabwe, security forces, police, and Zimbabwe African 
National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)-dominated elements of 
the government continued to commit numerous, serious human 
rights violations with impunity, including torture, against 
non-ZANU-PF political activists and party members, student 
leaders, and civil society activists. ZANU-PF's dominant 
control and manipulation of the political process through 
trumped-up charges and arbitrary arrest, intimidation, and 
corruption effectively negated the right of citizens to change 
their government. Although there were fewer incidents in the 
first half of 2010, expectations that elections would be held 
in 2011 led to an increase in the number of cases of harassment 
and intimidation of civil society organizations and members of 
the media toward the end of the reporting period. The 
government continued to use repressive laws to suppress freedom 
of speech, including for members of the press, assembly, 
association, and movement. Military forces and other government 
agents also continued abuses in the Marange diamond fields.
East Asia and the Pacific
    Despite the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, over 2,100 
political prisoners remained in custody in Burma at the end of 
2010. Many civil society activists were detained indefinitely 
and without charges, and regime-sponsored organizations engaged 
in harassment and abuse of human rights and prodemocracy 
activists. The government routinely infringed on individual 
privacy and restricted the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, 
association, religion, and movement. The government did not 
allow domestic human rights NGOs to function independently, and 
international NGOs encountered a difficult environment. The 
fall 2010 elections were neither free nor fair. The government 
continued its tight control of the activities of Buddhist 
clergy. Military forces in Burma continued to commit egregious 
abuses and violations against civilians in ethnic minority 
regions. These abuses included rape, torture, forced 
relocation, and forced labor. Violence and societal 
discrimination against women and minority religious communities 
continued, as did unlawful recruitment of child soldiers and 
trafficking in persons, particularly of women and girls. 
Workers' rights remained restricted and forced labor, including 
that of children, also persisted.
    In Cambodia, members of security forces, acting with 
impunity, committed arbitrary killings. Human rights monitors 
reported arbitrary arrests and prolonged pretrial detention, 
underscoring a weak judiciary and denial of the right to a fair 
trial. Restrictions continued on freedom of assembly and 
expression, including for members of the press, and there was a 
growing abuse of defamation and disinformation lawsuits 
targeting opposition voices. Civil society expressed 
significant concern that the draft Law on Associations and NGOs 
could, if adopted, seriously constrain the ability of NGOs to 
operate. The draft law released in December included provisions 
that would impose burdensome reporting requirements on NGOs, 
prevent associations with fewer than 21(later reduced to a 
still-onerous 11) members from attaining legal status, erect 
burdensome barriers to the registration of foreign NGOs, 
require foreign NGOs to collaborate with the government, and 
outlaw unregistered NGOs. Anti-union activity by employers and 
weak enforcement of labor laws continued, and exploitative 
child labor in the informal sector remained a problem.
    In China, the negative trend in key areas of human rights 
continued. The government stepped up restrictions on lawyers, 
activists, bloggers, and journalists; tightened controls on 
civil society; and increased attempts to limit freedom of 
speech and control the press, the Internet, and Internet access 
in 2010. Authorities also increased the use of extralegal 
measures, including forced disappearances, strict house arrest, 
arbitrary detention in ``black jails,'' and other forms of 
``soft detention'' to silence independent voices and punish 
activists and their families. Legal activist Chen Guangcheng, 
along with his wife and child, remained under house arrest, as 
did other released political prisoners. Public interest 
lawyers, who operated within China's legal framework, were 
disbarred, beaten, or ``disappeared'' for taking on the defense 
of clients and issues deemed sensitive by the government. 
Bloggers and Web masters have been arrested and charged with 
``subverting state power'' for re-tweeting a post or operating 
a Web site where others posted comments. The government also 
continued its severe cultural and religious repression of 
ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region and 
Tibetan areas.
    In North Korea, the human rights situation remained grim. 
During the year, the government maintained tight control over 
the flow of information into and out of the country. The 
government denied its citizens the right to due process and 
arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals, including for 
political crimes. Defectors and NGOs indicated that severe and 
systematic human rights abuses occurred throughout the 
country's extensive network of prisons and detention centers. 
In addition, the government continued to enforce rigid controls 
over the freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, 
religion, and movement and worker rights. There were no 
independent domestic human rights monitoring organizations, and 
the government denied international organizations and foreign 
NGOs access, making it impossible to assess accurately the true 
scope of the abuses occurring in the country or the validity of 
these reports.
    The government of Vietnam continued to suppress dissent, 
tightened controls over the press, and limited the freedoms of 
expression, assembly, movement, and association. Individuals 
were arbitrarily detained for political activities and denied 
the right to fair and expeditious trials. The government 
arrested at least 25 political activists, convicted 14 
dissidents arrested in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and denied the 
appeals of another 10 dissidents convicted at the end of 2009. 
The judicial system was strongly distorted by political 
influence, endemic corruption, and inefficiency. Freedom of 
religion continued to be subject to uneven interpretation and 
protection, particularly at the provincial and village levels. 
Internet freedom was further restricted as the government 
orchestrated attacks against critical Web sites and spied on 
dissident bloggers. The government limited workers' rights to 
form and join independent unions.
Europe
    Authorities in Belarus arbitrarily arrested, detained, and 
imprisoned prodemocracy activists, journalists, and civil 
society representatives. In the wake of December 2010's flawed 
presidential election, authorities initiated a broad crackdown 
against demonstrators, detaining close to 700 persons and 
raiding offices and apartments belonging to members of 
independent media, NGOs, and the political opposition. Over 40 
individuals, including several presidential candidates, now 
face up to 15 years in jail. Through its detentions and trials, 
the government of Belarus continually is creating new political 
prisoners. The judiciary lacked independence and suffered from 
corruption, inefficiency, and political interference; trial 
outcomes were often predetermined, and many trials were 
conducted behind closed doors. Official corruption throughout 
the government continued to be a problem.
    In Russia, the government infringed on freedom of 
expression, assembly, and association, detaining certain 
demonstrators and continuing to pressure select NGOs, 
independent media, some religious minorities, independent labor 
unions, and political opposition. Attacks on and the murder of 
journalists and activists continued. There were reports of 
physical abuse by law enforcement, military hazing deaths, and 
harsh prison conditions. Rule of law and due process violations 
remained a problem, and government corruption was widespread. 
Xenophobic, racial, and ethnic attacks and hate crimes 
continued to be a significant problem. The conflict between the 
government and insurgents, Islamist militants, and criminal 
forces in the North Caucasus led to numerous human rights 
violations by all parties, which reportedly engaged in killing, 
torture, abuse, violence, and politically motivated abductions.
    In Ukraine, despite beginning with free and fair 
presidential elections, the overall trend for 2010 was negative 
due to problematic local elections, intimidation of the media, 
and perceived selective prosecution of opposition figures. 
International and domestic observers found the October local 
elections did not reach the same standards of the presidential 
election, citing the registration of fraudulent opposition 
candidate lists, government pressure against election monitors 
and candidates, and election officials selectively barring or 
removing candidates from ballots- all prompting concern about 
the government's planned next steps for election reform. In 
addition, there were numerous reports that authorities 
attempted to direct media content and intimidate journalists. 
Although the government took steps in 2009 to better combat 
corruption, the international community expressed concern that 
politics motivated the new government's 2010 criminal 
investigation of 30 members of the previous government for 
alleged corruption; several of these people were detained and 
subsequently charged.
Near East
    Political tensions flared in the weeks preceding the 
October elections in Bahrain. The government arrested more than 
200 Shia men it accused of inciting or involvement in street 
violence. Those arrested included some, but not all, of the 
leaders of two groups, Haq and Wafa', which reject the monarchy 
and had called for a boycott of the elections. The government 
charged 23 of those arrested with involvement in a ``terror 
network'' pursuant to the 2006 counterterrorism law. The 
electoral process also was marred by the government's banning 
of the two main legal opposition parties' Web sites and 
newsletters. The government did not allow international 
observers to monitor the elections. The government also 
continued to restrict freedom of assembly and association. 
Security forces intervened in demonstrations and limited and 
controlled political gatherings during the year. NGOs and civil 
society groups were required to register with the government 
and provide membership lists. In September, the Ministry of 
Social Development effectively shuttered a local human rights 
organization, Bahrain Human Rights Society, when a ministerial 
decree ordered the dissolution of the society's board of 
directors and appointed a ministry employee to be the group's 
interim head.
    According to multiple sources, the Government of Iran 
executed approximately 312 persons in summary executions during 
the year, many after trials that were conducted in secret and/
or did not provide due process. In many cases, persons executed 
supposedly for criminal offenses such as narcotics trafficking 
were actually political dissidents. Authorities held political 
prisoners and continued to crack down on women's rights 
reformers, ethnic minority rights activists, student activists, 
and religious minorities. There was little judicial 
independence and few fair public trials. The government 
severely restricted the right to privacy and civil liberties, 
including freedoms of expression, including for members of the 
press, assembly, association, and movement, and it placed 
severe restrictions on freedom of religion. Vigilantes 
continued to attack young persons considered ``un-Islamic'' in 
their dress or activities, invade private homes, abuse 
unmarried couples, and disrupt concerts. Violence and legal and 
societal discrimination against women, children, ethnic and 
religious minorities, and LGBT persons persisted.
    While the credible and legitimate national parliamentary 
elections in all 18 provinces on March 7 reflected a 
significant achievement in advancing the exercise of human 
rights, extremist violence, coupled with weak government 
performance in upholding the rule of law, resulted in 
widespread and severe human rights abuses in Iraq. There were 
reports that the government or its agents committed numerous 
arbitrary or unlawful killings, arbitrary detentions, and acts 
of torture connected to its security operations, often with 
impunity. Attacks by al-Qaida in Iraq and other extremists 
continued against Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), government 
officials, and civilians, often targeting urban areas, 
Christian churches, Shia markets, and mosques. On May 10, 
coordinated bombings and shootings resulted in at least 119 
fatalities, including ISF and law enforcement personnel. On 
August 17, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of army 
recruits in Baghdad, killing 61 persons. During the year, 962 
Ministry of Interior personnel were killed and 1,347 were 
injured. Police officers, in particular, were targeted.
    In Libya, Colonel al-Qadhafi and his close associates 
monopolized every aspect of decision-making in the government. 
Continuing human rights problems included torture, arbitrary 
arrest, official impunity, and poor prison conditions. A large 
but unknown number of persons remained in detention or prison 
for engaging in peaceful political activity or for belonging to 
an illegal political organization. The government significantly 
restricted media freedom and continued to restrict freedom of 
expression, and routinely monitored telephone calls and 
Internet usage, including e-mail communication with foreign 
countries. There also was physical surveillance of political 
activists and foreign organizations. The government owned and 
controlled virtually all print and broadcast media, and 
government-controlled media neither published nor broadcast 
opinions inconsistent with official policy. The Internal 
Security Organization routinely harassed journalists, and 
overly broad provisions of the penal code served as the basis 
for frequent charges of criminal defamation. The government 
severely restricted freedom of assembly and permitted public 
assembly only with advance approval. The government restricted 
the right of association and generally only allowed 
institutions affiliated with the government to operate; no NGOs 
functioned in the country. In the early months of 2011, 
protests erupted across Libya. Because they occurred outside of 
the reporting period, they are not documented in the 2010 
report.
    In Syria, security forces committed unlawful killings, 
detained political and human rights activists, and tortured and 
physically abused prisoners and detainees with impunity. The 
government also imprisoned several high-profile members of the 
human rights and civil society communities, in addition to the 
estimated 2,500-3,000 political prisoners previously detained. 
Lengthy pretrial and incommunicado detention remained a serious 
problem, and the courts systematically used ``confessions'' 
extracted under duress as evidence. Defendants' claims of 
torture were almost never investigated. The government severely 
restricted universal freedoms of expression, assembly and 
association, religion, and movement.
South and Central Asia
    An increasingly difficult security situation in Afghanistan 
resulted in a number of serious human rights abuses. Civilians 
continued to suffer from intensified armed conflict as 
conflict-related deaths increased by 15 percent during the year 
compared to 2009. Government and progovernment international 
forces were responsible for civilian deaths, specifically 16 
percent of total civilian deaths. Human Rights Watch reported 
that timely and transparent inquiries or accountability of 
forces in the event of wrong-doing were often lacking when 
civilians were hurt or killed. Taliban and insurgent attacks, 
including politically targeted killings, escalated in both 
number and intensity. At least 30 individuals were killed on 
September 18, the day of parliamentary elections, and the 
Taliban claimed responsibility for killing three candidates 
during the campaign period between July and August. In August, 
five campaign workers supporting Fauwzia Gilani in Herat were 
abducted and killed. There were also attacks on election 
officials. The elections themselves were marred by electoral 
fraud and widespread irregularities, including the 
establishment of a special tribunal to investigate the election 
results and complaints; low voter turnout; and insufficient 
conditions for participation by women. The government was 
plagued by official impunity and corruption and often failed to 
conduct effective investigations of human rights abuses 
committed by local security forces. Arbitrary arrest and 
detention remained a problem, and the judiciary lacked 
independence. Freedom of religion, including the right to 
change one's religion, was severely restricted. Women continued 
to face pervasive human rights abuses, including violence, 
insurgent attacks on girls' education, limited access to 
justice, and other limitations on their rights.
    In Pakistan, allegations of extrajudicial killings and 
detention of civilians by the security forces were reported by 
several media outlets and NGOs. During the year, there was a 
significant increase in the total number of reported torture 
and rape cases of individuals in custody, almost double as 
compared to 2009. The Society for Human Rights and Prisoners' 
Aid reported 72 civilian deaths after encounters with police 
and 168 deaths in jails, an increase from the previous year. 
Militant and terrorist bombings in all four provinces and in 
Federally Administered Tribal Areas continued to result in 
deaths and injuries. According to the report, terrorist and 
extremist attacks and operations to combat terrorism and 
extremism resulted in 7,400 deaths, of which nearly 1,800 were 
civilians, over 450 were security forces, and over 5,100 were 
terrorists or insurgents. There were numerous reports of 
politically motivated killings in Karachi and Balochistan. 
According to a report by Dawn, 1,981 persons were killed in 
political violence in Karachi, of which 748 were targeted 
killings. According to Human Rights Watch, the targeted killing 
and disappearance of Baloch leaders, activists, and civilians 
increased in 2010. Religious freedom violations and violence 
and discrimination against religious minorities continued. Some 
people accused of blasphemy against Islam were sentenced to 
life imprisonment or capital punishment. One of them was Aasia 
Bibi, a Christian woman, who was sentenced to death in 
November, becoming the first woman to receive such a harsh 
sentence for blasphemy.
    Uzbekistan continued to incarcerate individuals on 
political grounds. While one political prisoner, human rights 
activist Farhad Mukhtarov, was released during the year, 13 to 
25 political prisoners remained in custody, and family members 
reported that many prisoners were tortured. Human rights 
activists, their family members, and members of certain 
religious groups reported harassment and arrest by police and 
other members of the security forces. Freedom of expression was 
severely limited and harassment of journalists increased during 
the year. Police and security services subjected print and 
broadcast journalists to arrest, intimidation, and violence, as 
well as to bureaucratic restrictions on their activity. The 
criminal and administrative codes imposed significant fines for 
libel and defamation and the government used charges of libel, 
slander, and defamation to punish journalists, human rights 
activists, and others who criticized the president or the 
government. Freedom of association also was restricted. The 
government tightly controlled NGO activity and regulated 
Islamic and minority religious groups with strict legal 
restrictions on the types of groups that could be formed and 
registered. Forced adult and child labor was used during the 
cotton harvest.
Western Hemisphere
    The government of Cuba released more than 40 political 
prisoners during the reporting period, including many notable 
human rights activists arrested in 2003, although most were 
released on the condition that they leave the country. Cuba 
continued to hold dozens of other political prisoners. The 
government suppressed human rights and fundamental freedoms, 
including freedom of speech, the press, assembly and 
association, movement, and religion. Human rights groups noted 
a marked increase in the use of short-term detentions designed 
to disrupt the work of civil society and harass activists. In 
addition, the government continued to stage public protests to 
harass and abuse activists and their families, particularly the 
Damas de Blanco (``Ladies in White''). Although the government 
characterized the mobs as spontaneous, participants frequently 
arrived in government-owned vehicles or were recruited by local 
Communist Party leaders from nearby workplaces or schools. In 
extreme cases, government-orchestrated mobs assaulted these 
individuals or damaged their homes or property. Members of the 
security forces monitored, harassed, and sometimes physically 
assaulted human rights and prodemocracy advocates, dissidents, 
independent journalists, detainees, and prisoners, and did so 
with impunity. The government did not recognize independent 
journalism, and subjected some independent journalists to 
travel bans, detentions, harassment, equipment seizures, and 
threats of imprisonment. Unauthorized assemblies of more than 
three persons can be punished by up to three months in prison 
and a fine, although these meetings were more likely to be 
broken up than prosecuted.
    Respect for human rights and democratic institutions 
deteriorated over the past year in Nicaragua. Protesting 
opposition party members were denied freedom of assembly. March 
2010 regional elections on the Caribbean coast were marred by 
allegations of widespread irregularities, and credible domestic 
NGOs were denied permission to monitor the election. Other 
issues include politicization of the judiciary and other 
government organs, substantial government interference with 
media freedom, and harassment of NGOs and journalists. Police 
did not protect demonstrators who protested government policies 
and allowed progovernment groups to engage in violent 
activities. The government continued to criticize religious 
leaders who expressed concerns about government practices and 
policies that affected public participation and democratic 
freedoms. Government officials publicly excoriated Catholic 
Church officials who denounced the manipulation of the 
electoral process.
    In Venezuela, the government used the judiciary to 
intimidate and persecute individuals and organizations that 
criticized government policies or actions, including peaceful 
protesters, journalists, a judge, members of opposition 
political parties, NGOs, union and business leaders, and 
ordinary citizens. Government officials also restricted freedom 
of expression, harassing and intimidating privately owned 
television stations, media outlets, and journalists through 
threats, property seizures, targeted regulations, and criminal 
investigations and prosecutions. In late December the National 
Assembly adopted a package of laws that further undermined 
democratic principles and practices in Venezuela, including a 
law delegating legislative authority to the executive that 
extended beyond the term of office of the outgoing National 
Assembly, in violation of the shared values of the Inter-
American Democratic Charter, and laws imposing new restrictions 
on the independent media, the Internet, political parties, and 
NGOs.


                       NEAR EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

                              ----------                              


                                ALGERIA

    Algeria is a multiparty republic of approximately 36 million 
citizens whose head of state and government (president) is elected by 
popular vote for a five-year term. The president has the constitutional 
authority to appoint and dismiss cabinet members and the prime 
minister. A 2008 constitutional amendment eliminated presidential term 
limits, and in April 2009 President Abdelaziz Bouteflika won reelection 
to his third term in office. Some opposition parties boycotted the 
election, arguing that restrictions on freedom of association skewed 
the election outcome in favor of the incumbent. While the state of 
emergency law implemented in 1992 remained in effect during the year, 
the Government concentrated its enforcement on the provisions 
restricting assembly and association. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    Principal human rights problems included restrictions on freedom of 
assembly and association, which significantly impaired political party 
activities and limited citizens' ability to change the Government 
peacefully through elections. There were reports of arbitrary killings. 
Failures to account for persons who disappeared in the 1990s and to 
address the demands of victims' families remained problematic. There 
were reports of official impunity, overuse of pretrial detention, poor 
prison conditions, abuse of prisoners, and lack of judicial 
independence. Additionally, widespread corruption accompanied reports 
of limited government transparency. Authorities used security grounds 
to constrain freedom of expression and movement. Women faced violence 
and discrimination, and the Government maintained restrictions on 
workers' rights.
    Terrorist groups committed a significant number of attacks against 
government officials, members of security forces, and, to a lesser 
extent, civilians.

                        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 June 2, a mentally disabled man, Nouradine Nadri, died in police 
custody in Saida province, according to the Algerian League for the 
Defense of Human Rights' (LADDH) Saida province office. Police arrested 
Nadri following an altercation with the driver of a vehicle that 
accidentally struck him. According to LADDH, police brought Nadri to 
the province's security headquarters instead of transporting him to the 
hospital as stipulated by article 51 of the code of criminal 
procedures, which requires a medical examination before placing a 
suspect in custody. Nadri's family reported to LADDH that their son 
died following abuse by police.
    Information on terrorism-related violence in the country was 
difficult to verify independently. The Ministry of Interior 
sporadically released information concerning the total number of 
terrorist, civilian, and security force deaths. During the year 
security forces killed, injured, or arrested approximately 1,935 
suspected terrorists. According to press reports on official estimates, 
the total number of deaths was 619: suspected terrorists killed 65 
civilians and 91 security force members, and security forces killed an 
estimated 463 suspected terrorists in military sweep operations that 
resulted in armed clashes. These numbers represent a decrease from the 
804 deaths reported in 2009.
    Most terrorist attacks during the year were attributed to the 
terrorist group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which emerged 
in 2007 after the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat allied itself 
with al-Qaida in 2006.
    The year was marked by some violence. For example, on April 4, a 
terrorist attack killed seven communal guards in the eastern province 
of Bejaia. On June 12, a car bomb attack against a unit of the National 
Gendarmerie in Ammal between Boumerdes and Bouira left four security 
force members dead and at least 17 wounded. An AQIM terrorist killed 11 
gendarmes on June 29 during an ambush in Tinzaouatin in the province of 
Tamanrasset in the Algerian-Malian border area. AQIM claimed 
responsibility for all of these attacks. Former minister of interior 
Noureddine Zerhouni stated in 2008 that an estimated 400 terrorists 
operated in the country; the figure remained the most recent one 
available.

    b. Disappearance.--Enforced disappearances, reportedly numbering in 
the thousands, were a significant problem during the 1990s and 
continued to be a topic covered in the media and raised by local and 
international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The Government on 
August 26 listed the official number of disappeared cases as 6,544, 
which represented a significant reduction in the official number 
reported in previous years. During a March 2009 conference in Geneva, 
representatives of the Government's human rights advisory office, the 
National Consultative Commission for the Promotion and Protection of 
Human Rights (CNCPPDH), stated that 8,023 persons remained missing or 
disappeared as a result of government actions between 1992 and 1999. In 
previous years the Government attributed 10,000 disappearances to 
terrorist kidnappings and murder. NGOs reported that security forces in 
the past played a role in the disappearances of approximately 8,000 
persons.
    The law provides measures for compensating victims of 
disappearances. For courts to hear charges of disappearance, the law 
requires at least two eyewitnesses. Many of the disappearances in the 
1990s were in later years attributed to the security forces; however, 
the Government did not prosecute security force personnel, and there 
was no evidence that the Government investigated cases it acknowledged 
security forces caused.
    In 2005 voters approved by referendum President Bouteflika's 
proposed Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, which ended the 
Ad Hoc Mechanism established in 2003 to account for the disappeared. 
The charter went into effect in 2006, granting amnesty to and 
preventing investigation into the conduct of the National Popular Army, 
the security forces, state-sponsored armed groups, and persons who 
fought on behalf of the Government during episodes of civil strife in 
the 1990s. On February 2, the Government added two additional 
provisions to the charter. The first provision stipulates that 3,455 
public employees who were dismissed from their jobs for violent acts 
they committed in the 1990s would have the years they were out of their 
jobs counted towards their retirement pensions. The second provision 
allows families of the disappeared who filed claims after the original 
2006 deadline to claim compensation. The amnesty also covered certain 
persons involved in Islamist militant and terrorist activities. Persons 
implicated in mass killings, rapes, or bomb attacks in public places 
were not eligible for amnesty. Some local NGOs, including SOS Disparus, 
Djazairouna, and LADDH, criticized the charter for enabling terrorists 
to escape justice and security forces for acting with impunity.
    On January 11, the local human rights NGO Alkarama presented to the 
Government human rights commission the disappearance case of Lakhdar 
Bouzenia, who was allegedly arrested by security forces in 1993 and 
tortured. The case remained unresolved at year's end.
    In a February 2009 report, the UN Human Rights Council Working 
Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances stated that in 2008 it 
transmitted to the Government 768 cases of disappearances that were 
reportedly attributed to government forces between 1992 and 1999. Also 
in 2008 the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) reported its concerns 
that Law 06-01 provides impunity for members of armed groups and state 
officials and that the Government had not yet initiated proceedings to 
investigate the fate of the disappeared. UNCAT also expressed concern 
that the Government had not publicized the criteria for compensating 
family members and required those compensated to waive their right to 
seek civil damages against the state.
    Families of the disappeared reportedly experienced complications 
and delays in receiving compensation. In September 2009 then minister 
of national solidarity Ould Abbes stated the Government had paid 11 
billion dinars (approximately $149 million) in compensation to 
families. According to the Government, as of the end of 2008, 25,316 
claims had been filed for compensation under the charter. Authorities 
approved 13,866 claims and paid compensation on 12,339 of these claims. 
In August the Government revised that number, reporting that only 6,544 
persons disappeared in the 1990s and that families in 6,420 of the 
cases previously received financial compensation.
    Armed criminals conducted abuses against civilians including 
kidnappings, false checkpoints, and extortion, particularly in areas 
east of Algiers and in the southern portion of the country. In 2008 
then interior minister Zerhouni reported that 115 of 375 kidnapping 
cases in the previous two years were related to terrorism.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, NGO and local 
human rights activists reported that government officials sometimes 
employed abusive treatment to obtain confessions. Government agents can 
face prison sentences of between 10 and 20 years for committing such 
acts, and some individuals were tried and convicted in 2008. 
Nonetheless, impunity remained a problem.
    Local human rights lawyers maintained that abusive treatment 
occurred in detention facilities, most often against those arrested on 
``security grounds.''
    Amnesty International (AI) and other international organizations 
documented the mistreatment of terror suspects, where they have been 
``held in unrecognized places of detention without contact with the 
outside world, at times for prolonged periods, putting them at risk of 
torture.''
    There were three reports of police abuse during the year.
    In mid-April guards at El Harrach prison insulted Khalouf Fares, 
Nour Abdel Aziz, Yaakoub Bilal, and Karman Hurfi, who were awaiting 
trial on terrorism-related charges, according to AI. The men were also 
stripped naked in front of other detainees and guards and slapped.
    On October 22, a police inspector in Setif received a 10-year 
prison sentence and a 50,000-dinar fine ($677) for abusing his 
authority and fraud.
    On November 11, a police officer was arrested in the wilaya 
(province) of Batna for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in her 
home. The case was pending at year's end.
    During a September 2009 visit to El Harrach prison, Minister of 
Justice Tayeb Belaiz stated that the ministry had prosecuted and jailed 
14 prison workers for mistreating prisoners in 2009.
    AI and Human Rights Watch claimed that prisoners affiliated with 
hard-line Islamic organizations tended to receive harsher treatment 
than others. In 2008 Alkarama reported that after a protest by inmates 
related to prayer room space, prison guards handcuffed, stripped, and 
beat approximately 80 prisoners with iron bars and sticks. There were 
no reports of any such allegations after 2008.
    In October the World Organization Against Torture reported 
allegations of torture in the case of Abderrahamane Mehalli, who was 
reportedly mistreated by the Department of Intelligence and Security 
(DRS) immediately following his 2006 arrest. Mehalli, accused of 
belonging to an armed terrorist group, was punched and kicked and 
suffered simulated drowning at the hands of the DRS according to online 
reports.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally did not meet international standards, and the Government did 
not permit visits to military, high-security, or standard prison 
facilities or to detention centers by independent human rights 
observers. Overcrowding remained a problem in many prisons. According 
to human rights lawyers, prison overpopulation was partially explained 
by the Government's excessive use of pretrial detention. In 2008 the 
CNCPPDH conducted 34 prison visits and highlighted concerns with 
overcrowding, insufficient bed space, and problems with lighting, 
ventilation, nutrition, and hygiene.
    According to the director general of the Prisons Administration, 
there were 58,000 prisoners in the country's penal system held in 137 
prisons. Prisons held men and women separately. In some cases 
overcrowding meant that juveniles were held with adults; however, in 
general the Government maintained separate juvenile detention centers. 
Pretrial detainees were held separately from convicted prisoners.
    Prisoners were permitted weekly visits by their families; family 
members have the right to bring in food and clothes. Prisoners were 
permitted religious observance and had a place to perform prayers. All 
Muslim religious days were celebrated within prisons. In each prison 
inmates can submit complaints to the penitentiary administration or 
their lawyers. Follow-up on complaints, and investigation, can take 
time based on the content of the complaint, urgency, and the conditions 
of prisoner detention.
    During the year the Government permitted the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Red Crescent Society to visit 
regular, nonmilitary prisons. ICRC visits to persons held in places of 
detention run by the Ministry of Justice and to those detained in 
police stations and gendarmeries were carried out in accordance with 
ICRC standard practices. Visitors to some prisons saw no signs of 
torture or mistreatment. Observers also noted an improved quality of 
medical care available to inmates in some prisons.
    In April 2009 an amendment to the penal code permitted the 
substitution of community service for prison sentences for first-time 
offenders with a maximum prison sentence of three years. Authorities 
reiterated in July that the new law was designed to reduce recidivism 
and to alleviate overcrowding in prisons. An ombudsman does not exist 
to serve on behalf of prisoners or detainees.
    In a 2008 report, UNCAT expressed concern over reports that the 
DRS, the intelligence agency tasked with internal security, maintained 
secret detention centers inside military barracks that operated outside 
judicial authority. During the year AI reported significant concerns 
that torture and abuse occurred in DRS facilities.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, overuse of pretrial detention 
occurred in practice. In 2008 the head of the Government-appointed 
CNCPPDH stated the abuse of pretrial detention tarnished the image of 
the country's justice system.
    The head of the CNCPPDH explained in August that judicial error 
resulted in cases of ``unjustified'' pretrial detention due to a lack 
of incriminating evidence. On December 7, CNCPPDH president Farouk 
Ksentini cited his organization's 2009 human rights report in noting 
that ``physical abuse and other brutalities'' were committed against 
suspects during questioning and in pretrial detention.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The national police 
force, consisting of more than 140,000 members, falls under the control 
of the Ministry of Interior and has national jurisdiction. The National 
Gendarmerie, under the Ministry of Defense, also performs police-like 
functions outside urban areas. Organizationally the DRS reports to the 
Ministry of Defense and exercises internal security functions, but it 
also performs functions comparable to the police in terrorism cases.
    Impunity remained a problem. The Government did not always provide 
public information on the numbers, infractions, or punishments of 
police, military, or other security force personnel.
    The criminal code provides mechanisms to investigate abuses.
    On December 14, a 41-year-old man died in police custody under 
suspicious circumstances in Constantine. The man was found strangled in 
his cell the morning after his detention. A week after the death, local 
residents rioted in the streets. On December 27, national police 
director General Abdelghani Hamel said during a radio interview that 
police officers had been placed under investigation for not following 
procedures (removing the man's shoelaces) prior to the man's 
incarceration and that he likely committed suicide.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--According to 
the law, the police must obtain a summons from the Prosecutor's Office 
to require a suspect to appear in a police station for preliminary 
questioning. Summonses also are used to notify and require the accused 
and the victim to attend a court proceeding or hearing.
    Police may make arrests without a warrant if they witness the 
offense. Public lawyers reported that procedures for warrants and 
summonses 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. Those suspected 
of terrorism or subversion may be held legally for 12 days without 
charge or access to counsel under the law. Such individuals are 
obligated to answer questions posed to them by security forces, and 
they are not authorized to contact anyone. By law the initial court 
appearance in terrorism matters is not public.
    At the end of the 12-day period, the detainee has the right to 
request a medical examination by a physician of choice within the 
jurisdiction of the court. Otherwise the judicial police appoint a 
doctor. The certificate of the medical examination is then entered into 
the detainee's file.
    AI and other human rights groups expressed concerns about abuse and 
possible torture of suspects during this 12-day period. However, 
comments from numerous Guantanamo Bay detainees returned to the country 
and their lawyers indicated that these individuals received fair 
pretrial treatment in accordance with the law during the 12-day period.
    Following the 12-day period, individuals involved in terrorism 
cases are placed under judicial control, which requires them to report 
weekly to a local police precinct and to reside at an agreed-upon 
address. Travel within the country is unrestricted. Travel abroad is 
not generally authorized.
    Prolonged pretrial detention remained a problem. The law does not 
provide a person in detention the right to a prompt judicial 
determination of the legality of the detention. Persons charged with 
acts against the security of the state, including terrorism, may be 
held in pretrial detention as long as 20 months according to the penal 
code; the prosecutor must show cause every four months for continuing 
pretrial detention. According to local NGOs, pretrial detainees 
represented 11-12 percent of individuals held by prison authorities 
during the year.
    Judges rarely refused prosecutorial requests for extending 
preventive detention, which by law can be appealed. Should the 
detention be overturned, the defendant has the right to request 
compensation.
    There is no system of bail, but in nonfelony cases, suspects were 
often released on provisional liberty referred to as ``judicial 
control'' while awaiting trial. Under provisional liberty status, 
suspects are required to report weekly to the police station in their 
district and are forbidden to leave the country.
    Most detainees have prompt access to a lawyer of their choice, and 
the Government provides legal counsel to indigent detainees. The penal 
code requires that detainees in pretrial detention are informed 
immediately of their rights to communicate with family members, receive 
visitors, and be examined by a doctor of their choice at the end of 
detention. In addition any suspect can request a medical examination 
once on police premises or before facing the judge. In practice there 
were continued reports during the year that these rights were not 
extended to all detainees. Typically detainees had access to a doctor 
only at the end of their detention. Some detainees were held 
incommunicado without access to their families or lawyers.
    Human rights advocates reported that authorities continued to hold 
Mohamed Rahmouni at the military tribunal in Blida on alleged terrorism 
charges but had granted him access to a lawyer. Rahmouni remained in 
prison at year's end.
    In 2009 a court acquitted Mohamed Fatmia of terrorism charges. 
Fatmia was detained in Serkadji prison in 2008 and was held 
incommunicado throughout 2007.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, the president exercises supreme 
judicial authority, and the executive branch limited judicial 
independence. The constitution provides for the right to a fair trial; 
however, in practice authorities did not always respect legal 
provisions regarding defendants' rights.
    The High Judicial Council is responsible for judicial discipline 
and the appointment of all judges. President Bouteflika serves as the 
president of the council.
    Military courts in Oran, Blida, Constantine, and Bechar tried cases 
involving state security, espionage, and other security-related 
offenses involving military personnel and civilians. Each tribunal 
consisted of three civilian judges and two military judges. Although 
the president of each court was a civilian, the chief judge was a 
military officer. The permanent military court was composed of three 
members: a chairman (civilian magistrate from the civilian courts as 
president) and two assessors (from military personnel designated by the 
defense minister having at least the same rank of the defendant subject 
to trial).
    By law defense lawyers must be accredited by the military tribunal 
to appear. Public attendance at the trial is at the discretion of the 
tribunal and some cases took place behind closed doors. Appeals are 
made directly to the Supreme Court. Military tribunals try cases, but 
they only occasionally disclosed information on proceedings. There was 
no public information available on any cases that were tried before the 
tribunals during the year.
    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.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent and have the 
right to be present and to consult with an attorney, provided at public 
expense if necessary. Most trials are public and nonjury. Defendants 
can confront or question witnesses against them or present witnesses 
and evidence on their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys 
occasionally were denied access to government-held evidence relevant to 
their cases, but there were fewer reports of such incidents during the 
year. Defendants have the right to appeal. The testimony of men and 
women has equal weight under the law.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The judiciary was neither 
fully independent nor impartial in civil matters and lacked 
independence in some human rights cases. Family connections and status 
of the parties involved reportedly influenced some decisions. 
Individuals may bring lawsuits, and there are administrative processes 
related to amnesty, which may provide damages for human rights 
violations and compensation for alleged wrongs.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions; however, in 
practice government authorities infringed on citizens' privacy rights. 
According to human rights activists, the Government monitored the 
communications of political opponents, journalists, human rights 
groups, and suspected terrorists. Security officials reportedly 
searched homes without a warrant.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government restricted 
these rights in practice through accusations of defamation and informal 
pressure on publishers, editors, and journalists.
    Individuals generally were able to criticize the Government 
privately without reprisal. However, citizens self-censored public 
criticism. 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, introduced in 1992, gives the Government 
broad authority to restrict civil liberties and take legal action 
against what it considers to be threats to the state or public order.
    A 2006 presidential decree continued to criminalize speech about 
the conduct of the security forces during the internal conflict of the 
1990s.
    Radio and television were government-owned and frequently broadcast 
coverage favorable to the Government. During nonelection periods 
opposition parties and spokesmen regularly were denied access to public 
radio or television. Political parties and independent candidates 
received the same amount of radio access time during the three-week 
campaign period prior to the 2009 presidential election and prior to 
the 2007 legislative and local elections. Several opposition parties 
stated that their daily media allotment during the three-week period 
was the first time they had been allowed media access since the 
previous election cycle.
    The country's print media consisted of numerous publications that 
supported or opposed the Government to varying degrees. Many political 
parties, including legal Islamic parties, had access to the independent 
press and used it to express their views. Opposition parties also 
disseminated information via the Internet and published communiques.
    The law permits the Government to censor, levy fines, and imprison 
members of the press. The Government indirectly censored and 
intimidated the media into practicing self-censorship by using 
defamation laws to harass and arrest some journalists; some members of 
the press faced retaliation for criticizing government officials. Other 
journalists and many political cartoonists, however, regularly 
criticized the Government.
    The law defines defamation broadly, and the penal code imposes 
prison terms of up to 24 months and fines of 50,000 to 500,000 dinars 
($677 to $6,770). Defamation includes ``the insult'' of government 
figures, including the president, members of parliament, judges, 
members of the military, and ``any other authority of public order.'' 
Furthermore, a 1990 law protects Islam from defamation, controls access 
to external information, and outlaws writing that threatens national 
unity. In 2001 the Government amended laws to criminalize writing, 
cartoons, and speech that insult or offend the president, parliament, 
judiciary, or armed forces. Despite these regulations cartoonists and 
editorialists continued to enjoy some latitude in criticizing the 
Government.
    On January 25, the Government blocked the independent Paris-based 
Algerian radio station Radio Kalima from broadcasting its programs to 
the country via the European satellite operator Eutelsat, according to 
Eutelsat.
    In March Riad K., the correspondent of El Bilad in Chlef, received 
a two-month prison sentence after Senator Nourredine Belaredj filed a 
complaint following the September 2009 publication of an article 
criticizing the senator for corruption.
    Also in March the Court of Bir-Mourad Rais (Algiers) fined the 
publisher of Ennahar El Djadid, Anis Rahmani, 50,000 dinars ($677) 
following a complaint filed by the official news agency. He was accused 
of defamation.
    In May the mayor of Ain Boudinar filed a complaint against Belkacem 
Belhamideche, the managing director of La Reflexion newspaper, 
following the June 2009 publication of an article quoting an 
entrepreneur denouncing corruption. A court sentenced Belhamideche to 
six months in prison.
    The Government used defamation laws occasionally to pressure 
editors, journalists, and the owners of printing houses. In a 2009 
letter to President Bouteflika, the international NGO Committee to 
Protect Journalists expressed concern for ``the rising incidence of 
press freedom violations.'' In 2008 Reporters without Borders (RSF) 
criticized the defamation laws as ``repressive legislation.''
    Omar Belhouchet, editor of the French-language newspaper El-Watan, 
faced government pressure throughout the year for articles published in 
his newspaper in 2009. In 2008 authorities brought a case against 
Belhouchet and reporter Salima Tlemcani for allegedly libeling a faith 
healer in a 2004 article. An Algiers court sentenced both to three 
months in prison and a fine of 50,000 dinars ($677). The case remained 
pending at year's end. The charges against Belhouchet in connection 
with three libel cases relating to articles he published several years 
ago about airfare increases and police killings of demonstrators also 
remained unresolved. Belhouchet and Tlemcani remained free at year's 
end.
    In January 2009 freelance journalist Hafnaoui Ghoul stated that 
unknown persons threatened him near his home in Djelfa. He claimed that 
authorities did not investigate the incident. According to RSF, 
officials have targeted Ghoul for years, repeatedly detaining, beating, 
and persecuting him for writing articles critical of the Government. At 
year's end Ghoul faced 16 pending lawsuits by local officials related 
to his articles on corruption.
    During a February 2009 appeal hearing, a Mascara court sentenced 
Layadi El-Amine Yahia, a journalist for Le Carrefour d'Algerie, to one 
year in prison and fined him 20,000 dinars ($271) for libel in an 
article implicating Mascara's commerce director in corruption. The 
court previously acquitted Yahia, who was unaware of the Government's 
appeal of his acquittal. Yahia appealed the February 2009 decision, but 
the court had not set a date for the hearing at year's end.
    In March 2009 authorities in Ghardaia detained news Web site al-
Waha editor Nedjar El-Hadj Daoud in connection with a 2005 defamation 
case, but subsequently released him within days for medical reasons. On 
May 11, a Ghardia court sentenced Daoud to six months' imprisonment in 
a lawsuit related to an article published in 2006 involving then 
presidential chief of staff Labri Belkheir. According to RSF Daoud 
faced 20 pending defamation complaints in Ghardaia.
    There were no developments in the 2007 appeal of Saad Lounes, who 
was given a one-year sentence for tax fraud on the basis of a complaint 
by the Ministry of Commerce dating to 1995. Lounes faced legal pressure 
for more than 10 years while he operated the only private printing 
press in the country.
    In 2008 an appeals court reduced the 2007 sentence of journalist 
Dhil Talal, convicted of defamation for an article exposing a 
government ministry's monetary losses, to a fine of 5,000 dinars ($68) 
and a six-month suspended prison sentence. During the year there was no 
decision on Talal's 2008 appeal of his reduced sentence.
    The Government exercised considerable economic leverage on the 
media, as most newspapers were printed at government-owned presses.
    The Government continued to influence the independent press through 
the state-owned advertising company, National Agency for 
Communications, Publication and Advertising (ANEP), which decided 
whether independent newspapers would benefit from advertisements placed 
by state-owned agencies and companies. ANEP, and therefore the 
Government, controlled the largest source of income for most newspapers 
and used this economic control to steer content in the press. As has 
been the case in recent years, independent advertisers played a 
considerably smaller, but increasingly visible, role in advertising 
revenue.
    The Government continued restrictions on both the local and the 
international media's coverage of issues relating to ``national 
security and terrorism.'' Al Jazeera's office remained closed, after 
the Government banned it from operating in the country in 2004 for 
broadcasting a program featuring opposition figures criticizing the 
Government. In previous years international journalists had their 
accreditations denied, but there were no such occurrences recorded 
during the year.
    Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reuters maintained offices in the 
country, and the Government reaccredited both in February. In 2008 the 
Government revoked the AFP and Reuters bureau chiefs' press 
accreditations in response to allegedly inaccurate reports the agencies 
filed on terrorist attacks in the country.
    In April the then communication state secretary to the prime 
minister gave a Tunis-based private channel, Nessma TV, a two-week 
notification to close its Algiers bureau, saying that the station did 
not have official authorization to work in the country. According to 
press reports, 12 complaints were filed against the channel during the 
year, including by the National Office of Copyrights. Despite the 
notice to close, Nessma continued to operate in the country, working 
through a local public relations firm.

    Internet Freedom.--Access to the Internet was generally unimpeded; 
however, the Government monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms. In 
August 2009 the Government enacted a law on cybercrime that establishes 
procedures for using electronic data in prosecutions and established 
the responsibilities of service providers to cooperate with 
authorities. In November 2009 then minister of post and information 
technology Hamid Bessalah announced that his ministry was creating a 
National Center for Internet Data Exchange to protect Internet users 
from inappropriate content, cybercrime, and hackers.
    By law Internet service providers face criminal penalties for the 
material and Web sites they host, especially if subject matters are 
``incompatible with morality or public opinion.'' The ministries of 
justice, interior, and post and information technology have oversight 
responsibilities. The cybercrime law provides sentences for six months 
to five years in prison and fines between 50,000 and 500,000 dinars 
($677 to $6,770) for users who do not comply with the law, including 
the obligation to cooperate with law enforcement authorities against 
cybercrime.
    There were approximately 4.7 million Internet users, which 
represented approximately 13.6 percent of the population, according to 
figures released on June 30 by Nielsen Online.
    In January the public could no longer access the Rachad opposition 
movement's Web site (rachad.org) or its Internet television site 
(rachad.tv). Rachad organizers accused the Government of jamming and 
infiltrating its sites.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Academic freedom generally 
was restricted. Academic seminars and colloquiums occurred with limited 
governmental interference, and there were delays in issuing visas to 
international participants and instances where authorities denied 
international experts entrance.
    In May the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research 
required academics to obtain approval before participating in 
conferences abroad and called on academics and researchers to 
coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before attending or 
organizing conferences. Also that month the ministry cancelled the 
second Maghreb Forum on Democratic Processes and the Building of a 
Modern State two days before its scheduled start, providing no reason.
    In June the Government banned three professors from Mouloud Mammeri 
University in Tizi Ouzou from participating in two scientific 
conferences in Morocco.
    In an August interview with Arabic-language newspaper El-Bilad, 
director Mohamed Hazourli stated that authorities banned two episodes 
of his Ramadan sitcom Aasab wa Awtar wa Afkar (Nerves, Strings, and 
Ideas), and the series was taken off the air. The banned episodes 
addressed problems with local artists and their treatment from the 
Government.
    On the margins of the 2009Algiers Book Fair, authorities prevented 
anthropologist Tassadit Yacine from holding a conference on the work of 
Jean Amrouche, a Berber writer from the Kabylie.

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

    Freedom of Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of 
assembly; however, the emergency decree and government practice 
continued to significantly curtail this right. A decree implemented in 
2000 banning demonstrations in Algiers remained in effect. Authorities 
required citizens and organizations to obtain permits from the 
Government-appointed local governor before holding public meetings. The 
Government restricted licenses to political parties, NGOs, and other 
groups to hold indoor rallies and frequently granted permissions on the 
eve of the event, thereby impeding publicity and outreach.
    LADDH reported continuing difficulties in obtaining permission to 
hold outdoor meetings and seminars. Groups opposing the Charter on 
Peace and Reconciliation also had difficulty securing permission to 
hold public gatherings.
    On March 7, police prevented a sit-in of 40 broadcast journalists 
on a hunger strike protesting low wages and unfair working conditions. 
The managing director of the National Company of Radio Broadcasting 
filed a complaint on March 12 against seven reporters for illegally 
entering a public premise and hindering the work of the public radio 
service.
    In May security forces sealed the headquarters of the Maison des 
Syndicats (Unions House) rented by the autonomous union syndicate. The 
action coincided with the beginning of an international social union 
forum in Algiers. The Government ordered the property owner to prohibit 
the organization of trade union activities at the premises.
    In May police blocked a rally organized by the Bezzaf (Enough) 
Movement in front of the offices of state television to demand press 
freedom. The police detained four protest organizers as they approached 
the site on the grounds of inciting a gathering ``that could disturb 
public tranquility,'' which is an offense under the penal code. Police 
questioned the organizers and released them the same day.
    In August the wali of Annaba refused to allow the Abdellah 
Djaballah wing of the Islam Movement to organize an iftar at Teleferic 
hotel. Annaba officials did not give any justification for the refusal.
    SOS Disparus, an NGO representing relatives of persons who 
disappeared during the 1990s civil conflict, held weekly sit-ins in 
front of CNCPPDH headquarters until August, when government authorities 
began preventing this activity. According to witnesses police dispersed 
the crowd and beat and arrested some demonstrators on at least one 
occasion. In August the group tried again to hold its weekly sit-in, 
but police prevented the gathering.
    On November 4, Algiers airport authorities denied entry to Tarek 
Labidi, a Tunisian lawyer and member of the National Council of 
Liberties, who was traveling for a LADDH conference on good governance 
and civil society. Authorities provided no justification for his denial 
of entry.
    In January 2009 police prevented a peaceful demonstration organized 
by the Workers' Party to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza 
Strip. Police dispersed the crowd and allegedly beat and arrested some 
demonstrators. In February 2009 police prevented a sit-in organized by 
contract teachers who attempted to demonstrate near the presidential 
offices.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of 
association; however, the Government and the emergency decree severely 
restricted this right in practice. The Ministry of Interior must 
approve all political parties before they are legally established. The 
Government restricted the registration of certain NGOs, associations, 
and political parties on security grounds but declined to provide 
evidence or legal justification for refusing to authorize other 
organizations that could not be disqualified on security grounds. The 
Government frequently failed to grant official recognition to NGOs, 
associations, religious groups, and political parties in an expeditious 
fashion. The Ministry of Interior may deny a license to or dissolve any 
group regarded as a threat to the Government's authority or to public 
order. The law implementing the 2006 amnesty prohibits political 
activities by anyone responsible for having used religion leading to 
the ``national tragedy,'' that is, the 1990s civil conflict.
    The Government issued licenses and subsidies to domestic 
associations, especially youth, medical, and neighborhood associations. 
The Ministry of Interior regarded organizations unable to attain 
government licenses as illegal. Domestic NGOs encountered bureaucratic 
obstacles to receiving financial support from abroad. Although not 
illegal, financial support from abroad is conditioned by law on a 
series of authorizations from the ministries of interior and national 
olidarity. These authorizations remained difficult to obtain. According 
to the Ministry of Interior, there were 81,000 registered associations, 
5,000 of which were active during the year. SOS Disparus remained 
unrecognized and continued to operate facing government interference.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement; however, the Government restricted the exercise of this 
right in practice.
    The Government generally cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    Under the 1992 emergency decree, the interior minister and 
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. The 
same decree permits the minister of interior to place individuals under 
house arrest. AI reported that the measure was used to assign a 
residence to individuals already detained in DRS barracks, thus 
concealing prolonged arbitrary detention. The Government also prevented 
overland tourist travel between the southern provinces of Djanet and 
Tamanrasset, citing the threat of terrorism.
    The Government did not permit young men eligible for the draft but 
who had not yet completed their military service to leave the country 
without special authorization; such authorization was granted to 
students and to persons with special family circumstances.
    The family code does not permit anyone under 18 to travel abroad 
without a guardian's permission. Married women under 18 years of age 
may not travel abroad without permission from their husbands.
    The law does not provide for forced exile, and it was not known to 
occur.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's laws provide for granting 
asylum or refugee status, and the Government had a system for providing 
protection to refugees. However, there were no reports that the 
Government granted refugee status and asylum to new refugee applicants 
during the year. According to the UNHCR, the Government did not accept 
UNHCR-determined refugee status for individuals from sub-Saharan Africa 
fleeing conflict. As of January, 192 asylum seekers, mostly sub-Saharan 
Africans, registered with the UNHCR. There were reports that the 
Government deported some asylum seekers after trials without legal 
counsel. Refugees holding valid UNHCR documentation were less likely to 
be deported. The Government provided informal assistance to an 
estimated 1,000 Tuaregs in the south fleeing conflict in Mali and 
Niger. However, authorities did not extend legal protections to an 
estimated 1,400 asylum seekers from sub-Saharan Africa residing in 
Algiers. Nonetheless, Algerian authorities tolerated the presence of 
these asylum seekers in the country.
    The Government provided protection to an estimated 90,000 Sahrawi 
refugees who departed Western Sahara after Morocco took control of the 
territory in the 1970s. The UNHCR, World Food Program, Algerian Red 
Crescent, and other organizations also assisted Sahrawi refugees. 
Neither the Government nor refugee leadership allowed the UNHCR to 
conduct a registration or complete a census of the Sahrawi refugees.
    In practice the Government provided some protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion, as was the case with the Sahrawi refugees.
    Sahrawi refugees lived predominantly in camps near the city of 
Tindouf, administered by the Popular Front for the Liberation of the 
Saguia el Harma and Rio de Oro (Polisario). The remote location of the 
camps and lack of government presence resulted in lack of access to 
employment, basic services, education, police, and courts for Sahrawis.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides citizens the right to change their 
government peacefully through periodic elections based on universal 
suffrage. However, restrictions on freedom of assembly and association, 
as well as restrictions on political party activities, limited this 
right.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The constitution mandates 
presidential elections every five years. In 2008 President Abdelaziz 
Bouteflika announced his intention to seek parliamentary approval for a 
set of constitutional amendments that included removal of presidential 
term limits. One month later the parliament approved the proposed 
amendments by a wide margin with minimal debate.
    A contested, multiparty presidential election was held in April 
2009 in which the incumbent was elected to a third term. Official 
election statistics indicated that President Bouteflika won the 
election with 90.2 percent of the votes and a voter turnout of 74.6 
percent. Opposition parties and defeated candidates estimated voter 
turnout was actually in the range of 18 to 55 percent.
    Election observers from the Arab League, African Union, and 
Organization of the Islamic Conference stated in a press conference 
that the 2009 election was fair and transparent. Some international 
experts commented, however, that observers monitored only election-day 
procedures and were not on the ground to evaluate preelection 
activities. Others noted that the complexity of some election 
procedures created room for fraud and government influence. Two 
opposition parties, the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) and the 
Socialist Forces Front (FFS), boycotted the election, arguing that 
restrictions on freedom of association disadvantaged potential 
challengers and made the outcome of the election a foregone conclusion. 
LADDH pointed to a lack of critical debate in the media and favorable 
treatment of the incumbent by state-owned media.
    There were complaints during the three-week campaign that public 
areas dedicated to election propaganda did not display each candidate's 
materials equally. Some candidates reported interference from local 
election committees when organizing meetings with voters and filed 
complaints with the National Election Commission. In March 2009 the 
Party of Liberty and Justice (PLJ) reported that one of its campaign 
buses was vandalized by a group of youths as PLJ's candidate left a 
meeting with supporters in the Algiers neighborhood of Bab El Oued. In 
the same month, authorities arrested an FFS official in Tizi Ouzou for 
distributing pamphlets calling for a boycott of the election. In April 
2009 police blocked a group of RCD party members who attempted to march 
in an Algiers suburb to encourage voters to boycott the election. In 
general all candidates received equal access to television and radio 
media as stipulated in the electoral code.
    There were reports of restrictions placed on opposition political 
parties. Opposition candidates complained that the Ministry of Interior 
regularly blocked registered parties from holding meetings and denied 
them access to larger and better-equipped government conference rooms 
while facilitating the activities of the pro-Bouteflika National 
Liberation Front (FLN). The law requires that potential political 
parties receive official approval from the Ministry of Interior to be 
established. To obtain approval a party must have 25 founders from 
across the country whose names must be registered with the ministry. A 
party must have received 4 percent of the vote or at least 2,000 votes 
in 25 wilayas in one of the last three legislative elections to 
participate in national elections, making it very difficult in practice 
to create new political parties.
    In 2009 Mohamed Said was a candidate for the April presidential 
election. His party's request for accreditation by the Ministry of 
Interior remained pending at year's end. The Ministry of Interior did 
not approve any political parties during the year.
    Membership in the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), a political party 
banned in 1992, remained illegal. In 2008 Wafa party leader Ahmed Taleb 
Ibrahimi announced his withdrawal from politics after the Government's 
continued refusal to register his party because of its perceived ties 
to the banned FIS. 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. According to the law political parties 
cannot receive direct or indirect financial or material support from 
any foreign parties. The law also stipulates that resources are 
collected from contributions of the party's members, donations, and 
revenue from its activities in addition to possible state funding.
    There were three women in the cabinet. Women also held 30 of the 
389 seats in the Popular Assembly of the Nation, the lower legislative 
chamber, and four of the 144 seats in the Council of the Nation, the 
upper chamber. A woman led the Workers Party, and three major political 
parties--the FLN, National Rally for Democracy, and RCD--had women's 
divisions headed by women. The country did not have a quota system 
assigning women a certain percentage of seats in the parliament.
    In accordance with the law, the Government promoted political 
rights for women by encouraging increased female representation within 
elected assemblies.
    The ethnic Amazigh (Berber) population of approximately 10 million 
participated freely and actively in the political process and 
represented one-third of the Government.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties of two to 10 years in prison 
for official corruption, and the Government implemented the law more 
effectively than in previous years. World Bank governance data 
reflected the existence of a corruption problem.
    Although a 2006 law established a national anticorruption program, 
it does not require elected and senior officials to declare their 
assets. The law does not provide parliamentary immunity in certain 
cases. Two presidential decrees published in 2006, however, make high-
level government officials subject to financial disclosure laws. The 
decrees also stipulate the formation of an anticorruption agency, and 
the Government announced its creation in August as well as new policies 
to strengthen the role of the accounting court.
    Irregularities, including the excessive use of private agreements 
often affected public procurement. According to the Ministry of Public 
Works, following the president's 2005 prohibition on the use of private 
agreements, including sole-source contracts, government agencies began 
implementing a public tender policy for all infrastructure and large 
government projects. For those public tenders, evaluations were not 
released to participating companies, and evaluation methods and 
techniques were not clearly defined. Some agencies, however, continued 
to use direct contracts for public works projects. In July a 
presidential decree mandated that all financial transactions involving 
more than 500,000 dinars ($6,770) be conducted by credit card, check, 
or other noncash method in an effort to increase financial 
transparency, track illegal financing of terrorism, and reduce the 
possibility of corruption.
    During the year major corruption investigations targeted operations 
in four executive branch ministries: Energy, Public Works, Fisheries, 
and Transportation. The DRS conducted the investigations of the major 
corruption cases throughout the year, rather than the Ministry of 
Justice or any other specialized entity.
    A notable corruption case during the year involved several private 
businessmen and senior executives at the country's national oil 
company, Sonatrach. The men apparently awarded contracts in violation 
of the public procurement code. In late January police arrested several 
top company officials. All defendants in the case were pending trial at 
year's end. Following the incident, then energy/mines minister Chakib 
Khelil was relieved of his position in May in a broad cabinet 
reshuffle.
    In April an Algiers court ordered the arrest of the current and 
former directors of the Port of Algiers and four other port officials 
for misappropriation of public funds. The defendants were pending trial 
at year's end.
    Also in April police arrested 17 customs officials at the Algiers 
Airport for accepting bribes in exchange for foregoing baggage 
searches. The officials were under judicial control, awaiting trial, at 
year's end.
    In July two officials from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine 
Resources received two-year prison sentences for accepting bribes in 
exchange for allowing Turkish and Algerian ship owners to exceed catch 
limits on bluefin tuna, a species designated endangered by the 
International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural 
Resources.
    According to an August 2009 press report, the court of Cheraga 
charged four Algiers police officers with trafficking stolen cars. 
Authorities placed one of the officers in pretrial detention in El-
Harrach prison. The court placed the three other officers under 
judicial control pending the outcome of their trial.
    In October 2009 an Algiers court began questioning high-level 
government officials suspected of extortion and influence peddling in 
awarding contracts to foreign companies involved in the construction of 
the East-West highway, one of the country's largest infrastructure 
projects. Authorities arrested and levied corruption charges against 
the Secretary General of the Ministry of Public Works, Mohamed 
Bouchama, and a DRS colonel who served as a Ministry of Justice 
advisor. In December 2009, authorities indicted the Ministry of Public 
Works chief of staff, Ferachi Belkacem, in connection with the same 
case. Authorities placed Belkacem under judicial control. At year's end 
the outcome of the trial remained pending.
    In December 2009 the press reported a corruption scandal in the 
customs service dating back 10 years. Authorities charged five customs 
executives, six customs agents, and five waste exporters with forgery, 
filing false declarations, underinvoicing, and embezzlement of public 
funds. The report estimated losses between 1998 and 2001 at 100 billion 
dinars (approximately $1.35 billion). Officials arrested the five 
customs executives and placed the remaining suspects under judicial 
control pending the outcome of their trial.
    According to a December 2009 press report, the inspector general of 
finance conducted 128 audits and issued 160 investigation reports on 
corruption during the year. In 2008 press reports quoted Ministry of 
Interior officials stating that since 2007, 1,325 employees of 
municipal and provincial governments were subject to legal proceedings 
for wasting public funds, forgery, and bribery. According to the 
report, authorities convicted 324 employees, while the others remained 
under investigation or had trials pending.
    The media focused on corruption in the customs police. According to 
press reports, 960 customs officials faced disciplinary commissions for 
official negligence or corruption charges between 2005 and 2008. 
Customs officials reported 215 disciplinary cases during the first 
quarter of 2008; 118 cases resulted in official reprimands, and nine 
cases resulted in suspensions.
    Although permitted under the constitution, authorities restricted 
access to government information. There is no law facilitating access 
to information. Throughout the year the Ministry of Justice, in 
cooperation with the UN Development Program, improved access to 
information about the country's judicial system and developed a modern 
information management system for penitentiaries. As a result, citizens 
were able to request personal legal records from the courts and receive 
the documents the same day.
    In May the Government created the Ministry of Prospective Planning 
and Statistics. However, lack of government transparency remained a 
serious problem. Although the Government did not release many economic 
statistics, the new ministry released such figures. Most ministries had 
Web sites, but not all were regularly maintained to provide updated 
information. The Ministry of Justice provided information on citizens' 
rights and legislation.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government continued to restrict and to harass some local NGOs 
and impeded the work of international NGOs. Although some human rights 
groups, including the Algerian League of Human Rights (LADH) and LADDH, 
were allowed to move about freely, the most active and visible 
organizations reported interference by government authorities, 
including surveillance, monitoring of telephone calls, difficulty in 
securing meeting spaces, and difficulty in obtaining approval for 
international speakers to address sensitive issues.
    The Government was not responsive publicly to reports and 
recommendations from domestic human rights NGOs and interfered with 
attempts by some domestic and international human rights groups to 
investigate and publish their findings. Domestic NGOs must be licensed 
by the Government and are prohibited from receiving funding from abroad 
without approval from the ministries of national solidarity and 
interior. However, approximately 100 unlicensed NGOs, such as women's 
advocacy groups and charity organizations, operated openly. Unlicensed 
NGOs did not receive government assistance, and citizens were at times 
hesitant associate with these organizations.
    The most active independent human rights group was LADDH, a legally 
recognized NGO with members throughout the country. LADDH was not 
permitted access to government officials for human rights advocacy or 
research purposes or to prisons, except for normal lawyer-client 
consultations. The smaller LADH, a separate organization based in 
Constantine, was licensed, and members throughout the country monitored 
individual cases.
    By law NGOs not legally recognized by the Ministry of Interior 
cannot conduct investigations. Sometimes, however, even legally 
recognized NGOs were prevented from conducting investigations. For 
example, LADDH did not have access to prisons or detention centers.
    International NGOs continued to experience delays in obtaining 
visas, and outright refusals occurred. Delays in processing visa 
applications prevented some NGOs from conducting programming during the 
year. However, during the year the Government granted visas to 
personnel of several organizations that had not previously been able to 
obtain visas. The Government maintained that legislation did not allow 
branches of foreign NGOs to operate legally in the country.
    On September 5, authorities detained Djillali Hadjadj, the Algerian 
representative of Transparency International. He had been sentenced 
without his knowledge to three years in prison for forging 
prescriptions. Several international and local NGOs called for 
Hadjadj's immediate release. A court gave Hadjadj a six-month suspended 
sentence and a 100,000 dinar (approximately $1,350) fine.
    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), the 
UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions (pending since 1998), 
the UN special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism (pending 
since 2006), and the UN special rapporteur on arbitrary detention 
(pending since 2009). The Government accepted visits of UN special 
rapporteurs on violence against women in 2007 and freedom of religion 
or belief in 2002.
    In an August radio interview, CNCPPDH president Farouk Ksentini, 
citing Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, stated that UN special rapporteurs 
would have access to the country but that international NGOs would 
remain banned because they allegedly supported terrorists in the 1990s.
    According to local AI representatives, in November 2009 AI explored 
the possibility of visiting the country, but at year's end had not 
received a response to its request. AI officials have not visited the 
country since 2005 and were denied visas in 2006.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on birth, race, 
gender, language, and social status. In general the Government enforced 
the nationality and family codes, although women continued to face 
legal and social discrimination.

    Women.--Rape, spousal and nonspousal, occurred. The law 
criminalizes nonspousal rape but does not address spousal rape. Prison 
sentences for nonspousal rape range from one to five years. Claims 
filed by women for rape and sexual abuse continued to face judicial 
obstacles and many women did not report incidents of rape because of 
societal pressures and bureaucratic problems in securing convictions. 
Women's rights activists reported that law enforcement authorities 
became more sensitive to the issue compared to previous years, 
evidenced by the implementation of the 2007-2011 national strategy 
combating violence against women. During the year women's rights 
activists reported a significant increase in reports of violence 
against women.
    Spousal abuse occurred. The penal code states that a person must be 
incapacitated for 15 days or more and present a doctor's note 
certifying the injuries before filing charges for battery.
    Domestic NGOs reported that physical violence against women 
increased. Since November 2009 approximately 8,500 women were 
officially reported victims of domestic violence with 3,500 physically 
abused, 2,500 violently assaulted, 1,000 sexually assaulted, 600 
sexually harassed, and 100 killed, according to the Algiers-based 
Center of Information and Documentation on the Rights of Women and 
Children.
    In a 2009 report, police registered 9,517 complaints of violence 
against women in 2008. According to the CNCPPDH, approximately 4,500 
women were victims of assault during the first half of 2008. Police 
statistics for 2009 reported 2,675 cases of physical assault, 1,359 
cases of abuse, 144 cases of sexual assault, and four deaths. 
Approximately 20 percent of assailants were identified as male family 
members. During 2009 a national study showed that 67.9 percent of women 
acknowledged that spousal abuse occurred in the country.
    During the year local women's NGOs, including SOS Femmes en 
Detresse, the Wassila Network, and Bent Fatma N'Soumer, spoke against 
violence in the family. SOS Femmes en Detresse and the Wassila Network 
provided judicial and psychological counseling to abused women. Women's 
rights groups experienced difficulty in drawing attention to spousal 
abuse as an important social problem, largely due to traditional 
societal attitudes. Several rape crisis centers run by women's groups 
operated, but they had few resources. The Working Women section of the 
General Union of Algerian Workers established a counseling center for 
women suffering from sexual harassment in the workplace. SOS Femmes en 
Detresse operated one call center in Algiers, but a second call center 
in Batna was closed. During the first eight months of the year, the 
Algiers call center received more than 2,500 calls.
    The punishment for sexual harassment is one to two years' 
imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 dinars (approximately $677 
to $1,350). The punishment is doubled for a second offense. The police 
stated that 107 sexual harassment cases were reported to the police in 
2008, the most recent year for which figures were available. The 
majority of reported cases of harassment occurred in the workplace. SOS 
Femmes en Detresse provided legal advice and counseling to 800 women; 
however, only 50 of the women seeking assistance filed formal 
complaints.
    The Government did not impose restrictions on the right of couples 
and individuals to decide the number, timing, and spacing of their 
children. There were no restrictions on access to contraceptives, yet 
contraceptives were harder to obtain for single women. In 2009 the 
Health Ministry's Office of Family Planning conducted a public health 
awareness campaign. According to the office, 62 percent of women, 
mainly married, regularly used contraceptives. According to UN 
estimates, the maternal mortality ratio in the country was 120 deaths 
per 100,000 live births in 2008. Government hospitals provided skilled 
attendance during childbirth as well as obstetric and postpartum care 
and equally diagnosed and treated women for sexually transmitted 
infections, including HIV.
    The constitution provides for gender equality; however, some 
aspects of the law and many traditional social practices discriminate 
against women. The family code contains elements of Sharia (Islamic 
law). The family code prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslims, 
although this regulation was not always enforced. A woman may marry a 
foreigner and transmit citizenship and nationality to both her children 
and spouse. Muslim men may marry non-Muslim women.
    Women can seek divorce for irreconcilable differences and violation 
of a prenuptial agreement. In a divorce the law provides for the wife 
to retain the family's home until children reach 18 years of age. 
Custody of children normally is awarded to the mother, but she may not 
make decisions on education or take the children out of the country 
without the father's authorization. In practice, more women retained 
the family's home if they had custody of the children.
    The family code affirms the Islamic practice of allowing a man to 
marry as many as four wives. According to the family code, polygamy is 
only permitted upon the permission of the first wife and the 
determination of a judge as to the husband's financial ability to 
support an additional wife. In practice, however, this occurred in 1 to 
2 percent of marriages.
    Amendments to the family code supersede the Sharia requirement that 
a male sponsor consent to the marriage of a woman. Although this 
requirement has been formally retained and the sponsor continues to 
contract the marriage, the woman may choose any man that she wishes to 
be the sponsor. The sponsor represents the woman during the religious 
or civil ceremony.
    Women suffered from discrimination in inheritance claims and were 
entitled to a smaller portion of an estate than male children or a 
deceased husband's brothers. The law purports that such a distinction 
is justified because other provisions require that the husband's income 
and assets be used to support the family, while the wife's remain, in 
principle, her own. In practice, women did not often have exclusive 
control over assets that they brought to a marriage or that they 
earned.
    Married women may take out business loans and use their own 
financial resources.
    Despite constitutional and legal provisions providing for gender 
equality, in practice women faced discrimination in employment. Leaders 
of women's organizations reported that discriminatory violations were 
common and that women were less likely to receive equal pay for equal 
work or receive promotions.
    In urban areas, there was social encouragement for women to pursue 
higher education and/or a career. Girls graduated from high school more 
frequently than boys. According to 2010 statistics, women represented 
55 percent of the medical profession, 60 percent of the media 
profession, 30 percent of the upper levels of the legal profession, and 
more than 60 percent of the education profession. In addition, 36 
percent of judges were women. Women served at all levels in the 
judicial system, and female police officers were added to some 
precincts to assist women with abuse claims. Out of nine million 
workers nationally, two million were female. Women may own businesses, 
enter into contracts, and pursue careers similar to those of men.

    Children.--Citizenship and nationality are transmitted from the 
mother or father. Under the law, children born to a Muslim father are 
Muslim, regardless of the mother's religion.
    The Government provides free education for children through high 
school. Education is compulsory until the age of 16 years. The 
Government provided free medical care for all citizens, including 
children with disabilities, albeit in generally rudimentary facilities, 
and to both sexes equally.
    Child abuse is illegal but continued to be reported as a problem. 
NGOs specializing in children cited continued instances of domestic 
violence against children, which they attributed to a ``culture of 
violence'' stemming from civil strife in the 1990s, including social 
dislocations caused by the movement of rural families to the cities to 
escape terrorist violence. Experts assumed that many cases went 
unreported because of familial reticence. The National Foundation for 
Health Progress and Research Development (FOREM), a children's rights 
watchdog NGO with EU funding, estimated that approximately 10,000 
children suffered some form of abuse.
    The criminal code prohibits solicitation for prostitution and 
stipulates prison sentences of between 10 and 20 years when the offense 
is committed against a minor under the age of 18 years. According to 
the law, the age for consensual sex is 16 years. The law stipulates a 
prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years for rape when the victim is 
a minor but this sentence was rarely carried out. The law prohibits 
pornography and establishes prison sentences of between two months and 
two years as well as fines up to 2,000 dinars (approximately $27).
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The country's Jewish population numbered fewer than 
2,000 persons, and there were no functioning synagogues. The Government 
did not promote antibias education, and there is no hate crime 
legislation.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to 
health care, or the provision of other state services, although in 
practice the Government did not effectively enforce these provisions. 
The law provides services, including free medical care, for persons 
with disabilities; however, there was widespread social discrimination 
against persons with disabilities. Few government buildings were 
accessible to persons with disabilities. Public enterprises, in 
downsizing their work forces, generally ignored a requirement that they 
reserve one percent of jobs for persons with disabilities. Social 
security provided payments for orthopedic equipment. The Ministry of 
National Solidarity (MNS) provided some financial support to health-
care-oriented NGOs; however, for many NGOs this financial support 
represented approximately 2 percent of their budgets.
    The MNS maintained that there were two million persons with 
disabilities in the country, of whom the largest percentages were 
classified as ``chronically ill'' or ``other'' (38 and 30 percent, 
respectively). However, according to the Algerian Federation of 
Wheelchair Associations, there were three million persons with 
disabilities living in the country. The Government estimated that 
approximately 44 percent of disabled citizens had some form of motor 
disability, 32 percent had communication difficulties, and 24 percent 
suffered from a visual disability. The Government classified 
approximately 193,000 individuals as ``fully disabled'' and claimed 
during the year to have appropriated 9.54 billion dinars (approximately 
$129 million) for their welfare.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code criminalizes 
public homosexual behavior for males and females, and there is no 
specific legal protection for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and 
transgender (LGBT) persons. The law stipulates penalties that include 
imprisonment of two months to two years and fines of 500 to 2,000 
dinars (approximately $7 to $27). If a minor is involved, the adult may 
face up to three years' imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 dinars 
(approximately $135).
    There was societal discrimination against homosexual conduct. While 
some LGBT persons lived openly, the vast majority did not, and most 
feared reprisal from their families or harassment from authorities.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--HIV/AIDS was widely 
considered a shameful disease in the country. According to 2007 
statistics released by the Ministry of Health, 2,100 citizens were HIV-
positive, and 736 persons suffered from HIV/AIDS. There were 54 centers 
offering free testing services to detect HIV/AIDS. Only 51 percent of 
women, both single and married, noted use of condoms to prevent 
infection. In response to societal discrimination, during the year the 
Health Ministry and the NGO AIDS Algerie launched an HIV/AIDS 
prevention campaign, stressing the need to avoid discrimination, 
especially in the workplace, against those with HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution allows workers who 
are citizens to join unions of their choice but requires workers to 
obtain government approval to form a union. The labor unions law 
requires that the Ministry of Labor approve or disapprove a union 
application within 30 days and allows for the creation of autonomous 
unions. However, the Government may invalidate a union's legal status 
if its objectives are perceived by authorities as contrary to the 
established institutional system, public order, good morals, or the 
laws or regulations in force. Approximately two-thirds of the labor 
force belonged to unions. The General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) 
was the only legally recognized labor confederation. The UGTA includes 
specialized national unions; its density is highest in the public 
sector. Workers may form independent unions. There were no new unions 
formed during the reporting period, but existing unions focused on 
increasing their visibility.
    Unions have the right to form and join federations or 
confederations. Unions may also recruit members at the workplace. In 
practice, attempts by new unions to form federations or confederations 
were obstructed by delaying administrative maneuvers, such as delays in 
processing registration requests. Since 1996 the Autonomous Unions 
Confederation, which functions without official status, repeatedly 
attempted to organize the autonomous unions, without success. The 
Government did not allow the autonomous union of public sector workers 
(SNAPAP) to register as a national confederation. SNAPAP and other 
autonomous unions faced government interference throughout the year, 
including official obstruction of general assembly meetings and police 
harassment during sit-in protests.
    For example, on May 13, Algiers authorities shut down the House of 
Unions after SNAPAP planned to organize a conference on unions in the 
Maghreb. Two days ahead of the conference, the wilaya of Algiers sealed 
the premises. There were reports that some citizens lodged a complaint 
regarding noise in the building housing the House of Unions.
    The law permits unions to affiliate with international labor bodies 
and develop relations with foreign labor groups. For example, the UGTA 
is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. 
However, the law prohibits unions from associating with political 
parties and also prohibits unions from receiving funds from foreign 
sources. The courts are empowered to dissolve unions that engaged in 
illegal activities.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised 
this right in practice, subject to conditions. All public 
demonstrations, including protests and strikes, must receive prior 
authorization, according to the emergency law. Several dozen strikes 
occurred throughout the country. 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. Authorities 
rarely give permits for public gatherings. 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 authorities tolerated strikes but continued to enforce a ban on 
marches and demonstrations in Algiers in effect since 2001. The courts 
challenged the legality of strikes called by teachers, doctors, and 
health-care professionals during the year.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for collective bargaining for all unions, and the Government 
permitted the exercise of this right, in practice, for authorized 
unions; however, the UGTA remained the only union authorized to 
negotiate collective bargaining agreements. According to the UGTA, nine 
million workers were covered by collective bargaining agreements, not 
including foreign migrant laborers.
    On October 7, workers at the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Annaba 
halted a strike at the request of the UGTA, which began negotiating 
their demands. The workers at the plant received increased pay as a 
result of the negotiations.
    The law prohibits discrimination by employers against union members 
and organizers and provides mechanisms for resolving trade union 
complaints of antiunion practices by employers.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor; however, there were 
reports from the Ministry of Labor and NGOs that such practices 
occurred. Forced labor conditions existed for migrant workers that were 
not fully protected by labor law. Construction workers and female 
domestic workers were reportedly vulnerable.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits participation by minors in dangerous, unhealthy, or 
harmful work or in work that is considered inappropriate because of 
social and religious considerations. The minimum legal age for 
employment is 15 years, except for apprentice positions. To serve as an 
apprentice, minors must have the permission of a legal guardian. 
Despite the labor code's prohibition of the practice, child labor 
remained a problem in the agriculture and the informal sectors.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The Ministry of Labor is the entity charged with monitoring and 
enforcing child labor laws, with sections across the country 
responsible for monitoring violations and conducting a census of 
workers in national and private companies. The ministry conducted and 
in some cases investigated companies suspected of hiring under aged 
workers. However, monitoring and enforcement practices for child labor 
were not consistent.
    During a November 2009 conference on children's rights, FOREM 
representatives stated that there were approximately 300,000 children 
under 16 years of age working in the country on farms and in shops. 
Including children who work in households and as vendors, the number of 
working children in the country stood at approximately 1.5 million in 
2010, according to FOREM.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor 
laws, but enforcement was hindered by insufficient human resources. 
During the year FOREM implemented a public awareness campaign to 
encourage children to remain in school until 16 years of age, rather 
than participating in the workforce. Roughly 300,000 students drop out 
of school annually to join the workforce, according to FOREM.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage of 
15,000 dinars (approximately $203) per month did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family. The minimum wage was raised 
to this level in 2009 by a tripartite social pact between business, 
government, and labor. Autonomous unions, which were not included in 
tripartite talks, reported the increase was inadequate and would not 
affect the majority of workers who already earn more than the minimum 
wage. The previous tripartite negotiation occurred in 2006 and 
established a minimum wage of 12,000 dinars (approximately $163). 
Ministry of Labor inspectors were responsible for ensuring compliance 
with the minimum wage regulation; however, enforcement remained 
inconsistent.
    The standard workweek was 37.5 hours included one 10-minute break 
and one hour for lunch per day. Employees who worked longer than the 
standard workweek received premium pay on a sliding scale from time-
and-a-half to double-time, depending on whether the overtime was worked 
on a normal workday, a weekend, or a holiday. In general the Ministry 
of Labor effectively enforced these labor standards, particularly in 
the civil service and in public sector companies; however, enforcement 
was less efficient in the private sector because of low union density.
    The law contains 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. If workers face 
such conditions, they reserve the right to renegotiate their contract 
or, failing that, resort to the courts. While this legal mechanism 
exists, the high demand for employment in the country gave an advantage 
to employers seeking to exploit employees. Economic migrants from sub-
Saharan Africa and elsewhere working in the country without legal 
immigration status were not protected by the country's labor standards, 
making them vulnerable to exploitation. Labor law does not adequately 
cover migrant workers.

                               __________

                                BAHRAIN

    Bahrain is a monarchy with a population of approximately 1,235,000, 
including approximately 569,000 who are citizens. King Hamad Bin Isa 
Al-Khalifa is the head of state and all branches of government. The 
king appoints a cabinet of ministers; approximately half are members of 
the minority Sunni Al-Khalifa ruling family. The 2002 constitution 
reinstated a bicameral, legislative body consisting of an upper house, 
the Shura Council, whose members are appointed by the king, and a lower 
house, the elected Council of Representatives. Approximately 67 percent 
of eligible voters participated in the October parliamentary and 
municipal council elections, the outcome of which was affected by 
extensive gerrymandering of districts. The opposition, Shia Islamist 
Al-Wifaq political society won all contested 18 seats in the 40-member 
Council of Representatives. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Citizens did not have the right to change their government. 
Trafficking in persons and restrictions on the rights of foreign 
resident workers continued to be significant problems. There were 
numerous reports of abuse against foreign workers, particularly female 
domestic workers. There were many reports of domestic violence against 
women and children. Discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, 
nationality, and sect, especially against the Shia majority population, 
persisted. There were multiple allegations of mistreatment and torture, 
especially of Shia activists associated with rejectionist and 
opposition groups. Authorities arbitrarily arrested activists, 
journalists, and other citizens and detained some individuals 
incommunicado. Some detainees did not always have adequate access to 
their attorneys. At least two of the detainees were dismissed from 
their public-sector jobs prior to the commencement of judicial 
proceedings. The Government restricted civil liberties, including 
freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and some religious 
practices. There were instances of the Government imposing and 
enforcing official and unofficial travel bans on political activists. 
The Shia are underrepresented in positions of leadership in the civil 
service, police, and security forces.

                        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; however, there 
were multiple allegations during the year that security forces employed 
them. On February 8, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report asserting 
that ``since the end of 2007, officials have repeatedly resorted to 
torture for the apparent purpose of securing confessions from security 
suspects.'' The former detainees interviewed for the report claimed 
that security officials and prison guards subjected them to ``abusive 
tactics'' during interrogation. In some cases in 2009, Ministry of 
Health doctors found corroborative evidence of injuries that matched 
the detainees' claims of mistreatment. According to senior government 
officials, the Government initiated an investigation of HRW's 
allegations. At year's end the Government had not published the 
investigation's findings.
    From August to December, local and international human rights NGOs 
asserted that security personnel had tortured more than two dozen 
detainees. During court proceedings from October to December, many of 
these detainees claimed that officers of the National Security Agency 
mistreated and tortured them. Detainees claimed that they had been 
beaten, suspended in painful positions, forced to stand for long 
periods, deprived of sleep, and subjected to electric shocks. During 
trial proceedings in October and November, defense lawyers requested an 
independent investigation into the torture allegations, to include 
independent medical exams. The prosecutor asserted in December that 
claims of torture had been investigated. At year's end neither the 
court nor the Government had released the findings of any such 
investigation.
    Local human rights organizations and lawyers also reported alleged 
instances of abuse by law enforcement authorities in connection with 
the approximately200 men and juveniles detained between August and 
December.
    Local human rights activists and attorneys alleged that many of the 
23 Shia activists arrested in August and September and charged pursuant 
to counterterrorism legislation, including a prominent blogger, were 
beaten, subjected to electric shocks, hung upside down, and beaten on 
their feet (falaqa). During court sessions in October, November, and 
December (see section 1.e.), all detainees claimed they were beaten by 
National Security Agency officers, with some claiming they were 
subjected to electric shocks, made to stand for long periods of time, 
and made to sign confessions during or after mistreatment or torture.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The Government, which 
maintained that prison conditions met international standards, did not 
release any detailed information about the prison population or prison 
and detention center conditions, nor did it permit visits by 
independent human rights observers. A UN report in March described 
``suboptimal health conditions'' in prisons. In the second half of the 
year, some detainees alleged that security personnel physically abused 
them and, in some cases, withheld medical care, including access to 
medication and medical equipment.
    In August approximately 70 prisoners in the country's central 
prison in Jaw protested their living conditions, and some prisoners 
went on hunger strike. In response members of the quasigovernmental 
National Human Rights Authority visited the prison; however, the body 
did not issue a public report. A local human rights NGO reported that 
the Jaw prison population was more than 1,300, although the prison had 
been designed to hold only 500 inmates. According to the Office of the 
Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior, the Jaw prison held 
1,100 inmates.
    Authorities generally permitted inmates reasonable access to 
visitors and religious observance. However, the Government temporarily 
suspended visitation rights for some inmates in the aftermath of the 
unrest in Jaw prison. In addition the Government did not permit family 
members to visit dozens of detainees arrested on security-related 
charges for at least several weeks.
    The Government did not permit independent monitoring of prison or 
detention center conditions, nor was there an ombudsman for prison and 
detainee issues. It is unknown if prisoners could submit complaints 
about treatment for investigation.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention. However, local human rights activists 
and attorneys alleged that police and National Guard units arbitrarily 
arrested or abducted Shia men and youth during the year, particularly 
from August to October, and that security officials held some 
incommunicado for days or weeks.
    The Office of the Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior 
received an unknown number of complaints pertaining to pretrial 
detention, although it was not clear how many of these resulted in 
investigations or penalties.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of the 
Interior is responsible for public security; it controls the public 
security force and other specialized security units that are 
responsible for maintaining internal order. The Bahrain Defense Force 
is responsible for defending against external threats and provides 
internal security. The security forces were generally effective in 
maintaining internal order.
    The Office of the Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior 
received 246 complaints between January and October, of which 121 were 
not related to police conduct. Nineteen cases were referred to the 
Ministry's legal affairs directorate for further action. The ministry 
maintained a hotline for citizens to report police abuses; however, 
many in the Shia community believed the Government condoned police 
misconduct and, therefore, did not report allegations of abuse. In 
practice the ministry responded to allegations of abuse and public 
complaints by establishing temporary investigation committees, which 
did not issue public reports of their findings.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--To apprehend a 
felony suspect, police must present evidence to a judge who will decide 
whether to issue an arrest warrant. Police and security forces must 
transfer a suspect's case to the public prosecutor's office within 48 
hours, and they generally respected that requirement in practice. 
Within seven days of arrest, a suspect must appear before a judge in 
the public prosecutor's office. Judges may grant bail to a suspect and 
regularly did so. If the judge decides the suspect is a flight risk or 
a danger to society, the judge may allow as long as an additional 45 
days of detention while the public prosecutor conducts an 
investigation. This process may continue through subsequent reviews by 
different judges, but pretrial detention may not exceed six months. 
Detainee access to attorneys was often restricted in the early stages 
of detention; attorneys must seek a court order to confer with clients 
and then coordinate with officials at the detention facility for 
access. The state provided counsel to indigent detainees. While 
detainees were generally allowed prompt access to visiting family 
members, many of those arrested on security-related charges between 
August and December claimed that they were not allowed to see relatives 
or lawyers for several weeks.
    In accordance with the 2006 counterterrorism law, law enforcement 
agencies must transfer a case to the public prosecutor's office within 
five days of the suspect's arrest, although the law permits law 
enforcement agencies to request an additional 10 days before the formal 
transfer of the case. Prosecutors must commence their formal 
questioning of a suspect within three days of receipt of the case. 
Other pretrial detention procedures are governed by those concerning 
cases that are not related to terrorism.
    From August to December, law enforcement agencies arrested 
approximately 200 men, including minors, and held some of them pursuant 
to the 2006 counterterrorism law. Local human rights groups and 
attorneys, as well as international human rights NGOs, alleged that, in 
many of these cases, authorities used incommunicado detention, 
restricted lawyers' access to their clients, and prevented family 
members from visiting detainees. International and local NGOs, as well 
as attorneys, asserted that security officials abused and tortured some 
of these detainees (see also sections 1.c. and 1.e.).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice; however, the king has control of the judicial 
system. According to the constitution, the king appoints all judges by 
royal decree. The king also serves as chairperson of the Supreme 
Judicial Council, the body responsible for supervising the work of the 
courts and the public prosecutor.
    The trial of 25 Shia activists charged pursuant to the 
counterterrorism law--two of whom were based in the United Kingdom and 
tried in their absence--commenced on October 28. The trial was 
generally open to detainees' family members, journalists, 
representatives of local and international NGOs, diplomats, and members 
of the general public, but, in some cases, a number of journalists and 
human rights activists were denied access to the court. The defendants' 
lawyers, together with local NGOs, asserted that security personnel 
subjected the men to mistreatment and torture while in pretrial 
detention (see section 1.c.), deprived them of adequate access to legal 
counsel, and prevented them from meeting with family members for 
several weeks. They withdrew from the case on December 9 to protest the 
presiding judge's failure to rule on several requests they had made in 
the first four sessions of the trial, such as an impartial 
investigation into torture allegations.
    The minister of justice and Islamic affairs and endowments 
appointed 23 new lawyers, and the case was pending at year's end. Human 
rights activists and attorneys alleged that the detainees' right to a 
fair, public trial was undermined by the detainees' limited access to 
legal counsel and the presiding judge's failure to rule on the defense 
attorneys' requests.
    Two men faced trial in November and December, accused of assaulting 
an editor of the progovernment Al Watan newspaper on August 25. The two 
men were arrested less than 48 hours after the attack, shortly after 
which senior government officials announced that the men had confessed. 
Most newspapers carried photographs of the two men, referring to them 
as assassins or terrorists. The trial commenced in November. The men 
were released on December 12 after the victim of the assault testified 
in court that the two defendants were not the men who assaulted him. 
The judge agreed to the prosecutor's request that the court examine 
other evidence in a hearing scheduled for January 2011.

    Trial Procedures.--According to the constitution, defendants are 
presumed innocent until proven guilty. Civil and criminal trial 
procedures provide for an open trial. There are no jury trials. By law 
and in practice, defendants have the right to prompt consultation with 
an attorney of their choice within 48 hours (unless they are charged 
pursuant to counterterrorism legislation), and the Government provided 
counsel to indigent defendants. Defendants are present during trial 
proceedings, and they have the right to present witnesses and evidence 
on their behalf and question witnesses against them. No law governs 
defendants' access to government-held evidence. Defendants have the 
right to appeal. Women's legal rights varied according to Shia or Sunni 
interpretations of Islamic law (see section 6).

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Human rights organizations 
alleged that some of those arrested on security charges from August to 
December were targeted because of their political activism. Many of the 
prominent detainees are leaders of, or affiliated with, political 
groups.
    On August 17, authorities arrested Muhammad Saeed al-Sahlawi, a 
member of the board of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). 
Human rights groups report that Al-Sahlawi, a dentist and human rights 
activist who supervises the BCHR's Web site, was arrested at his home 
during a wave of arrests targeting political and human rights 
activists. Al-Sahlawi was previously arrested in 2006 for distributing 
publications demanding political reform and in 1997 for contacting 
oppositional and international organizations abroad.
    Also on August 17, according to the BCHR, authorities arrested 
Sheikh Abdul-Hadi Abdullah Al-Mokhadur and Sheikh Mirza Al-Mahroos, 
both clerics involved in activities promoting human rights, in Manama.
    On September 4, authorities arrested and detained a popular 
Internet Web site writer and administrator of a Web site, Ali 
Abdulemam, and charged him with involvement in a ``terrorist network,'' 
together with 24 other men (section 1.e.). This group of 25 also 
included a board member of a local human rights organization and 
political dissenters.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens may bring civil 
suits before the court seeking cessation of or damages for, some types 
of human rights violations; however, in many such situations, the law 
prevents citizens from filing civil suits against security agencies.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice, except 
under the provisions of the law and under judicial supervision.
    The Government is required to obtain a court order before 
monitoring telephone calls, e-mail, and personal correspondence. Many 
Shia citizens believed there were extensive police informer networks, 
but they were unable to provide concrete evidence.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press ``provided that the fundamental 
beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people 
is not prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused.'' The 
Government limited freedom of speech and press through press laws, 
libel and slander laws, and national security-related laws. Both 
censorship and self-censorship took place.
    The law forbids any speech infringing on public order or morals. In 
private settings, individuals openly expressed critical opinions 
regarding domestic political and social issues. There was also 
considerable freedom of expression on the Internet, in letters to the 
editor, and occasionally on state-run television call-in shows.
    A Shia cleric aligned with a rejectionist group was temporarily 
banned from giving Friday sermons in October. The Ministry of Justice 
and Islamic Affairs and Endowments deemed some of the cleric's sermons 
to ``threaten civil peace.''
    The Government did not own any print media, but the Information 
Authority--established in July as an associated element of the Ministry 
of Culture and Information--and other government entities exercised 
considerable control over domestic, privately owned print media. The 
Government owned and operated all domestic radio and television 
stations. In August, September, and October, the Information Authority 
threatened to shut the Web sites of a number of newspaper and media 
outlets unless they stopped broadcasting video content. The Information 
Authority stated that it was illegal for media outlets to broadcast 
video content until a law regarding online video broadcast is 
promulgated by the national legislature.
    Radio and television broadcasts in Arabic, Farsi, and English from 
countries in the region, including by satellite, were generally 
received without interference. However, in May the Ministry of Culture 
and Information temporarily closed the Al Jazeera office in Manama and 
banned an Al Jazeera news crew from entering the country. The ministry 
accused Qatar-based Al Jazeera of ``flouting the laws regulating the 
press and publishing'' and requested the network to enter into a 
memorandum of understanding with the Government regarding their 
activities in the country. At year's end the two sides remained engaged 
in negotiations, and there was no Al Jazeera representative in the 
country.
    At least one journalist faced violence during the year. On August 
25, two men attacked an editor of the progovernment Al Watan newspaper, 
who was slightly injured. Security forces arrested two men and tried 
them for the assault, but a judge released them after the victim of the 
attack testified that the men were not his assailants (see section 
1.e.).
    Government censorship occurred. Information Authority 
representatives actively monitored and blocked stories on matters 
deemed sensitive, especially those related to sectarianism, national 
security, or criticism of the royal family, the Saudi royal family, or 
the judiciary. Journalists also practiced widespread self-censorship. 
According to some members of the media, government officials contacted 
editors directly and asked them to stop writing about certain subjects 
or asked them not to publish a press release or a story. In September 
Bahraini newspapers inaccurately conveyed an official U.S. government 
statement about the country, allegedly at the behest of government 
officials. In the lead-up to the elections, observers noted that 
political debate was largely absent from media outlets. Domestic and 
international human rights groups alleged that the Government imposed a 
media restraining order.
    The Government enforced at its discretion the press law to restrict 
freedom of press. The law provides for fines of as much as 10,000 
dinars ($26,500) and prison sentences of at least six months for 
criticizing Islam or the king or inciting actions that undermine state 
security, as well as fines of up to 2,000 dinars ($5,300) for 14 other 
offenses. These offenses include publicizing statements issued by a 
foreign state or organization before obtaining the consent of the 
president of the information authority, publishing any reports that may 
adversely affect the dinar's value, reporting any offense against the 
head of a state that maintains diplomatic relations with the country, 
or publishing offensive remarks toward an accredited representative of 
a foreign country because of acts connected with the person's position.
    The Information Authority reviewed all books and publications prior 
to issuing printing licenses. The Ministry of Justice and Islamic 
Affairs reviewed books that discussed religion. The Government banned 
at least one book by a domestic author, Nader Kadim, entitled Unbridled 
Hatreds. In June the Government banned the Arabic translation of the 
diaries of Charles Belgrave, a British colonial officer in the country 
from 1926 to 1957.
    In August and September, the Government-run Bahrain News Agency 
(BNA) and most daily newspapers repeatedly published photographs of 
suspects and detainees. Members of the quasigovernmental National Human 
Rights Institution, human rights activists, and detainees' attorneys 
asserted that such actions, prior to the commencement of judicial 
proceedings, violated the constitution and penal code.

    Internet Freedom.--While the Government generally respected 
Internet freedom, there were some government restrictions. The 
Government's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) ordered 
service providers to block Internet users' access to certain sites. In 
the lead-up to the elections, the Government banned opposition Web 
sites. In August, September, and October, the Information Authority 
threatened to shut the Web sites of a number of newspaper and media 
outlets. Reportedly, the Government did not monitor e-mail use. 
Internet penetration among citizens exceeded 80 percent.
    The Government regularly monitored users' online activities and 
blocked residents' regular access to numerous Web sites that officials 
considered to be inciting sectarian tensions, were antigovernment, or 
were anti-Islamic. The Government also blocked the Web site of at least 
one human rights NGO during the year, and it blocked the Web sites of 
the two main opposition political societies, Al-Wifaq National Islamic 
Society and the National Democratic Action Society (also known as 
Wa'ad), during campaigning for the October national elections. Public 
discussion of blocked Web sites was widespread, and many users were 
able to access blocked sites through alternate servers.
    One of the country's most popular oppositionist Internet forums was 
blocked in August and September, although officials permitted the site 
to operate freely thereafter. On September 4, authorities arrested the 
site's administrator, Ali Abdulemam, who is also a popular blogger, and 
charged him with involvement in a ``terror network'' together with 24 
other citizens (see section 1.d.).
    The Government continued to invoke the press code to justify the 
questioning of some journalists and bloggers. Web site administrators 
legally face the same libel laws that apply to print journalists, and 
Web masters are held jointly responsible for all content posted on 
their Web sites or chat rooms.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom. Some academics self-censored, 
avoiding contentious political issues.
    The Government banned at least one film, the Indian-produced 
Lamhaa, for its political content.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of free assembly, 
but the law restricts the exercise of this right, and security forces 
intervened in some demonstrations during the year. Organizers must 
submit requests for public gatherings or demonstrations to the Ministry 
of the Interior at least 72 hours in advance. Three citizens from the 
proposed demonstration area must sign the application. If there is no 
response to the request, the gathering may proceed. The law prohibits 
public gatherings near hospitals, airports, commercial centers, 
designated security-related facilities, or funeral processions. The law 
prohibits gatherings between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., unless the chief of 
public security or his deputy gives written permission. The law states 
that funeral processions may not be turned into political rallies, and 
security officials may be present at any public gathering. The head of 
public security must notify the organizers about any official changes 
to the request (such as location, time, or route) at least 48 hours 
prior to the event. Organizers of an unauthorized gathering face prison 
sentences of three to six months.
    The Government specifically limited and controlled political 
gatherings. The law regulates election campaigns and prohibits 
political activities at worship centers, universities, schools, 
government buildings, and public institutions. The Government did not 
allow mosques or ma'tams (Shia religious community centers) or other 
religious sites to be used for political gatherings without permission.
    Antigovernment demonstrations occurred regularly in numerous Shia 
villages throughout the country. Groups of Shia youth, allegedly 
instigated by members of the unregistered Haq Movement and the newly 
organized al-Waf'a Islamic Movement, regularly appeared at both 
registered and unregistered demonstrations where, according to Shia 
community members and Ministry of Interior officials, they burned tires 
and trash and threw Molotov cocktails and stones at riot police.
    Police often dispersed demonstrations with tear gas. Local human 
rights NGOs alleged that riot police used tear gas against peaceful 
demonstrators; however, the Ministry of the Interior countered that it 
used tear gas in response to attacks by demonstrators. Security forces 
sometimes fired rubber baton rounds to disperse demonstrations and, on 
a number of occasions, security forces allegedly ricocheted shotgun 
pellets from the ground to disperse rioters as a last resort.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to 
freedom of association; however, the Government limited this right in 
practice. Although the Government does not allow the formation of 
political parties, it authorized registered political societies to run 
candidates and participate in other political activities.
    The Government required all groups to register: civil society 
groups with the Ministry of Social Development, political societies 
with the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, and labor unions with 
the Ministry of Labor. The Government decided whether the group was 
social or political in nature based on its proposed bylaws. The law 
prohibits any activity by an unlicensed society and any political 
activity by a licensed civil society group.
    To apply for registration, a political society must submit its 
bylaws signed by all founding members, a list of all members and copies 
of their residency cards, and a financial statement identifying the 
society's sources of funding and bank information. The society's 
principles, goals, and programs must not run counter to Sharia law or 
the national interest, as interpreted by the judiciary, nor may the 
society be based on sectarian, geographic, or class identity.
    A civil society group applying for registration must submit its 
bylaws signed by all founding members and minutes of the founding 
committee's meetings, containing the names of founding members, their 
professions, their places of residence, and their signatures. The law 
grants the Ministry of Social Development the right to reject the 
registration of any civil society group if it finds the society's 
services unnecessary, already provided by another society, contrary to 
state security, or aimed at reviving a previously dissolved society. 
Associations whose applications are rejected or ignored may appeal to 
the High Civil Court, which may annul the ministry's decision or refuse 
the complaint.
    Many NGOs and civil society activists asserted that the Ministry of 
Social Development routinely exploited its oversight role to stymie the 
activities of NGOs and other civil society organizations. While some 
local NGOs asserted that bureaucratic incompetence characterized the 
ministry's dealings with NGOs, numerous other local NGOs stated that 
officials in the NGOs directorate actively sought to undermine some 
groups' activities and to impose burdensome bureaucratic procedures on 
NGO board members and volunteers.
    In September the Ministry of Social Development effectively 
shuttered the prominent local human rights organization Bahrain Human 
Rights Society, when a ministerial decree ordered the dissolution of 
the society's board of directors and appointed a ministry employee to 
be the group's interim head. Soon thereafter the group's ousted chief 
filed a lawsuit against the ministry; the case was pending at year's 
end. In October the ministry filed a lawsuit against the ousted board 
of directors of BHRS but withdrew the suit shortly afterwards. In 
December the former BHRS leadership issued a human rights report for 
2009 in the name of the BHRS; the Government did not interfere in the 
report's release or dissemination.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    The 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. In 
practice authorities relied on determinations of national security when 
adjudicating passport applications.
    On September 19, authorities announced they had revoked the 
citizenship of a naturalized Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Hussain al-
Najati, his wife, and their three children. The Government restored the 
family's citizenship in November.
    In October authorities prevented three activists from leaving the 
country. All three were permitted to travel within one to two weeks.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports 
of forced exile or return from exile during the year. Some political 
oppositionists who refused the 2001 amnesty remained in self-imposed 
exile.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol 
relating to the Status of Refugees, and the Government has not 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened 
on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion. Such individuals 
generally had access to certain social services, education, and 
employment.

    Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is generally derived from the 
father; however, noncitizen men who marry citizen women are not 
entitled to citizenship; as a result, children from such marriages are 
stateless. The Bahrain Women's Association reported that as of December 
the organization was aware of 213 women with stateless children.
    The law clearly defines naturalization requirements, but the 
adjudication process for naturalization applications was not 
transparent. Opposition groups claimed the Government regularly ignored 
naturalization rules to manipulate demographics for voting and to 
maintain Sunni domination of police and defense forces over Shia. 
According to these opposition groups, the Government was more lenient 
with naturalization requests from foreign residents in the security 
forces, while Shia and other applicants experienced delays in 
processing of their cases. The Government occasionally granted 
citizenship to Sunni residents from neighboring countries.
    Stateless persons had access to limited social services, education, 
and employment. Stateless persons were eligible to receive housing and 
other government services; however, they were excluded from receiving 
scholarships.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Citizens do not have the right to change their government or their 
political system; however, the constitution provides for a 
democratically elected Council of Representatives, the lower house of 
parliament. The king appoints the prime minister, who then proposes 
cabinet ministers. Members of the ruling Al-Khalifa family held all 
strategic cabinet ministry positions and approximately half of 
ministerial slots. The bicameral national assembly consists of the 40-
member Council of Representatives and the 40-member appointed Shura 
(Consultative) Council. The king may dissolve the Council of 
Representatives at his discretion; he also has the power to amend the 
constitution and to propose, ratify, and promulgate laws. Both councils 
may question government ministers (except the prime minister), and the 
Council of Representatives may require a minister's resignation with a 
two-thirds majority vote of no confidence. The Council of 
Representatives may introduce a resolution indicating it cannot 
cooperate with the prime minister, in which case the joint national 
assembly would have the option to pass the resolution by a two-thirds 
majority, requiring the king to dismiss the prime minister or to 
dissolve the Council of Representatives. A no-confidence vote has never 
arisen.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Almost all registered 
political societies participated in the October elections for the 
Council of Representatives and municipal councils. Sixty-seven percent 
of eligible voters participated in the two rounds of voting on October 
23 and 30. The opposition Shia Islamist political society, Al-Wifaq, 
won all 18 races it contested for the Council of Representatives. Two 
progovernment, Sunni Islamist parties won a combined five seats (down 
from 15), and independents won 17 seats. Most opposition groups and 
other activists alleged that the Government gerrymandered electoral 
districts in 2002 to provide for a progovernment, mostly Sunni majority 
in the Council of Representatives.
    Political tensions flared in the weeks preceding the October 23 
balloting, largely given the Government's arrests of more than 200 Shia 
men it accused of inciting or involvement in, the street violence. 
Those arrested included some, but not all, of the leaders of two 
fringe, rejectionist groups, Haq and Wafa', which had called for a 
boycott of the elections. The Government charged 23 of those arrested 
with involvement in a ``terror network'' pursuant to the 2006 
counterterrorism law (see section 1.e.). The electoral process was also 
marred by the Government's banning of the two main opposition parties' 
Web sites and newsletters. The Government did not allow international 
observers to monitor the elections.
    The Government did not allow the formation of political parties; 
however, more than a dozen political societies, which 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. Political societies were highly critical of provisions in 
the law requiring them to notify the Government before contacting 
political groups abroad. The law prohibits civil society groups from 
engaging in political matters.
    The newly elected Council of Representatives includes one woman, 
who previously won election as an independent in 2006. Only one of the 
major political societies fielded female candidates for the Council of 
Representatives. An independent female candidate won a seat on a 
municipal council. The newly appointed Shura Council contains 11 women. 
Two women served as cabinet ministers, five women sat as judges in the 
criminal courts, and one was a judge in the Constitutional Court.
    Shia and Sunni citizens have equal rights before the law; however, 
Sunnis dominated political life, although Shia comprised the majority 
of the citizen population. Government and societal discrimination 
against the Shia population remained a problem. Sunnis received 
preference for employment in sensitive government positions and in the 
managerial ranks of the civil service. The defense and internal 
security forces were also predominantly Sunni, and few Shia members 
attained high-ranking positions. There were 18 representatives of the 
mainstream Shia political society, Al-Wifaq, in the elected Council of 
Representatives. The appointed Shura Council included 19 Shia members, 
including the speaker, as well as one Jewish member and one Christian 
member. Five of the 25 cabinet ministers were Shia, including one of 
four deputy prime ministers. The Jafaari Sharia Court consisted of 13 
Shia scholars.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and some 
officials reportedly engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
Significant areas of government activity, including the security 
services, continued to lack transparency. The press reported that, in a 
number of cases, authorities jailed or fined law enforcement officials 
for misconduct, most often for accepting bribes. An anticorruption unit 
was established in the Ministry of Interior; however, the Government 
did not announce any related investigations. The law does not require 
government officials to provide financial disclosures, nor does it 
provide citizens access to government-held information.
    In response to a bipartisan parliamentary inquiry into alleged 
illegal or improper sales of public property worth billions of dollars, 
the Government formed an interministerial committee to investigate the 
matter.
    The National Audit Bureau's annual report resulted in the formation 
of two parliamentary investigation committees, one of which studied 
problems affecting Gulf Air, the other of which investigated problems 
at Mumtalakt, the sovereign wealth fund. No prosecutions arose from the 
findings of these committees.
    In June 2009 the high criminal court found the former chief 
executive officer of the quasigovernmental housing bank for trade and 
finance guilty of embezzling 1.5 million dinars (four million dollars) 
and sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment. The ruling was the first 
guilty verdict in a major corruption case in many years. An appeal was 
pending at year's end.
    In June 2009 authorities charged the executive director of the 
Bahrain Institute for Political Development (BIPD) and two other BIPD 
officials with fraud and embezzlement. The case remained pending at 
year's end.
    On November 9, a court issued a verdict in the corruption case 
against two former managers of Alba, an aluminum firm majority-owned by 
the Government's sovereign wealth fund, sentencing the men to seven 
years' imprisonment and imposing large fines. The two former managers 
appealed the verdict; a hearing was scheduled for January 2011. 
Activists alleged that the men were scapegoats for more senior Alba and 
government officials who engaged in illegal and corrupt activity.
Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Restrictions on freedom of association and expression and increased 
government scrutiny and harassment during the year hindered 
investigation and public criticism of the Government's human rights 
policies; however, local and international NGOs continued to publish 
reports on human rights.
    In September the Government effectively shuttered BHRS, a prominent 
human rights NGO (see section 2.b.). The Government also exerted 
considerable pressure on other NGOs to stymie their activities.
    Several women's rights NGOs, notably the Bahrain Women's 
Association (BWA), the Bahrain Women's Union, and the Young Ladies 
Society, advocated for enhanced political, economic, and social rights 
for women and girls. In July police officers questioned two BWA 
volunteers after they were interviewed by Al Jazeera.
    The Migrant Workers Protection Society (MWPS) provided protection 
services for at-risk migrant workers, including operating a small 
shelter for runaway female domestic workers, and advocated for domestic 
workers' rights, which are not protected by current labor laws. 
According to local and international NGOs, a senior official in the 
Ministry of Social Development threatened to take administrative action 
against MWPS after a domestic employee working for the official sought 
refuge in the society's shelter.
    The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), which the Government 
officially dissolved in 2004, continued to issue reports and had strong 
ties to international human rights NGOs. The BCHR occasionally 
coordinated its activities with leaders of political rejectionist 
groups. On August 16, the Government arrested one of the BCHR's board 
members, Mohamed Saeed, a dentist, and charged him with involvement in 
a ``terror network'' (see section 1.e.). The case was pending at year's 
end. On September 4, the Government-run Bahrain News Agency, together 
with progovernment newspapers, temporarily labeled BCHR president 
Nabeel Rajab a ``terrorist,'' and on September 27, authorities 
prevented Rajab from leaving the country. He was permitted to travel 
two weeks later.
    On April 5, a court fined the head of the Bahrain Youth Human 
Rights Society (BYHRS) 500 dinars ($1,325) for operating an 
unregistered NGO. According to the BYHRS, the Ministry of Social 
Development did not respond to the group's request to register as an 
NGO.
    The Government-aligned Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society (BHRWS), 
headed by a former Shura Council member, undertook a number of advocacy 
campaigns during the year, including highlighting abuses against 
foreign workers and organizing an elections monitoring initiative.
    The Government generally welcomed visits by representatives of 
international human rights organizations. Representatives of HRW and 
Amnesty International had multiple meetings with government ministers 
and other senior officials. Other international NGOs, such as Front 
Line, met with senior government officials. However, journalists with 
close ties to senior government officials repeatedly attacked 
representatives of international human rights organizations. On at 
least two occasions in September and October, a progovernment newspaper 
published a series of articles attacking HRW representatives.
    In April and September, the Government barred two representatives 
of a foreign NGO working on institution-building and civil society 
strengthening from entering the country.
    The UN Development Program (UNDP) maintained an office in the 
country, and it advised the Government on developing mechanisms to 
encourage respect for human rights. The Government welcomed visits by 
both the UN high commissioner for human rights and the UNDP 
administrator.
    On April 25, the king appointed the 23 members of the National 
Human Rights Institution, a government-backed commission created by 
royal order in December 2009. Many of the members are government 
employees and former or current members of the Shura Council. The 
institution's chairman, Salman Kamalaldine, a former BHRS leader, 
resigned in September to protest the institution's failure to address 
allegations of mistreatment of detainees arrested during the August and 
September government reaction to demonstrations. National Human Rights 
Institution members staunchly defended the Government's human rights 
record in public fora, both domestically and internationally.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equality, equal opportunity, and the 
right to medical care, welfare, education, property, capital, and work 
for all citizens. These rights were protected unevenly, depending on an 
individual's social status, sect, or gender. The law deprives foreign 
workers, who make up approximately half the population, of many 
fundamental legal, social, and economic rights.

    Women.--Rape is illegal; however, the law does not address spousal 
rape. The press reported cases of men arrested for the crime, including 
a few cases in which fathers of rape victims sought lighter sentences 
for perpetrators. There were numerous reports of employers raping 
female domestic workers, but most victims did not seek legal redress 
since local courts require witnesses to prove guilt for such assaults.
    No government policies or laws explicitly addressed domestic 
violence. Human rights organizations alleged that spousal abuse of 
women was widespread, particularly in poorer communities. Women rarely 
sought legal redress for violence, and there was little public 
attention devoted to the problem. The Batelco Care Center for Family 
Violence continued to offer free medical, psychological, legal, and 
social assistance to victims of violence, primarily women and children. 
It also operated an abuse hotline that recorded 206 cases from June to 
November.
    The law prohibits sexual harassment, but it remained a widespread 
problem for women, especially foreigners employed as domestic workers 
and in other low-level service jobs. The press reported a number of 
cases of men arrested for sexually harassing women. Article 350 
stipulates penalties of imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of 100 
dinars ($265) for committing an ``act of indecency with a female.''
    Reproductive health services, including birth control and maternity 
care, were available without charge to all women. According to the 
Ministry of Health, maternal mortality was 9.5 per 1,000 births. The UN 
Population Fund estimated that the maternal mortality ratio in 2008 was 
19 per 100,000 live births. Health centers required women to obtain 
spousal consent in order to undergo sterilization; however, this 
consent requirement did not apply to provisions of other family 
planning services. There was no information as to whether women receive 
equal diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV.
    Women faced discrimination under the law. A woman cannot transmit 
nationality to her spouse or children. Women have the right to initiate 
divorce; however, religious courts may refuse the request. In divorce 
cases, the courts routinely granted mothers custody of daughters 
younger than age nine and sons younger than age seven. Custody usually 
reverted to the father once the children reached those ages. Regardless 
of custody decisions, the father retained guardianship, or the right to 
make all legal decisions for the child, until the child reached the age 
of 21. A noncitizen woman automatically loses custody of her children 
if she divorces their citizen father without just cause.
    Women may own and inherit property and represent themselves in all 
public and legal matters. In the absence of a direct male heir, Shia 
women may inherit all property; however, Sunni women without a direct 
male heir inherit only a portion as governed by Sharia and the brothers 
or male relatives of the deceased divide the balance. In practice 
better-educated families used wills and other legal maneuvers to 
mitigate the negative effects of these rules.
    Labor laws prohibit discrimination against women; however, 
discrimination against women was systemic in the country, especially in 
the workplace. There were numerous reports of employers mistreating 
noncitizen women working as domestic servants. The influence of 
religious traditionalists sometimes hampered women's rights. The Labor 
Market Regulatory Authority stated that women constituted 20.5 percent 
of the labor force, although these statistics excluded the 
approximately 75,000 domestic workers, a majority of whom are women.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's father. Women cannot 
transmit their nationality to their children; therefore, children of 
some citizen mothers and noncitizen fathers are born stateless (see 
section 2.d., Stateless Persons).
    Government-run primary schools are segregated by gender, although 
children are subject to the same curricula and textbooks. Schooling is 
compulsory for children only through the age of 14, but it is provided 
free of charge to citizens and legal residents through grade 12.
    NGOs reported an increase in the number of child abuse cases in 
recent years but were unsure whether abuse is on the rise or whether 
there is greater willingness to report it. Sharia courts, not civil 
courts, address crimes involving child abuse, including violence 
against children. NGOs expressed concern over the lack of consistent, 
written guidelines for prosecuting and punishing offenders and over the 
leniency of penalties involving child abuse cases. The Be Free Center, 
an associate of the Bahrain Women's Association that focuses on child 
abuse awareness and prevention, dealt with 2,371 cases of child abuse 
victims during the year.
    From August to December, there were numerous reports that security 
forces detained boys under the age of 18, including some arrested in 
their homes. There were reports that boys were prosecuted and convicted 
for security-related crimes, including two 12-year-old cousins who, 
after four months of pretrial detention, each received six-month prison 
sentences, which the Government said would be served in a juvenile 
detention facility run by the Ministry of Social Development.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html. as well 
as country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts in the 
country.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law protects the rights of persons 
with disabilities, and a variety of governmental, quasigovernmental, 
and religious institutions are mandated to support and protect persons 
with disabilities. In June the Ministry of Social Development announced 
a partnership with the UN Development Program (UNDP) to develop and 
implement a National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities.
    New public buildings in the central municipality must include 
facilities for persons with disabilities. The law does not mandate 
access to nonresidential buildings for persons with disabilities.
    There were no official reports of discrimination against persons 
with disabilities in employment, education, or access to health care, 
but according to anecdotal evidence, persons with disabilities 
routinely suffered lack of access to education and employment. The one 
government school for children with hearing disabilities did not 
operate past the 10th grade. Certain public schools had specialized 
education programs for children with learning disabilities, physical 
handicaps, speech impediments, and Down syndrome, but the Government 
did not fund private programs for children with disabilities who could 
not find appropriate programs in public schools.
    The law requires the Government to provide vocational training for 
persons with disabilities who wish to work. The law also requires any 
employer of more than 100 persons to hire at least 2 percent of its 
employees from the Government's list of workers with disabilities; 
however, the Government did not monitor compliance. The Government 
placed persons with disabilities in some public-sector jobs.
    There were no restrictions on participation in political and 
electoral processes for persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law grants citizenship to 
Arab applicants who have resided in the country for 15 years and non-
Arab applicants who have resided in the country for 25 years. There was 
a lack of transparency in the naturalization process, and there were 
numerous reports that the citizenship law was not applied uniformly. 
For example, there were allegations that the Government allowed foreign 
Sunni employees in the security services that had lived in the country 
for less than 15 years to apply for citizenship. There were also 
reports of Arab Shia who had resided in the country for more than 15 
years and non-Arab foreign residents who had resided more than 25 years 
who had not been granted citizenship.
    Although the Government asserted that the labor code for the 
private sector applies to all workers, the International Labor 
Organization and international NGOs have noted that, in practice, 
nonnational migrant workers faced discrimination in the workplace.
    In March 2009 a Sunni Pakistani civilian, Mohammed Riyadh, died of 
burns he suffered after rioters firebombed his vehicle. Due to his 
ethnicity, attackers assumed the victim was an undercover police 
officer monitoring activity in the village. On July 5, seven Shia men, 
who had been charged under the counterterrorism law, were sentenced to 
life imprisonment for their role in the death.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not criminalize 
homosexual relationships between consenting adults at least 21 years of 
age; however, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activities were 
not socially accepted, and discrimination was common.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The media reported few 
cases of HIV/AIDS. There were no reports of societal violence or 
discrimination based on persons with HIV/AIDS. The Government mandated 
screening of newly arrived migrant workers for infectious diseases, 
including HIV/AIDS; migrant workers found to be HIV-positive faced 
deportation.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law grants workers, including 
noncitizens, a limited right to form and join unions as long as the 
union is for lawful objectives and does not disturb the fundamentals of 
the religion and public order is not disturbed. Members of the military 
are prohibited from joining unions. In the private sector, workers may 
form unions without prior authorization. Public-sector workers may join 
private sector trade unions and professional societies, but trade 
unions are prohibited in the public sector. Foreign workers, excluding 
domestic workers, are allowed to join unions and many do so, but they 
are not allowed to engage in collective bargaining. Only one trade 
union is permitted in each workplace. The Shura Council vetoed a law 
that would allow more than one trade union per company. All unions must 
join the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU). The law 
allows for the establishment of additional federations; however, at 
year's end, there were none. According to the GFBTU, approximately 18 
percent of the labor force was unionized with employees from the six 
major state-owned firms making up 52 percent of total trade union 
membership.
    The law prohibits unions from engaging in political activities, 
although union officials participated in public forums regarding 
workers' rights. The GFBTU did not report any government interference 
in its activities.
    The law states that the right to strike is a legitimate means for 
workers to defend their rights and interests; however, this right was 
restricted and is not available for all workers. The law prohibits 
strikes in certain sectors the Government deems essential. The list of 
essential services prohibited from joining unions exceeds international 
standards. They include the oil, gas, education, telecommunication, 
transportation, and health sectors, as well as pharmacies and bakeries. 
For workers permitted to strike, the law requires a lengthy process of 
conciliation followed by mandatory arbitration. Workers must approve a 
strike with a two-thirds majority in a secret ballot and provide two 
weeks' notification to the Ministry of Labor before conducting a 
strike. There were no strikes during the year. Although government 
sources held that the arbitration provision did not preempt the right 
to strike, the law does not specify that a union may proceed to a 
strike vote if it disagrees with the arbitrator's decision.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively; however, 
foreign workers, who make up approximately 60 percent of the workforce, 
are not permitted to engage in collective bargaining. Employers and the 
Government are required to treat unions as independent judicial 
entities.
    In the private sector, the law prohibits antiunion discrimination 
and employer interference in union functions. The Government generally 
protected this right.
    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, including by children; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred, particularly among domestic 
workers and those working in the informal sector, many of whom are not 
fully protected by the legal code. There were no reports of forced or 
compulsory child labor; however, there were reports of children 
trafficked into the country for domestic service and sexual 
exploitation.
    Foreign workers, mostly from South and Southeast Asia, who made up 
approximately 60 percent of the workforce (76 percent of the private-
sector workforce), were particularly vulnerable to forced labor and in 
some cases were subject to withholding of passports, restrictions on 
movement, contract substitution, nonpayment of wages, threats, physical 
and sexual abuse. Some foreign workers arrived in the country under the 
sponsorship of an employer and then switched jobs while continuing to 
pay a fee to their original sponsor, which made it difficult to monitor 
and control their employment.
    In numerous instances, employers withheld salaries from foreign 
workers for months or years and refused to grant them permission to 
leave the country. The Government and the courts generally worked to 
rectify abuses brought to their attention. The fear of deportation or 
employer retaliation prevented many foreign workers from making 
complaints to authorities.
    The Government continued to conduct extensive awareness campaigns, 
yet many foreign workers were unaware of their rights under the law. 
The Government published pamphlets on foreign resident workers' rights 
in several languages, provided manuals on these rights to local 
diplomatic missions, and operated a telephone hotline for victims.
    In August 2009 new rules went into effect to allow migrant foreign 
workers (excluding domestic workers) to change jobs without employers' 
permission, subject to certain restrictions. During the year the 
Government reported that more than 7,000 workers switched employers 
under the new rules.
    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, had to give their identity documents to 
employers, had little time off, were malnourished, and were subject to 
verbal and physical abuse, including sexual molestation and rape. 
Between 30 and 40 percent of attempted suicide cases in the 
Government's psychiatric hospitals were foreign domestic workers.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits child labor and establishes protections for children from 
workplace exploitation, and the Government effectively enforced these 
laws. Some children were believed to work in family-run businesses, but 
the practice was not widespread. There were reports of children 
trafficked into the country for domestic service and sexual 
exploitation. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The minimum age for employment is 16 years old. The Ministry of 
Labor makes rare exceptions on a case-by-case basis for juveniles 
between the ages of 14 and 16 who have an urgent need to assist in 
providing financial support for their families. Minors may not work in 
industries the Ministry of Health deems hazardous or unhealthy, 
including construction, mining, and oil refining. Minors may work no 
more than six hours a day and may be present on the employment premises 
no more than seven hours a day. These regulations do not apply to 
family-operated businesses in which the only other employees are family 
members.
    According to NGOs, government labor inspectors monitored and 
enforced child labor laws effectively in the industrial sector. During 
the year the Ministry of Labor employed 43 labor inspectors.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum 
wage. Unskilled foreign laborers in particular did not earn as much as 
their home countries' guidelines suggested and were at times subject to 
nonpayment of wages. The Philippines imposed a minimum wage of 80 
dinars ($212) for domestic workers and required a contract signed by 
the two parties and approved by the Philippines Embassy. However, in 
practice many such employees were paid less than 80 dinars ($212).
    The Ministry of Labor enforced the labor law and mandated 
acceptable conditions of work for all adult workers except domestic 
workers, including a maximum workweek of 48 hours, with special 
permission required by the ministry for work in excess of 60 hours per 
week. Muslims may not legally be required to work more than six hours 
per day and 36 hours per week during Ramadan. 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. Work in excess of 48 
hours per week 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. 
In practice many foreign domestic workers worked more than 60 hours per 
week and did not receive overtime. The labor inspectorate conducted 
periodic comprehensive inspections of private sector enterprises, 
including verification of employee hours and wages.
    According to NGOs, workplace safety standards were adequate, but 
inspection and compliance were substandard. The Ministry of Labor set 
occupational safety and health standards and sporadically enforced them 
with a team of 11 engineers from multiple specialties. Inspectors had 
the authority to levy fines and close worksites if employers did not 
improve conditions by specified deadlines. There were reports of 
employers being fined for violations. During the year the media 
reported several workplace deaths owing to a combination of inadequate 
safety procedures, worker ignorance of those procedures, and inadequate 
safety standards for equipment. Exact figures were not available. 
Particularly hazardous sectors included construction and automotive 
repair.
    During the year inspectors visited labor camps to verify whether 
workers' accommodations met required safety and hygiene standards. In 
2009 inspectors visited 1,419 labor camps, of which 126 failed the 
inspection because of safety issues such as gas and electricity 
problems, overcrowding, poor hygiene, and general disrepair. Inspectors 
cited poor hygiene in warnings issued to 148 camps, as well as part of 
their rationale for the closure of 31 camps. The inspectors were 
authorized to inspect only premises that had a commercial registration; 
they could not inspect private homes where most domestic workers lived 
or unregistered ``private'' camps where many unskilled laborers lived.
    Reports of employers and recruiting agencies beating or sexually 
abusing foreign women working in domestic positions were common. 
Numerous cases were reported to local embassies, the press, and police; 
most victims were too intimidated to sue their employers, although they 
had the right to do so. If a victim brings suit against her employer, 
she cannot leave the country for the duration of the case. The Migrant 
Workers Protection Society continued to support victims who took their 
cases to court, but compensation to victims was reportedly low.
    When a worker lodges a complaint, the Ministry of Labor opens an 
investigation and often takes remedial action. The ministry reportedly 
received 5,132 complaints during the year, including complaints from 
domestic workers. On average there were 11 complaints from domestic 
workers per month. Ministry officials stated that they were able to 
resolve most of these cases through mediation. The public prosecutor 
took the remaining cases for investigation. Complaints that cannot be 
settled though arbitration must be referred to the court within 15 
days. However, the vast majority of cases involving abused domestic 
workers did not reach the Ministry of Labor or the Public Prosecution.
    A ministerial decree prohibits outdoor work between the hours of 
noon and 4 p.m. during July and August. The Ministry of Labor reported 
it fined 36 companies each 50 to 300 dinars ($132 to $792) per worker 
for allegedly violating the ban in 2009, an increase from 29 cases in 
2008.

                               __________

                                 EGYPT

    The National Democratic Party (NDP) has governed the Arab Republic 
of Egypt, which has a population of approximately 79 million, since the 
party's establishment in 1978. Following parliamentary elections in 
June and November that were marked by significant irregularities and 
preelection restrictions, the NDP continued to dominate national 
politics by maintaining an overriding majority in the popularly elected 
People's Assembly and the partially elected Shura (Consultative) 
Council. The Government derives its governing authority from the 1971 
constitution and subsequent amendments. Executive authority resides 
with the president and the cabinet. In 2005 President Hosni Mubarak won 
a fifth consecutive six-year term with 88 percent of the vote in the 
country's first presidential election, which was marred by low voter 
turnout, charges of fraud, and government efforts to prevent opposition 
candidates from participating effectively. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    The Government limited citizens' right to change their government 
and extended a state of emergency that has been in place almost 
continuously since 1967. Security forces used unwarranted lethal force 
and tortured and abused prisoners and detainees, in most cases with 
impunity. Prison and detention center conditions were poor. Security 
forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals, in some cases for 
political purposes, and kept them in prolonged pretrial detention. The 
executive branch exercised control over and pressured the judiciary. 
The Government partially restricted freedom of expression. The 
Government's respect for freedoms of assembly, association, and 
religion was poor, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) continued 
to face restrictions. The Government killed an increased number of 
African migrants trying to cross the Egyptian-Israeli border into 
Israel.

                        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 did 
not commit any politically motivated killings; however, security forces 
committed arbitrary or unlawful killings during the year.
    On June 7, according to eyewitnesses, two undercover police 
investigators beat to death 27-year-old businessman Khaled Sayeed after 
approaching him in an Alexandria internet cafe. A government autopsy 
concluded on June 23 that Sayeed died from choking on a bag of 
cannabis. The autopsy noted bodily injuries that could have resulted 
from beating but asserted that these injuries did not cause the death. 
On July 3, the Government charged the two investigators with cruel 
treatment, torture, and wrongful arrest. A trial began July 27 and 
continued at year's end.
    On November 6, 19-year-old Ahmed Sha'aban disappeared in 
Alexandria, and his body was discovered in a city canal on November 10. 
According to NGOs, in December the public prosecutor suspended its 
investigation of the family's complaint accusing police officers of 
murder. One family member who viewed Sha'aban's body told an NGO it 
showed signs of torture.
    On November 24, during violent clashes with a large group of Coptic 
Christian rioters in the Giza neighborhood of Omraniya, security forces 
killed two persons and injured approximately 40, and rioters injured 
approximately 20 police. According to reports the violence began when 
police moved to halt construction of a church and community center the 
Coptic Christians believed they had permission to build. Security 
forces arrested 158 persons for participating in the riots. By year's 
end the attorney general had ordered the release of all but 23 of the 
detainees.
    On December 7, according to NGOs, witnesses stated that Mustafa 
Attia El-Sayeed fell during a police arrest over a debt dispute. 
Witnesses believed the fall aggravated an existing heart condition, 
causing El-Sayeed to die of a heart attack. A government autopsy 
following a complaint filed by the family ruled El-Sayeed died from 
natural causes.
    At year's end the Government had not publicly taken action to 
investigate the 2008 killing by security forces of four individuals 
during violent clashes between police and protesters in Mahalla el 
Kubra or the 2008 killing by Central Security Forces (CSF) of three 
Bedouin tribesmen during demonstrations that followed the CSF killing 
of a suspected drug smuggler.
    On January 6, in the town of Naga Hammadi, men with automatic 
weapons shot Coptic churchgoers after Coptic Orthodox Christmas Mass. 
Seven persons were killed (six Coptic Christians and one off-duty 
Muslim police officer) and 11 others wounded (nine Coptic Christians 
and two Muslims). Authorities arrested three suspects; at the end of 
the year, they remained in detention and were being tried in state 
security court on charges of premeditated murder.

    b. Disappearance.--According to the most recent UN Human Rights 
Council Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary 
Disappearances, there were 36 outstanding disappearance cases.
    On August 8, two human rights NGOs filed a request that the 
Government investigate the whereabouts of Mohammed Sayed Abdo Turk; his 
father believed him to be in the custody of the Ministry of Interior's 
State Security Investigative Services (SSIS). In July 2009 Turk 
reportedly disappeared in the Damanhour area.
    In 2008, according to the quasi-governmental National Council for 
Human Rights (NCHR), Ahmed Ismail Al Sheikh disappeared from a prison 
in Damanhour in the Delta. The Government and the prison gave the 
family contradictory accounts of his whereabouts.

    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; however, the law fails to account for mental or psychological 
abuse, abuse against persons who have not been formally accused, or 
abuse occurring for reasons other than securing a confession. Police, 
security personnel, and prison guards often tortured and abused 
prisoners and detainees, sometimes in cases of detentions under the 
Emergency Law, which authorizes incommunicado detention indefinitely, 
subject to a judge's ruling. The Government rarely held security 
officials accountable, and officials often operated with impunity.
    Domestic and international human rights groups reported that the 
SSIS, police, and other government entities continued to employ torture 
to extract information or force confessions. In numerous trials 
defendants alleged that police tortured them during questioning. Police 
and the SSIS reportedly employed methods such as stripping and 
blindfolding victims; suspending victims by the wrists and ankles in 
contorted positions or from a ceiling or door frame with feet just 
touching the floor; beating victims with fists, whips, metal rods, or 
other objects; using electric shocks; dousing victims with cold water; 
sleep deprivation; and sexual abuse, including sodomy. There was 
evidence that security officials sexually assaulted some victims or 
threatened to rape them or their family members. Human rights groups 
reported that the lack of legally required written police records often 
effectively blocked investigations.
    The Government investigated torture complaints in some criminal 
cases and punished some offending police officers. Courts sentenced 
officers to terms of one to six years in prison and ordered officers to 
pay compensation to victims in some cases. According to the most recent 
government figures, in 2009 the public prosecutor referred nine cases 
of cruel treatment to the criminal courts and one case to a 
disciplinary tribunal; it also requested administrative sanctions in 10 
cases. Of these cases, according to the Government, courts tried and 
convicted one police officer for torture, acquitted another officer, 
and had not ruled in two other cases in the first six months of the 
year. Also in the first six months of 2009, the time period for which 
the Government provided information, 16 police officers faced 
disciplinary action for committing abuse or torture.
    During the year human rights groups and the media documented a case 
of abuse of a blogger, and cases of harassment of journalists and 
bloggers who reported on controversial topics (see section 2.a.).
    The Government did not investigate a February 2009 cell phone video 
depicting police officers sodomizing a victim at a Cairo police station 
or an August 2009 cell phone video depicting police officers torturing 
an unidentified man suspended by his arms in a Port Said police 
station.
    On March 7 and 8, according to an NGO source, a security officer 
beat Taha Abdel Tawab, a supporter of former International Atomic 
Energy Association chairman and opposition political activist Mohammed 
El-Baradei, in a police station in the city of Fayoum. An officer also 
allegedly withheld food and deprived Abdel Tawab of medication, causing 
him to be hospitalized. The public prosecutor ordered an investigation 
of the officer and questioned him on March 12. By year's end 
authorities had not taken further action on the case.
    On April 13, according to witnesses, police beat, stripped, and 
arrested activist Baha Saber during a demonstration in Cairo after he 
pushed police officers to move outside a cordoned area. According to 
NGO sources, police subsequently beat and sexually abused Saber in 
custody. On April 14, the public prosecutor charged Saber with 
resisting arrest and impeding traffic and released him the following 
day. The charges remained pending at year's end.
    On September 18, according to an NGO source, two police corporals 
arrested Mostafa Galal El-Din Abdel Hamid and subsequently shackled and 
beat him at Dar El-Salaam police station in Cairo. On September 28, the 
day of Abdel Hamid's release, his family filed a complaint with the 
public prosecutor, and at year's end the case was under investigation.
    In July 2009, according to NGO sources, security forces used 
electric shocks and sleep deprivation to torture members of an alleged 
terrorist cell arrested for allegedly smuggling weapons to Gaza, among 
other charges. At year's end the suspects were on trial in a state 
security court.
    In March 2009 a court sentenced police corporal Ahmed Antar Ibrahim 
to six years' imprisonment for his 2008 assault on anti-torture 
activists and doctors Magda Adly and Mona Hamed. Ibrahim had confessed 
that police intelligence officer Ahmad Maklad ordered him to attack 
Adly, but authorities reportedly did not investigate Maklad's role. 
According to NGO sources, Ibrahim's retrial on procedural grounds began 
in December 2009, and on April 4, Damanhour Criminal Court sentenced 
Ibrahim to two years in prison for assault. According to NGO sources, 
Ibrahim remained in prison at year's end.
    In November 2009 the Alexandria Criminal Court convicted police 
officer Akram Soliman of assaulting a mentally disabled man, Ragai 
Sultan, and sentenced Soliman to five years in prison. On July 4, an 
appeals court upheld the verdict. According to NGO sources, Soliman 
remained in prison at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in prisons and 
detention centers remained poor, although human rights lawyers and NCHR 
reported improvements. According to observers, prison cells were 
overcrowded, with a lack of medical care, proper hygiene, food, clean 
water, and proper ventilation. Tuberculosis was widespread; abuse was 
common, especially of juveniles in adult facilities; and guards 
brutalized prisoners. Provisions for temperature control, lighting, 
sanitation, and basic and emergency medical care varied but were not 
always adequate.
    The Government did not announce any investigations into the 2008 
alleged beating of detainees from the El-Mahallah demonstrations; the 
2008 alleged beating of a foreign detainee; or the killing of one 
prisoner and injury of 25 others during a 2008 prison riot in Assiut, 
following the alleged torture of a prisoner.
    Although separate prison facilities existed for men, women, and 
juveniles, adults were not always separated from juveniles. Pretrial 
detainees were sometimes held with convicted prisoners. The penal code 
provides for reasonable access to visitors; however, according to NGO 
observers, the Government sometimes prevented visitors' access to 
detainees held under the Emergency Law. Prisoners were permitted 
religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners to submit 
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to request 
investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions; however, 
NGO observers claimed that prisoners were sometimes reluctant to do so 
out of fear of retribution from prison officials. Authorities rarely 
investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions.
    The Government did not permit independent human rights observers to 
visit prisons or other places of detention during the year, despite 
repeated requests from the International Committee of the Red Cross and 
other domestic and international human rights monitors. Some prisons 
remained completely closed to the public. As required by law, the 
public prosecutor continued to inspect all regular prisons. SSIS 
detention centers were excluded from all inspections. The NCHR visited 
four prisons during the year, their first visits since 2005. The NCHR 
reported improved health care, food, and recreation. The NCHR 
considered itself an ombudsman serving on behalf of prisoners, but 
there was no official government ombudsman.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, during the year police and 
security forces engaged in such practices, including continued large-
scale detentions of hundreds of individuals without charge under the 
Emergency Law, which was extended in May for two years and limited to 
terrorism and drug trafficking cases.
    Throughout the year the Ministry of Interior awarded compensation 
to members of Islamic groups who were detained without trial in the 
1990s.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of 
Interior controls local police forces, which operate in large cities 
and governorates; the SSIS, which conducts investigations; and the 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 domestic and foreign officials. Single-mission 
law enforcement agencies, such as the Tourist and Antiquities Police 
and the Antinarcotics General Administration, also work at the national 
level.
    The security forces operated under a central chain of command and 
were considered generally effective in combating crime and terrorism 
and maintaining public order. There was no systematic prosecution of 
security personnel who committed human rights abuses, and impunity was 
a problem. The Government failed to bring cases against police and 
security force personnel following credible allegations of torture.
    The UN Development Program, with government cooperation, provided 
human rights training for 255 judicial and law enforcement officials 
during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Individuals 
may be arrested and detained under the Emergency Law or the penal code, 
both of which give the Government broad powers.
    The Emergency Law allows arrest without a warrant and detention of 
an individual without charge for as long as 30 days, after which a 
detainee may demand a court hearing to challenge the legality of the 
detention order. A detainee may resubmit a motion for a hearing at one-
month intervals thereafter; however, there is no limit to the detention 
period if a judge continues to uphold the order or if the detainee 
fails to exercise the right to a hearing, and there is no possibility 
of bail. Many detainees under the Emergency Law remained incommunicado 
in state security detention facilities without access to family members 
or to lawyers before their cases were transferred to trial, and some 
faced torture in detention.
    Arrests under the penal code occurred openly and with warrants 
issued by a district prosecutor or judge. A prosecutor must bring 
charges within 48 hours following arrest or release the suspect. 
Detainees under the penal code sometimes were not informed promptly of 
charges against them. Authorities may hold a suspect for a maximum of 
six months while they investigate the case. There was a functioning 
system of bail for persons detained under the penal code. In criminal 
cases defendants have the right to counsel promptly after arrest and 
access to family members at the discretion of the court. In criminal 
cases the court is obligated to provide a lawyer to defendants who 
cannot afford one. However, in practice defendants often faced 
obstacles and were unable to secure regular access to lawyers or family 
visits.
    The Government continued to rely on the penal code for the majority 
of criminal investigations and prosecutions. In recent years 
authorities detained thousands of persons administratively under the 
Emergency Law on suspicion of terrorism or engaging in prohibited 
political activity. The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of 
Prisoners (HRAAP) estimated that the Government continued to hold 
between 3,000 and 4,000 persons in administrative detention without 
charge or trial under the Emergency Law; most of those detained were 
members of Islamic extremist groups arrested in the 1990s.
    In August the Government detained between 50 and 100 ``April 6'' 
activists involved in protests against power shortages and efforts to 
collect signatures for a petition calling for political reforms in the 
name of Mohammed El-Baradei. The Government released all the activists 
within 48 hours.
    In August the Government detained Emad El-Kebir for allegedly 
participating in a street brawl and charged him with offenses falling 
under the penal code's terrorism statutes. A state security court 
acquitted El-Kebir on December 19, and he was released from prison on 
December 21. El-Kebir was the victim in a high-profile police abuse 
case for which a court sentenced two police officers to prison 
sentences in 2007.
    On September 14, the Government detained an activist in the 
opposition Democratic Front Party and released him within 48 hours. 
According to observers, security forces questioned him about his 
political activities, including support for Mohammed El-Baradei.
    Authorities released approximately 240 Bedouin during the year, 
while approximately 60 remained in detention.
    During the year there were cases of pretrial detention exceeding 
legal limits. Failure to implement judicial rulings regarding the 
release of detainees remained a problem.

    Amnesty.--On July 23, President Mubarak ordered the release of 
3,525 prisoners on the country's national day.
    On October 6, President Mubarak issued a decree ordering the 
partial pardon and permanent release of 409 prisoners on the occasion 
of the holiday commemorating the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary was subject to 
executive influence and corruption. 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 nonpolitical cases in 
civilian courts. The Government ignored court orders to halt 
parliamentary elections pending reinstatement of some candidates banned 
by the High Electoral Commission. State security courts constituted 
under the Emergency Law share jurisdiction with military courts over 
crimes affecting national security. State security courts were not 
independent, as the Emergency Law stipulates that all state security 
court verdicts are subject to the president's review and allows the 
president to modify sentences handed down by the judges. The Emergency 
Law also allows the president to replace two of an emergency court's 
three civilian judges with military judges. The president may refer 
criminal cases to state security or military courts, where the accused 
does not receive most of the constitutional protections of the civilian 
judicial system. The Government continued to use the Emergency Law to 
try nonsecurity cases in these courts and to restrict many other basic 
rights.
    The president can appoint civilian judges to emergency courts upon 
the recommendation of the minister of justice or military judges upon 
the recommendation of the minister of defense. Military courts were 
established under the code of military justice law 25 of 1966. Under 
the code of military justice, the president can refer civilians to 
military courts for certain offenses in the penal code, such as acts 
harmful to the security of the Government or deliberate destruction of 
property to harm national security. A 2007 amendment to the law 
includes an appeal mechanism for military court verdicts, which lawyers 
were sometimes able to use to bring cases on behalf of their clients. 
Military verdicts were subject to 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 large numbers of defendants. In 
June parliament amended the code of military justice to grant military 
courts jurisdiction over workers in military factories. In August a 
military court ruled on a case involving workers in a military 
production factory (see section 7.e.).
    According to information from the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) website 
in October, MB second deputy chairman Khairat El Shater and one other 
MB member remained in a military prison. In 2008 a closed military 
tribunal had sentenced El Shater and his other civilian colleagues, 
seven in absentia, to prison terms ranging from three to 10 years on 
charges of money laundering. In November 2009 the Supreme Military 
Appeals Court rejected their motion contesting their transfer to a 
military tribunal.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. 
There are no juries. Trials are usually public; however, observers 
needed government permission to attend court sessions. Human rights 
activists were generally able to attend trials in civilian courts but 
were excluded from most military trials. Defendants have the right to 
counsel in civilian courts, and the Government provides a lawyer at the 
state's expense if the defendant does not have counsel; however, 
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 them time to prepare an adequate defense. 
Defendants in military courts also have the right to counsel, but 
lawyers complained they did not have full access to their clients. The 
law allows defendants to be present, question witnesses against them, 
and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. The law 
provides defendants and their attorneys the right to access government-
held evidence against them.
    In civilian courts defendants have the right of appeal up to the 
Court of Cassation. Sentences by military courts and death sentences in 
civilian criminal courts are subject to confirmation by the president. 
The president may alter or annul a decision of an emergency court, 
including a decision to release a defendant.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--HRAAP estimated that the 
Government continued to hold between 3,000 and 4,000 persons in 
administrative detention without charge or trial under the Emergency 
Law; most of those detained were members of Islamic extremist groups 
arrested in the 1990s (see section 1.d.). The Government held 
detainees, including many MB activists, for several weeks to several 
months or longer and did not permit international humanitarian 
organizations access to political prisoners.
    According to the Muslim Brotherhood's website, the Government 
arrested and detained 6,001 MB members during the year, mostly without 
formal charge or trial. According to public MB statements, the 
Government released most of these detainees soon after their 
detentions. According to public statements by the MB, approximately 702 
of their leaders and members remained in prison at year's end. 
According to press reports on November 25, MB lawyer Abdel Monem Abdel 
Maqsoud announced that authorities arrested 1,400 MB members in advance 
of the November 28 parliamentary elections, including 1,206 following 
the MB's October announcement that it would participate in 
parliamentary elections. According to the same press report, 
authorities released 700 MB activists following the elections; those 
remaining in detention had been charged for violations of the 
prohibition of the use of religion in politics. Maqsoud also claimed 
that a court convicted and sentenced 18 MB activists for using the 
political slogan ``Islam is the solution'' and that appeal processes in 
these cases continued at year's end.
    On February 8, the Government detained 15 MB members, including 
three members of the group's senior administrative body the Guidance 
Bureau (GB), for belonging to a banned organization, damaging ``social 
peace,'' and forming an underground organization that it claimed 
planned militant activity. On April 4, 13 members of the group were 
released. On April 7, the Government released two of the GB members, 
Mahmoud Ezzat and Essam El Eryan. On May 13, the Government released 
the last detainee, Osama Nasr.
    On March 27, the Government arrested ``April 6'' activist Tareq 
Khadr after he urged students in Alexandria to sign a petition calling 
for political reforms in the name of Mohammed El-Baradei. The 
Government detained Khadr without charge under the Emergency Law before 
releasing him on June 11.
    Approximately 20 members of the prohibited Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami 
(Islamic Liberation Party) remained in prison at year's end. In 2004 
the Supreme State Security Emergency Court convicted 26 men linked to 
Hizb al-Tahrir for belonging to a prohibited organization. Several of 
the defendants, including three British citizens, alleged they were 
tortured to compel them to sign confessions.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals had access to 
civil courts for lawsuits relating to human rights violations and filed 
such lawsuits; however, the courts were not entirely independent, 
especially in politically high-profile cases.

    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. Furthermore, authorities in terrorism cases 
may disregard constitutional protections of privacy of communications 
and personal residences.
    Under the law, police must obtain warrants or court orders before 
undertaking searches and wiretaps, but some human rights observers 
alleged that the Government routinely violated the law. Police officers 
who conducted searches without proper warrants were subject to criminal 
penalties, although courts seldom imposed such penalties. 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.
    On March 6, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), security 
officers entered and searched the home of Maha el-Khadrawy, a member of 
the ``April 6'' opposition group.
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 through harassment, censorship, and 
arrests and detentions, sometimes under the Emergency Law and in other 
instances under provisions of the penal code that prohibit incitement 
or discrimination.
    Many citizens and journalists openly expressed their views on a 
wide range of political and social issues, including presidential 
succession and President Mubarak's health. There was vigorous criticism 
of senior government officials and policies, including direct criticism 
of the president, in the independent press, on satellite television, 
and on blogs. During the year a number of opposition political 
activists, journalists, and NGOs continued to advocate for political 
reform and openly criticized the Government. Government actions--
including arrests, wide-scale detentions of MB members, harassment of 
independent journalists and activists, and government restrictions on 
civil society organizations--led many observers to charge that the 
Government sought to curtail criticism and activism.
    The penal code and the press and publications law govern press 
issues. The constitution restricts ownership of newspapers to public or 
private legal entities, corporate bodies, and political parties. There 
were numerous restrictions on legal entities seeking to establish 
newspapers, including a limit of 10 percent ownership by any 
individual; the Government apparently enforced this limit unevenly. The 
Government owned stock in the three largest daily newspapers, which 
generally followed the Government line, and the president appointed 
their top editors. However, in some cases writers in progovernment 
newspapers criticized the Government's handling of the People's 
Assembly elections. The Government also controlled the licensing, 
printing, and distribution of newspapers, including independent papers 
and those of opposition political parties that frequently criticized 
the Government and gave greater prominence to human rights abuses than 
state-run newspapers.
    In September, according to observers, a Cairo studio cancelled the 
contract of the Saudi-owned channel Orbit for late rent payment, 
resulting in the cancellation of the talk show Cairo Today hosted by 
prominent host Amr Adeeb, which was generally critical of the 
Government. Observers asserted that the cancellations were politically 
motivated.
    On October 4, according to multiple observers, Al-Sayeed Al-Bedawy, 
owner of the independent newspaper Al-Dostour and president of the 
opposition Wafd party, forced editor in chief and prominent government 
critic Ibrahim Eissa to leave the paper. Observers asserted Al-Bedawy 
forced Eissa to leave the paper for political reasons. Eissa continued 
to write critically in the separate, online newspaper Al-Dostour Al-
Asli. In mid-September the private satellite television station ONTV 
cancelled Eissa's talk show.
    The Ministry of Information owned and operated all ground-based 
domestic television and radio stations.
    The Government detained journalists and one writer and harassed 
others during the year.
    On April 3, the Government briefly detained publisher and blogger 
Ahmed Mahanna in Cairo and confiscated copies of a book he had 
published entitled, El-Baradei: Dream of a Peaceful Revolution.
    On July 18, independent newspaper Sawt Al-Uma's editor in chief 
Wael Ibrashy and journalist Samar El-Dowe went on trial in a suit filed 
by Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros-Ghali for allegedly urging 
citizens ``not to follow the law'' in two January articles criticizing 
the country's new real estate tax. The trial continued at year's end.
    On November 19 in Alexandria, the Government arrested Youssef 
Shaban, a journalist from the independent e-newspaper Al-Badeel Al-
Gadid, on drug charges and detained him for nine days before releasing 
him on November 28. NGO observers asserted the arrest was retribution 
for the journalist's coverage of a demonstration against housing 
demolitions in Alexandria.
    In March 2009 a court in Damanhour sentenced Al Fagr journalist 
Kamal Murad to six months' imprisonment and fined him 100 pounds ($17) 
for allegedly insulting a police officer in Rahmaniyah in 2008. In July 
2009 a Damanhour appeals court overturned the prison sentence but 
increased the fine to 200 pounds ($34). Authorities did not investigate 
the alleged police assault on Murad.
    During the year opposition party and other independent newspapers 
published articles critical of the president and foreign heads of state 
generally without being charged or harassed. Government officials and 
private individuals filed politically and nonpolitically motivated 
suits against journalists under the portion of the press and 
publication law that forbids malicious and unsubstantiated reporting. 
Under the law an editor in chief could be considered criminally 
responsible for libel contained in any portion of a newspaper, and 
journalists faced fines of as much as 20,000 pounds ($3,426) and 
sentences as long as five years in prison for criticizing foreign 
leaders or the president. According to the Moltaqa Forum for 
Development and Human Rights Dialogue, there were 68 lawsuits against 
24 journalists during the year. At year's end, according to a domestic 
NGO, approximately 70 defamation suits, some of which were political in 
nature, were pending against the leading independent newspaper, Al-
Masry Al-Youm.
    On November 20, the defamation trial of journalist and activist 
Hamdy Qandil began in Giza Criminal Court. Foreign Minister Aboul Gheit 
sued Qandil for alleged defamation in a May article in the independent 
daily newspaper Al-Sherouq that criticized the minister's performance. 
At year's end the trial continued.
    On February 2, courts in Giza sentenced independent newspaper 
editor Yasser Barakat to two six-month prison sentences and fines of 
20,000 pounds ($3,426) and 40,000 ($6,852) for defaming member of 
parliament Mustafa Bakry in two 2008 newspaper articles criticizing 
Bakry's business dealings and his relations with foreign governments. 
At year's end Barakat remained free pending an appeal. In 2009 police 
imprisoned Barakat for approximately five days after a court found him 
guilty in a similar case. The prosecutor ordered him released pending 
an appeal.
    In May 2009 a Cairo appeals court reversed a 2008 decision ruling 
against founding chairman of the Ibn Khaldun Center for Development 
Studies Saad Eddin Ibrahim in a civil lawsuit by an NDP activist for 
``tarnishing Egypt's image'' in a series of articles and speeches on 
democracy. The appeals court also ruled that other pending civil 
lawsuits against Ibrahim on similar grounds be referred to the public 
prosecutor for potential investigation. Ibrahim visited the country for 
the first time since he left in 2007 and spoke about political matters 
in media interviews.
    The Emergency Law authorizes censorship for reasons of public 
safety and national security. Domestic media practiced some self-
censorship on sensitive issues such as the military and the 
intelligence service due to fear of government reprisal. The Government 
regularly confiscated publications by Islamists and other critics of 
the state. It increasingly ceded confiscatory authority to government-
controlled Al-Azhar University, and authorities acted on the 
university's recommendations to confiscate publications.
    In February an appeals court upheld a fine and a ban on author 
Magdy El-Shafee's graphic novel Metro. In June 2009 El-Shafee was tried 
in connection with a lawsuit filed by an NDP member accusing him of 
using profanity and depicting nudity in Metro. Observers believed the 
suit was politically motivated due to the novel's criticism of the NDP 
and the Government.
    In 2008 authorities confiscated 5,000 copies of a book written by 
former senior police officer Amr Afifi that discussed legal procedures 
relating to interactions with police officers and explained citizens' 
rights vis-a-vis security forces. Afifi subsequently fled the country 
and remained abroad at year's end.
    On May 19, a Cairo appeals court upheld the one-year prison 
sentences handed down on January 6 and February 2 in absentia against 
Abdu Maghrabi and Ihab Agami, an editor and a journalist, respectively, 
from the weekly newspaper, Al-Balagh Al-Gadid for alleging that police 
questioned a group of popular male actors for engaging in a gay 
prostitution ring. The court also upheld the 40,000 pounds ($6,852) 
fines included in the sentences. Maghrabi entered prison on May 19 and 
remained in prison at year's end. Agami had not been apprehended nor 
had he turned himself in by year's end.
    Throughout the year the Government routinely searched imported 
written material to confiscate items deemed insulting to religious 
sensibilities.
    On November 27, following a suit brought by an NGO, an 
administrative court ordered the cancellation of an October 11 
government decree to regulate bulk SMS messages. According to NGO 
sources, the court ruled the Government decree violated freedom of 
expression and the right to information. The Government appealed the 
court's decision, and at year's end the appeal was under review.

    Internet Freedom.--According to 2009 International 
Telecommunication Union statistics, approximately 21 percent of the 
country's inhabitants used the Internet, which the Government actively 
promoted through low-cost access. According to the Government, during 
the year there were more than 165,000 blogs in the country, and 
approximately 20 percent of them focused on politics. On rare occasions 
during the year, the Government blocked access to some websites and 
monitored the Internet. According to NGO observers, the Government 
blocked election-related websites belonging to the MB and an activist 
group on the day of the November 28 People's Assembly election and the 
December 5 run-off election. According to NGOs the Government required 
Internet cafes to gather personal information of Internet users, 
including names, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers.
    During the year police harassed, detained, and allegedly abused 
certain bloggers and Internet activists.
    On March 1, blogger Ahmed Mustafa went on trial in a military court 
on charges of ``releasing military information'' for asserting on his 
blog in February 2009 that the Government dismissed a student from a 
military academy to create space for another student from a well-
connected family. Military police had arrested Mustafa on February 25. 
On March 7, the Government dropped its case against Mustafa and 
released him.
    On November 29, a military court sentenced Ahmed Hassan Bassiouny 
to six months in prison on charges of ``disclosing military information 
without permission.'' Bassiouny had created a Facebook page to answer 
questions about military service such as what documents are required 
and how to fill out the documents. The Facebook page also included 
patriotic messages and videos, and links to newspaper articles about 
the military. Bassiouny remained in prison at year's end.
    On May 6, a court acquitted blogger Wael Abbas of providing 
Internet services illegally and overturned a six-month prison sentence 
handed down in absentia on February 21. Observers believed the cases 
were politically motivated due to Abbas' blogging, which was often 
critical of the Government.
    On July 22, the Government released blogger Hany Nazir, who had 
been held without charge under the Emergency Law since 2008 following 
his blogging about allegedly sensitive religious issues.
    On July 13, the Government released blogger and activist Musad Abu 
Fagr, who had been jailed since 2007 without charge under the Emergency 
Law following blog posts about the difficulties faced by Sinai 
Bedouins.
    On November 16, authorities released blogger Karim Amer, 
incarcerated since 2006; according to Amer's public statement on 
November 24, prison officials beat him on three occasions during his 
detention. According to Amer and NGO sources, an SSIS officer beat him 
during SSIS detention between November 5 and November 16, and warned 
him not to blog upon his release.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted 
academic freedom through various means. It selected deans rather than 
permitting the faculty to elect them, justifying the measure as a way 
to combat Islamist influence on campus. Professors published articles 
in academic journals covering a wide range of topics, but observers 
assessed that professors practiced degrees of self-censorship regarding 
commentary on sensitive issues such as the military, the security 
forces, and government corruption. According to an NGO source, the 
Government excluded MB-affiliated students from participating in 
student elections. During the year the Government harassed students 
collecting signatures endorsing Mohammed El-Baradei's political reform 
petition, and students belonging to the ``April 6'' movement.
    In March and April, according to an NGO source, police arrested 
under the Emergency Law 10 MB-affiliated students at Menufiya 
University in the Delta at parties where students sang songs supporting 
the Palestinian cause. The Government released all 10 students by 
September 11.
    On October 3, according to an NGO source, a police officer beat and 
kicked an MB-affiliated female student at Zagazig University, resulting 
in slight bruises, after she refused to allow security to check her bag 
while she was entering campus.
    On October 9, according to an NGO source, students at Ain Shams 
University in Cairo affiliated with the ``April 6'' movement, the 
National Association for Change, and the MB clashed with police after 
the students tried to convince others to sign Mohammed El-Baradei's 
political reform petition. According to the NGO, police slightly 
injured four students during the clashes.
    On October 23, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld a lower 
court decision to bar police from university campuses. At year's end 
the Government had not implemented the ruling.
    The Ministry of Culture must approve all scripts and final 
productions of plays and films. 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 sometimes tried to 
assure that foreign films made in the country portrayed the country in 
a favorable light. During the year domestic films playing in theaters 
addressed political and socioeconomic issues in a critical manner.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, but the 
Government restricted this right. Citizens must obtain approval from 
the Ministry of Interior before holding public meetings, rallies, and 
protest marches. Protests may not be held in or near places of worship, 
in accord with a 2008 ministerial decree. The ministry refused to grant 
permits for some political events, and the Government tightly 
controlled public demonstrations, including some meetings on private 
property and university campuses.
    Throughout the year authorities tolerated a wide range of peaceful 
demonstrations by labor activists protesting labor conditions and 
government policies. However, police sometimes responded to political 
demonstrations in large numbers to contain the size, location, and 
effectiveness of the demonstrations, and they sometimes used excessive 
force. In certain demonstrations police detained suspected organizers; 
some alleged mistreatment in detention.
    On January 15, the Government arrested and detained a group of 
approximately 30 activists and bloggers as they arrived in Naga Hammadi 
to visit the families of those killed in the January 6 sectarian 
shootings. The Government released the detainees on January 16, with 
charges pending related to illegal assembly.
    Throughout the year police briefly detained members of the ``April 
6'' movement who distributed leaflets and planned political events. On 
April 6, according to bloggers and activists, police arrested 
approximately 70 members of the group during a protest in downtown 
Cairo. Witnesses reported several detained protesters appeared to have 
been beaten by police.
    On May 3, approximately 100 members of opposition groups, political 
parties, and independent members of parliament demonstrated in Cairo to 
demand electoral reforms and an end to the state of emergency. Security 
forces encircled the demonstrators to prevent them from marching a 
short distance to parliament to present their demands. When 
demonstrators tried to break through the security forces, police pushed 
the demonstrators back and beat some of them.
    On September 21, approximately 250 demonstrators from opposition 
groups and parties staged an antisuccession protest in Cairo against 
President Mubarak's son Gamal. When demonstrators tried to exit an area 
cordoned off for the protest, police pushed and hit some demonstrators. 
Police briefly detained an estimated 15 to 40 demonstrators.
    On December 12, several hundred protesters from opposition groups 
and parties protested the People's Assembly election results. According 
to observers police pushed and shoved protesters who tried to 
demonstrate outside a cordoned area but did not make arrests.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association; however, the Government restricted this right. The 
minister of social solidarity has the authority to dissolve NGOs by 
decree, and the law requires NGOs to obtain permission from the 
Government before accepting foreign funds, apart from donations from 
foreign governments with established development programs in the 
country.
    During the year the Ministry of Social Solidarity delayed or did 
not grant permission for some NGOs to receive foreign funding, and in a 
few cases the Government prevented NGOs from holding events, training, 
meetings, and workshops in different cities. In a few cases, the 
Government denied entry to foreign consultants supporting international 
NGO programs.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice, albeit with some notable exceptions. Citizens and foreigners 
may not travel in areas of the country 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 but unclear circumstances. While some Bahai have 
obtained national identification cards with a ``dash'' for religion, 
married Bahai and their children continued to face difficulties 
obtaining national identification cards because the Government does not 
recognize Bahai marriages. As a result some Bahai men of draft age were 
unable to establish that they have fulfilled or are exempt from 
military service obligations and, therefore, faced difficulty obtaining 
passports. An unmarried woman younger than 21 years old must have 
permission from her father to obtain a passport and to travel, and 
police reportedly required such permission for married women in 
practice, although the law does not require it. Authorities 
occasionally held individuals at the airport to delay or prevent 
altogether their travel for what appeared to be political reasons. The 
Government also used travel prohibitions to punish dissidents.
    On December 28, a court revoked a travel ban imposed by the 
Ministry of Interior on Christian convert Maher al-Gohary. The ministry 
had reportedly denied foreign travel to al-Gohary since 2009 based on 
``security concerns,'' claiming his case would be used internationally 
to ``defame'' the country.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not 
use it during the year; a number of citizens remained outside the 
country in self-imposed exile.
    The Government did not consistently cooperate with the Office of 
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--The constitution includes provisions for 
the granting of refugee status or asylum; however, the country has no 
national legislative framework or system for granting asylum. The 
Government admits refugees on the understanding that their presence in 
the country is temporary and that the UNHCR assumes full responsibility 
for the determination of refugee status on behalf of the Government.
    In practice the Government sometimes did not provide protection 
against the expulsion or forced return of refugees to countries where 
their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion. Compared to past years in which the Government 
forcibly repatriated hundreds of Eritreans, during the year there was a 
marked decrease in the number of deportations. In April the Government 
tried to forcibly repatriate two Darfuris but was prevented by an 
administrative court decision. In September the Government attempted to 
deport two more Darfuris whose cases are still pending.
    Refugees faced violence by security forces, abuse, and 
discrimination.
    There was a consistent flow of Eritrean, Sudanese, and other 
African asylum seekers and economic migrants who attempted to migrate 
through the country to Israel during the year. During the year border 
police shot and killed at least 28 African migrants attempting to cross 
the border into Israel and injured many more. There was no indication 
the Government took action to punish border police involved in these 
shootings.
    There were also increased reports from asylum seekers and migrants 
crossing the Sinai into Israel of extortion, rape, torture, and 
killings by Bedouin smugglers in Sinai. In December press and NGO 
reports alleged that smugglers were holding 250 Eritreans hostage and 
torturing them to extort money from their families. Information from 
asylum seekers, NGOs, and the UNHCR in Egypt corroborated accounts from 
African migrants in Israel that migrants endured extortion and serious 
abuse--such as beatings and being cut, burned, and deprived of water 
for extended periods of time--while transiting Sinai.
    Authorities arrested nearly 500 migrants during the year. Those 
apprehended while attempting illegal border crossings were generally 
sentenced to one year in prison and were subject to deportation 
following completion of the sentence. In a small number of cases, 
authorities detained unregistered asylum seekers for more than one year 
without access to the UNHCR. The Government maintained that these 
measures were necessary to provide for security along the border and 
combat smuggling. The UNHCR did not have access to those arrested to 
determine their refugee status.
    Imprisoned refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants were held in 
small cells with convicted criminals, where they had limited or no 
access to sunlight for periods of three to five months, no access to 
medical treatment, and poor food. African prisoners often faced race-
related beatings and discrimination.
    Refugees continued to face limitations with regard to access to 
work, education, and health services. African refugees in particular 
faced SSIS harassment, restrictions on employment, poor housing, 
limited access to health care and education, and societal 
discrimination based on race. Iraqi refugees faced restrictions on 
employment and on access to health and education services.
    Representatives of stateless persons living in Cairo expressed 
concern that such individuals often did not qualify for protection 
under the local refugee apparatus. Stateless persons made up less than 
1 percent of all registered refugees. Nearly all stateless persons, 
many of whom were the children of Eritrean fathers and Ethiopian 
mothers, lacked refugee status and were not considered citizens by 
either of their parents' countries. They received no monetary 
assistance, lacked the ability to work, and were isolated from other 
members of refugee communities.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides that citizens shall elect the president 
every six years and the 518-seat People's Assembly every five years, 
with 10 of the seats filled by presidential appointment. The 
constitution also provides that two-thirds of the 264-member Shura 
Council, the upper house of parliament, are elected and one-third are 
appointed by the president. Shura Council terms are six years, with 
half of the council's elected seats contested every three years. There 
continued to be limitations on citizens' rights to change their 
government peacefully.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On November 28, the country 
held elections for the People's Assembly, the lower house of 
parliament. Independent media, NGOs, and domestic election observers 
reported low voter turnout, widespread fraud, exclusion of accredited 
monitors and candidate representatives from polling stations, lack of 
independent oversight at polling stations, and interference and 
intimidation by security forces. The High Electoral Commission ignored 
court orders invalidating election results in some districts due to 
problems with candidate registration. Citing reports of electoral fraud 
in the first round, the opposition Wafd party and the MB boycotted the 
second round of the elections held on December 5. Observers reported 
similar instances of fraud and security intervention in the second 
round of voting. Non-NDP representation in the parliament declined from 
122 to 84 members, most of whom formerly belonged to the NDP. During 
the preelection period, authorities arrested hundreds of opposition 
activists. Political parties reported that state television refused to 
provide equal air time for their political advertisements. NGOs also 
reported problems with voter and candidate registration and domestic 
observer accreditation. On June 1, the country held elections for the 
Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, that were marked by 
similar problems.
    The NDP continued to dominate national politics by maintaining an 
overriding majority in the People's Assembly and the Shura Council. It 
also dominated local governments, mass media, labor, and the public 
sector and controlled licensing of new political parties, newspapers, 
and private organizations. The law prohibits political parties based on 
religion (and religious slogans in political campaigns)--and the MB 
remained an illegal organization; however, independent MB-affiliated 
members of parliament continued to participate in parliament. In 
previous years the Government refused to grant official registration to 
at least 12 political parties that had filed applications. In July the 
political parties committee rejected the Reform and Development Party's 
application for registration.
    The Government implemented a new 64-seat quota for women in the 
518-seat People's Assembly. In addition to the 64 quota seats held by 
women, two women won seats, and the president appointed another woman, 
for a total of 67 People's Assembly seats held by women. The 264-seat 
Shura Council included 12 women. Three women served among the 32 
ministers in the cabinet.
    There were 10 Christians (seven appointed and three elected) in the 
People's Assembly, eight Christians (all appointed) in the Shura 
Council, and two Christians in the cabinet. Christians, who represent 8 
to 12 percent of the population, held fewer than 2 percent of the seats 
in the People's Assembly and Shura Council. A Copt served as one of the 
country's 28 governors in Qena. According to available information, 
there were very few Christians in the upper ranks of the security 
services and armed forces. No other minorities served in political or 
other high-ranking positions.
Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
the Government did not consistently and effectively implement the law, 
and impunity was a problem. The media routinely reported on confirmed 
cases of low-level corruption, including the fraudulent alteration of 
official documents, embezzlement, and bribery and on corruption trials 
of former senior government officials. The Central Agency for Auditing 
and Accounting (CAA) is the Government's anticorruption body and 
submits biennial reports to the People's Assembly that are not 
available to the public. The CAA stations monitors at state-owned 
companies to report corrupt practices. Observers did not judge the CAA 
to be effective.
    According to observers there was widespread petty corruption in the 
police force, especially below senior levels. The Government claimed to 
investigate corruption and other instances of police malfeasance using 
a nontransparent internal affairs mechanism.
    On February 2, former housing minister Mohammed Ibrahim Soliman 
resigned from parliament following press reports that the Government 
was investigating him for corruption. Independent members of parliament 
filed a criminal complaint against Soliman in January 2009 for alleged 
corrupt real estate deals.
    In 2008 Cairo Criminal Court convicted former deputy agriculture 
minister Youssef Abdel Rahman of approving the importation of banned 
pesticides, harming the public interest, and receiving bribes and 
sentenced him to 10 years in prison. The court sentenced 13 other 
government officials to prison sentences of between six months and 
seven years. On April 21, an appeals court upheld the verdicts, and the 
officials were incarcerated.
    There are no financial disclosure laws for public officials, nor is 
there a legal framework stipulating how citizens could access 
government information. In practice the Government was not generally 
responsive to requests for documents regarding government activities 
and did not provide reasons for its lack of responsiveness. The 
Government released public statements and held press briefings for 
foreign and domestic journalists. According to the Government, 
ministries provided publications and pamphlets to citizens who 
requested information.
    In a December study by the Government, 57 percent of respondents 
reported that the payment of bribes was required to obtain government 
services and that corruption among civil servants had increased over 
the previous year. Requests for bribes were reported most often during 
interactions with police, courts, the traffic department, and officials 
issuing construction permits.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Government restrictions on NGO and international organization 
activities, including limits on domestic organizations' ability to 
accept foreign funding, continued to limit investigation of and 
reporting on human rights abuses.
    Local independent human rights NGOs included the Egyptian 
Organization for Human Rights, HRAAP, Arab Penal Reform Organization, 
Association for Human Rights and Legal Aid, Cairo Institute for Human 
Rights Studies, Egyptian Initiative on Personal Rights, Ibn Khaldun 
Center, Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal 
Profession, Arab Network for Human Rights Information, Nadim Center for 
the Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture and Violence, Association for 
Freedom of Thought and Expression, and Egyptian Center for Women's 
Rights (ECWR). NGOs formed a coalition to advance their objectives 
during the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of 
the country and issued reports compiled by the UN Office of the High 
Representative on Human Rights identifying areas of concern and making 
recommendations for issues the Government should address. Internet 
activists and bloggers continued to play a significant role in 
publicizing information about human rights abuses. Although 
unregistered organizations generally were allowed to conduct 
operations, they did so in violation of the law with the prospect of 
government interference or closure.
    The Government did not demonstrate a consistent approach to 
cooperating with human rights NGOs, sometimes harassing them or 
restricting their activities. In a few cases, the Government prevented 
NGOs from holding events during the year. Government officials were 
selectively cooperative and responsive to some NGOs' views. Throughout 
the year the Government met with a range of NGOs to discuss human 
rights, including the minister of state for parliamentary and legal 
affairs' meetings with NGOs in the context of the UPR process.
    On September 18, a court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Judge Abdel 
Fattah Murad alleging that the leaders of two prominent human rights 
NGOs and a blogger defamed Murad by publicly claiming he quoted without 
attribution from the work of one of the NGO leaders on Arab 
governments' policies toward bloggers.
    The Government generally allowed international human rights NGOs to 
establish informal operations. HRW maintained an office in the country. 
Other organizations, such as Amnesty International, made periodic 
visits as part of their regional research program and were able to work 
with domestic human rights groups. In 2008 the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs withdrew approval for the International Federation for Human 
Rights to open a regional office in Cairo. At year's end the NGO was 
waiting for official approval. The Government registered the American 
Bar Association on October 4 and the International Foundation for 
Electoral Systems on December 6. The National Democratic Institute and 
the International Republican Institute, which provided technical 
assistance in support of expanded political and civil rights, remained 
unregistered but were able to pursue limited activities.
    The Government cooperated selectively with the UN and other 
international organizations. It permitted the visit of the UN special 
rapporteur on trafficking in persons. In an April 21 statement issued 
at the end of her visit, the special rapporteur congratulated the 
Government on the April 20 adoption of a comprehensive trafficking law, 
urged the Government to implement the law fully, and called for the 
Government to intensify its efforts to combat human trafficking. In 
December the special representative of the UN Secretary-General on the 
issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business 
enterprises visited the country and met with government officials and 
members of the business community.
    According to UN information, the Government did not agree to visit 
requests from six special rapporteurs and one working group. The 
requests were from the special rapporteur on the independence of judges 
and lawyers; the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights 
defenders (requested in 2003 and renewed in 2008); the special 
rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief (requested in 2005); the 
special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading 
treatment or punishment (requested in 1996 and 2007); the Working Group 
on Arbitrary Detention (requested in 2008); the special rapporteur on 
extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions (requested in 2008); 
and the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human 
rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism who visited 
in 2009 and requested a subsequent visit. The Government agreed to a 
future visit by the special rapporteur on the sale of children, child 
prostitution, and child pornography (requested in 2009).
    The UNDP Human Development Report on the country focused on the 
challenges faced by the country's youth, noting problems such as 
unemployment, poverty, and inequality of access to education and 
providing recommendations for how to address them. The UN Committee on 
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued a February 5 
report welcoming some government steps and recommending action on 
matters such as repealing discriminatory legislation.
    The NCHR is a consultative subsidiary of the Shura Council that 
monitored government abuses of human rights; it formally submitted 
citizen complaints to the Government and issued reports critical of the 
Government. During the week of March 14, the NCHR issued its sixth 
annual report on the status of human rights in the country, covering 
2009 and the beginning of the year. The report was critical of some 
government practices, including restrictive legislation governing 
political parties and NGOs, arbitrary deprivation of life cases, 
increased sectarian tensions, MB detentions, and the use of state 
security courts and military courts to try civilians. For the first 
time, the report made no recommendations. In February the Shura Council 
announced the new composition of the NCHR for a three-year term 
beginning that month. The Shura Council appointed former chief justice 
of the Court of Cassation Moqbel Shaker as the new vice president, 
replacing Kamal Aboulmagd, a former minister. The People's Assembly had 
a human rights committee that human rights activists deemed 
ineffective.

Section 6. 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. The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, 
ethnic origin, language, religion, or creed, but the Government did not 
effectively enforce these prohibitions.

    Women.--The law prohibits rape, prescribing penalties of 15 to 25 
years' imprisonment or life imprisonment for cases involving armed 
abduction. The number of cases investigated was small because women 
were reluctant to report rape. Spousal rape is not illegal. According 
to a 2007 study by the National Center for Criminal and Social 
Research, there were approximately 20,000 cases of rape annually.
    Although the law does not prohibit domestic violence or spousal 
abuse, provisions of law relating to assault may be applied with 
accompanying penalties. However, the law requires that an assault 
victim produce multiple eyewitnesses, which is a difficult condition 
for a domestic abuse victim. Domestic violence continued to be a 
significant problem. Several NGOs offered counseling, legal aid, and 
other services to women who were victims of domestic violence. The 
quasi-governmental National Council for Women (NCW) trained law 
enforcement personnel and attorneys on increasing their efforts to 
combat domestic violence against women. The NCW and independent NGOs 
also held sessions to train women on how to report domestic violence to 
attorneys and law enforcement personnel. The NCW had ombudsman 
officials in their 27 offices covering all of the country's 
governorates.
    The law does not specifically address honor crimes, in which a man 
violently assaults or kills a woman, usually a family member, because 
of a perceived lack of chastity. There were no reliable statistics 
regarding the extent of honor killings, but observers believed such 
killings took place during the year, particularly in rural areas.
    Sex tourism existed in Luxor and at beach resorts such as Sharm El-
Sheikh. Most sex tourists came from Europe and the Persian Gulf region.
    There is no specific law criminalizing sexual harassment, but the 
Government prosecuted sexual harassment under existing law. Sexual 
harassment remained a serious problem. A 2008 ECWR survey found that 83 
percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women in the 
country had been sexually harassed and that approximately half of women 
surveyed faced harassment daily. In June 2009, to combat increasing 
rates of sexual harassment, the Ministry of Islamic Endowments 
distributed a book entitled Sexual Harassment: Its Reasons and How to 
Address It to imams and preachers in all governorates. The ECWR noted 
the step but criticized the book's discussion of sexual harassment, 
which included blaming women for triggering harassment.
    The Government did not restrict citizens' family planning 
decisions. The Ministry of Health distributed contraception, provided 
personnel at no cost to attend births, postpartum care to mothers and 
children, and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases at no cost. 
According to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination 
against Women's February 5 report, maternal mortality rates decreased 
from 84 per 100,000 live births in 2000 to 55 per 100,000 live births 
in 2008. NGO observers reported that poor reproductive health care 
contributed to the maternal mortality rate and that government family 
planning information and services were not adequate to meet the needs 
of the entire population. The UN Committee on the Elimination of 
Discrimination against Women's February 5 report called on the 
Government to strengthen access to affordable contraception throughout 
the country, assure women in rural areas do not face barriers in 
accessing family planning information and services, promote sex 
education for adolescents, and conduct national surveys on maternal 
mortality and morbidity. According to the most recent statistics from 
the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 
the rate of contraception use in 2005 was 59 percent. NGOs expressed 
concern over lack of access to reproductive information and services 
for adolescent girls.
    The law provides for equality of the sexes; however, aspects of the 
law and traditional practices discriminated against women.
    Laws affecting marriage and personal status generally corresponded 
to an individual's religion. For example, a female Muslim citizen may 
not marry a non-Muslim man without risking arrest and conviction for 
apostasy; under the Government's interpretation of Sharia, any children 
from such a marriage could be put in the custody of a male Muslim 
guardian. Khul divorce allows a Muslim woman to obtain a divorce 
without her husband's consent, provided she is willing to forgo all her 
financial rights, including alimony, dowry, and other benefits. The 
Coptic Orthodox Church permits divorce only in specific circumstances, 
such as adultery or conversion of one spouse to another religion. A 
Muslim female heir receives half the amount of a male heir's 
inheritance, and Christian widows of Muslims have no inheritance 
rights. A sole Muslim female heir receives half her parents' estate, 
with the balance going to the siblings of the parents or to the 
children of the siblings if the siblings are deceased. A sole male heir 
inherits his parents' entire estate. A woman's testimony is equal to 
that of a man in courts dealing with all matters except for personal 
status, such as marriage and divorce.
    Labor laws provide for equal rates of pay for equal work for men 
and women in the public sector, although this did not always happen in 
practice. Educated women had employment opportunities, but social 
pressure against women pursuing a career was strong. Women's rights 
advocates claimed that Islamist influence and other traditional and 
cultural attitudes and practices inhibited further gains. According to 
the most recent government figures from 2007, women filled 19 percent 
of private sector jobs, 29 percent of public sector jobs, and 22 
percent of the total workforce.
    On July 12, the State Council's Special Council decided to stop 
hiring women in entry-level judicial positions indefinitely. A variety 
of government offices promoted women's legal rights. The Ministry of 
Social Solidarity operated more than 150 family counseling bureaus 
nationwide to provide legal and medical services. The NCW proposed and 
advocated policies to promote women's empowerment and designed 
development programs to benefit women. It also provided assistance to 
women facing discrimination in employment and housing, domestic 
violence, sexual assault, and child custody disputes. A number of 
active women's rights groups also worked to reform family law, educate 
women on their legal rights, promote literacy, and combat female 
genital mutilation (FGM).

    Children.--Citizenship is derived through a combination of the 
principles of birth within the country's territory and from one's 
parents. The February Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination 
against Women report welcomed a 2004 amendment that grants gender 
equality regarding the transfer of Egyptian nationality to the children 
of a man or a woman who marries a foreigner. The report expressed 
concern that Egyptian women cannot pass their nationality to their 
foreign husbands, unlike Egyptian men who have such right after two 
years of marriage. The Government generally attempted to register all 
births but faced resistance from citizens in some remote areas of the 
country, such as the Sinai. The Government worked with NGOs in an 
attempt to address this problem.
    Education is compulsory, free, and universal until the ninth grade.
    FGM remained a problem, but the Government addressed it seriously; 
FGM rates declined from previous years. According to the most recent 
government statistics, the Government received approximately 5,000 
reports of FGM cases from citizens between 2005 and 2009. In 2008 the 
minister of population and families stated publicly that FGM rates in 
Upper Egypt were 65 percent but did not exceed 9 percent in northern 
governorates. The law criminalizes FGM except in cases of medical 
necessity, with penalties of three months to two years in prison or a 
fine of up to 5,000 pounds ($857).
    Partnering with NGOs, the Justice Ministry, and the public 
prosecutor, the Ministry for Population and Families continued its 
campaign to combat FGM through public outreach and encouraging the 
public prosecutor to pursue prosecutions. The ministry organized 
renunciation ceremonies and made announcements through the year that 
certain villages were FGM-free.
    Although reliable data were lacking, several NGOs, including the 
Hope Village Society, ECWR, and the Alliance for Arab Women, reported 
that child marriages, including temporary marriages intended to mask 
prostitution, were a significant problem. In 2008, as part of the Child 
Law amendments, the Government raised the legal age of marriage from 16 
to 18 years old.
    The Ministry of Social Solidarity offered shelters for street 
children, but many children chose not to seek refuge there. The 
shelters closed at night, forcing the children back onto the street. 
The Ministry for Population and Families offered a hotline for street 
children and abused children and a day shelter for male street children 
that also provided literacy training, computer training, and health 
care.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Anti-Israel sentiment is common in the media and at 
times devolved into anti-Semitic rhetoric. 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 with Hitler and the Nazis were published 
throughout the year, particularly during and following Israeli Defense 
Force killings of persons on ships carrying aid headed to Gaza in June. 
The Government reportedly advised journalists and cartoonists to avoid 
anti-Semitism. Government officials insisted that anti-Semitic 
statements in the media were a reaction to Israeli government actions 
against Palestinians and did not constitute anti-Semitism. A number of 
private satellite television stations, licensed by the Government and 
broadcast on government-owned Nilesat, broadcast severe anti-Semitic 
programming; the programs used video and pictures of the Holocaust to 
glorify it. Other programs denied or diminished the Holocaust's 
existence. The Government removed 12 of these channels from Nilesat in 
October. On November 27, an administrative court ordered Nilesat to 
reinstate five of these stations, which Nilesat did. There were reports 
of imams using anti-Semitic rhetoric in their sermons, although the 
Minister of Islamic Endowments instructed imams to avoid anti-Semitism 
when making anti-Israel remarks. There were no reports of anti-Semitic 
violence directed toward the country's approximately 100 Jews.
    On February 23, police arrested a man who threw combustible 
material from a hotel facing a downtown Cairo synagogue February 21. 
The material caught on fire on the street outside the synagogue but 
caused no damage or injuries. According to multiple press reports, the 
assailant was scheduled to go on trial in 2011.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides that all businesses 
must designate 5 percent of their positions for persons with physical 
or mental disabilities; however, there are no laws prohibiting 
discrimination against persons with disabilities in education, access 
to health care, or the provision of other state services, nor are there 
laws mandating access to buildings or transportation. Widespread 
societal discrimination continued against persons with disabilities, 
particularly mental disabilities, resulting in a lack of acceptance 
into mainstream society. Government-operated treatment centers for 
persons with disabilities, especially children, were poor.
    The ministries of education and social solidarity share 
responsibility for protecting rights of persons with disabilities. 
Persons with disabilities rode government-owned mass transit buses free 
of charge and received special subsidies to purchase household 
products, wheelchairs, and prosthetic devices. Persons with 
disabilities also received expeditious approval for the installation of 
new telephone lines and received reductions on customs duties for 
specially equipped private vehicles. The Government also worked closely 
with UN agencies and other international aid donors to design job-
training programs for persons with disabilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Although the law does not 
explicitly criminalize homosexual acts, the law allows police to arrest 
gays on charges of debauchery. In January 2009 police arrested 10 men 
in Cairo on charges of debauchery. Authorities forced the men to 
undergo HIV tests and anal examinations in detention. Following a court 
order, police released the men in May 2009. Gays and lesbians faced 
significant social stigma in society and in the workplace.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--HIV-positive 
individuals faced significant social stigma in society and in the 
workplace.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law permits workers to form 
unions, with several significant restrictions. All unions are required 
to join one of the 23 officially recognized industrial federations to 
operate, and these federations must affiliate with the Government-
affiliated Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) to be legally 
recognized. The Government considers all unions that are not part of 
ETUF to be operating as illegal entities. ETUF was strongly influenced 
by the ruling National Democratic Party. However, the Government 
allowed a number of small, independent unions--including the Real 
Estate Tax Collectors Authority (RETA) union--to operate with minimal 
interference. In practice there was minimal union representation in the 
private sector, and most of that was found in formerly state-owned 
factories that have been privatized.
    According to ETUF's website, it represents more than five million 
workers. ETUF influenced nomination and election procedures for trade 
union officers and permitted public authorities to intervene in union 
financial activities. State-owned enterprises employed most union 
members, who made up approximately one-quarter of the labor force.
    Workers seeking to form independent unions may face dismissal or 
refusal to register. However, in 2008 the country's 52,000 public-
sector real estate tax collectors announced the formation of the RETA 
union and refused to join the ETUF. The Ministry of Manpower and 
Migration (MOMM) did not formally reject the RETA application for 
registration, but the union continues to have uncertain legal standing 
because it has not been formally recognized by the ETUF. ETUF 
leadership filed a complaint with the public prosecutor against the 
RETA union president in September 2009. The public prosecutor 
interviewed the president but took no further action. At the same time, 
ETUF formed a rival union for tax collectors and other employees of the 
Ministry of Finance and has since directed funding to this 
organization, rather than to RETA. Two other workers' groups--medical 
technicians and teachers and school administrators--began the process 
of forming independent unions during the year.
    The 2003 Unified Labor Law permits peaceful strikes, but only after 
an extended negotiation process and only if the strike is announced in 
advance and approved by a general trade union affiliated with ETUF. In 
practice strikes were rarely, if ever, approved. Nevertheless, strikes 
and work stoppages occurred very frequently throughout the country. 
There were somewhat fewer strikes and worker actions during the year 
compared with the previous year, although workers' rights NGOs noted 
that they were often larger and more effective in achieving stated 
goals than in previous years. To legally call a strike, ETUF must 
notify the employer and concerned administrative authority at least 10 
days in advance, giving the reason for the strike and the date it would 
commence. Prior to this formal notification, approval from two-thirds 
majority of the ETUF-member general trade union is necessary. The law 
prohibits strikes while collective bargaining agreements are in force 
or during the mediation and arbitration process. The law also prohibits 
strikes in a lengthy list of ``strategic or vital'' entities, at which 
the interruption of work could result in disturbance of national 
security or basic services, which covers the majority of workers (see 
section 7.e.).
    Strikes were largely peaceful, despite the presence of government 
security forces at larger strikes. There was an increase in high-
profile strikes during the year, notably in the textile and steel 
industries, as well as government workers such as teachers, 
journalists, lawyers, and employees of the state statistical agency. 
The Government generally did not interfere in strikes in either the 
public or private sector, provided they did not become violent and 
strikers' demands were focused on economic issues.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for collective bargaining; however, it requires tripartite 
negotiations, including the employer, workers, and the Ministry of 
Manpower and Migration. In practice the requirement for tripartite 
negotiations was seldom followed, and workers negotiated directly with 
employers. In a few cases of strikes in the private sector, the 
Government reportedly involved itself in negotiations. In many cases, 
such as the large state-owned textile factories in Mahalla, the 
Government is the employer.
    The law does not permit antiunion discrimination; however, there 
were reports that such discrimination occurred in practice and that 
enforcement efforts were ineffective.
    Labor law and practice were the same in the approximately 10 
existing export processing zones as in the rest of the country. The 
International Trade Union Confederation reported that private sector 
workers throughout the country, including in special economic zones, 
complained of poor working conditions.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and 
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor. Such practices were reportedly 
rare. Also, see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits children younger than 17 years old from working in most 
sectors. However, in some cases employers abused, overworked, and 
generally endangered working children. The law also limits the type and 
conditions of work a child younger than 18 may perform. In 
nonagricultural work the minimum age for employment is 15. Provincial 
governors, with the approval of the minister of education, may 
authorize seasonal, often agricultural, work for children who are 13 
and 14, provided that duties are not hazardous and do not interfere 
with schooling. 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 without a break. Children younger than 
16 are prohibited from working in 44 hazardous industries, including 
agricultural work involving the use of pesticides. A person convicted 
of forcing children below the minimum age to work may face a prison 
sentence of three to six months.
    According to recent UN, NGO, and American University in Cairo 
estimates, between 2.7 million and 5.5 million children worked in the 
country, 70 to 80 percent in agriculture. Many of these children worked 
legally, especially in agriculture. Children also worked in light 
industry, as domestic workers, on construction sites, and in service 
businesses such as auto repair shops. According to NGO and media 
reports, the number of street children in Cairo was increasing, and 
these children were at risk of being sexually exploited or forced to 
beg.
    The MOMM, working with the National Council for Childhood and 
Motherhood and the Ministry of Interior, generally enforced child labor 
laws in state-owned enterprises and formal private sector 
establishments through labor inspections and supervision of factory 
management, although enforcement in the informal sector was weak. As a 
result of limited and inconsistent funding for inspector training and 
enforcement, child labor enforcement inspectors generally operated 
without specific training on child labor issues and performed these 
inspections as part of their other duties. Training programs varied in 
quality by governorate. When offenders were prosecuted, the fines 
imposed were often as low as 500 pounds ($86) and thus had questionable 
deterrent effect. Child labor in the informal sector remained 
prevalent. Government efforts to address the problem focused on 
collecting data to design effective intervention programs and 
government support for a package of intervention programs with the 
assistance of international agencies. The Government established a 
national tripartite committee, which included relevant ministries, 
worker and employer representatives, and NGOs to address the problem of 
child labor.
    According to the independent Hisham Mubarak Center, the 
Government's efforts to combat child labor in the informal sector were 
ineffective. The Government made progress toward eliminating the worst 
forms of child labor, pursuant to the UN Convention on the Rights of 
the Child; however, challenges remained. The National Council for 
Childhood and Motherhood worked during the year to provide working 
children with social security safeguards and reduce school dropout 
rates by providing families with alternative sources of income. Also, 
see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 
www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government did not set a 
private sector minimum wage, although in November a court ordered the 
Government to establish one. There was a public-sector minimum wage, 
although it frequently did not provide a decent standard of living. 
Base government pay was commonly supplemented by a complex system of 
fringe benefits and bonuses that could double or triple a worker's 
salary. Following the court order, the National Council on Wages 
recommended a minimum wage of 400 pounds ($69) per month, which workers 
argued was not enough to provide a decent standard of living, according 
to press reports. Parliament had not addressed this recommendation by 
year's end. According to the Government, few workers in the formal 
private sector and no government workers earned less than this amount.
    The National Council of Wages determined working hours for 
government and public-sector employees, but there were no standards for 
the private sector. The law stipulates that the maximum workweek is 48 
hours. Most private-sector employees worked five days per week, usually 
Sunday to Thursday. Overtime for hours worked beyond 36 hours 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, and workers are supposed to receive 200 percent 
for work on national holidays. The labor law permits overtime work in 
limited circumstances; the law was enforced through labor inspections.
    The MOMM sets and enforces worker health and safety standards; 
enforcement and inspections were uneven. The law prohibits employers 
from maintaining hazardous working conditions, and workers have the 
right to remove themselves from hazardous conditions without risking 
loss of employment.
    On August 3, an explosion killed one worker and injured six others 
at Helwan Engineering Industries military factory. Workers staged a 
sit-in protest. On August 30, a military court handed down three 
acquittals and five suspended sentences with 1,000 pounds ($171) fines 
for stopping work, damaging factory equipment, assaulting a general, 
and disclosing military secrets. In June parliament amended a law 
covering military courts to grant them jurisdiction over workers in 
military factories.
    There were reports of employer abuse of citizen and undocumented 
foreign workers, especially domestic workers. Many claims of abuse were 
unsubstantiated because undocumented workers were reluctant to make 
their identities public.

                               __________

                                  IRAN

    The Islamic Republic of Iran,\1\ with a population of approximately 
77 million, is a constitutional, theocratic republic in which Shia 
Muslim clergy, and political leaders vetted by the clergy, dominate the 
key power structures. Government legitimacy is based on the twin 
pillars of popular sovereignty--albeit restricted--and the rule of the 
supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution. The current supreme leader, 
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was not directly elected but chosen by a 
directly elected body of religious leaders, the Assembly of Experts, in 
1989. Khamenei's writ dominates the legislative, executive, and 
judicial branches of government. He directly controls the armed forces 
and indirectly controls internal security forces, the judiciary, and 
other key institutions. The legislative branch is the popularly elected 
290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly, or Majles. The unelected 12-
member Guardian Council reviews all legislation the Majles passes to 
ensure adherence to Islamic and constitutional principles; it also 
screens presidential and Majles candidates for eligibility. Mahmoud 
Ahmadi-Nejad, a member of the Alliance of Builders political party, was 
reelected president in June 2009 in a multiparty election that was 
generally considered neither free nor fair. There were numerous 
instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently 
of civilian control.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ The United States does not have an embassy in Iran. This report 
draws heavily on non-U.S. government sources.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Government severely limited citizens' right to peacefully 
change their government through free and fair elections, and it 
continued a campaign of postelection violence and intimidation. The 
Government committed extrajudicial killings and executed persons for 
criminal convictions as juveniles and through unfair trials, sometimes 
in group executions. Security forces under the Government's control 
committed acts of politically motivated violence and repression, 
including torture, beatings, and rape. The Government administered 
severe officially sanctioned punishments, including amputation and 
flogging. Vigilante groups with ties to the Government, such as Basij 
militia, also committed acts of violence. Prison conditions remained 
poor. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and detained individuals, 
often holding them incommunicado. Authorities held political prisoners 
and continued to crack down on women's rights activists, ethnic 
minority rights activists, student activists, and religious minorities. 
There was little judicial independence and few fair public trials. The 
Government severely restricted the right to privacy and civil liberties 
including freedoms of speech and the press, assembly, association, and 
movement; it placed severe restrictions on freedom of religion. 
Authorities denied admission to or expelled hundreds of university 
students and professors whose views were deemed unacceptable by the 
regime. Official corruption and a lack of government transparency 
persisted. Violence and legal and societal discrimination against 
women, children, ethnic and religious minorities, and lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, and transgender persons were extant. Trafficking in persons 
and incitement to anti-Semitism remained problems. The Government 
severely restricted workers' rights and arrested numerous union 
leaders. Child labor remained a serious problem.

                        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 and its agents committed multiple acts of arbitrary 
or unlawful killings, and the Government made only limited attempts to 
investigate killings.
    There were at least two extrajudicial killings during the year, and 
there were few updates or investigations into cases from previous 
years.
    On February 22, Yavar Khodadoust, held at Gohardasht Prison in 
Karaj, reportedly died as a result of severe torture. Prison officials 
reportedly warned Khodadoust's family from pursuing an investigation 
into his death.
    On April 30, according to multiple sources, unknown persons in Sari 
Prison reportedly tortured to death Hadi Aravand, a death row prisoner, 
who had been convicted of murder. Sari Prison's warden claimed that 
Aravand's death was the result of suicide, but the coroner ruled that 
Aravand died from suffocation with a plastic bag tied over his head and 
confirmed that Aravand's arms were tied behind his back and his legs 
tied together at the time of his death. Torture and bruise marks were 
reportedly visible on Aravand's body, including a broken arm, wounds on 
his back, and a small deep slit around his neck.
    There were no updates in the June 2009 killings in separate 
incidents of Amir Mirza or Taraneh Mousavi. After Basij militia 
arrested Mirza and Mousavi, authorities allegedly beat and tortured 
them in custody, including raping Mousavi.
    There was no update in the July 2009 killing of Mohammad 
Naderipour, chairman of the student chapter in former presidential 
candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi's election campaign. According to Iran 
Human Rights Voice (IHRV), Naderipour's body was found inside his 
vehicle 48 hours after plainclothes security forces had arrested him. 
The coroner determined that Naderipour's death was the result of ``a 
blow by a blunt object to the back of the head.'' Authorities 
reportedly demanded the family bury his body immediately, allegedly to 
avoid further investigation.
    In June a military court sentenced two unnamed prison officials to 
death in connection with the July 2009 beating deaths of university 
students and protesters Amir Javadifar, Mohammed Kamrani, and Mohsen 
Rouhalamini at Kahrizak Prison; nine others were sentenced to prison 
terms and lashes. The 12th was exonerated. The names and identities of 
the convicted were not published. In the wake of the torture 
allegations and the deaths of the three individuals, the supreme leader 
shut down the prison and launched an investigation into the case. In 
August Tehran Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi was suspended for his 
role in the deaths and promoted to deputy prosecutor general for Iran.
    There were no updates in the July 2009 death of former student 
activist Alireza Davoudi who suffered a heart attack under suspicious 
circumstances while in hospital care. His family said officials warned 
them not to publicize his funeral. Davoudi had been expelled from 
Isfahan University, reportedly for his political activities, when in 
February 2009 Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) officers 
allegedly arrested him in his home in Isfahan and took him into 
custody. Security officials reportedly burned him with cigarettes, beat 
him, and hung him from the ceiling. In April 2009 authorities released 
him on bail awaiting trial, but his family hospitalized him soon 
afterward due to psychological problems stemming from the alleged 
torture.
    There were no updates in the September 2009 case of Saeedeh 
Pouraghai, whom security forces arrested for chanting ``Allahu Akbar'' 
(God is the greatest), considered a call to dissent, from the rooftop 
of her home in Tehran. Two days later, authorities summoned Pouraghai's 
mother to identify and claim her body, which reportedly had been 
partially burned to hide evidence of rape and torture.
    There were no updates in the November 2009 death under suspicious 
circumstances of Ramin Pourandarjani, a physician who worked at 
Kahrizak Prison. Officials gave conflicting reports of the cause of 
Pourandarjani's death, including a heart attack and an auto accident, 
before Police Chief Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam announced that 
Pourandarjani had committed suicide and that a suicide note explained 
he feared charges over his alleged failure to give detainees adequate 
medical treatment. Some sources accused authorities of poisoning the 
26-year-old doctor to silence him. Earlier in the year, Pourandarjani 
testified to a parliamentary committee that authorities told him to 
list meningitis as the cause of death for Mohsen Rouhalamini (see 
above), whom Pourandarjani claimed actually died as a result of 
injuries inflicted during torture.
    According to multiple sources, the Government executed 
approximately 312 persons in summary executions during the year, many 
after trials that were conducted in secret or did not adhere to basic 
principles of due process. Some human rights groups reported the number 
was as high as 500 but had difficulty documenting the additional cases. 
Authorities did not release statistics on the implementation of death 
sentences, the names of those executed, or the crimes for which they 
were found guilty. Exiles and human rights monitors alleged that many 
persons supposedly executed for criminal offenses such as narcotics 
trafficking were actually political dissidents. The law criminalizes 
dissent and applies the death penalty to offenses such as apostasy 
(conversion from Islam), ``attempts against the security of the 
state,'' ``outrage against high-ranking officials,'' ``enmity towards 
god'' (moharebeh), and ``insults against the memory of Imam Khomeini 
and against the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic.'' According to 
Amnesty International (AI), an increasing number of people were charged 
with moharebeh, a vaguely defined offense that carries the death 
sentence. According to Philip Alston, the UN special rapporteur on 
extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, moharebeh is ``imposed 
for a wide range of crimes, often fairly ill defined and generally 
having some sort of political nature.'' Iran Human Rights (IHR) 
reported that 38 individuals were executed for the crime of moharebeh 
during the year.
    On January 28, the Government hanged Mohammad Reza Ali Zamani and 
Arash Rahmanipour for allegedly belonging to a military royalist group, 
the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, and for plotting assassinations of 
government officials. Rahmanipour was 17 at the time of the crime. 
According to AI, authorities denied both men access to legal counsel 
and coerced their confessions. Zamani and Rahmanipour were arrested 
three months prior to the June 12 election, and they appeared in the 
August 2009 ``show trials'' (see section 1.e.) with others who had been 
detained during postelection protests. For this reason many 
commentators believed that their execution was a warning to prevent 
further protests.
    On May 9, the Government hanged Kurdish activists Farrad Karmangar, 
Ali Heydarian, Farhad Vakili, Shirin Alam Holi, and Mehdi Eslamian at 
Evin Prison. In 2008 Karmangar received a death sentence for 
``endangering national security'' based on his alleged involvement with 
the Turkey-based Kurdish Workers Party. Karmangar, superintendent of 
high schools in Kamayaran, was affiliated with a number of civil 
society organizations, including the local teachers' union, an 
environmental group, and the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan. 
According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran 
(ICHRI), the defendants' trials lacked due process or proper evidence, 
and authorities executed the individuals without prior notification to 
the families and lawyers.
    During the year the Government practiced public executions and 
group executions. The IHR reported that the Government executed at 
least 19 persons in public during the year. According to the ICHRI, 
judicial authorities ordered the hanging of hundreds of individuals 
inside Vakilabad Prison during the year. According to a former prisoner 
of Vakilabad, most of those executed were sentenced based on drug-
related charges, and the executions were conducted dozens at a time, 
most without the knowledge and presence of the lawyers and families of 
those executed.
    There were two reports during the year of persons executed for 
crimes committed when they were minors. In addition to the execution of 
Arash Rahmanipour (see above), according to IHR, in July authorities 
executed a juvenile offender known only as Muhammed. Domestic human 
rights lawyers reported that at least 100 juvenile offenders were on 
death row at year's end, many for offenses such as homosexual conduct, 
apostasy, or acts incompatible with chastity.
    Adultery remained punishable by death by stoning, but there were no 
reported executions by stoning during the year. The law provides that a 
victim of stoning is allowed to go free if he or she escapes. It is 
much more difficult for women to escape as they are buried to their 
necks whereas men are buried only to their waists. According to AI, 10 
women and four men were at imminent risk for death by stoning at year's 
end (see section 1.e.).
    There were no reports of the Government or its agents killing 
demonstrators during the year; however, during the June 2009 election 
protests, scores of protesters and nonprotesting bystanders were 
killed, especially during antigovernment rallies. Government sources 
reported the death toll at 37, opposition groups reported approximately 
70 individuals died, and human rights organizations suggested as many 
as 388. There were no reported arrests, charges, or investigations in 
conjunction with these deaths, nor were there updates in the killing 
cases of the following individuals: Sohran Arabi, Behzad Mohajer, Neda 
Agha-Soltan, Mahmud Raisi Najafi, and Ashkan Sohrabi.

    b. Disappearance.--There were reports of politically motivated 
abductions during the year. Plainclothes officers or security officials 
often seized journalists and activists without warning and detained 
them incommunicado for several days or longer before permitting them to 
contact family members (see section 1.d.). Families of executed 
prisoners did not always receive notification of their deaths.
    Sometime after January 2, according to AI, authorities arrested 
Sourena Hashemi and Alireza Firouzi, students who had been expelled 
from Zanjan University for their role in exposing the sexual abuse of a 
female student in 2008. Their arrest was not officially acknowledged 
for more than six weeks. Firouzi is a member of Human Rights Activists 
in Iran (HRAI), many of whose members were arrested in the wave of 
arrests of human rights defenders in March. Evin Prison authorities 
released Hashemi on bail on April 4 and Firouzi on May 12.
    On November 8, authorities arrested six followers of imprisoned 
Ayatollah Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, who called for separation of 
church and state, and on December 6, authorities reportedly detained 
Mohammad Mehman Navaz, a civil engineer and supporter of imprisoned 
Ayatollah Boroujerdi, in an unknown location after summoning Navaz to 
the special clerical court. At year's end there was no information 
about where the prisoners were held.
    During the year Fayzolah Arabsorkhi, a member of the central body 
of the reformist Islamic Revolution Mujahedin Organization and former 
deputy minister of commerce, reappeared at Evin Prison. Sources stated 
he was serving a six-year term at year's end; however, there was no 
information about any trial having been held. In July 2009 unidentified 
persons arrested Arabsorkhi without presenting a warrant or identifying 
themselves as police. Evin Prison guards allegedly beat Arabsorkhi in 
custody, necessitating a visit to the hospital. On April 10, according 
to The Green Voice of Freedom Web site, authorities released Arabsorkhi 
for five days on a bail of 10 million toman (approximately one million 
dollars). On December 19, authorities arrested his reformist daughter 
Fatemeh Arabsorkhi and released her on bail at the end of the year.
    The Iranian-American Jewish Federation reported that 11 Jewish men 
who disappeared in 1994 and 1997 remained missing. In 2007 witnesses 
claimed they saw some of the men in Evin Prison.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and law prohibit torture, but there were 
numerous credible reports that security forces and prison personnel 
tortured detainees and prisoners. A February 5 study by the UN special 
rapporteur on torture stated there were ``credible'' allegations that 
the country's security forces committed politically motivated torture 
following demonstrations in 2009.
    Common methods of torture and abuse in prisons included prolonged 
solitary confinement with extreme sensory deprivation (sometimes called 
``white torture''), beatings, rape and sexual humiliation, long 
confinement in contorted positions, kicking detainees with military 
boots, hanging detainees by the arms and legs, threats of execution, 
burning with cigarettes, pulling out toenails, sleep deprivation, and 
severe and repeated beatings with cables or other instruments on the 
back and on the soles of the feet. To intensify abuse, perpetrators 
reportedly soaked prisoners before beating them with electric cables, 
and there were some reports of electric shocks to sexual organs. 
Prisoners also reported beatings on the ears, inducing partial or 
complete deafness; blows in the area around the eyes, leading to 
partial or complete blindness; and the use of poison to induce illness.
    Some prison facilities, including Evin Prison in Tehran, were 
notorious for cruel and prolonged torture of political opponents of the 
Government. Authorities also maintained unofficial secret prisons and 
detention centers outside the national prison system where abuse 
reportedly occurred. The Government reportedly used white torture 
especially on political prisoners, often in detention centers outside 
the control of prison authorities, including Section 209 of Evin 
Prison.
    There were reports of deaths attributed to torture by government 
security forces during the year (see section 1.a.). There were also 
reports of torture of political prisoners and labor leaders during the 
year, and in 2009 Ahvazi Arabs alleged that authorities tortured and 
raped community activists during the year (see section 6, Minorities).
    On May 18, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 
guards at Evin Prison severely beat Kayhan columnist, blogger, and 
documentary filmmaker Mohammad Nourizad, causing what the prison 
physician classified as a serious head injury that affected his 
eyesight. Authorities had detained Nourizad in December 2009 and 
sentenced him to three and one-half years in prison and 50 lashes on 
charge that included ``propaganda against the regime'' and ``insulting 
the supreme leader, the president, and the head of the judiciary.'' The 
CPJ sent a letter on June 9 to judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani 
expressing concern regarding Nourizad's treatment in prison. On June 
24, authorities released Nourizad on 300 million toman ($300,000) bail; 
however, on August 20, after he published a critical letter addressed 
to the supreme leader on his blog, authorities rearrested him. Nourizad 
began a hunger strike on December 10 to protest the irregularities in 
his trial and prison conditions. On December 16, authorities arrested 
members of his family along with the wife of a reformist leader when 
the families gathered outside of Evin Prison to ask about Nourizad's 
health. According to the ICHRI, security officials interrogated and 
verbally abused them.
    On August 25, the brother of Azeri activist Youssef Soleiman 
reported that prison authorities administered electric shocks and gave 
psychotropic drugs to his brother. Soleiman was arrested on June 16; no 
charges had been announced in his case at year's end.
    During the year according to an August 3 report by the Iranian 
Committee of Human Rights Reporters, interrogators in the Intelligence 
Department's isolation cells tortured Ahmad Bab, an activist for 
Kurdish minority rights arrested in September 2009, and demanded that 
Bab admit to having connections with antigovernment groups. When Bab 
refused to confess, one of the interrogators pulled three of his teeth 
with pliers. Interrogators allegedly also beat Bab with a baton, tied 
his limbs to the bed and pulled them until he fainted, and verbally 
abused him.
    During the year according to various sources, authorities at Evin 
Prison tortured or abused and mistreated Mohammad Davari, who served as 
presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi's chief of staff and editor in 
chief of the Saham News Web site until his September 2009 arrest. 
According to Karroubi's Web site, the torture was intended to force 
Davari to publicly cast doubt on Karroubi's 2009 claim that 
postelection prisoners had been raped.
    On July 22, journalist Reza Rafei-Forushan wrote a letter to 
judiciary head Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani describing his abuse in prison 
and his forced confession. Authorities arrested Rafei-Forushan in June 
2009 after the elections and held him for 43 days in solitary 
confinement during his interrogation.
    In June Supreme Leader Khamenei granted clemency to journalist and 
former Ministry of Intelligence official, reformist, and former 
presidential advisor Saeed Hajjarian, and authorities released him from 
Evin Prison in August. During his incommunicado detention beginning in 
June 2009, prison authorities reportedly interrogated Hajjarian in 
direct sunlight at high temperatures and then doused him with ice 
water, causing him to have heart palpitations. Since sustaining a 
spinal cord injury in an assassination attempt in 2000, Hajjarian has 
used a wheelchair and required a number of medications; according to 
the ICHRI, authorities denied him medication and allegedly gave him 
psychotropic drugs to weaken his mental state. In October 2009, after 
Hajjarian's appearance in the ``show trials'' (see section 1.e.), the 
Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced him to a five-year sentence for 
inciting postelection unrest.
    At year's end Ibrahim Sharifi remained outside the country. In June 
2009 security personnel sexually assaulted Sharifi after his arrest for 
participating in antigovernment demonstrations. In August 2009 an 
unidentified man Sharifi suspected of being a government agent warned 
him against testifying to a parliamentary committee about his 
allegations of abuse. There was no evidence that the Government pursued 
any investigation into Sharifi's abuse claim.
    At year's end Maryam Sabri resided outside the country. In July 
2009, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), authorities arrested Sabri 
during a vigil after her photo appeared on a Web site connected to the 
Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that posted pictures of 
protesters and asked viewers to identify persons in the photos for 
arrest. According to Sabri, prison guards raped her four times before 
they released her in August 2009.
    At year's end Ebrahim Mehtari resided outside the country. In 
August 2009 security officers believed to be IRGC members abducted the 
computer science student and political activist from his workplace and 
transferred him to a location in eastern Tehran. Mehtari told HRW that 
his jailers beat him severely and repeatedly and sodomized him with a 
baton or stick during his detention. Passersby later found him on a 
street in Tehran semiconscious, bleeding, and with his hands and feet 
tied, and took him to a hospital. A physician from the medical 
examiner's office, which reports to the judiciary, examined Mehtari the 
next day, but when the medical examiner learned Mehtari had just been 
released from detention, officials tried to destroy the report.
    There were no updates in the 2008 beating case of Peyman Fatahi.
    Some judicially sanctioned corporal punishment constituted cruel 
and inhuman punishment, including execution by stoning (see section 
1.a.), amputation for multiple-theft offenses, and lashings. According 
to an October 11 report published by the semiofficial Iranian Students 
News Agency, Mashad prosecutor Mahmoud Zoghi said that amputations, 
which were often carried out in the presence of other prisoners, were 
an increasingly common punishment. The head of the country's delegation 
to the UN Human Rights Council, Mohammad Javad Larijani, told the 
council during the year that the Government does not consider such 
punishments torture or cruel or inhuman punishment and that they are 
culturally justified.
    On October 16, a judge sentenced a man convicted of robbing a 
confectionary shop to have one of his hands amputated. According to 
local press reports, authorities amputated his hand on October 24.
    On October 23, according to state media, authorities in Yazd 
amputated the hand of an unidentified man convicted of theft. According 
to the ICHRI, deputy judiciary head Seyed Ebrahim Raeisi said the 
amputation was ``based on the law and divine punishment'' and ``a 
source of pride for us.''
    On December 11, local press reported that the Supreme Court upheld 
a sentence of blinding with acid for a man who blinded his lover's 
husband in the same manner. At year's end there was no information as 
to whether this sentence was carried out.
    During the year the Government initiated limited investigations 
into reports of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or 
punishment; according to AI, these investigations focused more on 
covering up abuses than revealing the truth or punishing those believed 
responsible.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor. There were frequent water shortages and sanitation problems. 
Prisoners were frequently subjected to harassment and discrimination. 
Many prisoners were held in solitary confinement or were denied 
adequate food or medical care as a way to force confessions. 
Overcrowding was a significant problem, forcing many prisoners to sleep 
on the floor. According to a June 11 statement by the Student Committee 
in Defense of Political Prisoners (SCDPP), Ward 4 of Gohardasht Prison 
(also known as Rajai Shahr) held more than 800 prisoners, but had a 
capacity for 240,with no bathrooms and only eight toilets. Numerous 
prisoners complained that authorities intentionally exposed them to 
extreme cold for prolonged periods and said they lacked access to 
medical care in prison. AI and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported 
on July 16 that many prisoners have had heart attacks or other cardiac 
problems in different prisons, especially Evin and Gohardasht. RSF also 
noted that prison authorities refused to transfer ailing prisoners to 
hospitals even when the prisoners urgently needed treatment that can 
only be provided outside a prison and even when the prison doctors 
themselves recommended it.
    On January 13, according to IHRV, Evin Prison authorities brutally 
beat Mahdi Mahmudian, a member of Mosharekat Front, who suffered from 
kidney disease. Mahmudian had reportedly protested the bathroom 
restrictions enforced on him.
    On January 19, former commander of the Center for Expert Naval 
Training Colonel Alborz Ghasemi died after spending 20 months in 
confinement in an intelligence detention center and in Evin Prison. 
Ghasemi suffered from stomach cancer and had been tortured; he 
allegedly received minimal medical care in detention. He was originally 
accused of providing intelligence to the People's Mojahedin 
Organization (MEK).
    As of mid-August authorities reportedly continued to refuse 
hospitalization requests from two imprisoned journalists with serious 
health conditions, Isa Saharkhiz, a reformist journalist held in 
Gohardasht Prison, and Hangameh Shahidi (see section 2.a.). On November 
11, according to a press report, Saharkhiz fainted and authorities 
transferred him to a hospital to receive treatment for his heart 
condition; however, he returned to prison almost immediately despite a 
cardiologist's recommendations that he be released from prison.
    On August 19, domestic human rights activists reported that 
authorities at Karoun Prison in Ahvaz had banned Abolfazl Abedini Nasr, 
a journalist and former head of a domestic human rights organization, 
from leaving his cell even though Abedini Nasr was medically required 
to visit the prison's clinic every three days to receive medical 
treatment (see section 2.a.).
    On July 26, after authorities granted him early release, student 
activist Iman Sadighi (see section 1.e., Political Prisoners) reported 
on conditions in Mati Kola prison in Babol: ``Fighting amongst 
prisoners.was a daily occurrence. In one incident two inmates had a 
fight with each other and one of them bit the other's ear off, then to 
prove how dangerous he was, he chewed and swallowed the ear--you felt 
that there was nothing of humanity left inside the prison. Our rooms 
were infested with cockroaches. Sometimes the cockroaches would even 
get in our food. At night, the cockroaches would get into our beds and 
we would wake up with them crawling over our faces. To add to all this, 
our blankets were infested with lice, and there were rats that came in 
the cell from time to time. There are no toilets in these solitary 
cells; prisoners are only ever allowed to use the toilets three times a 
day. Many times they can't wait for their turn and they have to do 
their toilet in the cell, which is why the solitary wing cells reek of 
excrement stench.''
    There were no updates, nor was there evidence of any government 
investigation, in the cases of two prisoners who allegedly died due to 
neglect: Karaj political prisoner Amir Hossein Heshmat Saran in 
February 2009 or Evin prisoner and blogger Omid Reza Mirsayafi in March 
2009 (see section 2.a., Internet Freedom).
    On January 7, the parliamentary special committee investigating 
reports of torture and abuse of postelection detainees in Kahrizak 
Detention Center in 2009 submitted its final report, which placed 
responsibility for the beating deaths of three detainees on then 
prosecutor general Saeed Mortazavi. Authorities transferred Mortazavi 
to head the country's task force against smuggling. On August 22, 
progovernment news sources reported that authorities had also suspended 
three top judicial officials at the Tehran prosecutor's office in 
connection to the case. In late July 2009 Supreme Leader Khamenei 
ordered Kahrizak detention center closed.
    In an April 14 interview with the Iran Human Rights Documentation 
Center, nongovernmental organization (NGO) activist Ali Kantoori 
described conditions in two prisons, Evin and Ghezal Hesar, where he 
was detained in 2008. In addition to beatings during interrogation, 
solitary confinement, and harassment of family members, Kantoori said 
lice infestations were common, prisoners had inadequate access to clean 
water or medical care, and the prisons lacked heat and air conditioning 
and had an insufficient number of bathing facilities. Guards reportedly 
regularly mistreated prisoners, including forcing them to kneel during 
prisoner counts. Authorities released Kantoori on bail after five 
months, but in August 2009 the Sanandaj General Court sentenced him to 
15 years' imprisonment. In mid-March Kantoori left the country, and he 
was living outside the country as a refugee at year's end.
    In June the UK-based International Center for Prison Studies 
reported that more than 166,000 prisoners in the country occupied 
facilities constructed to hold no more than 98,000 persons (170 percent 
of official capacity). There were reports of juvenile offenders 
detained with adult offenders. Pretrial detainees occasionally were 
held with convicted prisoners. Political prisoners were often held in 
separate prisons or wards--such as Evin Prison, especially Ward 240, 
and Ward Eight of Gohardasht Prison, known as the IRGC ward--or in 
isolation for long periods of time. Human rights activists and 
international media also reported cases of political prisoners confined 
with violent felons.
    The Government did not permit independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by any outside groups, including UN groups or special 
rapporteurs. A parliamentary committee investigating prison conditions 
paid a visit to Evin Prison in July 2009 and issued its report on 
January 10. According to press reports, the committee called for a 
complete investigation and blamed prosecutor Mortazavi for the rape and 
torture that took place in the prison. At the same time, the committee 
also blamed opposition candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Houssein 
Mousavi for fomenting abuse; both previously expressed concern about 
sexual abuse in Evin Prison. The report claimed that reported sexual 
assaults did not occur, despite the testimony of numerous witnesses.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution 
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, these practices continued 
during the year.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Several agencies share 
responsibility for law enforcement and maintaining order, including the 
MOIS, the Law Enforcement Forces under the Interior Ministry, and the 
IRGC. The Basij and informal groups known as the Ansar-e Hizballah 
(Helpers of the Party of God) were aligned with extreme conservative 
members of the leadership and acted as vigilantes. In October 2009 the 
Government announced the merger of the Basij into the IRGC ground 
forces. While some Basij units received formal training, many units 
were disorganized and undisciplined. During government-led crackdowns 
on demonstrations, the Basij were primarily responsible for the 
violence against the protesters.
    The security forces were not considered fully effective in 
combating crime. Videos posted on the Internet in October documented 
two stabbing murders that occurred in public spaces while police failed 
to intervene.
    Corruption and impunity were problems. Regular and paramilitary 
security forces committed numerous serious human rights abuses, but 
there were no transparent mechanisms to investigate security force 
abuses and no reports of government actions to reform the abusers.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution and penal code require a warrant or subpoena for an arrest 
and state that an arrested person must be informed of charges within 24 
hours. Authorities rarely followed these procedures in practice. 
Authorities held detainees, at times incommunicado, often for weeks or 
months without charge or trial, frequently denying them prompt contact 
with family or timely access to legal representation. In practice there 
was neither a time limit for detention nor judicial means to determine 
the legality of the detention. According to the law, the state is 
obligated to provide indigent defendants with attorneys only for 
certain types of crimes. The courts set prohibitively high bail, even 
for lesser crimes, and in many cases courts did not set bail. 
Authorities often compelled detainees and their families to submit 
property deeds to post bail. Prisoners released on bail did not always 
know how long their property would be retained or when their trials 
would be held.
    The intelligence arm of the IRGC reportedly conducted arrests 
during the year, sometimes without a warrant. Additionally, security 
forces executed general warrants to arrest protesters or those 
perceived as opponents of the Government. The use of these general 
warrants precluded the need for individual warrants.
    There were reports of arbitrary and false arrests during the year, 
including the arrest of dozens of students and journalists in February 
in anticipation of protests planned for February 11, the anniversary of 
the revolution.
    On February 7, authorities arrested Mahsa Jazini, a women's rights 
activist and journalist with Iran Newspaper, at her home in Isfahan. 
According to her attorney, charges against her included ``actions 
against national security'' and ``cooperation with foreign media''; 
however, Jazini reportedly said the officers who arrested her and 
confiscated her personal items described her crime as ``being a 
feminist.'' On March 1, authorities released her on bail for 100 
million toman ($100,000).
    On March 2, police arrested physician and blogger Hesam Firouzi on 
unknown charges and placed him in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Firouzi 
served as physician to many political prisoners. In June judicial 
authorities reportedly set his bail at 100 million toman ($100,000); it 
was unknown whether he was in prison at year's end. Firouzi was 
previously arrested in March 2009 and served six months of a 15-month 
prison term for acting against the country's national security, 
distorting public opinion, distributing lies, and giving refuge and 
medical treatment to political prisoners.
    On November 2, authorities arrested journalist Nazanin Khosravani 
and charged her with acting against national security. There was no 
information as to the basis of the charges, and Khosravani's mother 
reportedly said Khosravani had not been working as a journalist for 
more than a year. According to media reports, Tehran Prosecutor General 
Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi warned Khosravani's mother not to conduct media 
interviews if she wanted to help her daughter. At year's end Khosravani 
remained in Evin Prison and had been permitted contact with her family 
only once, via telephone.
    There was no update in the March 2009 beating and arrest case of 
Yasser Torkman, a student at Amir Kabir University and member of the 
Islamic Students Organization in Tehran; authorities released Torkman 
on bail in April 2009.
    At year's end former government spokesman Abdollah Ramezanzadeh was 
serving his six-year sentence for ``acting against national security.'' 
In June 2009 police arrested and seriously beat Ramezanzadeh. He spent 
116 days in solitary confinement, 74 of which were incommunicado and 
without charge, and then appeared at the August 2009 ``show trial'' 
(see section 1.e.) and was convicted in December 2009. Ramezanzadeh was 
incarcerated due to a letter that he cowrote to the head of the 
judiciary calling for the prosecution of IRGC officials for their role 
in the June 2009 election and its aftermath.
    At year's end Mohammad Mostafaei, a human rights activist who 
represented the cases of many juveniles sentenced to death as well as 
that of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to stoning for 
adultery, had claimed asylum in Norway. On November 11, media reported 
that the Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Mostafaei in absentia to 
six years in prison for acting against national security for discussing 
Mohammadi-Ashtiani's case with foreign-based Farsi-language media. In 
July and August, authorities detained Mostafaei's wife and brother- and 
father-in-law in an attempt to get Mostafaei to turn himself in, and 
the two men faced charges of concealing a suspect at year's end. 
Mostafaei was originally arrested by plainclothes police officers in 
June 2009.
    On May 16, Clotilde Reiss, a French national teaching assistant 
formerly employed at Isfahan University, returned to France. In July 
2009 authorities arrested Reiss on charges of espionage, and she was 
present at the August 2009 ``show trials'' along with French embassy 
employee Nazak Afshar and British embassy employee Hossein Rassam, who 
were also charged with espionage and plotting to overthrow the 
Government. On October 25, an appeals court overturned Rassam's 
conviction and four-year prison sentence for espionage, substituting a 
one-year suspended sentence for spreading propaganda against the regime 
and maintaining a five-year ban against his employment by foreign 
embassies or organizations. Afshar was released in August 2009 on bail 
of 500 million toman ($500,000).
    At year's end, authorities released on bail of 500 million toman 
($500,000) one of the U.S. citizens arrested by border guards in July 
2009 on the Iran-Iraq border and permitted her to leave the country; 
the other two remained in Evin Prison. Authorities held the Americans 
in solitary confinement for extended periods of time during the first 
months of their detention. Their trial for espionage and illegal entry 
into the country was scheduled for February 6, 2011.
    In November 2009, according to the ICHRI, security forces 
arbitrarily arrested scores of students throughout the country in an 
attempt to stifle protests expected on Students' Day, December 7. For 
instance, on November 3, media reported that authorities had arrested 
civil activists and student leaders Hasan Asadi Zaidabadi and Mohammad 
Sadeghi. Zaidabadi was released in December 2009, and Sadeghi was 
released after 40 days of detention. There was no information as to 
whether the two were ever tried.
    During protests in December 2009 after the death of Grand Ayatollah 
Hussein-Ali Montazeri and during Ashura celebrations, the ICHRI and 
IHRV reported that authorities detained between 200 and 1,000 persons, 
many of whom remained in prison at year's end, some facing death 
sentences. Death sentences were given to individuals who were accused 
of moharebeh (see section 1.a.) for participation in Ashura Day 
protests. On March 17, the ICHRI reported that Revolutionary Court 
judge Abolqasem Salavati sentenced teacher Abdolreza Ghanbari to death 
for moharebeh based on his participation in Ashura protests. According 
to the ICHRI, Ghanbari did not have access to a fair trial nor 
permission to select a lawyer for his defense. The Prosecutor's Office 
requested death sentences for at least 11 other individuals arrested 
during 2009 Ashura celebrations.
    There were no reports of Iranian-American journalists arrested 
during the year; however, in 2009 and previous years, security forces 
arrested several Iranian-American journalists and academics on charges 
of espionage and ``acting against national security.'' Prison 
authorities subjected the activists to harsh interrogation techniques 
and solitary confinement and in most cases kept them in prison for 
several months. At year's end one academic was free on bail but not 
permitted to depart the country.
    There were no updates in the 2008 cases of Ebrahim Mirnehad or Dr. 
Arash Alaei, both whom remained in prison at year's end. Authorities 
sentenced Mirnahad to five years' imprisonment on charges of ``acting 
against national security'' and ``spreading propaganda,'' charges that, 
according to AI, stemmed from his public condemnation of his brother's 
execution earlier in the year. Dr Alaei and his brother, physicians 
specializing in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, were found 
guilty of ``cooperating with an enemy government.'' AI reported that 
Dr. Kamiar Alaei remained in prison at year's end.
    Pretrial detention was often arbitrarily lengthy, particularly in 
cases involving alleged violations of national security laws. 
Approximately 25 percent of prisoners held in state prison facilities 
were reportedly pretrial detainees. According to HRW, a judge may 
prolong detention at his discretion, and pretrial detention often 
lasted for months.
    The Government reportedly put individuals under house arrest 
without due process in order to restrict their movement and 
communication. Authorities placed former presidential candidates Mehdi 
Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi under de facto house arrest during the 
year. In previous years the Government used house arrest for senior 
Shia religious leaders whose views regarding political and governance 
issues were at variance with the ruling orthodoxy; however, there were 
no new confirmed instances of this practice since 2009. Grand Ayatollah 
Montazeri, the most prominent cleric under such restrictions, died in 
December 2009.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--After the 1979 revolution, the 
judicial system was revised to conform to an Islamic canon based on the 
Qur'an, Sunna (the traditions of the Prophet), and other Islamic 
sources. The constitution provides that the judiciary be ``an 
independent power''; in practice the court system was corrupt and 
subject to political influence. The constitution provides that the head 
of the judiciary is a cleric chosen by the supreme leader. The head of 
the Supreme Court and prosecutor general also must be clerics.
    Islamic revolutionary courts 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 forces. A media court hears 
complaints against publishers, editors, and writers, including Internet 
cases.

    Trial Procedures.--Many aspects of the prerevolutionary judicial 
system survive in the civil and criminal courts. According to the 
constitution and criminal procedure code, a defendant has the right to 
a public trial, presumption of innocence, a lawyer of his or her 
choice, and the right of appeal in most cases that involve major 
penalties. These rights were not respected in practice. Panels of 
judges adjudicate trials; there is no jury system in the civil and 
criminal courts. In the media court, a council of 11 persons selected 
by the court adjudicates cases. No defendants in any court had the 
right to confront their accusers, nor were they granted access to 
government-held evidence. During the year human rights groups noted the 
absence of procedural safeguards in criminal trials.
    During the year AI, HRW, RSF, and several other human rights groups 
continued to condemn trials in the revolutionary courts for 
disregarding international standards of fairness. In August 2009 the UN 
special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading 
treatment or punishment, the special rapporteur on the situation of 
human rights defenders, and the vice chairperson of the working group 
on arbitrary detention expressed ``serious concern'' about the 
situation of detainees in the country.
    The Government often charged individuals with vague crimes such as 
``antirevolutionary behavior,'' ``moral corruption,'' ``siding with 
global arrogance,'' moharebeh, and ``crimes against Islam.'' 
Prosecutors imposed strict penalties on government critics for minor 
violations. When postrevolutionary statutes did not address a 
situation, the Government advised judges to give precedence to their 
knowledge and interpretation of Islamic law. The head of the judiciary 
chose revolutionary court judges in part due to their ideological 
commitment to the system. Secret or summary trials of only five 
minutes' duration frequently occurred. Other trials were deliberately 
designed to publicize a coerced confession.
    On February 3, a revolutionary court sentenced student activist 
Mohammad Amin Valian to death in a group trial for moharabeh for 
allegedly having thrown three stones and shouted ``death to the 
dictator!'' during a December 2009 Ashura protest. Government officials 
arrested Valian on January 12, after Damghan University's Basij student 
publication published an article about him. Authorities denied repeated 
requests from his family on his whereabouts, and according to ICHRI 
they only said he was held in a ``special location.'' According to the 
same report, he was also denied access to counsel. On May 15, an 
appeals court rejected the revolutionary court decision and sentenced 
him to a three-and-one-half years' imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 
toman ($300). As of September authorities had granted Valian 
conditional release.
    At year's end the ICHRI reported that approximately 600 inmates 
remained on death row in Vakilabad, with the majority convicted for 
narcotics-related crimes. Some inmates reported that they had been 
tortured and forced to make confessions but that judges ignored their 
claims of physical coercion.
    In August 2009 the Tehran Revolutionary Court convened the first of 
a series of televised mass trials for more than 100 opposition 
politicians and activists detained after the June 2009 election; the 
opposition referred to them as show trials. Among those on trial were 
senior proreform politicians, lawyers, and journalists, including 
former vice president Muhammad Ali Abtahi; journalist and former 
interior ministry official Muhammad Atrianfar; intellectual and 
prodemocracy activist Saeed Hajjarian, reportedly tortured in detention 
(see section 1.c.); filmmaker and Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari (see 
section 2.a.); an Iranian-American academic; and Mohsen Mirdamadi, the 
leader of the largest reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation 
Front. The prosecution accused the defendants of fomenting a ``velvet 
revolution,'' acting against national security, and having ties to 
British spies. Authorities did not permit any of the defendants access 
to legal counsel prior to the trial. Some of those charged read aloud 
``confessions'' in which they denounced former colleagues and declared 
there had been no fraud in the election. There were allegations that 
several defendants, including Abtahi and opposition candidate Mousavi 
supporters Mostafa Tajzadeh, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh (see section 1.d.), 
and Mohsen Aminzadeh, underwent ``massive interrogation'' in Evin 
Prison.
    At year's end Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani awaited execution for 
alleged adultery and murder while her son and lawyer remained 
imprisoned. In 2006 after having already been convicted and punished 
with 99 lashes for involvement in her husband's murder, a court 
sentenced Ashtiani to death by stoning for adultery. According to the 
NGO Women Living Under Muslim Laws, two judges declared her not guilty 
based on the lack of evidence in the case, but the other three judges 
found her guilty based on ``divine knowledge of the judge'' (elm-e 
ghazi), a legal provision that allows judges to make a ruling in the 
absence of conclusive evidence. On September 8, a Foreign Ministry 
representative declared that the stoning sentence had been suspended 
but suggested she might still be hanged on charges related to her 
husband's murder. Human rights groups maintained that Ashtiani's 
confession was coerced and decried the lack of due process in this 
case. One of Ashtiani's lawyers, Mohammed Mostafaei, sought asylum in 
Norway during the year (see section 1.d.).
    Opposition groups continued to question the legitimacy of the 
special clerical court system. The court is headed by a scholar in 
Islamic law and is capable of ruling on legal matters through 
independent interpretation of Islamic legal sources. Clerical courts, 
which investigate alleged offenses and crimes by clerics and which the 
supreme leader directly oversees, are not provided for in the 
constitution, and they operated outside the domain of the judiciary. 
According to a 2007 AI report, defendants could be represented only by 
court-nominated clerics who are not required to be qualified lawyers. 
According to the AI report, in some cases a defendant was unable to 
find a cleric willing to act as defense counsel and was tried without 
legal representation. Critics alleged that clerical courts were used to 
prosecute clerics for expressing controversial ideas and for 
participating in activities outside the sphere of religion, such as 
journalism or reformist political activities.
    On December 6, the special clerical court summoned Mohammad Mehman 
Navaz, a supporter of Ayatollah Boroujerdi (see section 1.d.).

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Statistics regarding the number 
of citizens imprisoned for their political beliefs were not available, 
but human rights activists estimated the number in the hundreds. 
Approximately 500 democracy activists and journalists were in detention 
in Evin Prison alone at year's end. According to opposition press 
reports, the Government arrested, convicted, and executed persons on 
questionable criminal charges, including drug trafficking, when their 
actual offenses were reportedly political. The Government charged 
members of religious minorities and others with crimes such as 
``confronting the regime'' and apostasy and followed the same trial 
procedures as in cases of threats to national security. During the year 
the Government rounded up students, journalists, lawyers, and political 
activists to silence them or prevent them from organizing protests.
    Authorities occasionally gave political prisoners suspended 
sentences or released them for short or extended furloughs prior to 
completion of their sentences, but they could order them to return to 
prison at any time. Suspended sentences often were used to silence and 
intimidate individuals. The Government also controlled political 
activists by temporarily suspending baseless court proceedings against 
them and allowing authorities to rearrest them at any time, and it 
attempted to intimidate activists by calling them in repeatedly for 
questioning. The Government issued travel bans on former political 
prisoners; for instance, authorities continued to prevent former 
political prisoner Siamak Pourzand from leaving the country to receive 
medical care and to join his wife, also a former political prisoner, 
and family abroad.
    Authorities routinely held political prisoners in solitary 
confinement for extended periods and denied them due process and access 
to legal representation. Political prisoners were also at greater risk 
of torture and abuse in detention. The Government did not permit 
international humanitarian organizations or UN special rapporteurs 
access to political prisoners.
    The Government imprisoned persons throughout the year for political 
reasons (see sections 1.a. through 1.e. and section 7.a.), including 
minority activists (see section 6). Human rights organizations reported 
that 21 Kurdish political prisoners faced execution and 44 Baha'i 
remained in prison at year's end. The Government also reportedly held 
some persons in prison for years under charges of sympathizing with 
terrorist groups such as the MEK.
    On February 28, an appeals court upheld 10-month prison sentences 
for three student activists from Babol Norshirvani University (Mohsen 
Barzegar, Iman Sadighi, and Nima Nahvi) and one-year suspended 
sentences for Hamid Reza Jahantigh, Hessam Bagheri, Siavash Salimi 
Nejad, and Ali Taghipour. The students, most of whom were also banned 
from educational institutions for one to five years, were convicted of 
``actions against national security'' and ``propagation against the 
regime,'' based on their alleged planning of and participation in 
protests and contacts with antigovernment entities. Authorities 
conditionally released Barzegar and Sadighi on July 17, but on November 
9, police rearrested Barzegar at his home prior to National Students 
Day, allegedly without a warrant (see section 2.b., Freedom of 
Association). Nahvi remained in prison at year's end.
    On May 5, Revolutionary Court Branch 28 sentenced Bahareh Hedayat, 
a prominent student activist, to two years in prison for ``insulting 
the supreme leader,'' six months for ``insulting the president,'' and 
five years for ``actions against national security, propagation of 
falsehoods, and mutiny for congregation.'' An earlier suspended 
sentence of two years in prison for participating in a women's rights 
protest was added to make Hedayat's total sentence nine and one-half 
years in prison. In July Appellate Court Branch 24 upheld her sentence. 
In late December authorities reportedly presented her with new charges 
of ``disturbing public opinion'' based on a letter she wrote from 
prison on National Students Day. At year's end Hedayat was serving her 
sentence in Evin Prison where authorities had recently banned her 
visitors ``until further notice.''
    On August 8, the Supreme Court rejected Jafar Kazemi's death 
sentence appeal. Authorities arrested Kazemi, an editor and publisher 
of academic books at Amir Kabir University, during the 2009 election 
protests and reportedly tortured him physically and psychologically 
during his detention. His interrogators allegedly threatened to arrest 
his wife and children if he did not confess. Kazemi was convicted of 
moharebeh and sympathy with the MEK, but he pled not guilty. At year's 
end Kazemi awaited execution.
    On September 4, authorities summoned Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent 
human rights lawyer and women's rights activist, to Evin Prison where 
they arrested her on charges of ``propaganda against the state,'' ``a 
conspiracy to disturb order,'' and cooperation with Nobel Peace Prize 
laureate Shin Ebadi's Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC). Shortly 
after her detention, Sotoudeh went on a 70-day hunger strike to protest 
her treatment, including solitary confinement. On December 27, 
authorities presented more charges against her, including ``not wearing 
the hijab [headcovering]'' and ``not observing Islamic standards of 
conduct.'' At year's end she remained in solitary confinement and 
weakened from her hunger strike. During questioning, her interrogators 
reportedly told her they controlled the length of her sentence, which 
would be at least 10 years.
    On April 20, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced Mahdieh 
Golrou, student activist and member of the Advocacy Council for the 
Right to Education, to two years and four months in prison for 
association with the MEK. She began serving the sentence immediately, 
along with a suspended one-year sentence for her activities related to 
educational rights. In late December authorities reportedly presented 
her with new charges of ``disturbing public opinion'' based on a letter 
she wrote from prison on National Students Day. Golrou suffered from 
intestinal problems during her continuing imprisonment in Evin Prison.
    On January 26, a revolutionary court sentenced Shabnam Madadzadeh, 
a member of the Islamic Association and deputy general secretary of the 
student organization Tahkim Vahdat, and her brother Farzad Madadzadeh 
to five years' imprisonment for moharebeh and propaganda against the 
state, and in June an appeals court upheld the sentence. Their lawyer, 
Mohammad Oliyaeifard, was not present as he was serving a sentence for 
speaking out about another client, a juvenile executed for a murder 
allegedly committed when he was 17 years old. Authorities arrested the 
Madadzadehs in February 2009, and officials in Ward 209 of Evin Prison 
allegedly beat and whipped Farzad in front of Shabnam to coerce her to 
confess. Human rights groups reported during the year that Shabnam 
suffered from digestive ailments and heart problems and that she lacked 
medical care. The Madadzadehs remained in Gohardasht Prison at year's 
end.
    At year's end Abdolfattah Soltani, a prominent human rights lawyer 
and DHRC spokesperson, continued to face a pending court case for 
security-related charges, In June 2009 authorities arrested him without 
a warrant and held him for 72 days without charges, including 17 days 
in solitary confinement, until his release in August 2009.
    On December 29, an interrogator known as ``Mahdavi'' reportedly 
informed Ebrahim Yazdi's wife that authorities had transferred the 
ailing former foreign minister and the secretary-general of the Freedom 
Movement of Iran to a safe house in a military zone. Authorities 
detained 80-year-old Yazdi at least three times since the June 2009 
elections, once when he was in an intensive care hospital ward. During 
one of his imprisonments, Yazdi spent 50 days in solitary confinement. 
On October 1, officials arrested Yazdi in a private home in Isfahan for 
allegedly participating in ``illegal prayer'' while he attended the 
memorial service for the daughter of a friend. His wife was allowed to 
visit him only after he had been jailed for 40 days. Yazdi was 
recovering from bladder cancer surgery as well as heart surgery, and 
his family believed his life is in danger because of the physical and 
psychological strains of prison, lack of medical care, and unsanitary 
conditions.
    During the year Abdollah Momeni continued to serve a four and one-
half-year prison sentence for disseminating propaganda against the 
country by transmitting news of street protests and colluding to harm 
national security. In June 2009 police arrested Momeni, spokesperson 
for the Alumni Association of Iran (Advar-e Tahkim Vahdat), a legally 
registered political organization, and authorities sentenced him in 
November 2009 after he appeared at the fifth session of the ``show 
trials.'' AI reported that authorities used as evidence against him 
Momeni's ``contacts'' with AI and HRW. In August he wrote a letter to 
Supreme Leader Khamenei in which he detailed the physical and 
psychological abuse he had endured at Evin Prison including severe 
beatings and suffocations to the point of unconsciousness during 
interrogations, interrogators holding his head in a full toilet bowl, 
solitary confinement for 86 days, and repeated threats of rape and 
imminent execution. Momeni also said his interrogators forced him to 
practice false confessions before his trial.
    As of July 7, Naseh Faridi remained free pending an appeal of his 
January 7 sentence to six years in prison and 74 lashes for allegedly 
passing information to the MEK on account of his activities in the 
SCDPP, including interviews with foreign media. On June 29, authorities 
released Azeri minority activist Ali Bikas from Evin Prison after an 
appeals court acquitted him of all charges. Authorities arrested the 
two SCDPP members in June 2009 and tried them in the ``show trials'' 
later that year.
    At year's end there had been no verdict announced in the mid-
October revolutionary court trial of Mohammad-Ali Dadkhah, a member of 
the Center for Defending Human Rights and an attorney for several 
political activists. In July 2009 police arrested Dadkhah at his office 
and charged him with meeting with ``foreign enemies.'' HRW reported 
that at the time of his arrest he was meeting with colleagues to 
discuss the judiciary's proposal to restrict the independence of the 
bar association. Dadkhah remained free on a 500 million toman 
($500,000) bail at year's end.
    In March authorities released an Iranian-American academic on bail 
of 800 million toman ($800,000) but continued to prevent him from 
leaving the country at year's end. In July 2009 authorities first 
arrested him on charges of espionage based on his association with the 
Open Society Institute, which the Government had previously approved. 
He appeared before the ``show trials'' in August 2009 and in October 
2009 was sentenced to 15 years in prison, later reduced to five years 
by an appelate court.
    As of November 16, former university student Misagh Yazdan-Nejad 
was seriously ill with a respiratory illness, unable to walk or eat. 
Gohardasht Prison authorities reportedly refused to grant him leave to 
undergo surgery. In September 2009 a revolutionary court sentenced 
Yazdan-Nejad to 13 years' imprisonment for participating in a 2007 
demonstration. The Government had previously executed three of Yazdan-
Nejad's uncles and imprisoned both his parents on political grounds. At 
year's end there were no further updates on Yazdan-Nejad's status.
    In September 2009 a reformist Web site reported that police 
detained Mohammad Ozlati-Moghaddam, head of opposition leader Mousavi's 
veterans' affairs committee, following a search of his home; he was 
held for an unknown length of time. On November 15, a reformist Web 
site reported that security agents had again arrested Ozlati-Moghaddam, 
and his status was unknown at year's end.
    On March 16, authorities released economist and journalist Saeed 
Leylaz from prison on bail of 500 million toman ($500,000) to seek 
medical treatment. In December 2009 authorities sentenced Leylaz to 
nine years in prison, later reduced to five, for allegedly maintaining 
ties with foreigners and working to overthrow the Government.
    At year's end Emaddedin Baghi, founder of the Committee for the 
Defense of Prisoners' Rights, was incarcerated in Evin Prison, serving 
a six-year sentence for ``propaganda against the system'' and 
``colluding against the security of the regime'' in relation to an 
interview with the late Grand Ayatollah Montazeri and a one-year 
sentence for his work advocating for prisoners' rights. A revolutionary 
court also banned him from participating in political activity for five 
years. In December 2009 authorities arrested Baghi and detained him for 
180 days. Authorities imprisoned Baghi on previous occasions since 2000 
for his activities as a journalist and his campaigns against the 
Government's execution of juvenile offenders.
    At year's end Kurdish and women's rights activist Zeinab Bayazidi 
continued serving a four-year sentence for acting against national 
security. Security forces arrested her in 2008; she was reportedly 
tried behind closed doors without access to an attorney of her 
choosing. According to human rights organizations, Bayazidi went on a 
hunger strike in July to protest a prison official's treatment of 
several female prisoners.
    At year's end Abbas Khorsandi, a political activist and founder of 
the Iran Democratic Party, an Internet forum for political debate, 
remained in Evin Prison, where authorities reportedly prevented him 
from seeing a doctor despite his poor health. In 2008 a Tehran 
revolutionary court upheld an eight-year prison sentence against 
Khorsandi for ``acting against national security through formation of 
an illegal association.'' During the year Khorsandi's family repeatedly 
expressed concern about his poor health, especially his heart disease, 
but the Government made no response.
    There were no updates in the following 2008 cases; all individuals 
were believed to be in prison at year's end: writer and student leader 
Amin Ghazain Tehran; human rights lawyer Saleh Kamrani; Hadi Qabel, 
reformist cleric and member of the reformist political group Islamic 
Iran Participation Front; and Office for Consolidating Unity spokesman 
Ali Nikunesbati.
    Ayatollah Mohammad Kazemeini Boroujerdi remained in Evin Prison 
despite appeals for his release on medical grounds. Human rights groups 
claimed he had been in solitary confinement without access to an 
independent lawyer since his 2006 arrest. Prior to Boroujerdi's arrest, 
the Government had increased pressure on him for his belief that 
religion and the state should be separate.
    Political prisoner Behrouz Javid-Tehrani, who spent four years in 
prison for his activities during the 1999 student uprising and was 
sentenced in 2005 to seven more years in prison following a secret 
trial without legal representation, remained in prison at year's end. 
At the time of the most recent conviction, Javid-Tehrani was in 
solitary confinement in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, where he alleged 
security agents severely tortured him on numerous occasions.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--By law the judiciary is 
independent from the executive and legislative branches; in practice it 
remained under the influence of executive and religious government 
authorities. According to the constitution, the Court of Administrative 
Justice, under the supervision of the head of the judiciary, 
investigates the grievances of citizens with regard to government 
officials, organs, and statutes. In practice citizens had limited 
ability to sue the Government. Citizens were not able to bring lawsuits 
against the Government for civil or human rights violations. Dispute 
resolution councils are available to settle minor civil and criminal 
cases through mediation before referral to courts.

    Property Restitution.--The constitution allows the Government to 
confiscate property acquired illicitly or in a manner not in conformity 
with Islamic law, and the Government particularly targeted religious 
minorities, especially members of the Baha'i faith. During the year 
there were reports that authorities destroyed several Sufi libraries 
containing sacred texts and took over nursing homes and hospitals 
connected to Sufi orders.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution states that ``reputation, life, 
property, [and] dwelling[s]'' are protected from trespass except as 
``provided by law,'' but the Government routinely infringed on this 
right. Security forces monitored the social activities of citizens, 
entered homes and offices, monitored telephone conversations and 
Internet communications, and opened mail without court authorization. 
There were widespread reports that government agents entered, searched, 
and/or ransacked the homes and offices of reformist activists and 
journalists in an attempt to intimidate them.
    For example, on several occasions during the year government 
security forces raided the home and offices of human rights attorney 
Nasrin Sotoudeh (see section 1.e., Political Prisoners), confiscating 
her computer and cell phone, along with those belonging to her husband 
and children, and many of her clients' files.
    On September 16, government security forces raided the office of 
former presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and confiscated 
computers and other property (see section 3).
    Unlike in 2009, there were no reports that Basij forces carried out 
nightly raids throughout Tehran, destroying public property, entering 
homes, and beating civilians in an attempt to stop nightly protest 
chants. However, there were some reports that Basij forces raided 
universities in February to stop protesters.
    During the year vigilantes continued to attack young persons 
considered ``un-Islamic'' in their dress or activities, invade private 
homes, abuse unmarried couples, and disrupt concerts. In May according 
to press reports, authorities launched an intensified campaign to 
enforce the mandatory hijab and issued a list of acceptable men's 
hairstyles. According to press reports, morality police have stopped or 
detained more than two million individuals since 2007 for inappropriate 
hairstyles (usually related to the length of men's hair or beards) or 
bad hijab.
    There were reports during the year that the MOIS arrested and 
harassed family members of political prisoners and human rights 
activists, banning them from speaking to foreign media or traveling 
abroad, blocking their telephone conversations, making false criminal 
charges against them, and blocking their access to higher education.
    From early February to March 9, authorities detained Saleh 
Noghrehkar, the nephew of former presidential candidate Mir Hossein 
Mousavi and the head of the legal team for Mousavi's campaign, in Evin 
Prison, reportedly to intimidate Mousavi and his wife.
    Throughout the year authorities issued statements threatening to 
arrest Mehdi Hashemi on corruption charges, the expatriate son of 
influential cleric and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Some 
human rights organizations alleged these threats were retaliation for 
Rafsanjani's criticism of the Government after the 2009 postelection 
protests.
    On January 13, authorities released from prison Nushin Ebadi, a 
professor of dentistry and sister to Nobel Prize-winning human rights 
lawyer and activist Shirin Ebadi. Intelligence officers arrested 
Nushin, who was not involved in human rights issues and did not 
participate in any of the postelection protests, in December 2009.
    There were also reports that authorities threatened and arrested 
family members of expatriates who posted critical comments about the 
country on social networking Web sites such as Facebook. According to 
media accounts, an Iranian-American studying abroad reported in 2009 
that he received an e-mail warning him that his relatives in Iran would 
be harmed if he did not delete an online petition he had created 
relating to the imprisonment in Iran of a human rights activist; he 
claimed that security agents arrested his father two days later and 
held him briefly.
    Authorities occasionally entered homes to remove satellite 
television dishes, which are illegal in the country.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of expression and of the press, except when the words are 
deemed ``detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam or the 
rights of the public.'' In practice the Government severely restricted 
freedom of speech and of the press. There were no basic legal 
safeguards for freedom of expression, and the Government--notably the 
judiciary--arbitrarily enforced censorship measures against the 
independent press. Government censorship and self-censorship limited 
dissemination of information during the year. The Government frequently 
threatened and jailed journalists as a consequence of their work. It 
also closed the offices of the journalists' union in August 2009.
    Individuals could not criticize the Government publicly or 
privately without reprisal, and the Government actively sought to 
impede criticism.
    On December 19, according to RSF, intelligence officials in 
civilian dress arrested Fariborz Rais Dana, an economist and a member 
of the board of directors of the country's writers' association. Other 
sources noted that Dana's arrest occurred shortly after his interview 
with BBC Persian in which he criticized the Government's subsidy reform 
policies. At year's end there were no updates in his case, and his 
whereabouts were unknown.
    The Government held significant influence over all media in the 
country. The country's media outlets were varied, including state-
controlled television, radio, and print publications, as well as 
private newspapers and magazines that cover current affairs, politics, 
the arts, and sports. The Government closely monitored reporters and 
media outlets, and private media lacked independence in practice. 
Journalists who failed to abide by government guidelines faced 
intimidation, arrest, or closure of their publications. The Government 
required foreign correspondents to provide detailed travel plans and 
topics of proposed stories before it granted visas, and it attempted to 
influence them to garner more favorable coverage. The Government's 
Press Supervisory Board (PSB) was responsible for issuing press 
licenses, which it sometimes revoked in response to articles critical 
of the Government, and for examining complaints filed against 
publications or individual journalists, editors, or publishers.
    According to Article 175 of the constitution, private broadcasting 
is illegal. The Government controlled and maintained a monopoly over 
all television and radio broadcasting facilities through a state-
controlled entity, the Voice and Vision Organization. Radio and 
television programming--the principal source of news for many citizens, 
especially in rural areas--reflected the Government's political and 
socioreligious ideology. Foreign programs such as BBC Persian and Voice 
of America were subject to government jamming. Satellite dishes that 
received foreign television broadcasts were forbidden, and the 
Government periodically confiscated them from homes. For instance, 
according to opposition websites, police began confiscating satellite 
dishes from rooftops in Tehran ahead of the February 11 anniversary of 
the Islamic revolution. However, most satellite dishes in individual 
homes reportedly continued to operate.
    During the year the Government detained, jailed, tortured, or fined 
numerous publishers, editors, and journalists (including Internet 
media) for their reporting. RSF reported that 37 journalists remained 
in detention as of December 20. The penal code states that ``anyone who 
undertakes any form of propaganda against the state'' can be imprisoned 
for as long as one year; the law does not define ``propaganda.'' The 
law also subjects writers to prosecution for instigating crimes against 
the state or national security or ``insulting'' Islam; the latter 
offense is punishable by death.
    On January 8, according to the CPJ, authorities arrested Mostafa 
Dehghan, a freelance journalist who wrote about social issues for 
several newspapers and the women's rights Web site, Change for 
Equality, and detained him in Evin Prison's Ward 209. According to PBS 
Frontline, he remained in prison as of December 10, and there was no 
evidence that authorities had charged him with any crime.
    On February 1, security officials beat and arrested Abolfazl 
Abedini Nasr, a reporter for Bahar Ahvaz, in his home in Ramhormoz and 
transferred him to Evin Prison,where he reportedly underwent harsh 
torture during interrogation, resulting in severe heart damage. On 
April 4, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz sentenced him to 
11 years in Karoun Prison in Ahvaz for association with foreign 
governments, membership in HRAI, and ``propaganda against the regime'' 
based on his interviews with foreign media. On April 13, Abedini 
collapsed in and was admitted to the prison clinic, according to AI. On 
August 19, HRAI reported that prison authorities had banned Abedini 
from leaving his cell until further notice, preventing him from 
visiting the prison clinic to receive regular required medical 
treatment. There was no information about Abedini's status at year's 
end, and he remained in prison.
    On February 9, according to the CPJ, authorities arrested Ali 
Malihi, a journalist for Etemad, Irandokht, Shahrvand-e-Emruz, and 
Mehrnameh, and a revolutionary court tried and sentenced him to four 
years in prison for ``congregation and mutiny against the regime,'' 
``propagation against the regime,'' ``participation in illegal 
gatherings,'' ``publication of falsehoods,'' and ``insulting the 
president.'' As of October 1, authorities reportedly had not permitted 
him to meet with his lawyer except during court proceedings. The CPJ 
reported he was held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison and went on 
at least one hunger strike to protest his treatment.
    On March 2, authorities rearrested journalist and activist 
Mahboubeh Karami, the fifth time she was arrested in the last three 
years (see section 6, Women).
    From June 12 until his December 22 release on 500 million toman 
($500,000) bail, authorities detained Abdolreza Tajik, who writes for 
reformist newspapers Fath, Bonyan, Bahar, and Shargh, in Evin Prison. 
This was Tajik's third arrest since the disputed June 2009 elections. 
At year's end he faced charges of ``propagation against the regime'' in 
connection with his membership in the DHRC, according to news reports. 
His sister, Parvin Tajik was also sentenced to 18 months in prison for 
pursuing her brother's case.
    On July 28, a court sentenced Mostafa Kazzazi, the publisher of 
banned reformist daily Seda-ye Edalat, in absentia to 11 months in jail 
on charges of ``propaganda against the Islamic regime'' and inciting 
unrest. He was in prison at year's end.
    In October authorities arrested two German reporters while they 
were interviewing the family of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani (see section 
1.e.). At year's end the two reporters remained in custody.
    On at least two occasions in December, police officials raided the 
offices of reformist daily Sharq and arrested editor in chief Ahmad 
Gholami, managing director Ali Khodabaksh, and reporters Kayvan 
Mehregan, Amir Hadi Anvari, Rayhaneh Tabatabaee, and Mehran Faraji. 
Local news sites reported that Tehran's general and revolutionary 
courts prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the arrests were based 
on ``security charges.'' Authorities reportedly released Gholami, 
Khodabaksh, and Anvari on bail before year's end, but Mehregan, 
Tabatabaee, and Faraji reportedly remained in prison. According to 
press reports, an unidentified Sharq journalist said authorities raided 
the newspaper offices because of an upcoming Students' Day issue.
    On December 9, Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court 
sentenced Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, head of the journalists' association 
and a prominent reform journalist, to 16 months in prison for 
``insulting the president'' and ``weakening'' the Government based on 
interviews he gave to international media. At year's end it did not 
appear as though his sentence had begun.
    There were updates in several cases from previous years.
    On October 9, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Saeed 
Razavi-Faghih, a former editorial writer for several reformist 
newspapers and former member of the Office of Consolidating Unity (a 
reformist student organization), in absentia to four years' 
imprisonment and 74 lashes for antiregime propaganda, participating in 
illegal gatherings, and insulting the supreme leader, and it summoned 
him to Evin Prison to begin his sentence. In January 2009 security 
agents confiscated his passport when he returned to the country from 
France, where he had been studying since 2004. At year's end he 
remained in prison.
    On February 1, an intelligence court summoned Alireza Saghafi and 
held him until February 14. Saghafi, who edited the magazine Rah 
Ayandeh until authorities closed it in 2008, was sentenced to three 
years in prison. In January an appeals court confirmed the one-year 
suspended prison sentence for Amir Yaghoubali, a journalist for the 
daily Etemad for ``activities against national security'' and 
``disturbing public order'' based on his writings. Authorities arrested 
the two journalists along with several others in May 2009 during 
International Workers Day demonstrations.
    According to RSF, authorities arrested more than 100 journalists 
after the June 2009 election, and 30 others fled the country, the 
largest exodus of journalists since the 1979 revolution.
    Mohammad Ghouchani, a journalist and editor in chief of the banned 
Etemad Meli daily, who was detained from June through October 2009, 
reported that intelligence agents continued to harass him during the 
year.
    In January a court sentenced journalist and editor of Khorade-no 
Bahman Ahmadi-Amoee to seven years in prison and 34 lashes, reduced in 
March by an appeals court to five years' imprisonment. There was no 
information as to whether the lashing sentence was upheld. After a 
brief visit home, Ahmadi-Amoee began serving his sentence in Evin 
Prison on May 30. He remained in prison at year's end. On June 8, the 
26th Chamber of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced his wife Jila 
Baniyaghoub to one year in prison and banned her from working as a 
journalist for 30 years, reportedly due to her writings related to 
election events and women's rights, and October 25 press reports stated 
that an appeals court had confirmed the verdict. Baniyaghoub's lawyer 
said there was no legal basis for the 30-year journalism ban. In June 
2009 authorities arrested the two journalists in their home. 
Authorities reportedly prevented Ahmadi-Amoee's access to legal counsel 
and held him in solitary confinement for 65 days; his lawyer had no 
access to any government evidence against him.
    On May 10, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced Iranian-
Canadian Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari in absentia to 13 years in 
prison and 74 lashes for conspiring against the state for his presence 
at postelection protests, possession of ``secret'' documents based on a 
public court document relating to arrests, propagandizing against the 
system, insulting the supreme leader by implying that he was a 
dictator, disrupting public order by reporting on a clash between 
protesters and Basij forces, and insulting the president. Authorities 
arrested Bahari in June 2009 and held him until they permitted him to 
leave the country in October. Bahari remained in outside the country at 
year's end.
    At year's end despite serious health problems, journalist and 
member of the Committee for Human Rights Reporters Hengameh Shahidi 
continued to serve her six-year sentence in Evin Prison for 
participating in postelection demonstrations and ``spreading propaganda 
against the holy Islamic Regime,'' based on an interview with the 
``antirevolutionary'' BBC. On October 28, authorities reportedly 
granted medical leave to Shahidi, originally arrested in June 2009, but 
returned her to prison on November 14 with no explanation.
    At year's end journalist and blogger Shiva Nazar Ahari was free 
pending the start of her sentence for four years' imprisonment and 74 
lashes based on her political and journalistic activities. In December 
2009 authorities arrested her and two of her colleagues from the 
Committee for Human Rights Reporters as they were headed to Qom for 
Grand Ayatollah Montazeri's funeral; she remained in prison until 
released on bail on September 12. On January 20, security forces 
released her colleague, Nasrin Vaziri, after detaining her for almost a 
month.
    According to international media, authorities released Syrian 
national Reza al-Bacha on January 10. He was arrested in December 2009 
while reporting on demonstrations.
    On October 15, authorities released Kalemeh Sabz editor Alireza 
Behshtipour Shirazi on a bail of 5 million toman ($5,000) pending trial 
for ``acting against national security.'' The editor was arrested in 
December 2009.
    In December the CPJ reported that writer and journalist Mostafa 
Izadi remained in prison.
    There was no information as to the status of journalist Mohammad-
Hossein Falahiezadeh, whom authorities transferred to Evin Prison's 
medical clinic due to his critical health situation in September 2009. 
Falahiezadeh had served his 2008 prison sentence for reporting on 
street protests by members of the Ahvazi Arab minority, but MOIS 
officials reportedly stated his release was contingent on meeting bail, 
which he could not afford.
    During the year the Government banned, blocked, closed, and 
censored publications that were critical of the Government. The media 
law forbids government censorship, but it also forbids disseminating 
information that it considered damaging to the Government. Government 
officials also routinely intimidated journalists into practicing self-
censorship. Public officials often lodged criminal complaints against 
reformist newspapers; the PSB referred complaints to the media court 
for further action, including closure and fines. The court conducted 
its hearings in public with a jury of appointed clerics, government 
officials, and editors of government-controlled newspapers. Some human 
rights groups asserted that the increasingly conservative media court 
assumed responsibility for cases before PSB consideration. The 
Government censored both reformist and conservative newspapers after 
they published articles contradicting the official line, and it 
permanently closed others during the year, including more than 10 
national publications including Etemad, the country's largest 
circulation reformist daily, and the weekly Irandokht magazine (early 
March), Shahrvand-e Emrouz (November 8), Chelcheragh (November 20), and 
Shargh (December 8). The following papers banned in 2009 remained so: 
Kalameh Sabz, Etemad-e Melli, the business newspaper Sarmayeh, and 
Hayat-e no.
    According to an August 18 ruling by the Ministry of Culture and 
Islamic Guidance allegedly obtained by an opposition group, the 
publication ban on any news or information related to opposition 
figures Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi and former president 
Mohamad Khatami continued.
    In December 2009 according to RSF, the Ministry of Culture and 
Islamic Guidance issued a directive banning print and Internet articles 
about cleric Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, a critic of the Government who 
died on December 19. At year's end the ban remained in effect.
    At various times in 2008, government officials advised reporters 
not to use the names of unauthorized political parties and to ``censor 
pages which are likely to create a dispute,'' observing the country's 
``religious, moral, and national sensitivities.''
    The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance must grant permission 
to publish any book, and it inspected foreign printed materials prior 
to their domestic release.

    Internet Freedom.--NGOs reported that the Government continued to 
increase control over the Internet during the year as more citizens 
used it as a source for news and political debate. According to 2010 
Internet World Stats, approximately 43 percent of the country's 
inhabitants used the Internet.
    The Government monitored Internet communications, especially via 
social networking Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, and 
collected individuals' personally identifiable information in 
connection with peaceful expression of views. The Government 
threatened, harassed, and arrested individuals who posted comments 
critical of the Government on the Internet; in some cases it reportedly 
confiscated their passports or arrested their family members (see 
section 1.f.). Freedom House and other human rights organizations 
reported that authorities sometimes stopped citizens at Tehran 
International Airport as they arrived in the country, asked them to log 
into their YouTube and Facebook accounts, and in some cases forced them 
to delete information.
    On February 10, the country's telecommunications agency announced 
that it had permanently suspended Google's e-mail service; however, 
``G-mail'' services continued throughout the year and were only 
periodically interrupted.
    All Internet service providers (ISPs) must be approved by the 
Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The Government also required 
all owners of Web sites and blogs in the country to register with the 
Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance; in practice, this regulation 
was rarely enforced. The Press Law and penal code both apply to 
electronic media, and the PSB and judiciary used such laws to close Web 
sites during the year. The Government also used filtering software to 
block access to domestic blogs on all sides of the political spectrum 
and some Western Web sites, reportedly including the Web sites of 
prominent Western news organizations and NGOs. According to RSF the 
Government blocked access to thousands of Web sites during the year, 
and in some cases ISPs redirected computer users from opposition Web 
sites to progovernment news sites.
    The Government also censored Web site content to control citizens' 
access to information. According to Freedom House, content from 
opposition leaders' Web sites was deleted during the year. The 
Government also imposed limits on Internet speed and technology, making 
it difficult to download Internet material or to circumvent government 
restrictions to access blocked Web sites. According to multiple sources 
the Government's ability to censor the Internet improved during the 
year. Internet NGOs reported that the Government was attempting to 
block Internet users' access to circumvention technology. According to 
RSF, the Committee in Charge of Determining Unauthorized Web Sites--
which included representatives from the Ministry of Communications and 
Information Technology, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, 
the Ministry of National Security, and the Tehran Public Prosecutor's 
Office--determined blocking criteria.
    During the periods prior to the anniversary of the Islamic 
Revolution (February 11), the anniversary of the 2009 presidential 
election (June 12), and Students' Day (December 7), authorities slowed 
Internet access and blocked access to Facebook and Twitter.
    During the year the Government prosecuted and punished persons for 
peaceful expression of dissenting views via the Internet.
    On February 25, authorities issued a 91-day prison sentence for 
blogger Mohammad Esmaeelzadeh for ``insulting the supreme leader,'' and 
Esmaeelzadeh served the sentence during the year. According to ICHRI, 
the Babol prosecutor's office awarded him a four day furlough in April 
ostensibly attend his child's birth, although he was not allowed to 
leave the town of Babol and travel to Karaj where his family lived.
    From June 20 until his temporary release on bail on August 9, 
authorities detained Hamed Saber, a freelance photographer, after he 
posted photographs he took of Tehran street protests on photo-sharing 
Web sites such as Flickr and Picasa. There were no updates on his case 
at year's end.
    On September 18, according to RSF, eight intelligence ministry 
officials entered student blogger Navid Mohebbi's home and arrested 
him. Authorities released him from Sari Prison on December 25 after a 
revolutionary court sentenced him to a three-year suspended sentence. 
He was charged with membership in and support for the One Million 
Signatures Campaign (see section 6, Women), acting against national 
security, propaganda against the state through connection with foreign 
media, insulting the founder of the Islamic Republic, and insulting the 
supreme leader. Mohebbi's trial took place behind closed doors; not 
even his lawyer attended.
    There were developments in several cases from previous years.
    In July the Second Branch of the Ghazvin Revolutionary Court 
reportedly sentenced blogger and physician Ali Asguar Jamali, to three 
years' imprisonment for insulting the supreme leader and antiregime 
propaganda. Jamali, who defends workers' rights, wrote a blog called 
Dr. Social-Democrat. According to cyberdissidents.org, at year's end he 
remained in jail.
    At year's end Mohammad Nourizad, originally arrested in December 
2009, remained in Evin Prison serving a three-year sentence (see 
section 1.c.).
    There was no evidence of any government investigation into the 
March 2009 death of 25-year-old blogger Omid Reza Mirsayafi in the 
medical ward of Evin Prison, reportedly due to an overdose of a 
medication he received from the prison clinic for depression. In 2008 a 
Tehran revolutionary court sentenced Mirsayafi to 30 months in prison 
for propaganda against the state and criticism of the supreme leader.
    Internet journalist and cleric Mojtaba Lotfi continued to serve a 
four-year prison sentence imposed in 2008 for posting online a sermon 
by Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, a well-known opponent of Supreme Leader 
Khamenei, that criticized President Ahmadi-Nejad's claim that Iran was 
``the world's freest country.'' According to RSF, Lotfi suffered from 
lung problems stemming from Iran-Iraq war injuries.
    In September a court sentenced well-known blogger and dual Iranian-
Canadian citizen Hossein Derakhshan to 19 and one-half years in prison 
and a five-year ban from political or journalistic activities. At 
year's end he reportedly remained in Evin Prison pending appeal. 
Authorities arrested Derakhshan in 2008 while he was visiting the 
country and allegedly subjected him to psychological and physical abuse 
in detention, according to the NGO HRAI.
    Blogger and women's rights activist Shahnaz Gholami was in asylum 
in France at year's end. On April 3, IHRV reported that Branch 2 of the 
Revolutionary Court in Tabriz sentenced her to eight years in prison 
for publishing articles considered devoid of truth, spreading 
propaganda against the regime, and alleged MEK membership. Gholami was 
arrested in 2008 for publishing ``propaganda'' and ``jeopardizing 
national security.''
    There were no updates in the case of bloggers Omid Memarian, 
Roozbeh Mirebrahimi, Shahram Rafizadeh, and Javad Gholamtamimi, 
sentenced in February 2009 to prison terms of up to three years, fines, 
and flogging despite the judiciary head's admission that the bloggers' 
confessions were coerced. Memarian, Mirebrahimi, and Rafizadeh were 
sentenced in absentia as they remained abroad at year's end; 
Gholamtamimi continued to reside in the country during the year. The 
four were originally arrested in 2004.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government significantly 
restricted academic freedom and the independence of higher education 
institutions. Authorities systematically targeted university campuses 
to suppress social and political activism, including by banning 
independent student organizations, imprisoning student activists, 
purging faculty, depriving targeted students from enrolling or 
continuing their higher education based on political affiliation or 
activism (see section 3), and banning social sciences and humanities 
curricula. Authorities continued to dismiss university professors in 
accordance with a 2006 presidential call for the removal of secular and 
liberal professors. To obtain tenure, professors had to refrain from 
criticism of authorities.
    In August the director of the Office of Development of Higher 
Education announced that the Government would begin restricting the 
number of students admitted to humanities programs at universities, and 
in October authorities placed restrictions on social sciences 
education, barring universities from opening new departments of law, 
philosophy, management, psychology, political science, women's studies, 
or human rights. The Government also announced it would revise at least 
70 percent of the existing social sciences curricula, and there were 
reports that the changes had begun at year's end.
    Also in October the supreme leader declared the private financial 
endowment of Azad University was religiously illegitimate, leading the 
way for a potential government takeover. Azad University, supported by 
former President Rafsanjani, has hundreds of branches in Iran and 
several outside the country. Azad University's main branch in Tehran 
was a major site for the June 2009 election protests.
    According to AI, in October 2009 authorities banned from teaching 
five prominent law professors from Alameh Tabatabai University's law 
school. Local news reports noted that the professors taught human 
rights courses at the university.
    The Government censored cultural events with stringent controls on 
cinema and theater and a ban on some foreign music. On June 1, the 
Government announced a ban on music education in private schools, 
already banned in public schools, and on August 3, media reported that 
the supreme leader advised against the practice and teaching of music 
in general, although music continued in the media at year's end. The 
Government monitored cultural associations and continued to crack down 
on underground music groups, especially those it considered inspired by 
Satan, such as heavy metal or similar foreign music. Authorities banned 
broadcasting of certain singers' music and certain songs from 
government-owned radio stations for unspecified reasons.
    Throughout the year there were reports that security forces raided 
recording studios and underground concerts. In May police raided an 
underground concert outside of Tehran and arrested 80 individuals for 
being improperly dressed and for drinking alcohol. In November Tehran 
police reportedly arrested male and female members of an underground 
rap group for ``immoral'' and ``un-Islamic'' behavior and for drinking 
alcohol. There was no information at year's end about the status or 
whereabouts of those arrested in either case.
    On July 21, President Ahmadinejad established the High Council for 
Cinema to conduct the country's cinema policy, and the group reportedly 
held its first meeting on December 30. As the main source of production 
funding, the Government effectively censored domestic filmmaking. 
Producers were required to submit scripts and film proposals to 
government officials in advance of funding approval. Movies promoting 
secularism, feminism, unethical behavior, drug abuse, violence, or 
alcoholism were illegal, and some domestic directors were blacklisted.
    On March 1, plainclothes police officers raided the home of award-
winning film director Jafar Panahi and arrested him along with his wife 
and daughter, film director Mohammad Rasulov, and 15 other individuals, 
most of whom were released a few days later. According to some sources, 
Panahi and Rasulov were working together to make a documentary about 
the 2009 postelection protests. On December 20, a court convicted 
Panahi and Rasulov with participating in a gathering and making 
propaganda against the regime and sentenced them both to six years in 
prison, and Panahi also to a 20-year ban from making films, writing 
scripts, giving interviews, and traveling abroad. At year's end both 
filmmakers remained free pending the outcome of their appeals. Most of 
Panahi's films are banned in the country.
    In September Culture Minister Sayyed Mohammad Hosseini publicly 
criticized the country's annual film festival for supporting the Green 
Movement. The Ministry later revoked the production license for Asghar 
Farhadi's film Separation of Nader and Simin. Farhardi was permitted to 
resume production in October.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution permits assemblies and marches ``provided 
they do not violate the principles of Islam''; in practice the 
Government restricted freedom of assembly and closely monitored 
gatherings to prevent antigovernment protests. Such gatherings included 
public entertainment and lectures, student meetings and protests, labor 
protests, women's gatherings and protests, funeral processions, and 
Friday prayer gatherings. According to activists, the Government 
arbitrarily applied rules governing permits to assemble, with 
conservative groups rarely experiencing difficulty and groups viewed as 
critical of the Government experiencing harassment regardless of 
whether a permit was issued. During the year authorities arrested, 
tried, and imprisoned individuals who participated in demonstrations 
since 2006.
    The Government continued to prohibit and forcibly disperse peaceful 
demonstrations during the year. Paramilitary organizations such as 
Ansar-e Hizballah also harassed, beat, and intimidated those who 
demonstrated publicly for reform. They particularly targeted university 
students.
    According to a February ICHRI release, authorities collected 
photographs of expatriate citizens in protest gatherings outside the 
country. When those citizens entered or left the country via Imam 
Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, security officials 
temporarily detained them for questioning.
    On December 7, students held peaceful demonstrations at various 
universities in the country, including Qazvin Azad University, Tehran 
Polytechnic University, Gilan University, and the Tehran School of Art, 
to protest the restrictions on humanities studies (see section 2.a., 
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events), as well as the imprisonment of 
students. Paramilitary Basij forces responded by breaking up gatherings 
and detaining dozens of students.
    In a global study released on February 5, the UN special rapporteur 
on torture stated that the June 2009 election protests ``were met with 
excessive violence by the police and government militias.'' He said he 
received ``credible allegations'' of the killing of at least 12 
students participating in the protests and pointed at agents of the 
Revolutionary Guards, paramilitary Basij, and State Security Force as 
employing ``extreme force to suppress protesters by opening fire during 
demonstrations and using pepper spray and batons to disperse 
demonstrations.''
    In September an appeals court rejected the appeal of Mohammad 
Tavakoli, charged with ``gathering,'' ``collusion against the regime,'' 
``propagating against the regime,'' and ``insulting the supreme leader 
and the president.'' At year's end he was serving his eight and one-
half-year prison term in Ward 3 of Gohardasht Prison in Karaj. The 
ICHRI reported that he had no access to his lawyer during his 
imprisonment or trial. In February 2009 authorities arrested 
approximately 20 participants in a ceremony commemorating the life of 
Mehdi Bazargan, the first prime minister appointed after the 1979 
revolution. The group included Tavakoli and at least three other men 
from Tehran Polytechnic (Amir Kabir) University's Islamic Students 
Association--Esmail Salmanpour, Hossein Torkashvand, and Koroush 
Daneshyar--who reportedly were detained in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. All 
the detainees except Tavakoli were believed to be free at year's end. 
On December 5, prior to Student Day, authorities arrested Esmail 
Salmanpour and held him for two weeks.
    In February 2009 more than 1,500 Amir Kabir University students 
demonstrated against the Government's plan to rebury soldiers from the 
Iran-Iraq War on university grounds. According to AI, security forces 
arrested four Amir Kabir University students, Abbas Hakimzadeh, Mehdi 
Mashayekhi, Nariman Mostafavi, and Ahmad Qasaban, along with 70 other 
students during the demonstrations. Authorities later released 40 of 
the students. There was no information regarding the status of the 
remaining detained students at year's end.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the 
establishment of political parties, professional associations, Islamic 
religious groups, and organizations for recognized religious 
minorities, as long as such groups do not violate the principles of 
``freedom, sovereignty, and national unity'' or question Islam as the 
basis of the Islamic Republic. The Government limited freedom of 
association in practice through threats, intimidation, imposing 
arbitrary requirements on organizations, and arresting group leaders 
and members. According to a January 2009 HRW report, under the Ahmadi-
Nejad administration, municipal, provincial, and national councils--
established by 2005 regulations ostensibly to facilitate NGOs' permit 
process--instead served to suppress NGO activities. Such councils 
generally denied NGOs' applications without written explanation, 
especially in minority regions, where those who successfully obtained 
permits nevertheless faced harassment (see section 6, National/Ethnic/
Racial Minorities).
    In November according to the Wall Street Journal, plainclothes 
agents without warrants arrested four of the five new central committee 
members of the Office for Fostering Student Unity (Tahkim-e Vahdat), a 
politically active student group, immediately after the group's 
elections were held. The group said the Government pressured it not to 
hold the elections. Authorities released Ali Qolizadeh, Alireza Kiani, 
and Mohamad Heydarzadeh by early December, but as of December 7, Mohsen 
Barzegar remained in Evin Prison without access to family or a lawyer. 
The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Research declared Tahkim-e 
Vahdat illegal in 2009. On October 31, Raja News, a Persian-language 
Web site HRW believes is affiliated with the Intelligence Ministry, ran 
an article accusing several Tahkim-e Vahdat members of having ties with 
the MEK. Tahkim-e Vahdat rejected these allegations.
    Throughout the year the Government reportedly continued to exert 
significant pressure on the DHRC, a Tehran NGO headed by Nobel Peace 
Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi (see section 5).
    The journalists' union and other labor-related groups also 
continued to face problems during the year (see section 7).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, and emigration, and 
repatriation. The Government placed some restrictions on these rights. 
The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR) with regard to refugees from Afghanistan and Iraq.
    The Government required exit permits for foreign travel for all 
citizens. Some citizens, particularly those whose skills were in demand 
and who were educated at government expense, had to post bond to obtain 
an exit permit. The Government also restricted foreign travel of some 
religious leaders and individual members of religious minorities and 
scientists in sensitive fields, and it increasingly targeted 
journalists, academics, opposition politicians, and activists--
including women's rights activists--for travel bans and passport 
confiscation during the year. The Government banned travel to Israel, 
but this ban was reportedly not enforced.
    There were no updates on the travel bans on prominent attorney 
Naser Zarafshan, academic Mehdi Zakerian, DHRC deputy Narges Mohammadi, 
and peace activist Sorayra Azizpanaha.
    In March, Simin Behbehani, a renowned Iranian poet, was barred from 
boarding a flight to France. Authorities questioned her and confiscated 
her passport. At year's end, authorities continued to bar her from 
leaving the country.
    On December 20, a court sentenced filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who was 
restricted from travel in October 2009, to six years in prison (see 
section 2.a., Academic Freedom and Cultural Events).
    A woman must have the permission of her husband, father, or other 
male relative to obtain a passport. A married woman must receive 
written permission from her husband before she leaves the country.
    The Government did not use forced external exile, but it used 
internal exile as a punishment. Many dissidents practiced self-imposed 
exile to be able to express their beliefs freely.
    There were indications that members of all religious minorities 
were emigrating at a high rate, although it was unclear whether the 
reasons for emigration were religious or economic.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's laws provide means for 
granting asylum or refugee status to qualified applicants, and the 
Government reportedly had a system for providing protection to 
refugees, but the UNHCR did not have any information as to how the 
country made asylum determinations. The Government did not consistently 
provide protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to 
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account 
of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social 
group, or political opinion. Unlike in the previous years, there were 
no reports of registered refugees included in mass deportations.
    As of March, according to information provided by the country's 
Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants' Affairs, 1,065,000 refugees 
were registered with the authorities, of whom approximately 1,021,600 
were Afghans and 43,800 were Iraqis. Approximately 70 percent of the 
Afghan refugees and their children had lived in the country for 20 to 
30 years. There were 3,590 Iraqis registered with the UNHCR at year's 
end. The UNHCR assisted with the voluntary repatriation of Afghan 
refugees under a tripartite agreement between the Islamic Republic of 
Iran, Afghanistan, and the UNHCR, which came back into force on June 28 
after three years of suspension.
    Twenty-two of 30 provinces were partially or fully closed to 
refugees; therefore, authorities generally required registered Afghan 
refugees in these ``No-Go Areas'' to choose either to relocate to 
refugee settlements, sometimes in other parts of the country, or to 
repatriate. However, the UNHCR noted that some of these refugee 
settlements needed rehabilitation. The limited number of resettlement 
locations is a major constraint for the UNHCR to assist refugees with 
relocation within the country. Of the 7,922 Afghans who repatriated 
from January 1 to November 7, the vast majority said they were under 
pressure to return due to the Government's No-Go Areas policy.
    According to the UNHCR, the Government's reregistration campaign 
launched in 2008 to assist male refugees to obtain work permits enabled 
more refugees to work in the country. The law allows only male refugees 
to work, but UNHCR has in the past provided limited assistance to 
female refugees.
    In July 2009 according to the UNHCR, the Government announced a 
policy to treat the enrollment of all school-age children, including 
lawful foreign residents and registered refugees, in the same manner. 
However, at year's end there was no information available about how the 
new policy was enforced. According to 2009 reports, more than a quarter 
of primary-school-aged refugees were not enrolled in school. The U.S. 
Committee for Refugees and Immigrants reported in 2008 that Afghan 
refugee children were charged fees to attend school, while Iraqi 
refugee children were able attend public school for free. In some 
cases, local government officials reportedly suspended education 
services for refugees to encourage them to repatriate.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides citizens the right to peacefully change 
the president and the parliament through free and fair elections, but 
the authority of unelected representatives over the election process 
severely abridged this right in practice. The Assembly of Experts 
elects the supreme leader, the recognized head of state, who may be 
removed only by a vote of the assembly. The supreme leader exercises 
influence over the Government appointments of the 12 clerics and 
religious jurists who make up the Guardian Council. The Guardian 
Council then approves the list of candidates for the Assembly of 
Experts, whose 86 members must also be clerics, who serve eight-year 
terms and are chosen by popular vote. There was no separation of state 
and religion, and clerical influence pervaded the Government. The 
supreme leader also approved presidential candidates.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In June 2009 the country 
held its 10th presidential election, which outside observers regarded 
as neither free nor fair. International observers were not allowed 
entry to monitor the election results. The Guardian Council approved 
only four candidates out of more than 450 prospective candidates, 
including 42 women and former officials. No women were approved to run 
as candidates. Authorities increased censorship and surveillance during 
the campaign, blocking cell phone signals and access to social 
networking and opposition Web sites. The Government also reportedly 
harassed and arbitrarily arrested political activists, members of the 
country's religious and ethnic minority communities, students, trade 
unionists, and women's rights activists during the preelection period.
    For example, in April 2009 authorities detained Mehdi Mo'tamedi 
Mehr, a member of the Committee to Defend Free, Healthy, and Fair 
Elections and the banned political organization the Freedom Movement of 
Iran, after the committee published a statement about civil society 
institutions as election observers. In December 2009 according to local 
press reports, the MOIS summoned Mehr and other members of the Freedom 
Movement, and at year's end they remained in detention.
    In May 2009 authorities detained Emad Bahavar, also a member of the 
Freedom Movement, for ``spreading propaganda against the system'' by 
campaigning for presidential candidate Mousavi. According to IHRV, he 
was released 96 hours later. He was detained again in June 2009 and was 
released after 46 days in solitary confinement. Nine months later on 
March 7, Bahavar defended himself at a trial for his June 2009 
detention and was immediately arrested. On November 29, Bahavar was 
convicted of ``assembly and collusion to act against national 
security,'' ``propagating against the regime,'' and ``insulting the 
leader.'' He was sentenced to a 10-year prison term and a 10-year ban 
on any political activity. At year's end he remained in Evin Prison.
    Anecdotal evidence suggested that authorities forced some election 
observers representing opposition candidates to leave polling stations 
and that millions of unused paper ballots went missing. Before all 
polls closed and ballot counting had commenced, government-controlled 
media announced that President Ahmadi-Nejad had been reelected in the 
first round of elections, obtaining a majority of the votes. Contrary 
to the election law, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei approved the 
election results before the Guardian Council certified the election and 
before the Interior Ministry announced the final results. Independent 
analysts studied election data and concluded there were a number of 
irregularities, including at least two provinces showing a turnout of 
more than 100 percent and the absence of longstanding regional 
variations in turnout, which appeared abnormal despite regulations that 
allow Iranians to vote at any polling station. According to official 
government data, President Ahmadi-Nejad took not only all former 
conservative voters, all former centrist voters, and all new voters, 
but also up to 44 percent of former reformist voters, a scenario 
analysts questioned.
    The constitution allows for the formation of political parties, 
although the Interior Ministry granted licenses only to parties with 
ideological and practical adherence to the system of government 
embodied in the constitution. There were more than 240 registered 
political organizations that generally operated without restriction or 
outside interference, but most were small entities, often focused 
around an individual, and did not have nationwide membership. Members 
of political parties and individuals with any political affiliation 
that the Government deemed unacceptable faced harassment, violence, and 
sometimes imprisonment.
    In 2009 both former presidential candidates experienced raids on 
their homes and offices. Specifically, in early September militants 
believed to be connected to the Government repeatedly targeted the home 
of former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi in consecutive evening 
attacks. On September 16, security forces raided the office of former 
presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
    In March Minister of Science, Research, and Technology Kamrn 
Daneshjoo said that only those who have proven commitment to Islam and 
the ``rule of the jurisprudent'' (velayat-e-faghih) can teach or study 
at universities, and during the year the Government continued to 
dismiss professors and ban students from higher education institutions 
based on their political affiliations or actions. According to the 
ICHRI, university officials dismissed or forced the retirement of at 
least 50 university faculty members during the year for their 
affiliation or support of the Green Movement. For example, in August 
the Ministry of Science suddenly dismissed Yousef Sobouti, head of the 
Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences in Zanjan Province, 
allegedly for political reasons, and replaced him with a scientist 
reportedly known to have links with the Basij militia. Following calls 
for an investigation into the dismissals and retirements, various 
members of the parliament called for a review; however, at year's end, 
no formal investigation had been launched.
    The two leading reformist political parties, Islamic Iran 
Participation Front and the Islamic Revolution Mujahedin Organization, 
were banned in September.
    Admission to universities was politicized; in addition to 
standardized examinations, all applicants had to pass ``character 
tests'' in which officials eliminated applicants critical of the 
Government's ideology. According to a December ICHRI report, there were 
at least 70 such cases during the year. Basij members were given 
advantages in the admissions process. During the previous three years, 
according to the ICHRI, government interference with university 
admissions considerably increased.
    Authorities relied on university disciplinary committees to 
suspend, transfer, or expel enrolled students based on social and 
political activism, involvement in student publications, or 
participation in student associations. Student groups reported that a 
``star'' system inaugurated by the Government in 2005 to rank 
politically active students was still in use. Students deemed 
antigovernment through this system reportedly were prevented from 
registering for upcoming terms. Repeated suspensions through this 
mechanism resulted in effectively denying the rights of targeted 
students to complete and continue their studies.
    During the year Ministry of Intelligence agents used threats, 
intimidation, and arrests to silence students who attempted to seek 
accountability and legal justification for their deprivation from 
higher education.
    For instance, during the year a disciplinary committee at Qazvin 
International University expelled Payam Heydar Ghazvini, who was in the 
last term of his theology and law studies, and banned him from any 
university for three years. Ghazvini was the head student campaigner 
for opposition presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi in Qazvin 
Province.
    Also during the year the Central Disciplinary Committee expelled 
Kazem Rezaee from Shiraz University, where he was studying mechanical 
engineering. Rezaee was editor in chief of the student publication 
Farvardin and was arrested four times for his student activism between 
2007 and 2009.
    In November the Ministry of Science confirmed the expulsion of 
Kaveh Daneshvar from Babol's Noshirvani Industrial University. 
Daneshvar went on a hunger strike in 2009 to protest the arrests of 
Babol University's student activists during the postelection events.
    According to the Guardian Council's interpretation, the 
constitution barred women and persons of non-Iranian origin or 
religions other than Shia Islam from becoming president. Women were 
also barred from serving as supreme leader; as members of the Assembly 
of Experts, Guardian Council, or Expediency Council (a body responsible 
for mediating between the Majles and the Guardian Council and serving 
as a consultative council for the supreme leader); and as certain types 
of judges (see section 6, Women). On December 20, President Ahmadi-
Nejad appointed Farahnaz Torkestani to a vicepresidential cabinet post 
as head of the National Youth Organization. Women also served as the 
vice presidents of legal affairs and science and technology and as the 
health minister. Twelve women served in the Majles during the year.
    Five Majles seats were reserved for recognized religious 
minorities. Other ethnic minorities in the Majles included Arabs and 
Kurds. There were no non-Muslims in the cabinet or on the Supreme 
Court.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
the Government did not implement the law effectively, and official 
corruption and impunity remained a serious and ubiquitous problem in 
all three branches of government. In a September interview with state 
media, former prosecutor general Ayatollah Abdolnabi Namazi alleged 
that judiciary officials were under pressure not to pursue corruption 
charges against cases referred to the Committee to Fight Economic 
Corruption. Many officials expected bribes for providing even routine 
service. Individuals routinely bribed officials in order to obtain 
permits for illegal construction.
    According to a May report by the Foundation for Defense of 
Democracies' Iran Energy Project, the supreme leader continued to 
transfer a large portion of the country's commerce, industry, oil and 
gas, and services sectors to the IRGC. In recent years the Government 
gave control over state enterprises to the IRGC through the granting of 
special privileges. IRGC companies were large enough to underbid 
competitors and were generally favored in the bidding process for large 
contracts. In October the IRGC was awarded a road-building contract of 
15 trillion toman ($15 billion), the largest in the country's history. 
According to the report, the IRGC does not answer to either the 
executive or legislative branches with regard to its economic 
activities and does not publish any records or reports about its 
revenues. Under a 1993 decree, all of the IRGC's economic activities 
are exempt from taxation. The IRGC is also widely considered to control 
the vast majority of the underground and black market economy. Up to 80 
percent of illegal goods enter the country through unregistered ports 
and jetties controlled by the IRGC.
    According to Freedom House, the hardline clerical establishment 
also grew wealthy through its control of bonyads, tax-exempt 
foundations that monopolize many sectors of the economy such as cement 
and sugar production. Bonyads receive benefits from the Government but 
are not required to have their budgets publicly approved.
    All government officials, including cabinet ministers and members 
of the Guardian Council, Expediency Council, and Assembly of Experts, 
were required to submit annual financial statements to the state 
inspectorate. There was no information available regarding whether 
these officials obeyed the law.
    Numerous government agencies existed to fight corruption, including 
the Anticorruption Headquarters, the Anticorruption Task Force, the 
Committee to Fight Economic Corruption, and the General Inspection 
Organization.
    In late January according to media reports, intelligence agents 
arrested 15 individuals in Karaj, including the mayor and three city 
council members, under embezzlement charges. The cases of the detained 
were forwarded to the Karaj public prosecutor, but there was no further 
information regarding the case at year's end.
    On December 20, the judiciary announced that First Vice President 
Mohammad Reza Rahimi would face corruption charges. In April members of 
parliament had publicly accused Rahimi of corruption. Rahimi denied the 
charges. At year's end there were no updates about the status of the 
charges, and Rahimi remained in his position.
    There were no developments related to the February 2009 National 
Audit Office report that revealed that the Oil Ministry had not 
returned 1.2 trillion toman ($1.2 billion) in oil revenues to the 
treasury or to the November 2009 parliamentary commission's criticism 
of the Government's recent privatization efforts, which concluded that 
the Government essentially gave the national telecommunications company 
to the IRGC.
    There were no laws providing for public access to government 
information.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government continued to restrict the work of human rights 
groups and activists and sometimes responded to their inquiries and 
reports with harassment, arrests, monitoring, unlawful raids, and 
closures (see also sections 1.d., 1.e., 2.a., 6, and 7). The Government 
continued to deny the universality of human rights and stated that 
human rights issues should be viewed in the context of a country's 
``culture and beliefs.''
    Hundreds of domestic NGOs focused on issues such as health and 
population, women's rights, development, youth, environmental 
protection, human rights, and sustainable development, despite the 
restrictive environment, including pressure not to accept foreign 
grants. NGOs must register with the Interior Ministry and apply for 
permission to receive foreign grants. According to various sources, 
independent human rights groups and other NGOs faced intensifying 
harassment and threat of closure from government officials as a result 
of prolonged and often arbitrary delays in obtaining official 
registration.
    During the year the Government prevented human rights defenders, 
civil society activists, journalists, and scholars from traveling 
abroad (see section 2.d.). Human rights activists reported receiving 
intimidating phone calls and threats of blackmail from unidentified law 
enforcement and government officials. Government officials routinely 
harassed and sometimes arrested family members of human rights 
activists (see section 1.f.). Courts routinely applied suspended 
sentences to human rights activists; this form of sentencing acted as 
de facto probation, leaving open the option for authorities to suddenly 
and arbitrarily arrest or imprison individuals. This threat was 
sometimes enough to silence activists or pressure them into providing 
information about other activists.
    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. The Government 
severely curtailed these groups' ability to meet, organize, or effect 
change.
    In June according to the ICHRI, a government intelligence official 
traveled with the NGO delegation to the UN Human Rights Council's 
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the country and reviewed statements 
made by the NGOs.
    Throughout the year the Government reportedly continued to exert 
significant pressure on the DHRC, a Tehran NGO headed by Nobel Peace 
Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, and it systematically harassed and 
arrested lawyers affiliated with the organization. On October 30, 
Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced Mohammad Seifzadeh, a 
lawyer and one of DHRC's founders, to nine years in prison and a 10-
year ban on practicing law for ``acting against national security'' by 
establishing the DHRC. Seifzadeh told the ICHRI that his trial occurred 
behind closed doors.
    In 2009 a Basij-student mob attacked Ebadi's offices and home, and 
the Government pressured at least two of the DHRC's employees to 
resign; prevented several DHRC members from traveling outside the 
country; arrested and detained a DHRC secretary for 55 days; regularly 
summoned DHRC members for interrogation; and warned individuals not to 
attend the DHRC's gatherings, some of which police dispersed. On 
January 12, authorities released Ebadi's sister, Nushin, a professor of 
dentistry, after 17 days in detention. Nooshin reportedly also faced 
threats of dismissal from her university job.
    Despite numerous appeals, including from the UN, the Government 
denied requests from international human rights NGOs to establish 
offices in, or conduct regular investigative visits to, the country. 
The last visit by an international human rights NGO was AI's 2004 visit 
as part of the EU's human rights dialogue with the country.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross and the UNHCR both 
operated in the country with some restrictions. Since the Government 
issued a standing invitation to all UN human rights agencies in 2002, 
there have been six visits to the country by UN special human rights 
institutions, but none since 2005. The Government generally ignored 
recommendations these bodies made and failed to submit required reports 
to the UN Human Rights Committee or the UN Committee on Economic, 
Social, and Cultural Rights. The Government ignored repeated requests 
for visits by UN special rapporteurs.
    A February 5 global study by the UN special rapporteur on torture 
and other similar practices stated that there were ``credible'' 
allegations that the country's security forces used excessive force 
against peaceful demonstrators and committed politically motivated 
torture following demonstrations.
    In a March 11 interview with Radio Free Europe (RFE), then UN 
special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak said he was ``really 
concerned about the situation'' in the country, including allegations 
of torture in prisons following the 2009 elections, but that the 
Government would not permit him to visit and investigate the claims.
    In June the UN Human Rights Council reviewed the country's human 
rights record as part of the UPR process. The Government rejected 45 of 
the 189 UPR recommendations, including concerns over torture, the lack 
of due process, and independence of civil society. Mohammed Javad 
Larijani, chief of the country's High Council for Human Rights, said 
human rights activists were ``inciting violence.''
    On October 29, for the eighth consecutive year, the UN General 
Assembly adopted a resolution expressing concern about the country's 
``serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations.'' High Council 
for Human Rights head Larijani said the resolution was ``illegal'' and 
was designed to undermine ``constructive interaction between [his 
government] and the UN Human Rights Council.''
    The Governmental High Council for Human Rights has not conducted 
formal investigations into post-election abuses. Larijani, the 
council's head, is the brother of Ali Larijani, speaker of the 
parliament, and Sadeq Larijani, head of the judiciary.
Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the constitution formally prohibits discrimination based 
on race, gender, disability, language, and social status ``in 
conformity with Islamic criteria,'' the Government did not effectively 
enforce these prohibitions.

    Women.--Rape is illegal and subject to strict penalties including 
the death penalty, but it remained a problem. There were reports of 
government forces raping individuals in custody (see sections 1.a., 
1.c., and others). Spousal rape is not illegal. Cases of rape were 
difficult to document due to social stigma against the victims. Most 
rape victims did not report the crime to authorities because they 
feared societal reprisal such as ostracism or punishment for having 
been raped. According to the penal code, rape is a capital offense, and 
four male witnesses or a combination of three male and two female 
witnesses are required for conviction. A woman or man found making a 
false accusation of rape is subject to 80 lashes.
    The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence. Spousal 
abuse and violence against women occurred. According to a study 
published in 2008 using 2005 data, 52.7 percent of women reported being 
physically abused during their married lives. A study published in 2009 
using data from 2006 reported that half of the secondary students 
interviewed had witnessed spousal abuse in their families. A survey of 
women with infertility from August 2009 to January 2010 revealed that 
approximately 62 percent had experienced domestic abuse because of 
their infertility. Most women said their abuse was psychological; 22 
percent of women had experienced physical or sexual abuse because of 
infertility. Abuse in the family was considered a private matter and 
seldom discussed publicly, although there were some efforts to change 
this attitude, particularly by the ``One Million Signatures for the 
Repeal of Discriminatory Laws'' (also known as OMSC and ``Change for 
Equality'') campaign. Some nongovernmental shelters and hotlines 
assisted victims during the year.
    There is no law prohibiting ``honor'' killings, although no cases 
were documented during the year. The law permits a man to kill his 
adulterous wife and her consorts if he is certain she consented. Women 
convicted of adultery may also be sentenced to death, including by 
stoning. According to a police official quoted in a domestic newspaper 
in 2008, 50 honor killings were reported during a seven-month period, 
although official statistics were not available. The punishment for 
perpetrators was often a short prison sentence.
    There was no update on the February 2009 case where a father killed 
his 16-year-old daughter for suspicious activity; the 2008 cases of a 
man known as Ahmad, who allegedly killed his daughter after her former 
brother-in-law kidnapped and slept with her; or Morteza, who allegedly 
killed his sister after she married a man without her family's 
permission.
    There was a lack of reliable data on the prevalence of sexual 
harassment in the country. Media reports indicated that unwanted 
physical contact and verbal harassment occurred. Government officials, 
however, often blamed women's sexuality for problems in society; for 
example, on April 16, cleric Kazem Sadighi said, ``many of the ladies 
who do not have a proper appearance cause the hearts of the youth to be 
swayed and they become defiled by sin, and this leads to the spread of 
adultery in society, which increases earthquakes.'' There are laws 
addressing sexual harassment in the context of physical contact between 
men and women. Physical contact between unrelated men and women is 
strictly prohibited and is punishable by lashing.
    The 1993 family planning law recognizes the basic right of married 
couples to decide freely and responsibly the spacing and timing of 
their first three children and have the information and means to do so 
free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. According to the law, 
health and maternity benefits are cut for the family after three 
children. Local clinics and rural health centers disseminated 
information on family planning under the guidance of the Ministry of 
Health and Medical Education. There were no restrictions on the right 
of married persons to access contraceptives. According to the 
Population Reference Bureau, nearly 80 percent of married women of 
reproductive age used family planning methods, 75 percent of whom used 
modern methods of contraception. Couples who plan to marry must take a 
class in family planning. According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), 
the 2008 adjusted maternal mortality ratio was 30 per 100,000 live 
births. According to UNICEF, 97 percent of women gave birth with a 
skilled attendant present. Men and women received equal access to 
diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, including 
HIV. However, women tested less regularly than men because of social 
stigmas attached to doing so.
    The constitution nominally provides women with equal protection 
under the law and all human, political, economic, social, and cultural 
rights in conformity with Islam. Provisions in the Islamic civil and 
penal codes, particularly sections dealing with family and property 
law, discriminate against women. Shortly after the 1979 revolution, the 
Government replaced those laws that provided women with increased 
rights in the home and workplace with a legal system based largely on 
Shari'a practices. In March 2009 President Ahmadi-Nejad instructed the 
relevant bodies to implement a law in which women's share of their 
husband's inheritance would increase to one-fourth from the previously 
stipulated one-eighth of his property. At year's end there was no 
information on the law's implementation. The Governmental Center for 
Women and Family continued to publish reports on feminism with a 
negative slant and limited the debate on women's issues to matters 
related to the home. Women cannot directly transmit citizenship to 
their children or to a non-Iranian spouse (see section 6, Children).
    Although a man (or boy) can marry at age 15 without parental 
consent, the law states that a virgin woman or girl 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 
as many as four wives and an unlimited number of sigheh, based on a 
Shia custom in which a woman may become the wife of a Muslim man after 
a simple religious ceremony and a civil contract outlining the union's 
conditions. Sigheh wives and any resulting children were not granted 
rights associated with traditional marriage. The Government does not 
recognize marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men or Baha'i 
marriages.
    A woman has the right to divorce only if her husband signs a 
contract granting that right, cannot provide for his family, or is a 
drug addict, insane, or impotent. A husband was not required to cite a 
reason for divorcing his wife. Traditional interpretations of Islamic 
law recognized a divorced woman's right to part of shared property and 
to alimony. These laws were not enforced. According to a study by the 
National Organization for Civil Registration, quoted in a book by a 
women's rights activist, more than 89 percent of women did not receive 
their due alimony, and 9 percent did not receive their share of the 
wedding gift (wedding contracts traditionally stipulate that in case of 
divorce the groom give his bride the wedding gift for financial 
support). The law provides divorced women preference in custody for 
children up to age seven; divorced women who remarry are forced to give 
the child's father custody. After the child reaches age seven, the 
father is entitled to custody (unless the father has been proven unfit 
to care for the child). The court determines custody in disputed cases.
    Women sometimes received disproportionate punishment for crimes 
such as adultery, including death sentences (see sections 1.a. and 
1.e., Trial Procedures). The testimony of two women is equal to that of 
one man. The blood money paid to the family of a female crime victim is 
half the sum paid for a man.
    Women had access to primary and advanced education, and 
approximately 65 percent of university students were women. Government 
officials acknowledged the use of quotas to limit women's university 
admissions in certain fields such as medicine and engineering. In 
addition social and legal constraints limited women's professional 
opportunities. Women were represented in many fields, including the 
legislature, municipal councils, police, and firefighters, but a woman 
must seek her husband's consent before working outside the home. 
According to a 2009 World Economic Forum report, the unemployment rate 
for women, who constituted 33 percent of the workforce, was 15.8 
percent, compared with 9.3 percent for men. Cultural discrimination 
remained a factor; one member of parliament suggested that banning 
women from the workplace could solve the country's unemployment 
problems. Women cannot serve in many high-level political positions or 
as judges, except as consultant or research judges without the power to 
impose sentences.
    On November 17, Khadijeh Azadpour, who won a gold medal in martial 
arts at the Asian Games, told the local press that authorities told her 
she would only receive a promised apartment if she were married. 
Previously, she said she was promised an apartment if she won a gold 
medal.
    The Government enforced gender segregation in most public spaces, 
including for patients during medical care, and prohibited women from 
mixing openly with unmarried men or men not related to them. Women must 
ride in a reserved section on public buses and enter public buildings, 
universities, and airports through separate entrances. The penal code 
provides that a woman who appears in public without an appropriate 
hijab can be sentenced to lashings and fined. However, absent a clear 
legal definition of ``appropriate hijab'' or the punishment, women were 
subject to the opinions of disciplinary forces or judges. Pictures of 
uncovered or immodestly dressed women in the media or in films were 
often digitally altered.
    In August a controversial family law that would make polygamy more 
permissive was reintroduced to the parliament. Women's groups 
successfully lobbied to table the bill in 2008; the bill would allow 
men to take additional wives without the first wife's permission, tax 
women's dowries, and remove conditions for the registration of 
temporary marriages.
    The Government continued its intense crackdown against members of 
the OMSC, which activists launched in 2006 to promote women's rights, 
particularly by advocating reform of discriminatory laws. Several 
members of the OMSC remained under suspended prison sentences and 
travel bans, were in prison, or were in self-imposed exile at year's 
end.
    On March 2, authorities rearrested Mahoubeh Karami and searched her 
house. IRGC officials took her to Evin Prison where according to the 
ICHRI she remained for 80 days. She reportedly suffered abuse during 
interrogation, including being hit on the head with a water bottle. 
According to her brother, her charges stemmed from her membership in 
OMSC and her support for the DHRC. On August 18, according to press 
reports, a court sentenced her to four years' imprisonment for 
membership in a prohibited organization and spreading of propaganda 
against the state, but at year's end she was free on bail of 500 
million toman ($500,000).
    In March according to the Human Rights House of Iran, the Branch 15 
of the Revolutionary Court acquitted Khadijeh Moghaddam on two counts 
of propaganda activity against the regime and disobeying police orders 
but sentenced her to a one-year suspended prison term for assembly and 
conspiracy with intent to act against national security.
    In March 2009 security forces detained Moghaddam for approximately 
one month along with 11 other members from OMSC and the NGO Mothers for 
Peace--Delaram Ali, Leila Nazari, Farkhondeh Ehtesabian, Mahboubeh 
Karami, Bahara Behravan, Ali Abdi, Amir Rashidi, Mohammad Shoorab, 
Arash Nasiri Eghbali, Soraya Yousefi and Shahla Forouzanfar--as the 
group met to make traditional Nowruz (New Year) visits to families of 
several political prisoners. The ICHR suggested that security and 
intelligence forces must have eavesdropped on activists' private 
communications to apprehend them. Judge Matin Rasekh charged the 12 
with ``disturbing public opinion'' and ``disrupting public order,'' and 
they were transferred to Section 209 of Evin Prison under MOIS control. 
All 12 were released on bail in June 2009.
    On December 5, local news reported that authorities arrested 
Hakimeh Shokri at at Behesht Zahara Cemetary along with several other 
mothers who were celebrating the birthday anniversary of Amir Arshad 
Tajmir, one of the protesters killed during the 2009 Ashura protest. 
They were gathered at Behesht Zahra Cemetery and were arrested. At 
year's end Hakimeh was transferred to Evin Prison and charged with 
``espionage'' and ``acting against national security''; the other women 
were released.
    There were no developments in the case of Maryam Malek, detained 
for several weeks in April 2009 and charged with ``propaganda against 
the system'' in connection with her OMSC membership.
    On December 29, authorities summoned Maryam Bidogli and Fatemeh 
Masjedi to report to prison to serve their one-year sentences for 
membership in a feminist organization. In May 2009 authorities in Qom 
arrested the OMSC members, along with the male author of The Women's 
Movement in the East, Gholamreza Salami. Intelligence agents searched 
homes of both women and took personal belongings. According to news 
reports, the women had previously been investigating an honor killing.
    In January and February, authorities released the activists 
reportedly arrested in December 2009, including Zohre Tonkaboni and 
Mahin Fahimi, members of Mothers for Peace; and OMSC members Atiey 
Youseffi, Somayeh Rashidi, and Mansourreh Shojaaiei. There were no 
other updates available in any cases related to these women.
    There were no developments reported in the case of Mehri Moshrefi, 
sentenced in January 2009 along with her husband to a two-year 
suspended sentence. In 2008 authorities arrested Moshrefi, her husband, 
and two of her children at a cemetery where One Million Signatures was 
staging a protest and transferred them to Evin Prison despite 
activists' claims that the family was not involved in the gathering.
    As of July Ronek Safazadeh remained in Sanadaj Prison. In April 
2009 a court sentenced her to six years in prison for spreading 
propaganda about the Government in relation to her distribution of One 
Million Signatures pamphlets in 2007 and membership in the armed 
opposition group Free Life Party of Kurdistan, with which her lawyer 
maintained she was only marginally involved.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by descent when a child is born 
to a citizen father regardless of the child's country of birth. In 
general birth within the country's borders does not confer citizenship, 
except when a child is born to unknown parents; when both parents are 
noncitizens, but at least one parent was born in the country; or when a 
child born to noncitizens continues to reside in the country for at 
least one year after age 18. The birth registration law requires that 
all births be registered within 15 days. The responsibility for 
implementing birth registration law falls to the Ministries of Justice, 
Interior, and Foreign Affairs. According to UNICEF, despite efforts to 
register rural births, 13 percent of births were not reported in 2005.
    Although primary schooling up to age 11 is free and compulsory for 
all, media and other sources reported lower enrollment in rural areas 
for girls than for boys. More than 25 percent of refugee children of 
primary school age were not enrolled in school.
    There was little information available to reflect how the 
Government dealt with child abuse, including child labor. Abuse was 
largely regarded as a private family matter. In May the Government 
announced that approximately 150,000 cases of child abuse had been 
recorded in the six months prior, and a prominent attorney added that 
the Government did little to address the problem. According a 2005 
study by the UN's Integrated Regional Information Network, child sexual 
abuse was rarely reported.
    The law requires court approval for the marriage of girls younger 
than 13 and boys younger than 15, but it was reportedly not unusual in 
rural areas for parents to have their children marry before they became 
teenagers, often for economic reasons. The age of criminal 
responsibility for girls is nine years, while the law does not consider 
boys criminally responsible until age 15; thus, if a 12-year-old girl 
accuses a 14-year-old boy of rape, the 12-year-old girl would face any 
criminal penalties alone. Sex outside of marriage is illegal and is 
punishable by death, although media reported that the common punishment 
was imprisonment and lashing.
    In November 2009 according to the Mehr news agency, the leader of 
the student Basij organization, Mohammad Saleh Jokar, announced that 
6,000 Basij units would be created in the country's elementary schools. 
Jokar said the action aimed to expand and promote Basij and 
revolutionary ideals among young persons. He added that approximately 
4.5 million students and 320,000 teachers were members of the Basij. An 
RFE report noted that the Basij also began a program to register baby 
girls for later training in the Basji Hossein Haj Mousaee Basij unit. 
The report also discussed ``resource centers'' being built at 
elementary schools to prepare children to join the units.
    There were reportedly significant numbers of children working as 
street vendors in Tehran and other cities and not attending school. 
International media sources reported there were as many as 250,000 
street children in the country.
    International news reported on the plight of children of imprisoned 
mothers. According to State Prisons Organization regulations, children 
could stay in prison with their mothers until the age of three; 
according to a report by the Association for Defending Prisoners' 
Rights, children sometimes stayed through the age of six.
    In March authorities reportedly released child and women's rights 
activist Maryam Zia, arrested in December 2009, on bail of 30 million 
toman ($30,000) due to health concerns and, according to some press 
reports, a 13-day hunger strike. In September Branch 28 of the 
Revolutionary Court sentenced Zia to one year in prison for propaganda 
against the regime.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html, as well 
as country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Government's anti-Israel stance, in particular 
the president's repeated speeches decrying the existence of Israel and 
calling for the destruction of its ``Zionist regime,'' created a 
threatening atmosphere for the 25,000-person Jewish community. 
Government officials continued to make anti-Semitic statements, 
organize events during the year designed to deny the Holocaust, and 
sanction anti-Semitic propaganda. The Government also limited 
distribution of nonreligious Hebrew texts and required Jewish schools 
to remain open on Jewish Sabbath.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities. The law also provides for state-
funded vocational education for persons with disabilities, but 
according to domestic news reports, vocational centers were confined to 
urban areas and were unable to meet the needs of the entire population. 
Building accessibility for persons with disabilities remained a 
widespread problem. The Welfare Organization of Iran is the principal 
governmental agency charged with protecting the rights of persons with 
disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution grants equal 
rights to all ethnic minorities and allows for minority languages to be 
used in the media and in schools; in practice minorities did not have 
equal rights, and the Government consistently denied their right to use 
their language in school. The Government disproportionately targeted 
minority groups, including Kurds, Arabs, Azeris, and Baluch, for 
arbitrary arrest, prolonged detention, and physical abuse. These groups 
reported political and economic discrimination, particularly in their 
access to economic aid, business licenses, university admissions, 
permission to publish books, and housing and land rights. The 
Government blamed foreign entities, including a number of governments, 
for instigating some of the ethnic unrest.
    In January 2009 HRW released a report documenting government 
persecution of the 4.5 million Kurds in the country, who have 
frequently campaigned for greater regional autonomy. The report 
documented the Government's use of security laws, media laws, and other 
legislation to arrest and persecute Kurds solely for exercising their 
right to freedom of expression and association (see section 1.e., 
Political Prisoners and Detainees). According to the report, the 
Government consistently banned Kurdish-language newspapers, journals, 
and books and punished publishers, journalists, and writers for 
opposing and criticizing government policies. Although the Kurdish 
language is not banned, schools did not teach it. Authorities 
suppressed legitimate activities of Kurdish NGOs by denying 
registration permits or bringing spurious charges of security offenses 
against individuals working with such organizations. Kurds were not 
allowed to register certain names for their children in official 
registries.
    IHRV reported that two Kurdish students who passed entrance exams 
for graduate school in 2009 were denied admission based on their 
ethnicity.
    There were no developments in the case of Jebraeil Khosravi, 
sentenced in January 2009 to a 20-year prison term for membership in an 
illegal organization. At year's end he was believed to remain in 
Bandar-Abbas Prison.
    In November authorities reportedly released Kurdish writer Abbass 
Jalilian, who goes by the name ``AKO,'' upon completion of his 15-month 
sentence for espionage.
    On May 9, the Government executed by hanging Farrad Karmangar, 
fellow Kurdish activists Ali Heydarian and Farhad Vakili, and two other 
political prisoners at Evin Prison (see section 1.a.). Authorities 
originally arrested the three men in 2006 because of their human rights 
activism.
    Foreign representatives of the Ahvazi Arabs of Khuzestan claimed 
their community of two to four million in the country's southwest 
encountered oppression and discrimination, including the lack of 
freedom to study and speak Arabic. Ahvazi and human rights groups 
alleged torture and mistreatment of Ahvazi Arab activists, including 
allegations that in September 2009 IRGC intelligence officers raped two 
female activists.
    In October 2009 relatives of seven men sentenced to death for 
killing a clergy member in Ahvaz told local human rights organizations 
that authorities had tortured them to coerce confessions.
    Ethnic Azeris comprised approximately one-quarter of the country's 
population, were well integrated into government and society, and 
included the supreme leader among their numbers. Nonetheless, Azeris 
complained that the Government discriminated against them, banning the 
Azeri language in schools, harassing Azeri activists or organizers, and 
changing Azeri geographic names. Azeri groups also claimed a number of 
Azeri political prisoners had been jailed for advocating cultural and 
language rights for Azeris. The Government charged several of them with 
``revolting against the Islamic state.''
    On April 2, approximately 10,000 Azeris demonstrated near Lake 
Urmia, located between the provinces of West Azerbaijan and East 
Azerbaijan, to protest the Government's lack of attention to the drying 
out of the lake. The protesters also demanded the preservation of 
Azerbaijan's cultural heritage. Authorities arrested more than 100 
demonstrators.
    On May 25, intelligence officials arrested Akbar Azad, an Azeri 
author and journalist, at his home in Tehran. After his arrest, 
security forces searched his home and confiscated his computer, books, 
and personal property. At year's end he remained in detention.
    On August 1, two to three thousand Azeris reportedly demonstrated 
for the right to be educated in Azeri Turkish and to condemn 
discrimination against their community. According to the RFE report, 
Basij militants broke up the demonstration and arrested at least 12 
individuals.
    On August 25, the brother of Azeri activist Youssef Soleiman 
reported that prison authorities abused his brother (see section 1.c.).
    In May 2009 media sources reported that 16 ethnic Azeris were 
injured during clashes with police in the city of Tabriz and 15 
demonstrators were arrested. Protests also took place in the town of 
Orumiyeh and in Tehran. The demonstrations commemorated riots of 2006 
in Tabriz and other cities protesting a newspaper caricature depicting 
Azeris as cockroaches.
    Local and international human rights groups alleged serious 
economic, legal, and cultural discrimination against the Baluch 
minority during the year. Baluch journalists and human rights activists 
faced arbitrary arrest, physical abuse, and unfair trials, often ending 
in execution. In 2008 authorities executed Baluch journalist and 
education activist Yaghoob Mirnehad in Zahedan for alleged membership 
in the militant group People's Resistance Movement of Iran (formerly 
Jundallah), which the Government considers a terrorist group.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The Government censored all 
materials relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
issues. In 2008 President Ahmadi-Nejad called homosexual activity an 
``unlikable and foreign act'' that ``shakes the foundations of 
society.''
    The Special Protection Division, a volunteer unit of the judiciary, 
monitored and reported ``moral crimes.'' The law prohibits and punishes 
homosexual conduct; sodomy between consenting adults is a capital 
crime. According to a December HRW report, security forces used 
discriminatory laws to harass, arrest, and detain individuals they 
suspected of being gay. In some cases security forces raided houses and 
monitored Internet sites for information on LGBT individuals. Those 
accused of sodomy often faced summary trials, and evidentiary standards 
were not always met. The punishment of a non-Muslim gay man or lesbian 
was harsher if the gay man or lesbian's partner was Muslim. Punishment 
for homosexual behavior between men was more severe than for such 
behavior between women.
    The law defines transgender persons as mentally ill, encouraging 
them to seek medical help in the form of gender-reassignment surgery. 
The Government provided grants of as much as 4.5 million toman ($4,500) 
and loans of as much as 5.5 million toman ($5,500) for transgender 
persons willing to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Human rights 
activists and NGOs reported that some members of the gay and bisexual 
community were pressured to undergo gender reassignment surgery to 
avoid legal and social persecutions in the country.
    The size of the LGBT community was unknown, as many individuals 
feared identifying themselves. There were active LGBT NGOs in the 
country, but most activities to support the LGBT community took place 
outside the country.
    On April 25, according to press reports, police found a 24-year-old 
transgender woman known as Mahsa strangled in her apartment. Mahsa had 
previously undergone male to female sex-change operations. Her two 
brothers confessed to killing her on moral grounds. Although the 
brothers were sentenced to prison time of eight years and three years, 
respectively, the sentences included suspended jail time, which reduced 
their actual sentence in prison to three years and one year, 
respectively.
    In July according to HRW, a Tabriz court issued an execution order 
for Ebrahim Hamidi, who was originally charged at age 16 with raping a 
minor. After the victim retracted his accusation, the court acquitted 
three other defendants but convicted Hamidi of sodomy based on elm-e 
ghazi. According to his lawyer, Mohammed Mostafaei, officials tortured 
Hamidi into signing his confession. HRW reported four other men in the 
country were in danger of execution for sodomy.
    According to the HRW report, family members threatened and abused 
many young gay men, who also faced harassment from religious scholars, 
schools, and community elders. Some LGBT persons were expelled from 
university for allegations of homosexual activities. The HRW report 
also alleged that Basij forces attempted to entrap for arrest persons 
engaged in homosexual behavior.
    On July 10, officers raided a private party in Shirza and arrested 
17 gay men. According to a local NGO the charges against the men were 
eventually dropped.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
reportedly faced discrimination in schools and workplaces. The 
Government supported programs for HIV/AIDS awareness and generally did 
not interfere with private HIV/AIDS-related NGOs. Government hospitals 
diagnosed and treated AIDS patients free of charge.
Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to 
establish unions; in practice the Government did not permit independent 
unions and severely restricted workers' attempts to organize. Workers 
in transportation, education, and other sectors were systematically 
suppressed. 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 in industrial, 
agricultural, and service organizations comprising more than 35 
employees. According to the ICHRI, these councils, which consisted of 
representatives of workers and a representative of management, were 
essentially management-run unions that undermined workers' efforts to 
maintain independent unions, but they nonetheless frequently blocked 
layoffs and dismissals in support of workers' demands. During the year 
the Government pressured workers to join the Government-sponsored 
councils.
    The 1990 labor code stipulates that workers may establish an 
Islamic labor council or a guild at any workplace or that workers may 
appoint an official representative. The law strongly favors Islamic 
labor councils; no other form of representation is allowed in a 
workplace where such a council has been established. Although Workers' 
House oversees Islamic labor councils, the Interior Ministry, the 
Ministry of Labor, and the Islamic Information Organization draft 
councils' constitutions, operational rules, and election procedures. 
There is no representative workers' organization for workers who are 
noncitizens.
    Restrictions on freedom of association for workers continued during 
the year as the Government and the judiciary imprisoned and aimed to 
silence labor activists. Because of the severe crackdown on labor 
unions from the previous year, many workers groups cancelled annual May 
Day protests, including activities focused on the banned teachers 
union.
    On April 16, leaders of the country's teachers associations met in 
the city of Yazd to formulate a statement. Officials from the local 
intelligence office telephoned to threaten them and warn them to leave. 
The statement by the leaders of the Coordinating Council of Teacher's 
Trade Association called for hunger strikes after National Teachers Day 
on May 2.
    On April 22, intelligence officials summoned Tofigh Mortezapour and 
Hasan Kharatian, both from the Teachers' Trade Association in Tabriz. 
On April 26, authorities searched Mortezapour's house and confiscated 
personal items, including his computer and papers. On April 27, 
authorities interrogated both men.
    On April 24, intelligence officials summoned three members of the 
Teachers' Trade Association in Hamedan--Ali Najafi, Asghar Mohammad 
Khani, and Jalal Naderi--to the local intelligence office. The ICHRI 
reports that authorities detained Najafi for a day and night. The three 
faced interrogations again on April 26.
    Also on April 24, the Tehran Investigation Office of the 
Intelligence Ministry summoned Ali Akbar Baghani, the secretary general 
of the Teacher's Trade Association, and Mohammad Beheshti Langeroudi, 
the spokesperson for the association. On April 29, intelligence agents 
searched their houses and detained the two men without informing them 
of the charges. The events prefaced worker and teacher strikes planned 
for May 1 and 2. Both men were released in July after 63 days in 
prison.
    In a related incident on April 28, the Human Rights Activists News 
Agency reported that security forces entered the house of Alireza 
Hashemi, head of the Teachers' Organization, and took him to an unknown 
location after confiscating his computer and a number of personal 
belongings. In June 2009 during a general crackdown on dissidents, 
authorities arrested and detained him for 25 days. At year's end he 
remained in prison.
    On May 1, National Workers Day, union and student protesters 
clashed in Tehran, and dozens were reported injured. There were also 
reports of demonstrations in other cities including Tabriz, Shiraz, 
Kermanshah, Qazvin, and Esfahan. International media reported that more 
than 16 persons were injured. Also on May 1, authorities reportedly 
briefly detained Mahmoud Salehi, former head of the Saqqez Bakery 
Workers' Union who completed a prison term in 2008, and asked him not 
to participate in Workers' Day activities.
    On June 12, authorities arrested Reza Shahabi, a leader of the bus 
syndicate, and kept him in solitary confinement for 40 days. The Tehran 
bus company fired Shahabi four years prior for alleged union activity. 
The ICHRI reported that the Revolutionary Court had not at year's end 
charged Shahabi with any crime. In December Shahabi went on a hunger 
strike to protest that he had not been released after payment of his 
bail of one million toman ($100,000). At year's end he remained in 
prison.
    On August 3, a court sentenced Rasoul Bodaghi, a member of the 
board of directors of the teachers' association, to six years in prison 
and prohibited him from union activity for five years on charges of 
``propaganda against the system'' and ``assembly and attempt to disrupt 
the national security.'' Authorities arrested the veteran teacher in 
September 2009. Gohardasht Prison guards reportedly severely beat him 
on May 28.
    On November 2, intelligence officials in Karaj briefly detained and 
reportedly assaulted bus syndicate leaders Saeed Torabian and 
Gholamreza Gholamhosseini. Two days later, intelligence officials 
arrested the two as they were posting a message on the Internet about 
the November 2 incident. On November 3, authorities reportedly released 
Torabian, but Gholamhosseini remained in prison at year's end, along 
with other syndicate leaders arrested in November, including Morteza 
Komsari and Ali Akbar Nazari. Authorities also detained Torabian from 
June 9 to July 20, charging him with acting against national security 
and speaking against the regime.
    There was no update on the case of journalist and union organizer 
Sajad Khaksari, whose final charge was awaiting treatment by a public 
court in Tehran in December 2009. Khaksari is the son of Mohammad 
Khaksari and Soraya Darabi, both leaders of the Iran Teachers' Trade 
Association.
    On January 4, security agents arrested the then public relations 
officer of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company's trade union, Reza 
Rakhshan, and detained him until his January 20 release on bail of 15 
billion toman ($15 million). On December 1, the Avhaz appeals court 
reversed a lower court's acquittal of Rakhshan, by that time the new 
president of the union, and sentenced him to six months in prison for 
``propagation of lies.'' Rakhshan had written an article commemorating 
the second anniversary of the union and describing his firing earlier 
in the year for union activities. On April 14, authorities released 
then union president Ali Nejati on bail. Union leaders Mohammed Heydari 
Mehr, Feridoun Nikoufard, Jalil Ahmadi, and Ghorban Alipour were all 
released after serving sentences of between four and six months.
    In August 2009 security officers closed the offices of the 
Association of Iranian Journalists immediately before a union general 
meeting and President Ahmadi-Nejad's swearing-in. At year's end the 
association was inactive, and many of its members remained in prison.
    There was no further information about Ebrahim Madadi, who remained 
in prison at year's end on charges from 2007.
    On May 28, prison authorities transferred bus-driver syndicate 
leader Mansour Ossanloo from Evin Prison to solitary confinement in an 
IRGC ward at Gohardasht Prison. The ICHRI reported that intelligence 
ministry interrogators reportedly subjected Ossanloo to harsh 
interrogations and mental torture. AI noted that authorities denied 
Ossanloo medical care. In August Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court 
reportedly sentenced Ossanloo to an additional year in prison for 
``propaganda against the regime.'' Ossanloo had no access to a lawyer 
during his sentencing, and authorities failed to notify his lawyers 
that he was going to court. Ossanloo's original charges dated from 
2007.
    The law prohibits public sector strikes, and the Government 
considered unlawful any strike deemed contrary to government economic 
and labor policies, including strikes in the private sector, but 
strikes did occur. According to international media reports, security 
forces continued to respond with arbitrary arrests and violence to 
workers' attempts to conduct labor strikes.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers did not 
have the right to organize independently or to negotiate collective 
bargaining agreements freely. According to the International Trade 
Union Confederation, labor legislation did not apply in export 
processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The labor code 
prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by 
children; however, there were reports that such practices occurred. See 
also the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 
www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits employment of minors younger than 15 and places 
restrictions on employment of minors younger than 18, such as 
prohibitions on hard labor or night work; however, it permits children 
to work in agriculture, domestic service, and some small businesses. 
The Government did not adequately monitor or enforce laws pertaining to 
child labor, and child labor was a serious problem.
    According to government sources, three million children were 
prevented from obtaining education because their families forced them 
to work. Unofficial sources claimed the figure was closer to five 
million, and credible reports stated that approximately 14 percent of 
children in the country were forced to work in dangerous conditions. 
There were reportedly significant numbers of children--primarily 
Afghan, but also Iranian--working as street vendors in major urban 
areas. Traffickers also exploited children for forced commercial sexual 
exploitation and involuntary servitude as beggars and laborers. 
Children also worked as mechanic apprentices or in clay/brickmaking 
operations. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On March 16, according to 
international media, the Supreme Labor Council announced an annual 
minimum wage of 303,048 toman ($303); labor rights activists claimed 
that amount was insufficient to feed a family of four in Tehran.
    The labor law does not cover an estimated 700,000 legal workers, as 
it applies in full only to workplaces with 10 or more workers. 
Workplaces with fewer than five workers or in export processing zones 
are exempt from all labor laws. Afghan workers, especially those 
working illegally, often were paid less than the minimum wage.
    The law establishes a maximum six-day, 48-hour workweek with a 
weekly rest day (normally Friday), at least 12 days of paid annual 
leave, and several paid public holidays. Women have the right to 
maternity leave.
    The law establishes a safety council chaired by the labor minister 
or his representative to protect workplace safety and health. Labor 
organizations outside the country have alleged that hazardous work 
environments were common 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.

                               __________

                                  IRAQ

    Iraq, with a population of approximately 29 million, is a republic 
with a freely elected government led by Prime Minister Nouri Kamal al-
Maliki. On December 22, the new government was sworn in after the 
parliament, the Council of Representatives (COR), approved a power-
sharing agreement reached by all of the country's major political blocs 
on November 11, approximately nine months after the March 7 elections. 
Despite the controversy surrounding the January 15 decision by Iraq's 
Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to ban approximately 500 
candidates for alleged ties to the banned Ba'ath Party, and violence 
before and on election day, the COR elections met internationally 
recognized standards for free and fair elections, and the results of 
these legislative elections reflected the general will of the voters.
    Iraqi security forces (ISF) reported to civilian authorities, but 
continuing violence, corruption, and organizational dysfunction 
undermined the Government's ability to protect human rights. During the 
year the following significant human rights problems were reported: 
arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life; extremist and terrorist 
bombings and executions; disappearances; torture and other cruel, 
inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; poor conditions in 
pretrial detention and prison facilities; arbitrary arrest and 
detention; impunity; denial of fair public trials; delays in resolving 
property restitution claims; insufficient judicial institutional 
capacity; arbitrary interference with privacy and home; limits on 
freedoms of speech, press, and assembly and extremist threats and 
violence; limits on religious freedom due to extremist threats and 
violence; restrictions on freedom of movement; large numbers of 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees; lack of transparency 
and significant, widespread corruption at all levels of government; 
constraints on international organizations and nongovernmental 
organizations' (NGOs) investigations of alleged violations of human 
rights; discrimination against and societal abuses of women and ethnic, 
religious, and racial minorities; human trafficking; societal 
discrimination and violence against individuals based on sexual 
orientation; and limited exercise of labor rights.
    Extremist violence, coupled with weak government performance in 
upholding the rule of law, resulted in widespread and severe human 
rights abuses. Terrorist groups, such as al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI), and 
other extremist elements continued to launch highly destructive 
attacks, attempting to influence the elections and government formation 
process, fuel sectarian tensions, and undermine the Government's 
ability to maintain law and order. Extremist and AQI attacks continued 
against ISF and government officials. AQI and other extremists also 
conducted high-profile bombings targeting urban areas, Shia markets, 
and mosques, and Shia religious pilgrims. Religious minorities, 
sometimes labeled ``anti-Islamic,'' were often targeted in the 
violence.
    During the year, despite some reconciliation and easing of tensions 
in several provinces, the Government's human rights performance 
consistently fell short of according citizens the protections the law 
provides. However, the credible and legitimate national parliamentary 
elections in all 18 provinces on March 7 reflected a significant 
achievement in advancing the free exercise of human 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 press reports and personal accounts that the Government or 
its agents committed numerous arbitrary or unlawful killings connected 
to its security operations. These numerous accounts and press reports 
accused government security forces of being responsible for unlawful 
deprivation of life. The outcome of official investigations was often 
unpublished, unknown or incomplete.
    With the increased exercise of central government authority over 
security forces, widespread and confirmed unauthorized government agent 
involvement in extrajudicial killings largely ceased, although there 
were reports of individuals using their security positions to settle 
personal grievances and grudges. In addition, there were reports of 
attacks by individuals posing as ISF. On January 17, a group of 
approximately 30 men dressed in military uniforms executed three 
brothers from the Mjamma'i tribe. On April 2, 16 gunmen in ISF uniforms 
killed 24 persons in the Sunni village of Albusaifi. Victims of this 
attack included former members of the Sons of Iraq (SOI), government-
paid security forces who turned against al-Qaida. On October 11, gunmen 
wearing military uniforms killed four members of a government-supported 
Sunni militia in Yusufiya. In response, beginning in January the 
Government ordered tailors to sign pledges promising not to make or 
sell uniforms to nonsecurity personnel and imposed fines, business 
closures, and possible jail sentences for noncompliance.
    Violence against the civilian population perpetrated by terrorist 
groups remained a problem during the year, and bombings, executions, 
and killings were regular occurrences throughout all regions and 
sectors of society. For example, on January 25, suicide bombers 
attacked several hotels in Baghdad, killing 37 persons. On March 26, 
two bombs exploded in a restaurant, killing 57 persons. On May 10, 
coordinated bombings and shootings across the country resulted in at 
least 119 fatalities, including ISF and law enforcement personnel. On 
August 17, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of army recruits 
in Baghdad, killing 61 persons.
    Incidents of terrorist attacks by female suicide bombers continued 
to occur throughout the year. On February 1, a female suicide bomber 
killed 54 Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad. On July 4, a female suicide 
bomber killed at least four persons at the entrance to the provincial 
government offices in Ramadi.
    From January 1 through December 31, an estimated 652 ISF personnel 
were killed in combat (noncriminal) actions and 2,204 were wounded. 
During the year 962 Ministry of Interior (MOI) personnel were killed 
and 1,347 were injured. Police officers, in particular, were targeted. 
For example, in the week beginning August 1, gunmen or explosives 
killed at least five traffic officers and wounded 19 in Baghdad, 
forcing the authorities to arm some of the traffic officers with AK-47 
assault rifles. On August 25, coordinated attacks targeting security 
forces throughout the country killed at least 56 individuals. On 
November 2, a roadside bomb in Sa'diyah exploded near a police convoy, 
killing three officers. On December 29, an attack by three suicide 
bombers in Mosul killed a prominent police commander and caused the 
collapse of the police station. The police commander who was killed, 
Lt. Col. Shamel Ahmed al-Jabouri, had been recognized for confronting 
terrorist groups in the area. The attack was the sixth attempt on his 
life and the second in the previous three months. An AQI-affiliated 
group, Islamic State of Iraq, claimed responsibility for the attack.
    Terrorists also targeted government institutions and leaders. 
Terrorists subjected the International Zone, where many government 
institutions and foreign embassies are located, to rocket and mortar 
attacks throughout the year. On February 18, a suicide car bomber 
killed 13 individuals outside the main government complex in Ramadi. 
Suicide attackers targeted the same Ramadi government complex in Anbar 
province twice, on December 12 and 27, killing at least 13 in the first 
attack and at least 17 in the second attack. On April 4, suicide 
attackers detonated car bombs near embassies in Baghdad, resulting in 
42 fatalities. On October 19, the UN special representative to Iraq, Ad 
Melkert, escaped unharmed when a roadside bomb struck his convoy; one 
ISF member died from the attack.
    Terrorists also targeted religious institutions and minority groups 
(see section 2.c.).
    There was an increase in AQI attacks against Sunnis cooperating 
with the Government--the SOI and Sunni tribal leaders. On April 20, 
gunmen killed five family members, beheading three, of the local anti-
AQI militia in Tarmiyah. On June 17, gunmen killed Khudair Hamad al-
Issawi, his wife, and two sons in a village outside Falluja. On July 
18, a suicide bomber killed at least 45 anti-al-Qaida Sunni fighters 
waiting for their paychecks. On August 18, gunmen killed an SOI member 
at an official checkpoint in Madaen; a bomb attached to a vehicle 
killed another SOI member in Baquba. On December 18, Sheik Ahmed Abu 
Risha, head of the Anbar Awakening Council, survived an assassination 
attempt when police defused a bomb concealed in a laptop.
    In Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk, the three provinces under the 
authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), there were 
significantly fewer reports of extremist violence than elsewhere in the 
country.
    There were press reports and credible accounts of KRG security 
forces committing arbitrary or unlawful killings and arrests.
    Although violence levels were lower in the KRG as compared with the 
rest of the country, there were incidents of terrorist attacks. For 
example, on September 29, in Qaladiza district, northeast of 
Sulamaniyah, a suicide bomber wearing a Peshmerga uniform attempted to 
detonate explosives among the Kurdish Peshmerga forces but was 
intercepted before gaining access to the facility and chose to detonate 
the explosives instead of surrendering to the security forces.
    On November 1, in Erbil, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive 
device was discovered at a checkpoint approximately three miles south 
of the inner city. Two passengers in the vehicle at the checkpoint were 
killed.
    On May 4, Sardasht Osman, a contributor to the independent news 
outlets, was abducted and killed. He was known for his articles 
alleging nepotism and corruption in the leadership of the Kurdish 
region, including President Massoud Barzani and his immediate family. 
His body was found on May 5 in Mosul.
    On several occasions throughout the year, the Turkish government 
used military aircraft to attack areas where the Kurdistan Workers' 
Party (PKK), a terrorist organization, were active in the north. 
According to press reports, one civilian was killed and two others were 
injured by artillery fire in Iraq on June 18.
    Iranian forces occasionally bombarded areas along the Iran-Iraq 
border, targeting members of the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan, an 
Iranian Kurdish separatist group. According to press reports on 
September 25, Iranian forces killed 30 Kurdish insurgents in the Qandil 
Mountains in northeastern Iraq as a reprisal for a bombing in the 
Iranian city of Mahabad, which killed 12 persons and wounded 80.
    There were no known developments in killings that were reported in 
2008 or 2009.
    Other parts of this report contain related information (see 
sections 2.a., 2.c., and 2.d.).

    b. Disappearance.--The majority of reported cases of disappearances 
or kidnappings appeared to be financially motivated. Religious 
minorities and children were often the target of such kidnappings. 
Kidnappers who did not receive a ransom often killed their victims.
    Police believed that the majority of these cases went unreported.
    As in 2009, there were fewer reports that police arrested civilians 
without an arrest warrant and held them for ransom. However, there were 
numerous reports of the police releasing legally arrested persons from 
custody after receiving monetary payment.
    New mass graves of thousands of persons who went missing under the 
Saddam Hussein-regime were found during the year. On January 5, the 
Karbala Provincial Council Human Rights Committee announced the 
discovery of a mass grave containing the remains of 23 persons killed 
during the al-Shabaniyah (Shiite uprising of 1991). On January 24, the 
Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR) in Karbala announced finding a mass 
grave also with the remains of victims from the al-Shabaniyah. On 
January 24, police found the remains of eight persons, believed to have 
died after 2003, at a grave site outside Fallujah. On March 17, the 
MOHR announced the discovery of three mass graves containing the 
remains of 255 persons killed in the 1980s and 1990s in Wasit Province. 
On March 23, the MOHR announced the discovery of a mass grave 
containing the remains dating to 1991 of 20 persons in Maysan Province. 
On June 20, police discovered the remains of eight persons in Baghdad, 
presumed to be victims of sectarian violence during 2006-07. On June 
25, police found a mass grave near Samarra containing the remains of 11 
persons presumed to be victims of 2006-07 sectarian violence following 
the attacks on a revered Shiite shrine during both years. In July the 
KRG Ministry of Martyrs Affairs discovered two mass graves in Sorya 
village in Dohuk Province: the first containing the remains of 28 
persons, mostly children and women; the second, the remains of 14 
persons. In October the MOHR in Ramadi announced the finding of a mass 
grave with the remains of victims of at least 69 persons who died in 
the 1980s.
    Reports indicated KRG authorities arrested some minorities without 
due process in Iraq's disputed internal boundary region, taking them to 
undisclosed locations for detention.
    Other parts of this report contain related information (see 
sections 1.b. and 2.a.).

    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. During the year there were documented instances of torture 
and other abuses by government agents and similar abuses by illegal 
armed groups. The Government's effectiveness in adhering to the rule of 
law in these circumstances faced obstacles from continuing large-scale 
violence, corruption, sectarian bias, and lack of civilian oversight 
and accountability, particularly in the security forces and detention 
facilities.
    Local and international human rights organizations, the MOHR, and 
the human rights directorates of the MOI and Ministry of Defense (MOD) 
continued to report allegations of torture and abuse in several MOI and 
MOD detention facilities, as well as in KRG security forces' detention 
facilities. A MOHR prisons report for 2009 indicated that there were 
326 documented cases of torture and mistreatment at MOI facilities, 152 
cases at MOD facilities, 14 cases at Ministry of Labor and Social 
Affairs (MOLSA) facilities, one case at Ministry of Justice (MOJ) 
facilities, and 12 in Peshmerga facilities in the Kurdistan region 
during that year.
    As in previous years, reports of abuse at the point of arrest and 
investigation, particularly by the MOI's Federal Police and MOD 
battalion-level forces, continued to be common. Allegations of abuse 
included use of stress positions, beatings, electric shocks, sexual 
assault, denial of medical treatment, death threats, and death.
    On April 19, the local and international media reported the 
discovery of a secret prison operated by security forces under control 
of the Prime Minister's Office containing more than 400 Sunni 
detainees, of which over 100 were reportedly tortured. The detainees 
were arrested by the ISF during October 2009 security sweeps in Ninewa 
Province and then transferred to a prison in Baghdad. One prisoner 
reportedly died in January from the abuse, while others were allegedly 
beaten, raped, suffocated with plastic bags, and had electricity 
applied to them. Authorities initially arrested three officers, but 
they were later released without charge. There were no prosecutions of 
any officer or judge associated with the event. Subsequently, 75 of the 
prisoners were released and 200 were transferred to other jails, 
according to government officials.
    In May 2009 three detainees at the MOI's Al Forsan detention 
facility in Ramadi were allegedly tortured, and in June 2009 prison 
guards allegedly tortured and raped female detainees at an MOI 
detention facility in the Adamiya neighborhood of Baghdad. Charges were 
brought against the officers involved; no further updates were 
available. In June 2009, in response to three COR members' allegations 
that 11 detainees had been subjected to abuse and torture by MOI 
officials, the Government established a committee that charged 40 
police officers with abuse. According to government reports, one 
general, two colonels, two majors, and two lieutenants were suspended 
pending additional investigation into charges of detainee abuse; no 
further updates were available.
    Impunity for security forces continued, although there were 
indications that some disciplinary action was taken against security 
forces accused of having committed human rights abuses and judicial 
follow-up in some torture cases, but little information was publicly 
available. The MOI Human Rights Directorate, charged with investigating 
human rights allegations within the police force, had a staff of 90 
investigators based in Baghdad and 14 others, one in each province 
excluding the KRG. During 2009 the MOI Human Rights Directorate opened 
55 investigations into human rights abuse cases and sent 15 cases to 
court for further investigation, nine of which had substantiated 
allegations of torture against 14 officers, including one general, five 
colonels, and three majors. There was no comparable information 
available for 2010 at year's end.
    There were fewer reports of torture or abuse in the MOJ's pretrial 
detention facilities than in the MOI or MOD facilities.
    The KRG's Antiterrorist Law allows abusive interrogation under 
certain conditions, and such practices reportedly occurred in some 
detention facilities run by the KRG internal security forces, Asayish, 
and the party-affiliated intelligence services Parastin of the 
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Zaniyari of the Patriotic Union of 
Kurdistan (PUK). Allegations of abuse included stress positions, broken 
fingers, and application of electric shocks. A 2009 MOHR report on 
prison conditions in the Kurdistan region noted that inspectors had 
observed signs of ``systemic torture'' in Asayish detention facilities, 
although cases in prisons run by KRG Ministry of Labor and Social 
Affairs were limited to isolated instances.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--By law the MOJ has full 
control and authority over all detention facilities, except for those 
administered by the MOD for military justice purposes. This law was not 
fully implemented, however, and four separate ministries--the MOJ, MOI, 
MOD, and MOLSA--continued to operate detention facilities. KRG social 
welfare authorities operated prisons in the KRG, and KRG security 
authorities operated pretrial detention facilities. KRG internal 
security forces and KRG intelligence services operated separate 
detention facilities as well. Kurdish authorities operated eight 
detention facilities that combined pretrial and postconviction housing 
and eight additional internal security pretrial detention facilities.
    Although the Government had not yet provided adequate resources 
(personnel, supplies, equipment, and facilities) to the MOJ for it to 
assume complete control over all detention operations throughout the 
country, there was progress in transferring MOD detainees to MOJ 
detention facilities. The country's fractured penal structure, in which 
the MOJ held convicts and the MOJ, MOI, and to a lesser extent the MOD, 
hold detainees complicated detention and prison operations. For 
example, the MOJ oversaw day-to-day operations in the Baghdad prison 
formerly known as Camp Honor, but another agency controlled outside 
access to the facility, resulting in the denial of family member access 
to detainees.
    At year's end, there were 12 MOJ prisons and 11 MOJ pretrial 
detention facilities.
    MOI detention facilities comprise an estimated six Federal Police 
facilities and 294 Iraqi Police facilities. There are an estimated 
1,200 smaller MOI police holding stations throughout the country 
managed, staffed, and operated by the Federal Police, Iraqi Police 
Services, Criminal Investigations Division, and the National 
Investigative and Information Agency. Although there were no 
independently verified statistics, it was estimated that the MOI 
facilities held as many as 8,000 pretrial detainees.
    The MOD operated 27 Iraqi army pretrial detention centers for 
detainees captured during military raids and operations. There were 
reports of unofficial detention centers throughout the country. The MOD 
lacked the legal authority to detain civilians and was required to 
transfer detainees to MOI or MOJ facilities within 24 hours. In May 
2009 the MOD began transferring its civilian detainees to MOJ custody. 
Approximately 325 civilian detainees remained in MOD custody at year's 
end (650 at the end of 2009), the majority located in a detention 
facility in the International Zone in Baghdad. After reports of 
systematic abuse in this facility, the Government closed it and 
transferred the detainees to MOJ facilities.
    The majority of individuals in MOI and MOD facilities were pretrial 
detainees. Overcrowding of pretrial detainees remained a problem in all 
detention facilities throughout the country due to slow case processing 
and lack of information sharing among relevant agencies.
    The MOJ is the only government entity with the legal authority to 
hold, care for, and guard posttrial detainees. The total capacity of 
MOJ's Iraqi Corrections Service (ICS) facilities was 26,469 beds for 
men (not including emergency capacity) and 553 beds for women. The 
total number of prisoners in the ICS was 25,020, 43 percent of whom 
were pretrial detainees.
    In MOI and MOD detention facilities, conditions and treatment of 
detainees were generally reported as poor. The MOI Human Rights 
Directorate reported conducting 1,020 inspections during the year, a 
significant increase from 270 inspections in 2009, and noted that 
overcrowding remained widespread. Many lacked adequate food, exercise 
facilities, medical care, and family visitation. Limited infrastructure 
or aging physical plants in some facilities resulted in marginal 
sanitation, limited access to water and electricity, and poor quality 
food. Medical care in MOI and MOD detention facilities was not provided 
consistently, and there continued to be allegations of abuse and 
torture in some facilities.
    Despite limited resources and funds, MOJ detention facilities 
provided detainees with better treatment and living conditions than MOI 
and MOD detention facilities. Medical care in MOJ's ICS prisons in some 
locations exceeded the community standard. ICS personnel made 
significant progress in meeting internationally accepted standards for 
prisoner needs. The MOJ is responsible for training ICS guards and 
correctional executive management staff, providing the facilities with 
necessary supplies and equipment, addressing overcrowding, facilitating 
case processing, and providing prison rehabilitation programs.
    The ICS internal affairs department monitored abuse or violations 
of prisoners' human rights. Allegations of abuse resulted in the 
disciplining of ICS officers in some cases. During the year there were 
seven allegations that ICS staff abused detainees. There was no 
information available on the disposition of these cases at year's end.
    The law mandates that women and juveniles be held separately from 
male adults. Although this law was generally observed, in some cases 
women were held in the same detention facility as men but in segregated 
quarters and cellblocks. A MOD inspection of a facility in Baghdad's 
International Zone found women at the facility, albeit in separate 
cells. Juveniles were also occasionally held with adults. MOD 
inspections of its International Zone facility and Old Muthanna 
detention facilities found juveniles living in the same cells as adult 
detainees. Additionally pretrial detainees and convicted prisoners were 
sometimes held in the same facility due to space limitations.
    During the year MOLSA's juvenile facilities improved. The end-of-
year population of the Tobschi juvenile facility in Baghdad was 297 
pretrial juveniles, while the facility's capacity was 327. Legal, 
medical, educational, and social services were available on site. The 
Karada female juvenile facility, which had a population within its 
capacity, had medical services on site. The Shalchiya facility also had 
a population within its capacity. The Kharq juvenile facility remained 
overcrowded, with a capacity of 245 and a total population of 490 
posttrial juveniles. There were no reported instances of abuse or 
mistreatment in MOLSA facilities. Small numbers of juveniles were also 
held at some MOJ and police stations; for example, 167 juveniles were 
at MOJ facilities at year's end.
    KRG security authorities operated male pretrial detention 
facilities, and KRG social welfare authorities operated male posttrial 
and female and juvenile pretrial and posttrial detention facilities in 
the Kurdistan region. The KRG internal security forces and the KRG 
intelligence services operated separate detention facilities. Domestic 
and international human rights NGOs and intergovernmental organizations 
generally had access to pretrial and posttrial facilities. Access by 
independent organizations to the facilities of the KRG internal 
security and intelligence services was limited to the MOHR, the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the UN.
    Until the April media reports of an extrajudicial detention 
facility appeared, the national detention facilities occasionally 
permitted visits by representatives of the national MOHR and members of 
parliament. After the press coverage, MOHR officials reported 
encountering resistance at some detention facilities to MOHR visits. 
KRG detention facilities permitted visits by the national MOHR and KRG 
human rights authorities. The MOHR's annual report covering 2009 was 
generally critical of prison standards across the country and addressed 
general conditions and populations of detention facilities, judicial 
processes, and torture allegations.
    Domestic and international human rights NGOs and intergovernmental 
organizations generally did not have access to national MOI detention 
and pretrial facilities, although the MOHR initiated a program in 2009 
to train NGOs in how to conduct prison inspections. Some 
intergovernmental organizations had access to similar facilities of the 
KRG internal security and intelligence forces, which were separate from 
the national facilities.
    The ICRC had access in accordance with its standard modalities to 
MOJ detention facilities, together with access to places of detention 
under other ministries, although at times with difficulties. The ICRC 
did not have access to the Counterterrorism Center detention facility. 
During the year the ICRC carried out 118 visits to 39 central 
government detention facilities. The ICRC also regularly visited 40 KRG 
detention facilities.
    The ICRC had a separate agreement with the KRG for access, although 
not full unrestricted access, to KRG detention facilities. They 
formally renewed the agreement in December 2009.
    Other parts of this report contain related information (see 
sections 1.d. and 5).

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution provides for 
protection against arbitrary arrest and detention without a warrant, 
except in extreme exigent circumstances as provided for in a state of 
emergency. In practice there were many instances of arbitrary arrest 
and detention.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ISF consists of MOI 
security forces and MOD military forces and amounted to approximately 
793,000 persons at the end of October, consisting of 259,910 military 
and 4,120 special forces personnel. The MOI exercised its 
responsibilities throughout the country, except in the KRG area. These 
responsibilities included providing internal security through police 
and domestic intelligence capabilities, facilities protection, and 
regulating all domestic and foreign private security companies. The MOI 
was also responsible for emergency response, border enforcement, 
dignitary protection, firefighting, and internal monitoring of the 
conduct of MOI personnel. The army, under direction of the MOD, also 
played a part in providing domestic security. Official impunity was a 
serious problem.
    The MOI security forces included several components: the 301,286-
member Iraqi Police Service primarily deployed to police stations; the 
majority Shia 43,957-member Federal Police, organized into commandos 
and public order police; the 60,605-member Border Enforcement Police; 
and the 94,000 Facilities Protection Service security guards deployed 
at MOI direction at individual ministries. The MOI was responsible for 
approximately 529,000 employees, almost 10 percent of the country's 
male labor force as of the end of October.
    During the year the security services grappled with the problem of 
integrating the SOI into the ISF, strengthened chain of command and 
control, and promoted force modernization, enabling the ISF to improve 
operations against extremists. Although oversight by MOI and MOD 
internal affairs increased, problems continued with all security 
services arising from sectarian divisions, corruption, and 
unwillingness to serve outside the areas in which personnel were 
recruited. The effort of the head of the largely Shia Federal Police to 
have police serve in provinces other than their home provinces to 
reduce corruption was only partially successful.
    Government efforts to pay the approximately 94,000 SOI personnel, 
predominately Sunnis, and integrate them into long-term employment (20 
percent with state security agencies and 80 percent with civil 
ministries) were stalled in late 2009 in advance of the March 2010 
parliamentary elections. Prior to this period, the Government had 
transitioned 43 percent of the approximately 95,000 SOI members into 
the ISF or various civil ministries. During the elections the 
Government put the transition of the SOI into civilian and Iraqi 
security forces jobs on hold to afford extra security during and after 
the elections. Security needs during government formation extended this 
pause in SOI transition.
    A history of pay problems and slow transition to other employment, 
although coincidental, contribute to negative perceptions among the 
SOI. Despite these delays the Government continued to support the Sons 
of Iraq. Since May 2009 the Government has been responsible for paying 
all SOI salaries, and timeliness continued to improve. In two of the 
last four months of the year (September and December), the SOI were 
paid early, with only minor delays in four provinces in October and 
November. Other recent government actions to address the problem 
included establishing a joint interagency coordination center for the 
SOI, more timely payments, and the creation by the prime minister of a 
committee focused on how best to promote successful SOI integration. In 
addition, the Government's draft 2011 budget included $195 million for 
salaries and other payments for the SOI. Suspected government targeting 
and arrest of SOI personnel for alleged previous terrorist activity 
continued to be a point of tension between the Sunni population and the 
Government.
    The KRG maintained its own regional security forces, the Peshmerga, 
as set forth in the constitution. The two main parties of the Kurdish 
region maintained ties to these Peshmerga units, which remained 
separated in practice along party lines, as well as to other security 
and intelligence units currently outside KRG or central government 
control. KRG security forces and intelligence services detained 
suspects in KRG-controlled areas. The poorly defined borders between 
the KRG and the central government and contested areas of authority 
remained a cause of confusion, and therefore concern, with regard to 
the jurisdiction of security and courts. In April 2009 the chief judge 
of Sulaymaniyah Province and the head of the PUK branch of the KRG 
internal security forces signed a memorandum of understanding, 
acknowledging the supremacy of the civilian court system in all 
security matters. KRG internal security forces pledged not to carry out 
arrests and other actions without court authority in the memorandum. 
Due to a lack of progress in the integration of security forces, 
effective control by political leaders continued through political 
party channels.
    The MOI established the internal security forces disciplinary and 
criminal court system in 2008. By year's end, the courts had heard more 
than 6,000 cases and returned 2,000 convictions for violations and 
crimes committed by MOI police.
    A significant number of allegations of MOI and MOD abuses were 
raised during the year, although few of these allegations led to 
convictions. There were continued reports of torture and abuse 
throughout the country in many MOI police stations and MOD facilities; 
the incidents generally occurred during the interrogation phases. The 
MOI Internal Affairs Division did not release the number of officers 
punished during the year.
    Security force officials were rarely pursued for suspected crimes 
because ministers, responsible for the suspect, have the legal ability 
block an arrest warrant. Section 136(b) of the criminal procedure code 
gives ministers the opportunity to review and prevent the execution of 
arrest warrants that sitting judges presiding over criminal 
investigations have issued against members of the security forces. 
Permission was rarely given during the year to prosecute higher-level 
officials.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution prohibits ``unlawful detention'' and mandates that 
preliminary investigative documents be submitted to an investigative 
judge within 24 hours from time of arrest, a period that can be 
extended by one day. For offenses punishable by death, the defendant 
can be detained for as long as necessary to complete the judicial 
process. Law enforcement authorities reportedly continued to detain and 
search individuals without an arrest warrant after the state of 
emergency law expired in 2007, although there were no reliable 
statistics available on such incidents.
    In practice many detainees were held for months or years without 
access to defense counsel or without being formally charged or brought 
before a judge. Police and army personnel frequently arrested and 
detained suspects without judicial approval. MOHR and MOD Human Rights 
Directorate inspections of the MOD detention facilities in the 
International Zone and at Old Muthanna Airfield found many detainees 
without case files or valid detention orders. Police often failed to 
notify family members of the arrest or location of detention, resulting 
in incommunicado detention. Unlike in the previous year, fewer security 
sweeps were conducted throughout entire neighborhoods or provinces.
    At year's end, the number of detainees in government hands was 
estimated at 21,000, not including those in central government 
facilities in the KRG or Asayish and KRG intelligence service 
facilities. At year's end, the ICS held 11,063; the MOI, an unverified 
number estimated at 8,000; the MOD, 325; and MOLSA, approximately 350. 
The KRG total was reported to be approximately 338, not including 
central government facilities in the KRG or Asayish and KRG 
intelligence service facilities.
    In practice few detainees saw an investigative judge within the 
legally mandated time period. Many complained they did not see the 
investigative judge until months or sometimes years after arrest and 
detention. Incommunicado detention took place. Lengthy detention 
periods without judicial action were a systemic problem. The lack of 
judicial review was due to a number of factors that included 
undocumented detentions, backlogs in the judiciary, slow processing of 
criminal investigations, and an insufficient number of judges. There 
were allegations of detention beyond judicial release dates as well as 
unlawful releases.
    The Government periodically released detainees, usually after 
concluding it had insufficient evidence for the courts to convict them. 
During the year the Government released approximately 560 detainees.
    Detainees initiated hunger strikes to protest either poor detention 
conditions or slow case processing. It was unclear if the hunger 
strikes resulted in any improvement in detention conditions or case 
processing. On February 19, detainees at al-Minaa detention facility in 
Basrah went on a hunger strike to protest detention conditions ``not 
fit for animals.'' On May 31, the media reported detainees at al-
Rusafah facility in Baghdad initiated a hunger strike to protest 
conditions there. On October 30, the media reported detainees at al-
Miqdadiyah facility in Diyala Province embarked on a hunger strike to 
protest conditions there and the slow processing of their cases. This 
was the second time during the year that al-Miqdadiyah detainees 
launched a hunger strike.
    There were reports that KRG internal security units detained 
suspects incommunicado and without an arrest warrant and that they 
transported detainees to undisclosed detention facilities.
    Police across the country continued to use coerced confessions and 
abuse as methods of investigation.
    The law allows release on bond, and in practice criminal (but not 
security) detainees were considered for release on bail.
    Judges are authorized to appoint paid counsel for the indigent and 
did so in practice. Attorneys appointed to represent detainees 
frequently complained that poor access to their clients after their 
appointment hampered adequate attorney-client consultation.
    Other sections of this report contain related information (see 
sections 2.a. and 2.d.).

    Amnesty.--During the year the Government granted amnesty to 72 
persons.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary. Although the judicial system was credited with 
efforts to maintain an independent stance, the security situation in 
the country rendered the judiciary weak and dependent on other parts of 
the Government. Threats and killings by sectarian, tribal, extremist, 
and criminal elements impaired judicial independence in many places. 
The Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCC-I), Kharkh and the Felony 
Court, Rusafa (formerly the Rusafa CCC-I), which operated in heavily 
guarded locations in Baghdad, were notable exceptions. The MOI agreed 
to supplement security for judges and allowed judges to select which 
police officers would be assigned to their security detail. 
Approximately 2,000 police officers under MOI authority were assigned 
to protect judges.
    Judges frequently faced death threats and attacks. Judges' family 
members also faced death threats and attacks. On June 6, an appeal 
judge survived an assassination attempt when a roadside bomb exploded 
near his convoy. On July 14, Judge Hassan Aziz of the Cassation Court 
was assassinated after an adhesive bomb was placed in his car in 
western Baghdad. Between August 10 and September 7, there were 12 
assassination attempts on judges throughout the country.
    Although individual judges were generally viewed as objective and 
courageous, judges were vulnerable to intimidation and violence. There 
were reports that criminal cases at the trial level or on appeal to the 
Court of Cassation were decided by corruption or intimidation. There 
were reports that court-issued detainee release orders were not 
consistently enforced.
    The law restricted the free investigation of wrongdoing. As 
referenced above, section 136(b) of the criminal procedure code gives 
ministers the opportunity to review and prevent the execution of arrest 
warrants that sitting judges presiding over criminal investigations 
have issued against ministry employees. This provision provided 
immunity to selected government employees and enabled a component of 
the executive branch to terminate proceedings initiated by the judicial 
branch. During the year permission was given to arrest only lower-level 
ministry employees under Section 136(b).
    The constitution provides for an independent judiciary in all 
regions.
    The KRG 2007 Judicial Power Law attempted to create a more 
independent judiciary. The Kurdish Judicial Council, which had been 
part of the executive branch's MOJ, became legally independent and took 
responsibility for its own budget, human resource management, and 
reporting. KRG judicial authorities no longer have direct operational 
control over the judiciary, the KRG financial authorities relinquished 
control of the council's budget, and the chief justice was appointed by 
other judges and not by the executive branch. Nonetheless, the KRG 
executive continued to influence cases in politically sensitive areas, 
such as freedom of speech and the press (see section 2.a.).
    The NGO Human Rights Watch claimed in a 2008 report that the CCC-I 
seriously failed to ensure detainees' rights to due process and fair 
trial. The reported failures included long periods of pretrial 
detention without judicial review, inability to pursue a meaningful 
defense or challenge evidence, and abuse in detention to extract 
confessions. The lack of judicial review was due to a number of 
factors, whose relative weight was difficult to assess, including a 
large number of pretrial detainees, undocumented detentions, backlogs 
in the judiciary, slow processing of criminal investigations, and an 
insufficient number of judges.
    The Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT), formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal, 
tried persons accused of committing war crimes, genocide, crimes 
against humanity, and specified offenses from July 1968, through May 
2003.
    In the 2007 Anfal trial, Ali Hassan al-Majid, widely referred to as 
``Chemical Ali,'' and two codefendants, Sultan Hashem Ahmed and Hussein 
Rashid Muhamad, were convicted of genocide and related charges and 
sentenced to death. The sentences were upheld on appeal. The Anfal 
trial concerned the deaths of an estimated 182,000 Kurdish men, women, 
and children, caused in part by the use of chemical weapons by the 
former Ba'athist regime in a 1986-89 campaign against the Kurds. In 
2008 the Presidency Council ratified the death sentence of Ali Hassan 
Al Majid, who was executed on January 25. At year's end, the death 
sentence for Sultan Hashem Ahmed has not been carried out. No further 
information was available regarding Hussein Rashid Muhammad.
    Two additional cases were referred to the trial chamber. The 
Halabja case, which included five defendants and began in 2008, 
involved chemical attacks on the Kurdish town of Halabja in March 1988 
that resulted in the death of more than 5,000 civilians. On January 17, 
Ali Hassan al-Majid was convicted of genocide and executed on January 
25. The remaining defendants were acquitted on genocide charges but 
received 15 year sentences for crimes against humanity. In 2008 the 
trial began of 24 defendants who were part of the former regime and 
were allegedly involved in the persecution of Dawa party members 
(religious parties case). During the year there were nine acquittals 
and five death sentences (including for former foreign minister and 
former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, issued on October 26) in the 
religious parties case.
    In April 2009 the IHT began the ``ethnic cleansing'' case, in which 
13 defendants were charged with involvement in forcibly relocating 
Kurds from Kirkuk to other areas of the country. The case ended with a 
verdict on August 2009 acquitting five defendants and convicting the 
remaining eight. All prison sentences in the case ranged from six to 
seven years. The prosecutor appealed three of the acquittals. The case 
remained under consideration by the appeals court at year's end.
    In September 2009 the IHT issued a warrant for the arrest of Abdel 
Basit Turki, now in self-exile, who was the former head of the Board of 
Supreme Audit responsible for auditing the financial records of all 
central government institutions. Turki was charged with ``wasting 
national wealth'' during his time as a senior government official under 
Saddam Hussein's regime, in particular for the transfer of billions of 
dollars in cash out of the country prior to Saddam's removal. Turki 
claimed that the allegations resulted from his exposure of corruption 
after the fall of Saddam Hussein. The allegations against Turki fell 
under the jurisdiction of the IHT due to their nature and the time 
period in which the offenses were allegedly committed.
    On October 25, the IHT sentenced Tariq Aziz to death for crimes 
against humanity, specifically for torture and murder of Shia political 
opponents. President Jalal Talabani publicly stated he would not sign 
the execution order. At year's end, Aziz remained in prison, serving 
sentences for other crimes for which he was convicted.
    During the year the IHT continued to investigate a number of crimes 
allegedly committed by members of the former regime, including other 
atrocities following the 1991 uprising, the draining of the southern 
marshes, and the invasion of Kuwait. The IHT also dropped charges 
against some detainees.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and judges--investigative, trial, and appellate--generally 
sought to enforce that right, which is extended to all citizens. An 
accused person 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 was 
insufficient access to defense attorneys. Many defendants met their 
lawyers for the first time during the initial hearing. Defense 
attorneys were provided at public expense if needed. Trials, except in 
some national security cases were public, and judges assembled evidence 
and adjudicated guilt or innocence. Defendants and their attorneys had 
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases before 
trial. 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. 
There is the right of appeal also in civil cases.
    The constitution provides for the establishment of military courts, 
but only military crimes committed by the armed forces and the security 
forces may come before such courts. The MOI courts investigate and try 
crimes committed by MOI employees related to their employment.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Some detainees alleged 
political reasons motivating their arrests, which authorities countered 
with criminal charges ranging from corruption to facilitating terrorism 
and murder. The prevalence of corruption, slow case processing, and 
inaccessibility to detainees, especially those held by 
counterterrorism, intelligence, and military authorities, made most 
claims hard to assess.
    In 2009 there appeared to be an orchestrated political campaign 
against Sunni politicians from Diyala Province with arrest warrants 
issued for four members of the provincial council, the deputy governor, 
and a member of the parliament from Diyala. In May 2009 Iraqi special 
forces affiliated with the prime minister arrested Abdel Jabbar Ali 
Ibrahim on terrorism-related charges; he remained in custody at year's 
end. In November 2009 the deputy governor, Muhamad Hassayn Jasim, was 
arrested on charges related to terrorism financing. He was being held 
in a MOD detention facility at year's end. A former Sunni provincial 
council member, Hussayn al-Zubaydi, was convicted in October of 
terrorism-related charges and given a life sentence.
    There was little information available concerning persons detained 
in Kurdish Asayish facilities.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The country has a legal 
framework, 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 focused on issues more directly related 
to security, and these procedures as well as administrative remedies 
were not effectively implemented.

    Property Restitution.--There was a problem with serious delays and 
corruption in adjudicating claims for property restitution. The 
Property Claims Commission (PCC), formerly the Commission for the 
Resolution of Real Property Disputes and originally called the Iraq 
Property Claims Commission, is 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 1968 and 2003 for reasons other than land reform 
or lawfully applied eminent domain. The PCC process was intended 
primarily to benefit those whose land was confiscated for ethnic or 
political reasons as part of the former regime's ``Arabization'' 
program and other policies of sectarian displacements. In response to 
the delays and corruption in adjudicating claims, in June the prime 
minister installed new management, which initiated a claim verification 
process and extended the deadline for filing claims to June 2011.
    As of year's end, the PCC had received more than 165,000 claims 
nationwide since its founding. At year's end, more than 25,000 claims 
had reportedly been reviewed, of which approximately 13,500 were 
approved and 11,500 rejected. Of the total claims filed, more than 
47,000 were from Kirkuk; of the claims approved, more than 1,780 were 
from Kirkuk. The Higher Judicial Council appointed 39 judges and the 
KRG appointed five, for a total of 44 judges hearing cases.
    Since 2003 a number of wafadin, Arabs previously settled in the 
Kirkuk region under Saddam Hussein's anti-Kurdish policies, returned to 
their previous homes in the center and south of the country and applied 
for compensation. Since the PCC was established, more than 28,000 
wafadin have applied for compensation to the Article 140 Committee, 
which resolves claims for wafadin who seek compensation for returning 
to their original provinces. At the end of 2009, approval for 
compensation had been given to 16,500, and 10,917 wafadin had received 
compensation and in theory have returned to their original provinces.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution mandates that authorities not enter 
or search homes except with a judicial order. The constitution also 
prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy. In practice security 
forces often entered homes without search warrants and took other 
measures interfering with privacy, family, and correspondence, although 
this happened less than in previous years.
    In the KRG-controlled provinces, there was pressure on citizens to 
join the PUK party in the province of Sulaymaniyah and the KDP party in 
the provinces of Erbil and Dohuk.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution broadly provides 
for the right of free expression, provided it does not violate public 
order and morality, and the Government restricted that right in some 
circumstances.
    Despite this constitutional protection of freedom of expression, 
the law provides, if authorized by the prime minister, for fines or a 
term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years for any person who 
publicly insults the COR, the Government, or public authorities. The 
law also restricts media organizations from expressing support for the 
banned Ba'ath Party or for ``alterations to Iraq's borders by violent 
means.'' In practice the main limitation on the exercise of these 
rights was self-censorship due to fear of reprisals by the Government, 
political parties, criminal gangs, insurgent and sectarian forces, or 
tribes.
    Individuals could criticize the Government publicly or privately, 
but not without concern of reprisal if the criticism was seen as 
``crossing the line'' by challenging one's personal sense of honor. 
Individuals exercised self-censorship accordingly. There was no 
evidence that the Government attempted to impede criticism by 
monitoring political meetings.
    Concerning freedom of the press, the independent media were active 
and expressed a wide variety of views subject to the Government's 
interpretation of lawful restrictions on violations of public order and 
morality. Political parties strongly influenced most of the several 
hundred daily and weekly publications, as well as dozens of radio and 
television stations.
    Journalists were subject to violence and harassment. Eight 
journalists and media workers were killed during the year in Mosul, 
Baghdad, East Fallujah, and Ramadi. At least 12 others were targets of 
attacks, nine of whom suffered injuries from bombings of cars or 
offices. Journalists were targets of government security forces, 
corrupt officials, terrorists, religious groups that were unwilling to 
accept media independence, and unknown actors who, for whatever reason, 
wished to affect the flow of news. Despite multiple killings of 
journalists during the year, there were no convictions for these or 
previous killings of journalists.
    For example, on April 14, the Iraqi Army's Baghdad Operations 
Command allegedly arrested Saad Al-Aossi, the editor in chief of the 
independent newspaper Al-Shahed. Baghdad Operations Command denied any 
involvement with the disappearance of Al-Aossi, whose fate remained 
unknown at year's end. On September 7, gunmen assassinated Riad al-
Sary, a journalist and presenter of political and religious programs 
for Al-Iraqiya state-run television, in a Baghdad drive-by shooting. 
Al-Saray hosted religious-based programs that promoted reconciliation 
between Shia and Sunni. A day later, on September 8, gunmen fired from 
a speeding car and killed Safa al-Din Abdel Hamid in front of his home 
in Mosul. Abdel Hamid had worked at Al-Mosuliya, a private channel that 
covers Ninewa Province in the north. Abdel Hamid's program Our Mosques 
detailed the history of religious sites in Ninewa.
    Security forces harassed local journalists. On January 15, the 
domestic NGO Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO) reported that 
Najaf police assaulted journalists and damaged their equipment as they 
tried to complete a follow-up report on recent bombings. On January 31, 
security forces detained eight journalists in Maysan Province when the 
journalists, who were part of the media corps covering a local story, 
protested when the security forces attempted to prevent them from 
covering the story and confiscated their equipment. On September 21, 
police beat several journalists at a Baghdad checkpoint, even though 
the journalists had shown their press cards and were lying face down on 
the ground.
    The Government acted to restrict media freedom in some 
circumstances by penalizing those who published items counter to 
government guidelines. On February 28, security forces raided three 
publishers and confiscated copies of the 16-page booklet, Where has 
Iraq's Money Gone?, which accused the Government of financial 
corruption. On July 6, a media report alleged that the Baghdad 
Operations Command discharged firearms to prevent a crew of the Beladi 
satellite channel from covering a Shiite anniversary celebration, even 
though the crew possessed the necessary documents to access the area.
    On October 31, the Baghdad Operations Command accused and arrested 
two Al-Baghdadia television employees, who were released two days 
later, for assisting the terrorists who attacked Our Lady of Salvation 
Church. The employees received the terrorists' calls, resulting in the 
station announcing their demands on television. On November 1, the 
media commission ordered the Baghdad Operations Command to close Al-
Baghdadia's Baghdad office, which it did by disconnecting the station's 
power and ordering everyone to leave the premises. The station 
continued broadcasting into Iraq from Egypt. On December 23, COR 
members formed a fact-finding committee to inquire into the closing of 
the station's Baghdad office, about which some members expressed 
freedom of press/media/speech concerns.
    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 prosecution. There was widespread self-censorship.
    In July the chief justice established a special court (the Court of 
Publication and Media) in Baghdad to adjudicate civil and criminal 
claims against the press and media, which some media organizations, 
journalists, and NGOs fear may have a negative impact on freedom of 
speech and press. The court heard a lawsuit against an independent 
newspaper that reported irregularities at a construction site in Basra. 
In October the court ruled in favor of the newspaper.
    On November 12, a court ordered the United Kingdom newspaper The 
Guardian to pay damages to the prime minister in a 2008 suit for 1.1 
billion dinars (approximately $940,000) for describing Prime Minister 
Maliki as ``authoritarian''; the suit also called for the closure of 
the paper's Baghdad bureau. The news organization, which continued 
operating in the country, appealed the ruling, which the appellate 
court overturned on December 28.
    Media workers often reported that politicians pressured them to not 
publish articles criticizing the Government. They offered accounts of 
intimidation, threats, and harassment of the media by government or 
partisan officials. The Government frequently used the threat of legal 
action against media workers. The Government used its authority to deny 
journalists permits to impede potentially unfavorable media coverage.
    In compliance with regulations introduced in July 2009, all book 
imports were subject to inspection by the Ministry of Culture. Books 
produced and published within the country required the ministry's 
approval before going on sale. According to the ministry, new vetting 
procedures applying to imports were established to stop the entry of 
literature promoting sectarianism.
    In the Kurdistan region, a 2008 law provides for media freedom, and 
imprisonment is no longer a penalty for publication-related offenses. 
However, journalists continued to be tried, convicted, and imprisoned 
under the 1969 penal code. The Kurdistan Journalists Syndicate (KJS) 
documented 44 lawsuits against journalists during the year in the 
Kurdistan region, approximately one-third under the penal code. 
According to syndicate officials, the 2008 law is the sole basis for 
prosecution of journalists for publication offenses, but the law allows 
prosecution on the basis of offending public morals and other crimes. 
Public officials regularly resorted to punitive fines through legal 
actions against individual media outlets and editors, often for 
publishing articles on alleged corruption.
    During the year political parties filed lawsuits against media 
organizations and journalists in Kurdistan ``in self-defense.'' For 
example, on August 2, Fadhil Mirani, the KDP politburo secretary, filed 
a one billion dinar (approximately $860,000) suit against the 
opposition (Goran) newspaper Rozhnama. The suit was in response to a 
July 20 report that accused the KDP of receiving money from oil 
smuggling deals with Iran. On September 23, the Kurdiu.org news service 
reported that the KDP filed a lawsuit against the chief editor of the 
Kurdonia news agency regarding an article about the KDP's views towards 
the PKK and Kirkuk.
    Regarding prosecution for offending public morals, on February 1, 
KRG authorities used paragraph 372 of the 1969 penal code to arrest the 
editor in chief of Chavder, a Dohuk-based newspaper, and a journalist-
poet for publishing a poem that allegedly compared features of mosque 
architecture to parts of the human body. The authorities released the 
editor and journalist after 48 hours; however, the director general of 
(religious) endowments in Dohuk filed a lawsuit against them. On 
December 12, a Dohuk court fined both the editor and poet one million 
dinar ($860,000) each for publishing the poem.
    On April 2009 KRG minister for martyrs and victims of Anfal Chnar 
Sa'ad filed four defamation lawsuits against Jihan magazine editor in 
chief Nabaz Goran seeking damages of one billion dinars ($860,000) and 
imposition of a travel ban following an article reporting on the 
minister's two-month trip to London. On December 7, the court ruled on 
two of the cases and permanently blocked Goran from traveling abroad 
and, in a decision which Goran appealed, fined him seven million dinars 
($6,000). Government and party officials filed five other defamation 
lawsuits against Goran during the year.
    The KDP subsequently dropped all lawsuits as a gesture of goodwill 
to media and journalists.
    Libel remains a criminal offense in the Kurdistan region, and 
judges may issue pretrial arrest warrants for journalists on this 
basis. Journalists were sometimes imprisoned while police investigated 
the veracity of published information. When named in a lawsuit, 
journalists were typically detained at police stations and were not 
released until they posted bail. Police often kept journalists in 
custody during investigations.
    Journalists in the Kurdistan region asserted that they routinely 
encountered personal intimidation by KRG officials, security services, 
tribal elements, and business leaders. The KJS documented more than 300 
incidents (threats, suits, and attacks) in 2009. In a report that 
covered the period from July 1 to December 25, the KJS documented 52 
court subpoenas.
    On January 19, freelance journalist Sabah Ali Qaraman alleged that 
persons affiliated with the PUK tried to abduct him because of his 
articles criticizing alleged PUK corruption. On February 24, Hawlati, 
an independent Kurdish newspaper, printed a blank front page containing 
only the headline, ``You have the guns.and we have the pens'' in 
response to alleged abuse and attacks from the intelligence agency 
Asayish affiliated with the PUK. The newspaper linked the persecution 
with authorities trying to influence press coverage of the elections. 
Political parties owned or had significant influence over all but a few 
newspapers based in the region. According to the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in April 2009 criticism of the 
ruling PUK and KDP in the Kurdish region resulted in intimidation, 
beatings, arrest and detention, and extrajudicial killings, with 
journalists particularly at risk.
    On May 4 in Erbil, men abducted and killed Sardasht Osman, a 
contributor to the independent newspaper Ashtiname and news Web sites 
Sbei, Awene, Hawlati, and Lvinpress, who was known for his articles 
alleging nepotism and corruption in the leadership of the Kurdistan 
region, including President Massoud Barzani. In the month preceding his 
killing, Osman had written an article appearing in the Sweden-based 
Kurdistan Post that accused a high-ranking official of corruption. His 
body was found the next day 50 miles away in Mosul; he had been shot in 
the head. Even though the Kurdistan Regional Government officially 
condemned the crime and launched an investigation, many persons 
protested the killing, suspecting that Osman had been silenced by the 
leadership he criticized in his articles. After launching an 
investigation, Kurdish authorities in September issued a 430-word 
report claiming that Osman had been killed by a member of Ansar al-
Islam, a Sunni terrorist group, for not carrying out work he had 
promised to do. The report provided no evidence for the assertion. The 
Committee to Protect Journalists and other press groups said the report 
lacked credibility.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. According to International Telecommunications 
Union June data, there were an estimated 325,000 (1.1 percent of the 
population) Internet users. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including e-mail. Direct 
Internet access was generally low due to a lack of infrastructure in 
homes; however, the prevalence of Internet cafes contributed to usage 
among youth.
    In January the Babylon City Council referred to investigators a 
media employee at the council after he published on a Web site the 
proceedings from an open, public council meeting. The JFO reported that 
the council claimed the media report could hurt the reputations of 
members planning to run for parliament seats.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--Social, religious, and 
political pressures restricted the exercise of freedom of choice in 
academic and cultural matters. In all regions, various groups 
reportedly sought to control the pursuit of formal education and 
granting of academic positions. During the year extremists and 
terrorists targeted cultural figures. In the central and southern parts 
of the country, there were a number of reports of threats by extremists 
and sectarian militants against schools and universities, urging them 
to modify activities, favor certain students, or face violence. 
Educational institutions at times complied with the threats, and 
academics practiced self-censorship to comply with them.
    There was a report of a government attempt to restrict academic 
freedom. On December 7, Al-Arabiya television reported that the 
Ministry of Education banned theater and music classes in Baghdad's 
Fine Arts Institute and ordered the removal of statues at the 
institute's entrance, all of which the ministry denied. The ministry 
said it closed the music and theater department but that the subjects 
were still being taught. The Education Ministry did not provide a 
reason for its actions, although the demonstrating students and 
professors speculated that religious reasons were behind the actions. 
At year's end, the subjects continued to be taught at the school.
    Unlike in 2009, there was one report of a government effort to 
restrict a cultural event for political reasons. On October 1, the 
deputy governor of Babil Province banned music and dance, ostensibly in 
observance of the birthday of Shia Islam's sixth imam, Jaafar ibn 
Muhammad al-Sadiq. Media sources, however, suggested political motives 
behind the deputy governor's action, which effectively cancelled the 
Ministry of Culture's Babylon Festival.
    Other parts of this report contain related information (see 
sections 1.b. and 1.d.).

    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 practices 
against protesters.
    The Government refused permits for demonstrations on electricity 
shortages in the summer and also intimidated, arrested, and used 
excessive force against protesters. On June 19, police in Basra killed 
two persons when it opened fire on demonstrators demanding more 
electricity and the resignation of the electricity minister. Following 
the incident, police used more traditional nonlethal means to disperse 
violent protests, such as water cannons during an August 22 electricity 
protest in Nasiriyah.
    On November 3, the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament approved a new law, 
which the KRG president approved in early December, designed to 
regulate demonstrations throughout the region. The law mandates that 
protestors obtain permission in advance before demonstrating and that 
the local authority has the right to deny the request. Civil society 
and opposition parties opposed the law, believing the authorities would 
use the requirement to limit their freedom of assembly. There were 
demonstrations, both authorized and unauthorized, against the law, all 
without incident. There were no reports that KRG security forces killed 
or detained demonstrators protesting government acts.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to 
form and join associations and political parties and specifically 
mandates that this right be regulated by law. The Government generally 
respected this right in practice, except for the legal prohibition on 
expressing support for the Ba'ath Party.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement in all parts of the country and the right to travel abroad 
and return freely. The Government generally respected these rights. 
There were some limitations in practice, particularly regarding travel 
into and residence in the Kurdistan region, but the KRG allowed 
Christian families displaced from Baghdad to Erbil to enter without 
restriction. Approximately 1,400 Christian families moved from Baghdad 
to Erbil and from Mosul to the Ninewa Plains seeking better security in 
the months following the bombing of a church in Baghdad on October 31. 
Restrictions by provinces on the entry of new internally displaced 
persons (IDPs) had little impact because there was little new 
displacement during the year.
    The Government generally cooperated with the UNHCR, the 
International Organization for Migration, and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern, although effective systems to assist these 
individuals were not fully established by year's end. For example, some 
IDPs were unable to access the public distribution system in the 
governorate to which they were displaced. In some instances the World 
Food Program and the ICRC delivered food rations to these IDPs.
    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 
the Kurdistan region, only in coordination with the KRG). In practice 
the security authorities have recourse to the same powers in response 
to security threats and attacks. The security forces tended not to 
abuse these powers since they were unpopular with residents.
    There are no KRG laws that restrict movement across the areas 
administered by the KRG, but due to security procedures in practice 
movement was restricted. Citizens (of any ethnicity, including Kurds) 
crossing into the region from the south were obliged to stop at 
checkpoints, undergo personal and vehicle inspection, and receive 
permission to proceed. Officials prevented individuals from entering 
into the region if deemed a security threat. Entry for male Arabs was 
reportedly more difficult than for others. The officer in charge at the 
checkpoint was empowered to decline entry into the region.
    To accommodate increasing numbers of summer and holiday visitors, 
the KRG security authorities worked out agreements with other provinces 
whereby tourist agencies submitted names of visitors in advance for 
preclearance. Visitors must show where they are lodging and how long 
they intend to stay.
    The MOI Passport Office maintained a policy of requiring women to 
obtain the approval of a close male relative before receiving a 
passport. In the KRG, unlike in the rest of the country, women over the 
age of 18 obtained passports without such approval.
    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. There 
were few reports of citizens having difficulty obtaining passports. 
Exit permits were required for citizens leaving the country, but the 
requirement was not enforced.
    Members of the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), a terrorist organization, 
who were invited to the country under the Saddam Hussein regime and who 
are not considered refugees, stateless persons, or IDPs, reported 
allegations during the year that MEK leaders attempted to prevent 
defection of some of the 3,400 residents at the MEK's Camp Ashraf in 
Diyala Province, under threat of reprisal. MEK leaders denied such 
allegations. In the past individuals claimed to have been subjected to 
psychological and physical abuse, including threats of reprisal against 
family members and solitary confinement in Ashraf, to discourage 
defections.
    The Government, which assumed security responsibility for Ashraf in 
January 2009, engaged in provocative acts against MEK residents. Such 
acts included the placement of high-powered loudspeakers that broadcast 
anti-MEK propaganda and refusal of entry for some consumer and 
industrial goods. In response MEK residents conducted provocative 
protests of their own, which reflected the continuing contentious 
relations between the MEK and the Government. There were numerous 
protests and reaction throughout the year.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The Government officially 
estimated at year's end that there were 2.56 million IDPs, including 
166,664 post-2003 IDPs present in the KRG. An estimated 1.3 million 
were displaced following sectarian violence that began in 2006, 
approximately 200,000 were displaced between 2003 and 2005, and 
approximately a million were displaced prior to 2003, according to the 
UNHCR. The official government estimate was revised down toward the end 
of the year to reflect both IDP returns and clarifications in the 
database.
    The majority of those displaced pre-2003 were moved under the prior 
regime's policy of Arabization; many of them had returned to their 
areas of origin but were included in the displaced population because 
they were unable to regain their original property and residences. Both 
Arabs and Kurds displaced in this way had access to compensation under 
a process outlined in article 58 of the Transitional Administration 
Law, which was further confirmed in article 140 of the constitution. A 
structure to implement this process was in place, albeit moving at a 
very slow pace.
    Throughout the country most IDPs occupied abandoned buildings, 
public buildings, or homes other displaced families had abandoned. 
Approximately 500,000 lived in ad hoc ``clusters'' or settlements 
located throughout the country with limited water, sanitation, and 
electricity. The UNHCR identified 116 settlements in Baghdad, with an 
estimated 226,118 residents. Other IDPs rented homes at increasingly 
high cost or lived with friends or family members. Lack of registration 
limited IDPs' access to basic services and legal documentation to 
receive food rations from the public distribution system.
    Hygiene and sanitation for IDPs were generally better in the KRG 
than in other areas, but education, livelihoods, and other concerns 
remained critical. Kurds whose villages were destroyed during the Iran-
Iraq war remained without adequate housing. In October the 
representative of the UN secretary general on the human rights of 
internally displaced persons called on the KRG to assist those IDPs who 
have no access to education, shelter, and health care. Access to 
education was a particular challenge for Arabic-speaking IDPs in the 
KRG. In Kirkuk the representative reported that IDPs had been targets 
of harassment and detention, particularly during the run-up to the 
anticipated census exercise.
    Targeted attacks and threats against Christians in Baghdad, Mosul, 
and other cities resulted in the displacement of 1,380 Christian 
families to the KRG and Ninewa Plains by year's end. According to the 
UNHCR, more than half of the Christian population has left the country 
since 2003 and Christian families are disproportionately represented in 
the Iraqi refugee population.
    Overall, only a small number of the country's displaced persons had 
returned to their places of origin. A significant number of IDPs, 
420,000, and a smaller number of refugees, nearly 80,000, moved back to 
their places of origin, particularly in Baghdad and Diyala provinces, 
during the period 2008-09.
    During the year there was a significant decline in both IDP and 
refugee returns; by the end of October, IDP and refugee return levels 
were only 51 percent of returns in 2009. The UNHCR reported that 61 
percent of refugees surveyed who returned to Baghdad in the past four 
years regretted their return because of terrorism and insecurity, and 
87 percent of the total number interviewed said their income was 
insufficient to cover their family needs. (The UNHCR does not promote 
refugee returns because of insecurity.) Returning refugees also 
expressed concerns regarding insufficient health care, poor educational 
opportunities, and housing shortages. Of those returning, 77 percent of 
refugees did not return to their original residences because of 
insecurity or a fear of being targeted. Others reported it was not 
possible to return because their homes were damaged or occupied by 
others.
    There is a legal and administrative process for restitution of 
property and eviction of squatters, along with a system of grants and 
stipends for returnees and evictees. The Government offered stipends of 
1.5 million dinars ($1,290) to returning families who deregistered as 
IDPs or refugees. As of mid-November, according to the Ministry of 
Displacement and Migration (MoDM), 52,967 families had received the 
grant and another 3,856 claims were in process. There were six returnee 
assistance centers, although one Baghdad center was inoperable for a 
period of several months beginning in April due to lack of MoDM 
support. In general the IDP housing assistance program was burdensome 
bureaucratically and did not produce satisfactory results.
    Prime Minister's Order 440 from mid-2008, which authorized eviction 
of IDPs from government buildings, was again not implemented. This stay 
expired in mid-year, and evictions rose during the second half of the 
year. During the period May to December, 18 verbal and eight written 
eviction orders were delivered to IDP settlements in Baghdad; the IDP 
communities of Al Ameen and Air Force Camp were evicted. In November, 
2,000 IDP families were evicted in Hillah. Two hundred IDP families 
were evicted from Furat, and, according to Karbala provincial council 
officials, 34 IDP settlements in the province were put under eviction 
orders in May. Some communities were able to negotiate with authorities 
to postpone their evictions. Communities particularly at risk included 
those living in abandoned public buildings that the relevant ministry 
wanted to reclaim and those living near oil pipelines. In some 
provinces those evicted were provided with land grants in alternate 
locations, but in many cases evictions took place without viable 
alternatives.
    The Government has no comprehensive policy for undoing sectarian 
cleansing, but it encouraged returns to secure areas where violence had 
occurred previously. The Government promised to provide essential 
services to support returnees in Baghdad and Diyala provinces upon 
their return home; however, delivery on these promises has remained 
largely unfulfilled. Many humanitarian organizations and Sunni leaders 
cited the lack of steps to reverse the worst of sectarian cleansing, 
claiming that the Government wished to discourage Sunni Arab refugees 
and IDPs from returning. Government officials vigorously denied these 
charges. In its view practical obstacles often discouraged greater 
numbers of returns. For example, the Government's property restitution 
policy depended on individual requests for restitution from property 
owners, and these requests often became bogged down in an overburdened 
legal system. Many property owners did not file claims due to fears of 
retribution from those evicted. In addition, the restitution system was 
unduly complex to navigate.
    A 2008 national policy to address displacement led to some positive 
measures for the displaced, including property restitution, but a plan 
for a durable solution remained to be agreed upon at year's end. On 
September 29, during his visit the representative of the secretary 
general for the human rights of IDPs urged the Government, as well as 
the international community, to make stronger efforts to meet the human 
rights, humanitarian, and longer-term development needs of IDPs in 
accordance with international human rights standards.
    The Government, through the MoDM, allowed IDPs access to domestic 
and international humanitarian organizations, collected information 
about IDPs, and provided some protection and assistance in the form of 
humanitarian supplies. The Government did not target IDPs or forcibly 
return them under dangerous conditions.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 UN 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. 
Its laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, 
and the Government has not established a system for providing 
protection to refugees. In practice the Government provided protection 
against the expulsion or return of persons to countries where their 
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion.
    The Government generally cooperated with the UNHCR and other 
humanitarian organizations to provide protection and assistance to the 
approximately 40,000 refugees living in the country. Reports of attacks 
and arrests of refugees in the central and southern parts of the 
country declined during the year, although they continued to be 
targeted periodically in attacks by sectarian groups, extremists, and 
criminals.
    Generally, refugee groups of Turkish and Iranian Kurds in the KRG 
achieved a high level of integration. For the majority of the 7,825 
Iranian Kurds whom the UNHCR registered as refugees in the north, local 
integration remained the best and most likely option. Refugee groups in 
central and southern regions, particularly refugees who were perceived 
to have been privileged by the former regime, such as Palestinians, 
Ahwazis in the south, and Syrian Arabs in Baghdad and Mosul, had less 
chance of integration and continued to face discrimination and require 
protection.
    The Government began a registration of the 15,626 UNHCR-recognized 
Kurdish refugees from Turkey in November, most of whom had resided 
since 1998 in a UNHCR-administered camp in Makhmour, Erbil Province. 
The registration included the issuance of an identification card that 
provided greater mobility, employment opportunities, and access to 
civil documentation. It was hoped that the registration would lead to 
greater possibility for voluntary return and de facto local integration 
for the group.
    According to the UNHCR, general violence in the central region and 
targeted attacks against Palestinians decreased. Notwithstanding 
improvements in security, Palestinian refugees continued to experience 
a deep level of uncertainty with regard to their place within the 
fabric of society. Economic challenges placed Palestinian refugees in 
the lowest socioeconomic rankings; their declining economic situation 
was in part attributable to a loss of employment opportunities due to 
discrimination. The UNHCR reported that it worked with the MoDM to 
provide identification cards to the 11,500 Palestinians remaining in 
the country. The MOI, in coordination with the UNHCR, issued 
approximately 10,000 identification cards to Palestinians, and 
approximately 2,000 more were in process at year's end. The cards 
facilitate increased mobility within Iraq by the Palestinians.

    Stateless Persons.--The UNHCR estimated the total number of 
stateless persons in the country as less than 120,000, most of whom had 
already commenced the process of reacquiring nationality. The MOI 
Nationality Department anticipated resolving all such cases over the 
course of the next two years. Since 2003 more than 25,000 persons have 
regained their nationality, 4,000 of them during the year, in 
accordance with articles 17 and 18 of the nationality law of 2006. 
However, approximately 54,500 Bidoun (literally ``without 
nationality'') individuals living as nomads in the desert near Basra, 
Thi-Qar, and Samawa southern governorates remained stateless at year's 
end. In the north an estimated 560 stateless Syrian Kurds were 
registered as asylum seekers.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides for the right of citizens to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right through 
periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In March 7 parliamentary 
elections, nearly 12 million votes were cast, drawing from a pool of 
more than 18.9 million registered voters. The majority Sunni Iraqi 
National Movement (known popularly as Iraqiyya), led by former prime 
minister Ayad Allawi, won a plurality with 91 seats in the 325-member 
body. Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's largely Shia State of Law 
Coalition was close behind with 89 seats, while the Iraqi National 
Alliance and Kurdistan Alliance followed with 70 and 57 seats, 
respectively, with the Kurdistan Alliance retaining 47 seats after the 
Goran party left the alliance in November. Small minority blocs and 
independent candidates won the remainder of the seats. International 
observer missions and indigenous observer networks declared the 
elections free from widespread or systemic fraud.
    The IHEC announced preliminary election results on March 27, based 
on 100 percent of the vote tabulation and resolution of approximately 
200 complaints. The Federal Supreme Court certified the election 
results on June 1. Following the procedural calendar requirements, the 
new COR convened on June 14 but adjourned less than 20 minutes later to 
allow political blocs more time to negotiate the formation of a 
government. Following eight months of negotiations, the COR finally 
reconvened on November 11 and elected a speaker and deputy speakers. On 
November 25, President Talabani charged Maliki with forming a new 
government. The COR gave unanimous approval to this new government on 
December 21.
    The number of votes cast exceeded that in the 2005 COR elections by 
100,000; the turnout of registered voters was 62 percent compared with 
76 percent in 2005, attributable in large part to the much higher 
number of registered voters that resulted from concerted voter 
registration campaigns by IHEC, political parties, and civil society 
organizations. IHEC instituted antifraud measures and procedures to 
handle complaints in compliance with an April 19 order issued by the 
Electoral Judicial Panel. The results of the Baghdad recount closely 
mirrored the original tally, dispelling lingering concerns about 
electoral irregularities.
    A series of terrorist bombings, most targeting Sunni and Iraqiyya 
candidates but also Assyrians and Christians, marred the final three 
weeks of the election campaign. On election day, 42 persons were killed 
and 110 wounded in attacks in Baghdad, while several more were killed 
or injured in other cities around the country. According to reports, 
228 persons died in election-related violence during the three-week 
campaign period prior to March 7, while another 178 were killed in 
postelection violence before official results were announced on March 
27. Levels of violence were considerably lower than in the 2005 
national elections.
    IHEC, with nine COR-appointed commissioners, had sole 
responsibility for administering the elections, including the 49,640 
official polling stations. IHEC welcomed strong civil society 
participation and technical assistance and observers from other 
countries and international organizations. IHEC credentialed 114,500 
domestic monitors from more than 492 national monitoring organizations, 
657 observers from 35 international organizations, and 476,366 
representatives of political entities.
    Political parties and candidates had the right to propose 
themselves or be nominated by other groups, including the innovation of 
a select number of political parties holding primaries to develop their 
respective slates. The Government did not restrict political opponents, 
nor did it interfere with their right to organize, seek votes, or 
publicize their views, apart from the legal prohibition on supporting 
the Ba'ath Party.
    A number of candidates were disqualified. The 2008 Accountability 
and Justice (de-Ba'athification) Law prevented active Ba'athists and 
high-level former Ba'athists from running for elected office. On 
January 14, the Accountability and Justice Commission (AJC) 
disqualified approximately 500 candidates due to alleged Ba'ath Party 
ties. Sixty-three candidates were later reinstated under the auspices 
of an ad hoc COR committee. Approximately half of the remaining 
disqualifications affected secular nationalists including those from 
the Iraqiyya bloc. Sunni parties with affected slates could voluntarily 
name replacement candidates. Candidates on the disqualified list could 
avail themselves of an appeals process through a special cassation 
chamber empowered to review AJC decisions.
    Because the cassation chamber could not complete its review of 210 
appeals prior to the deadline for ballot printing, it issued a legal 
opinion on February 3 allowing candidates who formally appealed to run 
in the March election, with the proviso that candidates who won seats 
during their appeal would be subject to postelection vetting. 
Ultimately the cassation chamber completed its vetting process prior to 
the elections, reinstating 26 candidates.
    The country's political parties tended to be organized along either 
religious or ethnic lines. Shia Islamist parties, such as the Islamic 
Supreme Council of Iraq, al-Dawa al-Islamiyya Party, and Sadrist Trend, 
as well as Kurdish nationalist parties such as the KDP and PUK, were 
the predominant political forces. Other political players included the 
secular Iraqiyya, Sunni Iraqi Islamic Party, and ethnic minority 
parties, such as the Assyrian Democratic Movement. Membership in some 
political parties conferred special privileges and advantages in 
employment and education. The KDP and PUK reportedly give preference in 
government employment to their respective members. In all, 160 regular 
parties, 36 independents, and 10 minority parties and candidates 
participated in the elections. In the month prior to the elections, the 
five major political party coalitions signed an electoral code of 
conduct pledging to refrain from inciting sectarian or ethnic tensions 
and promising to accept the results of the election.
    The 2009 election law calls for an open list election in multiple 
districts. The open list measure contributed to enhanced transparency 
of electoral politics and accountability of elected officials, but it 
created additional challenges for voter education, ballot design, and 
related electoral preparations necessitating a postponement from a 
January 21 to March 7 polling day for most voters. Polling procedures 
included special voting periods for security personnel as well as 
citizens who were hospitalized and incarcerated. The law expanded the 
number of seats in the parliament from 275 to 325. Of those seats, the 
law reserves eight compensatory seats for minorities: five for 
Christian candidates from Baghdad, Ninewa, Kirkuk, Erbil, and Dohuk; 
one Yazidi representing Ninewa; one Sabean-Mandaean representing 
Baghdad; and one Shabak representing Ninewa. The law also harmonized 
language defining internally displaced persons and opened the process 
to out-of-country voting for refugees and citizens abroad.
    The constitution mandates that female members of parliament 
constitute 25 percent of the COR. There were 81 women elected to the 
COR, including candidates elected through the open list system. In the 
previous COR, women chaired two of the 24 standing committees. In the 
previous government, there were five female ministers of 37 in the 
cabinet: the ministers of state for women's affairs and for provincial 
affairs, and the ministers of human rights, environment, and housing 
and construction. Three cabinet members were from religious and ethnic 
minority groups: the minister of human rights, the minister of industry 
and minerals, and the minister of youth and sports. In the current 
government, there were two female ministers of 44 in the cabinet 
(minister of state for women's affairs and minister of state without 
portfolio), and three cabinet members from religious and ethnic 
minority groups: minister of environment, minister of youth and sports, 
and minister of state for provincial affairs. In the current COR, there 
were two women chairing a standing committee.
    The KRG had planned provincial elections for November for the 
provincial councils in Sulaymaniyah, Erbil, and Dohuk, but the KRG 
postponed the elections. At year's end, the Kurdish parliament had not 
set a new date for the elections. Press reports suggested that the KRG 
postponed the elections in order to avoid anticipated electoral losses 
by the PUK party in Sulaymaniyah, where the opposition Goran party was 
expected to gain electoral votes.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Although the law provides criminal penalties for official 
corruption, the Government did not implement the law effectively. 
Large-scale corruption pervaded the Government, and public perception 
of government corruption and impunity continued to be strong. 
Intimidation and political influence were factors in some allegations 
of corruption, and officials sometimes used the ``de-Ba'athification'' 
process to pursue political and personal agendas. The World Bank's 
worldwide governance indicators reflected that corruption was a serious 
problem. In July the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the 
United Nations Development Program, and the Central Organization for 
Statistics and Technology within the Ministry of Planning and 
Cooperation Development released a report on the working conditions and 
integrity of civil servants within four ministries. Among the findings, 
24 percent of the staff that had daily contacts with private business 
within the Ministry of Trade received at least one bribe offer, and 72 
percent of all civil servants would not feel adequately protected if 
they reported corruption within their ministries, of whom 73 percent 
would not feel adequately protected from physical harm. Government 
anticorruption officials and the media consistently commented on the 
pervasive corruption in society.
    During the first six months of the year, prosecution of corruption 
cases increased, but officials combating corruption faced persistent 
political, social, and capacity restraints. They also faced physical 
threats and attacks. One inspector general reported that those involved 
in investigating corruption ``are facing serious risks without personal 
security details and other protective measures to do their jobs and 
stay alive at the same time.'' On September 26, Laieh Muhammed, who 
executed arrest warrants for the Commission on Integrity (COI), was 
killed on his way to work at a checkpoint into the International Zone. 
He was the second COI employee killed by a silenced pistol. According 
to the COI, 40 personnel had been murdered in the line of duty since 
2004. Credible information on the nature and extent of corruption in 
the judiciary was lacking, but such corruption was widely believed to 
exist.
    Anticorruption institutions were fragmented, and their interaction 
was hampered by a lack of consensus about their role, partly due to a 
lack of effective legislation as well as to insufficient political will 
to eliminate widespread corruption. Lack of accountability continued to 
be widespread, reinforced by several statutory provisions, unclear 
regulatory processes, and limited transparency.
    The law does not provide public access to government information 
for citizens or noncitizens, including foreign media. Certain 
government officials, such as ministers, governors, and 
parliamentarians, are required by law to file financial disclosure 
reports, but the Government did not enforce the requirement. The COI 
reported that only 24 percent of new COR members had complied with the 
law,while 76 percent of former (pre-March 7 elections) COR members had 
complied. Ten of the 18 provincial governors had complied. The Council 
of Ministers had a 100 percent response rate.
    The COI, established in 2004 as the Commission on Public Integrity, 
is the Government body charged with preventing and investigating cases 
of corruption in all ministries and other components of the Government 
nationwide (except for the KRG). The COI, with a staff of approximately 
1,300, reports to the commissioner of integrity, and the COR and has 
the authority to refer cases to the judicial investigators for possible 
criminal prosecution. The commissioner was appointed by the prime 
minister in 2007. He has never been confirmed by the COR and was 
therefore subject to replacement at the prime minister's discretion. 
The same was true of most investigators general (IG).
    According to a prime ministerial order, the COI does not initiate 
cases and has instructed the ministerial IGs to perform all initial 
investigations. Although the order remains in effect with the IGs 
initiating 95 percent of all investigations, the COI initiated several 
high-profile investigations with the knowledge of the Prime Minister's 
Office. Each ministry has an IG charged with performing audits, 
inspections, and investigations to reduce fraud, waste, and corruption. 
In practice this order placed the ministers in control of any 
investigation of corruption within their own ministry and permitted 
them to halt corruption proceedings against their employees. There were 
documented instances where the ministers have ordered major corruption 
investigations to be dropped. As in previous years, ministries 
effectively stalled investigations by failing to provide information or 
not complying with requests for officials to appear in court.
    The prime minister's approval is required before corruption cases 
proceed against members of the presidency or the Council of Ministers. 
Information on specific instances of the prime minister and ministers 
using these tactics during the year was not available. Judicial 
authorities reported that the practice constituted a significant 
obstacle to the prosecution of corruption cases.
    Under a section of the criminal code (136[b]), prosecutors must 
receive permission from the relevant minister before an official can be 
brought to trial for an offense related to official duties. In 2009, 54 
persons were shielded from prosecution by the use of the provision. In 
the first half of the year, ministers halted 96 investigations. The 
threat of invoking 136[b] or failing to provide information was usually 
effective in stopping investigations. For example, the interior 
minister terminated an investigation into the ministry's purchase of 
fraudulent bomb detectors from a British company, although the 
ministry's IG determined that 75 percent of the contract value was 
given to government officials in bribes.
    While the COI remained undeveloped as an institution, especially in 
the provinces, it steadily increased the number of corruption-related 
arrests. For the first six months of the year, 982 cases were sent to 
court, compared with 972 during 2009. For the first six months of the 
year, there were 181 convictions, compared with 285 in 2009. According 
to the COI, by October 31, approximately 2,300 defendants were referred 
to the courts during the year, resulting in 600 individuals receiving 
jail sentences. An estimated 10 percent of the persons convicted were 
government officials with the rank of general director or higher. The 
Ministry of Defense had the largest number of employees referred to the 
judicial system, followed by the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of 
Municipalities. On May 30, the COI arrested three state-owned bank 
managers and issued arrest warrants for four merchants and an owner of 
an Iraqi company for using government funds to fund a private business.
    The addition to the ministry IGs and the IGs for the municipality 
of Baghdad, the Property Resolution Commission, the Hajj and Umrah 
Pilgrimage Commission, the Commission of Political Prisoners, and the 
country's multiple religious endowments, and the Board of Supreme 
Audits (BSA), which is the country's oldest anticorruption agency, 
perform external audits of government ministries and agencies. The BSA 
also audits the offices of the prime minister, the Presidency Council, 
and the presidency of the COR, as well as expenses claimed by members 
of the COR.
    Aside from the core institutions of the COI, the inspector general, 
and the audit board, the COR maintains an Integrity Committee charged 
with oversight of executive branch and anticorruption agencies. By 
executive order the prime minister created the Joint Anticorruption 
Council in 2007 to integrate anticorruption initiatives; it includes 
representatives of the COI, IGs, the BSA, COR's Integrity Committee, 
and the Higher Judicial Council and is chaired by the Council of 
Ministers secretary general.
    The media and NGOs continued to expose corruption, although their 
capacity to do so was limited.
    Published on March 24, the Government's Anticorruption Strategy for 
2010-14 identifies more than 200 specific anticorruption challenges, 
along with an action plan for addressing each. The Joint Anticorruption 
Council, with the COI acting as the lead, has responsibility for 
supervising compliance with the strategy, which also seeks 
participation from religious and community leaders, civil society 
representatives, and journalists. At the end of the year, 29 of the 34 
ministries had complied with the strategy's requirement to submit an 
anticorruption plan for COI review.
    In 2008 the KRG established a corruption committee, composed of 
government officials, to review levels of corruption and make 
recommendations on how to prevent corruption. The KRG contracted an 
international accounting firm to study KRG institutions and make 
recommendations on anticorruption measures. In July 2009 KRG Prime 
Minister Nechirvan Barzani announced the summary results of the 
accounting firm's report, including a recommended anticorruption 
strategy. In December, KRG parliamentarians established the Kurdistan 
Integrity Committee with the objective to create a centralized BSA and 
a Commission of Integrity in the KRG. As of year's end, the separate 
BSAs in Erbil and Suleymaniyah had yet to merge, and the Iraqi COI had 
not received permission to operate officially in the KRG.
    On April 21, former minister of trade Abd Falah al-Sudani was 
acquitted for lack of evidence on certain charges of corruption and 
mismanagement within his ministry which oversees the country's vast 
public food ration program. Sudani remained at large, and the 
Commission of Integrity continued to pursue other corruption charges 
against him at year's end, while others indicated an intent to repeal 
the acquittal. Al-Sudani resigned from his post in May 2009 and was 
then charged with corruption and arrested while fleeing the country. 
The court released al-Sudani's brother, Sabah al-Sudani, who was also 
arrested after he was stopped with 170 million dinars ($150,000) and 
attempted to bribe a police officer. Three Ministry of Trade officials 
involved in the case, including the director general of the Grain 
Import Board, were convicted of negligence; one received a two-year 
prison sentence, and the other two received one-year sentences.
    In November 2009 authorities discovered that the head of the 
Baghdad Amanat's Accounting Department and 13 other persons, several of 
them her relatives, had stolen more than 23 billion dinars ($20 
million). The authorities arrested the 13 suspects, but the department 
head fled the country. Government authorities worked in coordination 
with neighboring countries to arrest her on June 19 as well as recover 
a substantial portion of the stolen funds. The suspects remained in 
custody at year's end.
    As of year's end, the commissioner of integrity and several IGs 
lacked full authority because their names had not been submitted for 
parliamentary confirmation, as required by law.
    The constitution provides COR members immunity from arrest unless 
the member was caught in a criminal act or charged with a felony and 
the COR overturned immunity by a majority vote.
    The central government and the KRG maintained inflated public 
payrolls. Ministries and public sector institutions employed 
nonexistent ``ghost'' employees, and political patronage was common at 
all levels of government. Ministries were beginning to establish 
automated payroll deposits and conduct workplace audits with the BSA to 
cut back on ``ghost'' employees. Rates of absenteeism and desertion 
among the ISF continued to decrease. During the year in the KRG there 
were an estimated one million employees on the Government payroll of a 
total population of approximately 3.9 million.
    Political parties subjected the COI to a number of high-level 
attempts to influence prosecutions. Members of the legislature also 
reportedly attempted to pressure the court on numerous occasions.
    There were reports in all 18 provinces, at the national and 
regional levels, of opaque public tender processes, favoritism in 
contracting, and excessive discretion of public officials in 
procurement decisions.
    Corruption along the country's borders existed as well. A September 
22 media report detailed a security operation against trucks smuggling 
oil outside the country. The Government worked independently and with 
the international community to address structural and capacity issues 
in this area.
    Local and foreign business organizations in the KRG complained that 
the KRG did not publicly tender contracts in sufficient time to allow 
local business owners to compete, and that political and personal 
favoritism determined the results.
    Anticorruption, law enforcement, and judicial officials, along with 
members of civil society and the media, continued to face threats and 
intimidation for vigorous pursuit of corrupt practices.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    During the year the Government had a mixed record cooperating with 
NGOs. Although the Government expressed a willingness to cooperate with 
the UN and its agencies on human rights issues, as seen in its 
participation in the Universal Periodic Review, practical cooperation 
was limited, with the Government citing security restrictions. 
Government cooperation with NGOs was evident during the election, with 
tens of thousands of independent election observers deployed throughout 
the country.
    During the year activity and advocacy by the country's NGOs 
contributed to democratic governance. While domestic human rights NGOs 
remained affiliated with a political party or with a particular sect, 
space for independent NGOs was opening. Branches of international NGOs 
and NGOs serving women remained the most forward leaning. Overall, NGOs 
still faced numerous challenges and did not systematically serve as 
bulwarks against failures in governance and human rights abuses.
    On January 25, the Government passed a law on NGOs that was 
designed to facilitate NGO registration and operations while providing 
extra protections from onerous and arbitrary government actions. 
Provisions in the new law included the following: NGOs are permitted to 
receive foreign funding and affiliate with foreign entities (including 
the UN and ICRC, for example) without prior approval from the 
Government; the Government cannot deny NGO registration without 
attributing the denial to a specific provision of law; criminal 
penalties (including imprisonment) were removed for membership in an 
improperly registered NGO; the Government can only audit or inspect an 
NGO office with cause; and the Government must obtain a court order to 
suspend an NGO or confiscate its property. The new law became effective 
on April 7. The Council of Ministers Secretariat NGO Assistance Office 
was in the process of implementing regulations consistent with the new 
law. One office in the country located in Baghdad accepted 
registrations for NGOs.
    During the year there were reports that the police conducted 
unannounced and intimidating visits to some NGOs, demanding 
photographs, passport details, names, and addresses of all staff and 
their family members. NGOs reported that the new law aimed to remedy 
this situation.
    The poor security situation continued to limit the work of NGOs. On 
January 18, gunmen killed five persons of a domestic humanitarian NGO 
in its Baghdad office and afterwards detonated a car bomb, wounding two 
police responders. However, such direct attacks specifically aimed at 
NGOs remained rare. The Government did not take special steps to 
protect NGOs from targeting or harassment.
    The Kurdish areas had an active NGO community, although local 
Kurdish NGOs generally were closely linked to and funded by the PUK and 
KDP political parties. The KRG and Kurdish political parties generally 
supported humanitarian NGO activities and programs.
    The central government's attitude toward international human rights 
and humanitarian NGOs was one of moderate cooperation. The Government 
did not mandate additional registration requirements for international 
human rights and humanitarian NGOs outside visa requirements for 
international staff. Information was not available regarding the 
existence of any government efforts to refuse visas for international 
NGO staff or restrict access into the country. Due to security concerns 
and the costs of addressing those concerns, many international NGOs 
established offices in Erbil in the KRG and then hired local staff for 
activities outside the KRG.
    The Government generally cooperated with the UN Assistance Mission 
for Iraq (UNAMI) and the international governmental organizations 
associated with it. For example, Security Council Resolution 1883 
(2009) mandated the UNAMI to advise, support, and assist the Government 
and IHEC with the March 7 COR elections, which international observer 
missions and Iraqi observer networks declared were free from widespread 
or systemic fraud. The Government permitted visits by various UN 
representatives of all levels; for example, by the UN representative of 
the secretary general on the human rights of internally displaced 
persons, Walter Kalin, in late September and the UN secretary general's 
high-level coordinator who handles Iraq-Kuwait issues, Ambassador 
Gennady Tarasov. UNAMI and its affiliated organizations regularly 
release reports on a wide range of issues. There have been no reports 
of any government efforts to block release or distribution of UNAMI 
publications.
    In 2008 the Government signed a headquarters agreement with the 
ICRC, granting it legal status and permanent representation in the 
country. The COR had not ratified the agreement by year's end, but the 
ICRC benefited nonetheless from its provisions.
    All nongovernmental investigations of alleged human rights 
violations continued to be restricted. The Government attributed 
restrictions to the security situation and its policy of allowing only 
the MOHR and the ICRC restricted access to detention facilities. The 
Government generally did not permit detention center or prison visits 
by NGOs. The MOHR met with domestic NGO monitors and responded to their 
inquiries by opening MOHR investigations into alleged violations. In 
2009 the MOHR also initiated a program to train representatives of 32 
domestic NGOs to visit and monitor prison conditions.
    The MOHR attempted to monitor human rights abuses and advocate for 
and assist victims, and it issued public reports on prisons and 
detention centers, minorities, and victims of terrorism. Limited 
resources and poor cooperation from other ministries limited the 
ministry's effectiveness. The effectiveness of KRG human rights 
authorities was limited by a lack of trained personnel and effective 
follow-up throughout the Government on human rights issues.
    In 2008 the COR's Committee on Human Rights passed legislation 
establishing an Independent High Commission on Human Rights. In 
December 2009 a Committee of Experts to select the commission's 
directors was formed, but the COR had not ratified its membership at 
year's end. The Government had not contributed any funds, and support 
from the international donor community was limited. The COR committee 
advocated publicly for raising standards in government detention 
facilities and prisons, and credible human rights organizations 
considered that to be valuable. The KRG's legislature formed a special 
committee to deal with human rights and detainee issues, but did not 
issue any public reports.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides that all citizens are equal before the 
law without regard to gender, sect, opinion, belief, nationality, 
religion, or origin. The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of 
race, disability, or social status. The Government did not effectively 
enforce these provisions.

    Women.--The constitution provides for equal treatment before the 
law without discrimination based on gender; in practice, discrimination 
existed, and enforcement of equal treatment was uneven. The general 
lack of security in the country and increasingly conservative societal 
tendencies had a serious negative impact on women.
    The penal code criminalizes rape, does not address spousal rape, 
and permits a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for rapists. There 
was no reliable estimate of the incidence of rape or the effectiveness 
of government enforcement of the law.
    The constitution prohibits all forms of violence and abuse in the 
family, school, and society. Local NGOs and media reporting indicated 
that domestic violence often went unreported and unpunished with abuses 
customarily addressed within the family and tribal structure. 
Harassment of legal personnel working on domestic violence cases, as 
well as a lack of police and judicial personnel, further hampered 
efforts to bring perpetrators to justice.
    There are no specific laws that concern domestic violence. Under 
the penal code, a husband is legally entitled to punish his wife 
``within certain limits prescribed by law or custom.'' Existing laws 
were widely unenforced, including those on domestic violence.
    During the year NGOs reported that domestic violence against women 
remained a serious problem, although no reliable statistics existed.
    Domestic violence was also widespread in the Kurdistan region, 
including beatings, shootings, and burnings. Women have an unequal role 
in the family and in the social structure of the region. Although 
technology has made it easier for women to contact others outside their 
immediate family, this has led to sometimes violent disputes over who a 
woman can talk to or what she can do outside the home. For the first 
eight months of 2009, the domestic NGO Human Rights Data Bank recorded 
363 incidents of battery against women, 295 reported threats, 40 
murders, and 32 sexual assaults in the KRG.
    Honor killings remained a serious problem. Legislation in force 
permits honor considerations to mitigate sentences.
    According to a 2009 UNHCR report, honor killings were prevalent in 
all parts of the country. For the first nine months of 2009, the 
domestic NGO Human Rights Data Bank recorded 314 burn victims (125 
instances of self-immolation and 189 cases of burning), compared with 
234 burn victim during the same period in 2008.
    A KRG human rights official reported in 2008 that the KRG does not 
consider an honor killing legally different from murder, thus making 
punishment for an honor killing equal to punishment for murder. The 
nature of the crime made it difficult for authorities to find 
sufficient evidence to prosecute cases. KRG human rights authorities 
reported that 117 women died in honor killings in 2008; the KRG 
reported a total of 528 honor killings in 2009. UNAMI and civil society 
observers considered both figures to be low. KRG human rights 
authorities and the KRG's Honor Killing Monitoring Commission were 
active on women's issues, particularly on steps to end honor killings.
    Both public and private shelters for women existed, but space was 
limited and service delivery was poor, with private shelters providing 
a slightly higher level of service. Shelters closely protected 
information regarding their locations. Some NGOs worked with local 
community mental health workers, employed by the Ministry of Health, 
who provided assistance to victims of gender-based violence. Other NGOs 
worked to provide legal assistance to these victims. NGOs played a role 
in providing services to victims of domestic violence who received no 
assistance from the Government. Authorities frequently attempted to 
mediate between women and their families to work out a peaceful 
solution for the women to return home. Other than marrying or returning 
to their families (which often resulted in the family or community 
revictimizing the shelter resident), there were few options for women 
who were housed at shelters.
    Sexual relations outside of marriage for any reason are prohibited 
by law, including sexual solicitation often present in sexual 
harassment situations. The penalties include fines and detention. The 
criminal code provides relief from penalties if unmarried participants 
marry. No information was available regarding the effectiveness of 
government enforcement. Due to social conventions and retribution 
against both the victim and perpetrator of sexual harassment, victims 
of sexual harassment did not usually come forward to pursue legal 
remedies.
    The Government generally respected the basic rights of couples and 
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, timing, and 
spacing of children and to have the means to do so free from 
discrimination, coercion, and violence. Apart from the general 
insecurity in the country and attendant economic difficulties, there 
were no impediments to access to information on family planning, 
contraception, and maternal health services, including skilled 
attendance during childbirth, prenatal care, and essential obstetric 
care and postpartum care. Many women received inadequate medical care 
due to a lack of essential drugs, transport to referral institutions, 
and medical personnel lacking training in emergency obstetric care. 
Women were at increased risk of poor birth outcomes with high rates of 
anemia, short birth intervals, early marriage, and early pregnancy.
    Although the constitution forbids discrimination on the basis of 
gender, in practice conservative societal standards impeded women's 
abilities to exercise their rights equally to men. Throughout the 
country women reported pressure to wear veils. Islamic extremists 
targeted women for undertaking normal activities, such as driving a car 
and wearing trousers, in an effort to force them to remain at home, 
wear veils, and adhere to a conservative interpretation of Islam. 
Islamic extremists also reportedly continued to target women in a 
number of cities, demanding they stop wearing Western-style clothing 
and cover their heads while in public.
    The Ministry of State for Women's Affairs, with an approximately 
18-person professional staff, functioned primarily as a policy office 
without an independent budget or the ability to hire more employees.
    Women experienced economic discrimination in access to, and in 
terms of, employment and occupation, credit, and pay equity for 
performing similar work or managing similar businesses as men. The 
security situation disproportionately affected women's ability to work 
outside the home. Weak labor laws and the lack of an equal opportunity 
employment law left women vulnerable to arbitrary dismissal. Government 
efforts to combat economic discrimination against women are minimal and 
unsystematic.

    Children.--The constitution states that anyone born with at least 
one Iraqi parent shall be considered a citizen. The Government in 
general was committed to children's rights and welfare, although it 
denied benefits to noncitizen children. Their families had to pay for 
services that were otherwise free, such as public schools and health 
services. Except for several hundred Palestinian families, they were 
not eligible for the national food rationing program.
    Primary education is compulsory for citizen children for six years, 
and 89 percent of students reached the fifth grade. Education is free 
for children at all levels.
    Helping street children remained a challenge for the Government, 
NGOs, and international organizations. Many street children remained 
from the war and the ensuing sectarian fighting. Extremists' attacks 
also resulted in orphaned children. There is no adoption under the law, 
only guardianship for extended family or friends who can provide for 
the child in Iraq. The law does not permit foreigners to obtain legal 
guardianship of Iraqi children. Although orphanages existed, there was 
little evidence of an established culture of informal adoption for 
nonrelated children.
    Female genital mutilation (FGM) is not illegal and is a common 
practice particularly in the rural areas of the Kurdistan region and 
other areas of the country where Kurdish communities live. Several NGOs 
that worked to halt FGM had anecdotal evidence that in rural villages 
as many as 90 percent of women had undergone the procedure, and in 
urban areas as many as 30 percent. The Government offered no 
substantive assistance for victims of FGM.
    On February 6, the Association for Crisis Assistance and 
Development Cooperation (WADI) released the findings of a 
representative empirical study on FGM in the Kurdistan region which 
noted that the majority of women in the region had undergone FGM. On 
June 16, Human Rights Watch released a report describing the 
experiences of girls and women who had undergone FGM. On July 6, the 
High Committee for Issuing Fatwas at the Kurdistan Islamic Scholars 
Union issued a fatwa declaring that ``female circumcision'' was a pre-
Islamic practice that should be avoided for health reasons. On July 12, 
the Ministry for Endowments and Religious Affairs in the KRG asked 
clerics to note in sermons and Friday prayers that FGM was not an 
Islamic practice.
    Although there were no statistics, a tradition of marrying young 
girls (as young as 14 years old) continued, particularly in rural 
areas.
    Sexual relations outside of marriage for any reason, including 
rape, are prohibited by law. Producing, importing, publishing, or 
possessing written material, drawings, photographs, or films that 
violates public integrity or decency (including pornography of any 
kind) is prohibited. Rape is a serious offense, which can result in 
long prison terms, including life imprisonment. The penalties for 
violating public integrity or decency include fines and detention. No 
information was available regarding the effectiveness of government 
enforcement. Due to social conventions and retribution against both the 
victim and perpetrator of sexual relations outside marriage, victims of 
sexual crimes did not usually come forward to pursue legal remedies.
    Individuals do not need parental permission for marriage upon 
reaching 18 years old. Consequently, the minimum age of consensual sex 
is 18.
    Despite laws against child labor, children often worked illegally 
on farms or in street commerce. In accordance with the labor law, MOLSA 
established an inspection service to ensure compliance with the law as 
it relates to prohibitions on child labor in the private and public 
sector.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The majority of the Jewish community, which was 
estimated to number 117,000 in 1947, left in the years immediately 
following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Virtually all of 
the remaining Jews left the country over the passage of the following 
decades. Fewer than 10 Jews remained in Baghdad, and none were known to 
live in other parts of the country.
    The criminal code stipulates that any person promoting Zionist 
principles, or who associates himself with Zionist organizations or 
assists them by giving material or moral support or works in any way 
towards the realization of Zionist objectives, is subject to punishment 
by death.
    There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination in 
employment, education, access to health care, and other state services 
against persons with physical disabilities. The Government enforced the 
law in the Government sector but not in the private sector. The 
Government made efforts to ensure access by persons with disabilities 
during the March 7 election.
    The constitution states that the Government, through laws and 
regulations, should care and rehabilitate persons with disabilities and 
special needs to reintegrate them into society. There are no laws 
prohibiting discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, 
intellectual and mental disabilities in employment, education, access 
to health care, or the provision of other state services. Access for 
persons with disabilities to buildings remained inconsistent.
    The Government has programs aimed to help persons with 
disabilities; however, numerous media reports documented the challenges 
these programs faced, namely in the lack of qualified, trained 
personnel and large special needs populations. Amputees, persons with 
other major physical injuries, and persons suffering from mental/
psychological trauma were the focus of most media reports. The Health 
Ministry provides medical care, benefits, and rehabilitation, when 
available, and persons with disabilities may qualify for benefits from 
other agencies, including the Prime Minister's Office. The Ministry of 
Labor and Social Affairs operates several institutions for children and 
young adults with disabilities. The Ministry of Health's most recent 
estimate of the number of persons with physical and mental disabilities 
was two to three million, approximately 10 percent of the population.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's population 
includes Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Armenians. 
The religious mix is likewise varied. Many consider the Assyrians and 
Chaldeans to be a distinct ethnic group. These communities speak a 
different language, preserve Christian traditions, and do not define 
themselves as Arabs. The country also has citizens of African descent, 
``Black Iraqis,'' a population that community representatives estimated 
to number more than one million. According to Minority Rights Group 
International, the largest Black Iraqi community is in Basra; a 
significant number reside in Sadr City in Baghdad as well.
    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 disputed territories under the 
de facto control of the KRG, including Turkmen, Arabs, Yazidis, and 
Assyrians. According to these reports, authorities denied services to 
some villages, arrested minorities without due process, took them to 
undisclosed locations for detention, and pressured minority schools to 
teach in the Kurdish language. Ethnic and religious minorities in 
Tameem (Kirkuk) frequently charged that Kurdish security forces 
targeted Arabs and Turkmen. Within the three provinces of the KRG, 
there was little evidence of KRG discrimination against religious and 
ethnic minorities. Minority communities operated their own schools and 
were represented both in the parliament and executive branch of the 
KRG.
    Palestinians reportedly experienced arrest, detention, harassment, 
and abuse by police, by individuals pretending to be police, and by the 
general public. A 2006 citizenship law prevents Palestinians from 
obtaining citizenship or Jews who emigrated to other countries from 
reclaiming citizenship.
    A population of 1.5 to 2 million Black Iraqis reported economic and 
social discrimination. UNAMI estimated in October 2009 that more than 
80 percent of the Black Iraqi population was unemployed. Minority 
Rights Group International reported that many were laborers or worked 
as domestic workers.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was no law specifically 
prohibiting homosexual relationships, although the penal code prohibits 
the act of ``buggery,'' or sodomy, irrespective of gender. The law 
calls for imprisonment only if the ``victim'' is under the age of 18. 
There was no data on how often, if ever, persons were prosecuted for 
sodomy. Due to social conventions and retribution against both victim 
and perpetrator of nonconsensual homosexual acts and persecution 
against participants in consensual homosexual relations, this activity 
was unreported.
    In light of the law, the authorities rely on public indecency 
charges or confessions of monetary exchange, (i.e., prostitution, which 
is illegal) to prosecute homosexual acts. Homosexual persons often 
faced persecution and violence from family and nongovernmental actors. 
The procedures used to arrest such persons were also used to arrest 
indiscreet heterosexuals who may be in sexual relations with persons 
other than their spouses.
    Due to social conventions and potential persecution, including 
violent attacks, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
organizations did not operate openly, nor were gay pride marches or gay 
rights advocacy events held. Societal discrimination based on sexual 
orientation and gender identity in employment, occupation, and housing 
was common. Information was not available regarding discrimination in 
access to education or health care due to sexual orientation or gender 
identity. There were no government efforts to address this 
discrimination.
    While there were fewer reports of discrimination and violence 
against gay men and lesbians than in 2009, discrimination and violence 
against such persons continued. On June 23, the London newspaper the 
Guardian reported that police in Karbala attacked and detained six 
persons, of whom two were gay men, one lesbian, and two transgender 
persons. The article reported that one of the men went to a hospital 
two days later with a throat wound and allegations of police torture. 
On June 29, the newspaper Al-Bayyna Al-Jadidah reported the arrest of 
college-age, gay men who allegedly confessed to committing 
``unethical'' acts. The article, which highlighted the legal steps 
taken to secure a judicial order prior to the search and arrest, ended 
with ``greetings to those awake eyes (security/informant forces) that 
pursue all homosexuals.''
    As of year's end, authorities had not announced any arrests or 
prosecutions of any persons for abusing, killing, torturing, or 
detaining any LGBT individuals.
    Other parts of this report contain related information (see 
sections 1.c, 2.c., and 6.d.).

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution states that citizens 
have the right to form and join unions and professional associations 
with certain restrictions. The Saddam-era labor codes, which are still 
in effect, place limitations and conditions on these rights. Public 
sector workers who are not executives can legally form or join unions, 
but regulation classified most public sector workers as executives. 
Workers in state-owned enterprises can form or join unions. Unions in 
the public sector and state-owned enterprises are not independent; they 
are sponsored by the state. Private-sector employees who work at 
establishments employing more than 50 persons may form and join unions 
that have limited rights. Private-sector unions have the right to seek 
government arbitration for labor disputes, but not the right to strike.
    Labor Law 150 of 1987 is still in effect and states that trade 
union organizations should ``play an effective role in the organization 
of labor relations, in the protection of workers' rights, and in the 
development of their personalities.'' However, it declares virtually 
all public sector workers to be government ``executives,'' and 
therefore legally ineligible to form or to join unions. The rights of 
migrant workers are not covered under this law. The provision in effect 
eliminated unions and the right of association from the large public 
sector. Although the number of formal unions and associations remains 
undefined, workers in state-owned enterprises have generally been 
organized along sectoral lines stemming largely from state employment. 
The largest sectors with the most active unions or associations are 
oil/petrochemical, industrial and defense manufacturing, and education.
    In the private sector, the 1987 Trade Union Organization Law states 
that employees can form workers' committees, with limited rights of 
association, in private-sector work sites employing more than 50 
workers. Originally, this was also intended to remove the right of 
association from a majority of private-sector workers because most 
private-sector businesses employ fewer than 50 workers. Decree 8750 of 
2005, which cancelled unions' leadership boards, froze their assets, 
and formed an interministerial committee to administer unions' assets 
and assess their capacity to resume activity, also inhibited union 
activity.
    The legal and regulatory framework, combined with violence, 
insecurity, high unemployment, and lack of decent work standards 
provided for unacceptable conditions for working people. Nevertheless, 
labor organizations in state-owned enterprises were active during the 
year despite threats and harassment to union leaders. In January the 
Government imprisoned the president of Basra's Iraqi Teachers Union. In 
March the president of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions was charged 
with accusations that he was endangering the economy through union 
activity. On March 18, workers of the Southern Refinery Company held a 
three-hour strike. On April 1, the company transferred four leaders of 
the Refinery Workers Union in Basra. On July 21, the Government 
expelled the Electrical Utility Workers Union from its Basra offices.
    The MOLSA Labor Directorate has jurisdiction over the labor code, 
child labor, wages, occupational safety and health issues, and labor 
relations. Although the private sector expanded only modestly during 
the year, workers in the private sector continued to enjoy the right to 
form workers' committees at work sites employing fewer than 50 persons.
    The constitution states that every citizen has the right to 
demonstrate and strike peacefully in accordance with the law; however 
the 1987 labor code rules out the existence of public sector labor 
unions capable of carrying out industrial action and prohibits striking 
in the public and private sectors. Strikers were harassed and 
threatened for striking during the year. In March the media reported 
that security forces (army and police) dispersed an oil worker 
demonstration in Basra and arrested two demonstrators. According to 
October 10 press reports, Hassan Juma'a and Falih Abood, the president 
and general secretary, respectively, of the Federation of Oil Employees 
of Iraq were banned from travel outside the country. In June the 
authorities surrounded protesting longshoremen in Basra and transferred 
union leaders hundreds of miles from their homes.
    The Government was the largest employer in the country; reliable 
estimates indicated the public sector accounted for approximately 30 to 
35 percent of the total workforce. There were no government-sponsored 
prosecutions or attacks on trade union activists during the year, 
although the Government appeared to use transfers to remove troublesome 
union leaders from active union activity.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The 1987 labor 
code in practice ruled out the existence of labor unions able to carry 
out free and independent union activity and therefore effectively 
prohibited independent organizing and collective bargaining in the 
public and private sectors.
    Because unions have no legal power to negotiate with employers, 
proactive protection of workers' rights through collective bargaining 
and written collective contracts is not possible. Unions were able to 
play a supportive role in labor disputes, and they had the right to 
demand government arbitration, a process the Government only recently 
began to address in its commercial courts and judicial training. The 
1987 Trade Union Organization Law defined ``labor disputes'' as 
collective conflicts arising between workers and employers over the 
provisions of the labor code and/or individual employment contracts. 
Government labor courts were empowered to rule on labor code violations 
and disagreements. MOLSA officials, who were also charged with ensuring 
that public- and private-sector employers provided workers government-
mandated social security, pension, health care, and other benefits 
regardless of company size, readily acknowledged that enforcing these 
social safety net laws was more difficult without the partnership and 
cooperation of strong unions.
    Migrant workers are prohibited from collective bargaining rights 
and are not allowed to join unions. The absence of collective 
bargaining and collective contracts at national and local levels 
significantly diminished unions' power to defend workers' rights 
pertaining to their access to social protection.
    The laws and decrees did not prohibit antiunion discrimination by 
employers or others.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor; however this is not monitored or enforced. 
Migrant workers were sometimes subjected to abusive forced labor. The 
MOI, in coordination with MOLSA, reviewed applications for special 
worker status. According to MOLSA, most migrant applications were 
denied to protect domestic workers and industry. When the Government 
uncovered cases of exploitation of foreign workers, it worked in 
conjunction with international organizations to repatriate the victims. 
The Government did not have an effective means of monitoring or 
enforcing decent work standards for the workforce, both citizens and 
migrant workers.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
constitution and law prohibit the worst forms of child labor. The 
Government was not able to monitor or enforce these laws effectively. 
The law limits working hours for workers younger than 18 and prohibits 
their employment in dangerous occupations. The minimum age for 
employment is 15. Employment of anyone younger than 16 in work that is 
detrimental to health, safety, or morals is prohibited. The MOLSA Child 
Labor Unit continued to enforce child labor standards, but its work 
suffered from insufficient personnel and budget resources. The ISF 
continued to make slow but steady progress in its ability to pursue and 
interdict nonviolent crimes such as child labor violations.
    Poor families routinely used children to augment their income-
earning potential. This work often took the form of seasonal labor in 
rural areas or begging or peddling in urban settings. There were 
anecdotal reports of children working in hazardous family-owned 
automobile shops or on construction sites. Unconfirmed reports alleged 
the sale of children for indentured servitude.
    The Government introduced a targeted, means-tested social safety 
network program in 2005 to reduce poverty and protect children against 
deteriorating living conditions in their households. Millions of 
families received benefits and services administered by MOLSA, but 
child labor remained problematic. The package included a child 
allowance, conditional upon school attendance; the Government also 
funded programs to assist former and current street children. 
International organizations and NGOs funded additional projects to 
enhance the protection of children.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Wages are set by contract in the 
private sector and set by the Government in the public sector. The 
national minimum wage for a skilled worker was less than 12,000 dinars 
(approximately $10) per day and for an unskilled worker less than 5,250 
dinars ($4.50) per day. 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. These regulations 
were almost entirely unenforced. The Central Organization of Statistics 
and Information Technology reported that the average salary in 2009--
the latest year for which information was available--was approximately 
2.4 million dinars ($2,100) per year, an increase over the previous 
year's figure of 1.78 million dinars ($1,500). These earnings remained 
only marginally above poverty level and did not provide an adequate 
standard of living for a worker and family.
    According to international governmental organizations, NGOs, and 
press reports, some foreign workers in the country were subjected to 
abusive treatment, including confiscation of travel and identity 
documents, restrictions on movement and communication, physical abuse, 
sexual harassment and rape, withholding of wages, forced overtime, and 
hazardous working conditions. Migrant workers have no legal protections 
and were not allowed to form or join unions.
    The MOLSA occupational safety and health component had 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; however, this right is 
not afforded to civil servants or migrant workers, who make up the 
majority of the country's workforce.

                               __________

                  ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

    Israel is a multiparty parliamentary democracy with a population of 
approximately 7.7 million, including Israelis living in the occupied 
territories. Israel has no constitution, although a series of ``Basic 
Laws'' enumerate fundamental rights. Certain fundamental laws, orders, 
and regulations legally depend on the existence of a ``State of 
Emergency,'' which has been in effect since 1948. The 120-member, 
unicameral Knesset has the power to dissolve the Government and mandate 
elections. The February 2009 elections for the Knesset were considered 
free and fair. They resulted in a coalition government led by Prime 
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli security forces reported to 
civilian authorities. (An annex to this report covers human rights in 
the occupied territories. This report deals with human rights in Israel 
and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.)
    Principal human rights problems were institutional, legal, and 
societal discrimination against Arab citizens, Palestinian residents of 
the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, non-Orthodox Jews, and other 
religious groups; societal discrimination against persons with 
disabilities; and societal discrimination and domestic violence against 
women, particularly in Bedouin society. While trafficking in persons 
for the purpose of prostitution decreased in recent years, trafficking 
for the purpose of labor remained a serious problem, as did abuse of 
foreign workers and societal discrimination and incitement against 
asylum seekers.
                        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.
    The petitioners withdrew their appeal to the High Court against the 
closure of the inquiry by the Department for Investigations against 
Police Officers' (DIPO) into the 2008 beating and subsequent coma and 
death of Sabri al-Jarjawi, a Bedouin. Instead, they appealed to DIPO, 
which denied the petitioners' appeal to reopen the case.
    At year's end, an internal Israel Prison Service (IPS) 
investigation continued into the 2007 killing of a Palestinian 
prisoner, Mohammed al-Askar, during a riot at Ketziot Prison. Prisoners 
alleged that security forces improperly used crowd-dispersal weapons, 
including rubber bullets and beanbag projectiles. The IPS investigation 
was on hold pending the outcome of legal proceedings in the Beer Sheva 
Magistrate Court regarding the cause of death.
    On July 21, the Supreme Court doubled the manslaughter sentence 
imposed by a lower court on police officer Shahar Mizrahi to 30 months 
in prison. The lower court convicted Mizrahi in 2009 of manslaughter in 
the 2006 shooting death of Mahmoud Ghanayem, who had attacked Mizrahi 
with a screwdriver when he tried to apprehend Ghanayem for suspected 
car theft.
    Terrorist groups routinely fired rockets and mortars from the Gaza 
Strip into Israel. According to the Government, terrorists fired 
approximately 235 rockets and mortar shells into the country from the 
Gaza Strip during the year, an increase from 195 in 2009. On March 19, 
a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip killed a Thai citizen near the city 
of Ashkelon.
    Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Military Advocate General Mandelblit 
investigated all allegations relating to the 2008-09 Operation Cast 
Lead military incursion into the Gaza Strip, examining over 150 
incidents, including those contained in the UN Human Rights Council's 
2009 Goldstone report. In January and July, Mandelblit released updates 
on the majority of investigations, which included details of 
indictments against several soldiers for manslaughter, improper use of 
civilians in wartime, and misconduct. As of July the military advocate 
general launched 47 military police criminal investigations into IDF 
conduct during Operation Cast Lead and completed a significant number 
of them. On August 1, the IDF issued a new order appointing 
humanitarian affairs officers to each battalion to provide further 
protections for civilian populations during wartime planning and combat 
operations.
    During the year the Military Investigative Police launched 147 
investigations with regard to cases of death, violence, and property 
damage against residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In these 
cases the military advocate general filed 10 indictments against 12 
soldiers suspected of committing criminal offenses against 
Palestinians. There were three convictions of four soldiers, no 
acquittals, closure of three cases by the military advocate general, 
and seven cases pending as of year's end.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--A 1999 High Court of Justice ruling held that, although 
torture and the application of physical or psychological pain are 
illegal, Israel Security Agency (ISA) interrogators may be exempt from 
criminal prosecution if they use such methods in extraordinary cases 
determined to involve an imminent threat, or ``ticking bomb'' scenario.
    During the year nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) filed numerous 
complaints alleging that security forces tortured or abused Palestinian 
residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. On April 26, the Supreme 
Court rejected a July 2009 appeal by the NGO Public Committee against 
Torture in Israel alleging authorities use painful shackling during 
interrogations. The court noted the Government's response that 
shackling was governed by strictly defined procedures and observed that 
the Government had recently made several policy adjustments, including 
no longer shackling a detainee's hands behind the back.
    On October 19, officers from the Ministry of Interior's Oz 
immigration unit allegedly beat and verbally abused with racial 
epithets five members of a black noncitizen family living in Ashkelon 
who had converted to Judaism and were awaiting a decision on their 
citizenship request. The immigration unit admitted detaining a family 
member in error but denied using physical force. The Ashkelon police 
department refused to allow the family to file a complaint against the 
officers.
    On May 12, due to a police procedural error, the Jerusalem 
Magistrates Court canceled the indictment and postponed the trial of 
two Border Guard officers accused in November 2009 of assaulting 
Muhtaseb Muqtada, an Arab resident of Jerusalem. Officers Maor 
Malianker and Yossi Dahan allegedly beat Muqtada with a baton after 
asking for his identification. Malianker was also indicted on two other 
counts for allegedly using a radio device to hit a Jerusalem resident 
and falsely reporting he was attacked during a search.
    The case of two border guards arrested by police in December 2009 
for allegedly beating and stealing NIS 700 ($197) from a Sudanese man 
in Eilat remained pending at year's end at the Beer Sheva District 
Court.
    The case of three police officers who reportedly detained and 
severely beat East Jerusalem resident Tareq Abu Laban in 2008 remained 
pending at year's end. In November 2009 evidentiary hearings began in 
the case following a DIPO investigation.
    In October evidentiary hearings began at the Beer Sheva 
Magistrates' Court in the case of police officers Iyad Huzeyl and Dani 
Havery, who were indicted for assault involving grievous injury against 
Fadi Darab'i, an undocumented Palestinian laborer, in 2008 in the town 
of Gan Yavneh.
    On June 13, a court acquitted three border police officers of 
charges of aggravated assault for physically abusing Abd Tareq Ahrub, a 
West Bank resident detained for being in Jerusalem without a permit in 
2006.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The law provides prisoners 
and detainees the right to conditions that do not harm their health or 
dignity. While various organizations found deficiencies, conditions in 
IPS facilities for common criminals and security prisoners generally 
met international standards according to international and domestic 
NGOs. (Conditions in four facilities for detainees are covered in the 
annex.)
    According to news reports, a classified report in December by the 
Israel Bar Association (IBA) found that most of the prison service's 
isolation cells did not meet international standards. The reports 
stated the IBA study also described many isolated inmates' development 
of mental and physical health problems such as paranoia, fits of rage, 
and eyesight loss due to lack of natural light. The Government 
acknowledged the need to improve conditions for Palestinian security 
prisoners in response to a 2008 IBA report on Sharon and Hadarim 
prisons that noted, among other points, poor health conditions in those 
facilities.
    The annual report of the Public Defender's Office describing 
conditions in prisons and detention centers in 2008 found grave 
deficiencies in the infrastructure of most prison facilities and the 
living conditions in many of them. In response to the report's claim 
that convicts in one-third of the prisons visited complained of violent 
and humiliating treatment, the Warden's Investigation Unit within the 
National Police (which is independent of the IPS) found complaints to 
be unfounded.
    According to a December 27 Haaretz article, there were on average 
13 unnatural deaths (from suicide, murder, or neglect) in prisons over 
the past decade. At year's end both the police and the prison service 
were conducting separate investigations into the causes of the 
unnatural deaths that occurred during the year. According to news 
reports, the state comptroller began an investigation into prison 
suicides in 2009 to determine their causes.
    On April 16, 27-year-old Raed Abu Hammad died while in solitary 
confinement in a prison in the southern part of the country. Hammad was 
halfway through a 10-year sentence for attempted murder and suffered 
from medical conditions. The prison service was investigating the death 
at year's end.
    As of December 14, there were 5,935 Arab security prisoners and 
detainees, 1,438 Palestinian criminal prisoners, 3,903 Israeli Arab 
criminal prisoners, 17 Jewish Israeli security prisoners, and 6,462 
Jewish criminal prisoners.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors, 
including through a program of the International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC) that brought relatives from the West Bank into the country 
for prison visits. The Government stopped a similar program for 
visitors from the Gaza Strip following the Hamas takeover of the Gaza 
Strip in 2007. In December 2009 the High Court ruled against a petition 
from prisoners' family members from the Gaza Strip, finding such visits 
did not constitute a humanitarian need. Travel restrictions into the 
country also affected Palestinian administrative prisoners' access to 
visitors and lawyers.
    Prisoners were permitted religious observance.
    The law allows prisoners to submit a petition to judicial 
authorities in response to substandard prison conditions, and the 
authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions 
and documented results of such investigations publicly.
    The ICRC regularly monitored IPS facilities, interrogation 
facilities, and the two IDF provisional detention centers but did not 
monitor security detainees in military detention centers. The 
Government also permitted the IBA and Public Defenders' Office to 
inspect IPS facilities, and they did so during the year.
    The state comptroller serves as ombudsman and investigates public 
complaints received through the Public Complaints Commission against 
government ministries, local authorities, state enterprises and 
institutions, government corporations, and government employees. It 
functions as an effective mechanism for handling accusations of 
discrimination within government and public institutions, and it 
forwards complaints to the appropriate oversight bodies of 
nongovernmental entities that serve the public including banks and 
insurance companies. Any person may make a complaint regardless of 
citizenship, residency, or visa status.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions for all citizens. Non-Israeli residents of the Israeli-
annexed Golan Heights were subject to the same laws as Israeli 
citizens. Noncitizens of Palestinian origin detained on security 
grounds fell under military jurisdiction even if detained in Israel.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Under the authority of 
the prime minister, the ISA combats terrorism and espionage in the 
country and the occupied territories. The National Police, including 
the Border Police and the Immigration Police, are under the authority 
of the Ministry of Internal Security. Civilian authorities maintained 
effective control over the ISA police forces, and the Government has 
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and corruption. 
There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces during 
the year. The military is responsible for external security and has no 
jurisdiction over citizens.
    DIPO investigates complaints against police officers and has the 
authority to indict or transfer cases for disciplinary trials. 
Continuing a plan to replace police with civil investigators, DIPO was 
staffed by 29 civil investigators and 19 police investigators at year's 
end.
    The National Police carried out training programs in coordination 
with academic institutions and human rights NGOs to promote human 
rights awareness and cultural sensitivity. During the year the National 
Police also provided mandatory Arabic language and culture classes for 
all new cadets.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides that an arrested citizen is considered innocent until proven 
guilty and has the right to be represented by an attorney. According to 
a report by the Public Defender's Office covering 2008-09, many persons 
arrested by police were informed of their right to consult an attorney 
only after they were questioned and transferred to a holding facility. 
Authorities allowed detainees to contact family members promptly. The 
Government may withhold evidence from defense lawyers on security 
grounds; however, the evidence must be made available to the court. A 
bail system exists, and a decision denying bail can be appealed. As a 
general practice, noncitizens of Palestinian origin detained for 
security violations were not granted bail. An individual suspected of a 
criminal offense may be held without charge for 24 hours before being 
brought before a judge, with limited exceptions allowing for up to 48 
hours. Authorities respected this right in practice.
    Suspects in nonsecurity cases are apprehended openly with warrants 
based on sufficient evidence and issued by an authorized official and 
generally were informed promptly of charges against them.
    Persons detained on security grounds may fall under one or more of 
the three legal regimes. First, under a 2006 ``temporary law'' on 
criminal procedures that has been renewed three times, the IPS may hold 
individuals suspected of a security offense for 48 hours before being 
brought to a judge, with limited exceptions allowing up to 96 hours 
before being brought to the senior judge of a district court. The law 
allows the court to authorize holding a detainee for up to 20 days 
without an indictment in exceptional cases for interrogation. On 
February 11, the Supreme Court annulled a section of the temporary law 
that had barred access to a lawyer for up to 21 days and had enabled a 
court to impose further extensions without the detainee being present 
or informed of the hearing.
    Second, the 1979 Emergency Powers Law allows the Defense Ministry 
to detain persons administratively without charge for up to six months, 
renewable indefinitely. Administrative detention was used as an 
exception when intelligence sources could not be presented as evidence 
in regular criminal proceedings. Such detainees, almost all of whom 
were Palestinian residents of the West Bank, were permitted legal 
representation within seven days, extendable to as long as 21 days in 
limited cases with the attorney general's approval. If necessary the 
Government provided free legal representation. An administrative 
detainee has the right to appeal any decision to lengthen detention to 
a military court of appeals and ultimately to the Supreme Court. The 
military courts may rely on classified evidence denied to detainees and 
their lawyers when determining whether to prolong administrative 
detention.
    At the end of the year, according to government figures reported by 
the NGO B'Tselem, there were 204 administrative detainees in IPS 
detention centers, including two minors. Most administrative detainees 
were held for less than one year, with 21 administrative detainees 
having been held consecutively for more than two years. Administrative 
detainees constituted 3.4 percent of the 5,954 security-related 
detainees.
    Third, the 2002 Illegal Combatant Law permits holding a detainee 
for 14 days before review by a district court judge, denying access to 
counsel for up to 21 days with the attorney general's approval, and 
allowing indefinite detention subject to twice-yearly district court 
reviews and appeals to the Supreme Court. In 2008 the Government 
extended for an additional four years a temporary provision that 
exempts law enforcement personnel from the law requiring them to film 
and audio record all interrogations of detainees suspected of security 
offenses. Amendments to the law in 2008 expanded its internment powers, 
which may be exercised in the event of ``widespread hostilities,'' an 
occurrence that has not happened to date. At the end of November, 
authorities held three Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip in 
detention under the Illegal Combatant Law.
    Human rights groups alleged military commanders in the occupied 
territories used administrative security detention orders based on 
``security reasons'' even when the accused posed no clear danger. NGOs 
complained these laws removed the standard procedural safeguards from 
security suspects.
    The law provides that foreign nationals suspected of immigration 
violations be afforded a hearing within four days of detention. They 
have the right to, but no assurance of, legal representation. According 
to the NGO Hotline for Migrant Workers (Hotline), interpreters in 
Ketziot, where most asylum seekers were detained, were rarely present 
during hearings despite a 2002 written commitment by the Government to 
the Supreme Court to provide interpreters, and persons held in 
immigration detention rarely were released prior to judicial 
determination of their status. Moreover, if the detainee's country of 
origin had no diplomatic or consular representation, the individual 
could remain in detention for months.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government respected this provision in 
practice.
    The judicial branch comprises magistrate courts, six district 
courts, and the Supreme Court, which also sits as the High Court of 
Justice. Magistrate courts adjudicate misdemeanors and lesser civil 
disputes. District courts adjudicate felonies, serious civil cases, 
appeals from the magistrate courts, and several other largely 
administrative matters. There are also military, religious, labor 
relations, and administrative courts. The High Court of Justice 
exercises judicial review over the other branches of government and can 
exercise power on matters that are not within the jurisdiction of any 
other court or tribunal. The High Court of Justice is a court of first 
instance for claims against the Government. Its members also sit as the 
Supreme Court and hear appeals of lower court rulings, Knesset 
elections, administrative detentions, prisoners' petitions, and rulings 
of the Civil Service Commission and bar association. Religious courts 
have jurisdiction over matters of personal status for their adherents; 
there are no civil courts for marriage or divorce for the hundreds of 
thousands of citizens for whom religious courts are not a legal option.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. However, 
administrative detainee hearings are not trials and do not follow trial 
procedures.
    By law an arrested citizen is considered innocent until proven 
guilty. There are no trials by jury. Trials are public except when the 
court determines that a closed trial is required to protect state 
security, foreign relations, a party's or witness's right to privacy, 
or a sexual offense victim. At the discretion of the court, security or 
military trials may be open to independent observers but not to the 
general public. Defendants have the right to be present and to consult 
with an attorney in a timely manner. All indigent defendants facing 
trial and imprisonment receive mandatory representation. According to 
the Government, counsel represented all defendants in district and 
Supreme Court trials and in approximately 80 percent of cases in the 
magistrate courts.
    Defendants have the right to question witnesses against them, 
present witnesses on their behalf, access evidence (except when the 
court determines such access would compromise state security), and 
appeal.
    Military courts provide some, but not all, of the procedural rights 
granted in civil criminal courts. The 1970 evidentiary rules governing 
trials of Palestinians and others applicable in the occupied 
territories under military law are the same as evidentiary rules in 
criminal cases. According to the Ministry of Justice, the law does not 
permit convictions to be based solely on confessions. In military 
trials, prosecutors often present secret evidence that is not available 
to the defendant or counsel. Counsel may assist the accused in such 
trials, and a judge may assign counsel to defendants. Indigent 
detainees do not automatically receive free legal counsel for military 
trials, but in practice almost all detainees had counsel even in minor 
cases. The defendant and public are read the indictment in Hebrew and, 
unless the defendant waives this right, in Arabic. In past years, many 
indictments were translated into Arabic, but, since according to the 
Government no requests for translations were made, the practice during 
the year was to provide written translations of indictments into Arabic 
only upon request. At least one interpreter is present for simultaneous 
interpretation in every military court hearing, unless the defendant 
waives that right. Defendants can appeal through the Military Court of 
Appeals and petition the High Court of Justice.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
citizen political prisoners or detainees, although NGOs alleged there 
were noncitizen political detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--An independent and 
impartial judiciary adjudicates lawsuits seeking damages for, or 
cessation of, human rights violations. Administrative remedies exist, 
and court orders were usually enforced. On February 7, former deputy 
attorney general Yehudit Karp sent a memo to Attorney General Yehuda 
Weinstein listing 11 contempt of court ordinances and Supreme Court 
rulings that had not been implemented. On August 1, Attorney General 
Weinstein issued guidelines noting the need to implement court orders.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law provides for protection of privacy of the 
individual and the home. In criminal cases, the law permits wiretapping 
under court order; in security cases, the Ministry of Defense must 
issue the order. Under emergency regulations, authorities may open and 
destroy mail on the basis of security considerations.
    The law provides for police officers and other public investigators 
to request court orders to obtain personal information from private 
communications companies, including landline and cellular telephones 
and Internet service providers. To access private communications 
records, investigators must demonstrate that their goal is to save or 
preserve life, investigate or prevent crime, or seize property in 
accordance with the law.
    Separate religious court systems adjudicate matters such as 
marriage and divorce for the Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze 
communities. Jews can marry only in Orthodox Jewish services, although 
the great majority of Jewish Israelis are not Orthodox. Civil 
marriages, marriages of some non-Orthodox Jews, marriages in non-
Orthodox ceremonies, or marriage of a Jew to a non-Jew must take place 
outside the country to be legal. According to the NGO New Family 
Organization, more than 5,000 couples married in civil ceremonies 
abroad each year, mostly in Cyprus, and then registered in Israel's 
population register. The Rabbinical Court presides over divorces if it 
recognizes both spouses as Jewish; the Family Matters Court grants 
divorces in all cases outside of the religious tribunal's jurisdiction. 
The Government allows consular marriages as long as both parties have 
no religion or belong to a religious community that the state does not 
recognize.
    The law prohibits dismissing a worker who becomes pregnant who has 
worked at least six months for the same employer. However, the law also 
mandates that foreign workers leave the country no later than three 
months after giving birth; those who stay lose their legal status. In 
2005 several NGOs appealed to the Supreme Court against this procedure; 
the appeal remained pending at year's end.
    Many Jewish citizens objected to exclusive Orthodox rabbinic 
control over aspects of their personal lives. Approximately 310,000 
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. 
The estimated 20,000 Messianic Jews, who believe Jesus is the Messiah 
and consider themselves to be Jews, also often experienced this 
infringement on their personal lives, since the Orthodox Rabbinate did 
not consider them Jewish. A 1996 law requiring the Government to 
establish civil cemeteries has not been fully implemented, although 
eight civil cemeteries exist.
    The authority to grant status (citizenship and residency) to a non-
Israeli spouse, including Palestinian and other non-Jewish foreign 
spouses, resides with the Ministry of Interior. On July 27, the Knesset 
extended for another year the temporary 2003 Citizenship and Entry Law, 
which prohibits a citizen's Palestinian spouse from the occupied 
territories not only from acquiring citizenship by marriage, but also 
from residing in the country. Palestinian male spouses who are 35 or 
older and female spouses who are 25 or older may apply for temporary 
visit permits. The Mossawa Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel 
(Mossawa) claimed the law affected more than 21,000 families, including 
couples with long-standing marriages. The Government originally enacted 
the law following 23 terrorist attacks involving suicide bombers from 
the occupied territories who had gained access to Israeli 
identification through family unification.

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 may criticize the Government publicly 
and privately without reprisal. The law prohibits hate speech and 
incitement to violence, and the 1948 Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance 
prohibits expressing support for illegal or terrorist organizations.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. The country has 13 daily newspapers, at 
least 90 weekly newspapers, more than 250 periodicals, and a number of 
Internet news sites. All newspapers were privately owned and managed. 
Laws dating from the British mandate require licenses from the Interior 
Ministry for newspapers and allow the minister, under certain 
conditions, to close a newspaper.
    The state-owned Israel Broadcast Authority controls the Hebrew-
language Israel Television and an Arabic-language channel, as well as 
Kol Israel (Voice of Israel) radio, which broadcasts news and other 
programming in Hebrew, Arabic, and other languages. The Second 
Television and Radio Authority, a public body, supervises the two 
privately owned commercial television channels and 14 privately owned 
radio stations.
    The Government prohibited all citizens, including journalists, from 
entering the Gaza Strip; those who entered were subject to legal 
penalties such as fines and restraining orders, but no journalists were 
fined during the year. All foreign journalists operating in the country 
require accreditation from the Government Press Office.
    All media organizations must submit to military censors any 
material relating to specific military issues or strategic 
infrastructure issues, such as oil and water supplies. The censor's 
decisions may be appealed to the High Court of Justice, and the censor 
cannot appeal a court judgment. The Interior Ministry has no authority 
over the military censor.
    News printed or broadcast abroad is subject to security censorship. 
The Government did not fine newspapers or other mass media for 
violating censorship regulations during the year. On June 6, the 
Supreme Court commuted to community service a sentence of two months in 
prison and six-month suspended sentence imposed by a district court on 
journalists Khader Shaheen and Muhammad Sarhan for breaching the 
military censorship law during the Gaza Strip offensive. Police had 
charged the two men in January 2009 with divulging secret information 
and transmitting information to the enemy in wartime. The charges were 
filming and broadcasting live to Iran the IDF movements toward the Gaza 
Strip a half hour before the start of the ground offensive.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on 
Internet access. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail, although the 
Government monitored cellular and landline telephones and Internet 
service providers for security purposes. The International 
Telecommunication Union reported that approximately 63 percent of the 
country's inhabitants were Internet users in 2009.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
    Universities are required to justify to the IDF acceptance of 
Palestinian students from the occupied territories. According to 
revised government criteria submitted in response to a 2007 High Court 
of Justice order, no more than 70 students from the West Bank may 
pursue graduate studies in Israeli universities at any given time, 
provided there is no practical alternative and the chosen program is 
not in a field that could provide knowledge or skills that could be 
employed to harm the country. Students from the Gaza Strip are not 
eligible to apply.

    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 weekly protests in the East Jerusalem 
neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah took place against the implementation of 
court decisions regarding property ownership. On January 15, police 
arrested 17 activists, including Association for Civil Rights in Israel 
(ACRI) Executive Director Hagai El-Ad, when they held a protest after 
being denied a permit. Two days later the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court 
ordered the protesters released and ruled that the police could not 
require a permit for the protests.
    Police have the authority to declare protests illegal and disperse 
them to uphold public safety. On November 17, police in Tel Aviv 
allowed a peaceful demonstration of students protesting a bill 
providing stipends solely to yeshiva students but declared the 
gathering illegal following protesters' use of smoke grenades and 
attempts to disrupt traffic. The students then violently clashed with 
police, resulting in 12 injured students.
    At year's end, a DIPO investigation continued into a complaint by 
NGOs Adalah and the Arab Association of Human Rights concerning police 
behavior during clashes with 15,000 Arab-Israeli demonstrators in 2008 
in the former Arab village of Safouriya, now a Jewish community. There 
were conflicting claims about responsibility for violence during the 
``Nakba'' (catastrophe in Arabic) demonstration that marked the 
anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. Adalah 
released video footage that reportedly showed police beating or kicking 
some demonstrators in the head and face as they sat handcuffed on the 
ground. According to press and NGO reports, police attacked several 
local and international journalists, including a CNN correspondent, and 
in some cases confiscated cameras and erased footage.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the right of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.
    Under the 1980 Law of Associations, NGOs must register and pay 
annual fees. Some registered NGOs were eligible to receive funding from 
government ministries. According to government figures, such funding 
amounted to approximately NIS 2.5 billion ($703 million) per year. 
Government funding for NGOs disproportionately favored Jewish NGOs, 
especially those that promote ``traditional and religious Jewish 
activities.''

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government respected them in practice for 
citizens. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to some refugees, asylum 
seekers, and other persons of concern.
    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. In addition no 
citizen is permitted to travel to any state officially at war with the 
country without government permission. All citizens required a special 
permit to enter area A (the area, according to the Interim Agreement, 
in which the Palestinian Authority exercises civil and security 
responsibility), although the Government allowed Arab citizens some 
access without permits. Arab citizens regularly complained of 
discrimination and degrading treatment by airport security officials. A 
Supreme Court decision in a 2007 petition by ACRI and Adalah regarding 
alleged ethnic profiling was still pending at year's end. The court 
postponed a December hearing on the Government's comparative legal 
analysis of its security screening methods.
    The law prohibits forced exile of citizens, and the Government 
respected this prohibition in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government has not enacted legislation 
implementing the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and 
its 1967 Protocol. NGOs criticized new asylum regulations released on 
December 13 that require applicants to submit claims within one year of 
arriving in the country; authorize the Ministry of Interior to reject 
applications without appeal even at the registration stage; and, in 
various accelerated procedures, exclude ``enemy nationals'' from 
receiving asylum in the country; and lack an independent appeal 
process. The Government arrested a number of persons immediately 
following rejection of their refugee status claims, causing a decrease 
in new applications. A number of formal and informal arrangements 
provide for the protection of some asylum seekers.
    The Interior Ministry's Authority for Immigration and Border 
Crossings implements government policy and is responsible for foreign 
nationals and population issues. The authority consolidates all 
relevant bodies dealing with immigration issues, including asylum 
seekers. In July 2009 the Government assumed from the UNHCR the process 
of registering and conducting determinations of refugee status for all 
asylum seekers; however, domestic NGOs argued that the new regulations 
and procedures for the registration and status determination of asylum 
seekers were flawed. According to the Tel Aviv University Refugee 
Rights Law Clinic, the Government failed to provide asylum seekers 
copies of their interview transcripts or sufficient explanations of 
their determinations. After an appeal by the Refugee Rights Law Clinic 
and other NGOs, the Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction 
mandating that asylum seekers be accompanied by legal representatives 
in interviews, but the Government continued to bar paralegals, and most 
asylum seekers could not afford counsel for hearings.
    The National Status Granting Board (NSGB), composed of four members 
from the ministries of interior, justice, and foreign affairs, 
processes asylum applications. It makes a recommendation that is sent 
to the minister of interior for final approval. Between 2008 and 2009, 
the NSGB reportedly reviewed 3,211 cases and provided positive 
recommendations in three. The UNHCR participated informally in NSGB 
sessions.
    The Government issued three-month ``conditional release visas'' for 
asylum seekers waiting for a decision from the NSGB and Sudanese and 
Eritreans who were not reviewed for refugee status. The visa did not 
provide for the right to work or social benefits such as health 
insurance or housing subsidies, but in practice the Government 
generally allowed refugees to work. The Government generally gave 
Eritreans and Sudanese, who constituted the majority of asylum seekers, 
conditional release visas with deferred deportation status and 
temporary protection, and it did not require or allow them to undergo 
refugee status determinations. Asylum seekers of other nationalities 
must report to the Ministry of Interior's Refugee Status Unit for 
determination of their refugee claim.
    On November 17, the Ministry of Interior instituted a new procedure 
of marking conditional release visas ``this is not a work visa.'' The 
new procedure led to many asylum seekers being fired, according to 
NGOs. In August, following a government decision to enforce a 
prohibition on employment, the Refugee Rights Law Clinic petitioned the 
Supreme Court on behalf of eight human rights organizations, asking the 
Government to clarify the right to work for asylum seekers and persons 
who are provided deferred deportation status. The case was pending at 
year's end.
    Refugees recommended by the UNHCR or the Ministry of Interior and 
recognized by the NSGB received six-month renewable visas, with status 
evaluated after one year. Asylum seekers at the appeal stage were not 
provided with this visa but were protected from detention and 
deportation by the letter informing them of the rejection of their 
claim.
    No legal option exists for a refugee to become a naturalized 
citizen. In 2009 the Refugee Rights Law Clinic petitioned the Jerusalem 
Administrative Court on behalf of an Ethiopian refugee who had been in 
the country as a recognized refugee for more than 10 years. The 
petitioners argued that under the 1951 Refugee Convention, a state is 
obliged to facilitate the naturalization of refugees. The case was 
pending at year's end.
    In 2009 the Ministry of Interior opened an office in Lod for asylum 
seekers to register to receive documents allowing legal residence 
without which they would be subject to arrest. The NGO Hotline reported 
that many refugees and asylum seekers complained about discriminatory 
treatment, inefficiency, refusal to renew papers, and lost documents at 
the Lod office, but noted some improvements in operation during the 
year.
    In practice the Government provided some protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom could be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. At year's end the Supreme Court had not ruled on the question 
put to it in 2007 of whether it was safe to return asylum seekers to 
Egypt. Domestic and international NGOs and the UNHCR continued to be 
concerned with the practice of ``coordinated returns'' or ``hot 
returns'' of some asylum seekers to Egypt because of allegations that 
those individuals were later returned to their countries of origin in 
violation of their right to seek asylum and protection against such 
return. The Government stated that through October 10, it had summarily 
returned to Egypt 136 persons who had crossed the country's border. 
This was a decrease from 517 persons who returned to Egypt after 
crossing the border in 2008-09. In its petition Hotline submitted to 
the Supreme Court the testimony of an IDF soldier describing alleged 
incidents of ``hot returns'' he had witnessed at the Egyptian border. 
According to the testimony, while officially Egypt refused to accept 
asylum seekers returned to its territory, there was a field-level 
understanding between the border forces that the Egyptians would 
receive persons captured at the border or soon after crossing. NGOs 
asserted that these arrangements were temporary conditional agreements 
between Egyptian and Israeli border commands and not a uniform policy.
    The Government did not grant asylum to persons from states with 
which it was officially at war, such as Iraq, but stated that it 
attempted to find a third country to accept them. Sudanese, while also 
originating from an ``enemy state,'' in practice received conditional 
release visas. On December 13, the Government, with NGO assistance, 
carried out a voluntary return to Sudan of 150 refugees residing in the 
country.
    Refugees and asylum seekers were targets of violence. On December 
18, an unknown arsonist threw a burning tire at the apartment door of 
five Sudanese refugees in Ashdod, setting the apartment on fire. The 
Sudanese refugees escaped by breaking through the barred glass window 
and were treated for smoke inhalation. Local residents and storeowners 
claimed they were attacked because they were refugees from Sudan. 
Ashdod police began an investigation that continued at year's end.
    Also on December 18, a group of approximately 20 teenagers severely 
beat three 16-year-old daughters of African asylum seekers in the 
Hatikva neighborhood of Tel Aviv. The victims reportedly did not file a 
police report because they feared retribution.
    Rhetoric by government officials and community protests concerning 
asylum seekers also intensified during the year. On March 22, Knesset 
member Yaakov Katz issued a letter that called for the establishment of 
an ``infiltrator'' city to hold asylum seekers and stated that in 10 
years the ``infiltrators'' could ``ruin'' the country. On July 19, 
Minister of Interior Eli Yishai called for IDF soldiers to ``block 
infiltrators'' coming from the southern part of the country and stated, 
``This is an existential threat to the State of Israel.'' On September 
2, Minister of Justice Yaakov Neeman stated that the ``infiltrators at 
the southern border create a real danger to the existence of the state 
of Israel, and Israel has to fight this phenomenon in every possible 
way.'' In July the mayor of Eilat called on city residents to 
demonstrate against the large community of ``infiltrators'' who had 
taken over the city, created a climate of fear, and lowered real estate 
value. Candidates for the October Eilat municipality elections also 
used anti-asylee campaigns as part of their platforms.
    The Government did not grant temporary status to persons with 
disputed nationalities, and prolonged detention of some of these 
persons continued throughout the year. According to Hotline and IPS, at 
year's end the Government was holding at least 1,000 asylum seekers for 
longer than 60 days in violation of the Entry of Israel Law. In 
addition authorities detained over 200 women and children in the 
Saaronim prison in cloth tents, with limited education services 
provided to the children for the detention period and insufficient 
health and medical treatment, according to NGOs. While authorities 
allowed the UNHCR full access to asylum seekers and refugees in 
detention, authorities curtailed access by NGOs to Saaronim prison 
following a 2008 petition by Hotline charging the IPS with inhumane 
treatment of prisoners. Hotline and a private law firm challenged the 
legality of several detention cases. In some decisions the district 
court ordered the release of asylum seekers with disputed nationalities 
and criticized the prolonged detention. According to an August 13 
report in Haaretz, 17 appeals were filed in the district court with 
regard to detention of refugees, and all of the asylum seekers were 
released. The UNHCR noted the country does not provide an adequate 
appeals procedure for asylum seekers, and many persons with disputed 
nationality remain in prison for long periods of time if their country 
of origin cannot be confirmed by the Ministry of Interior.
    According to the African Refugee Development Center, dozens of 
pregnant asylum seekers and single mothers were referred to the 
organization by authorities upon their release from prisons in the 
country. Despite many of them having been the victims of sexual and 
gender-based violence in Sinai and some allegedly having been held for 
ransom and forced labor there, the Government did not provide health 
insurance, pregnancy or postnatal related services, or trauma 
counseling to these women, according to Physicians for Human Rights-
Israel. Authorities sent some female victims of trafficking in persons 
to government shelters during the year, but many others were not 
properly identified in prison as having been trafficking victims.
    For a monthly fee of NIS 185 ($52), health services were provided 
for minors who stayed continuously in the country for a period of six 
months and were not insured by the National Health Insurance Law. Those 
services do not apply to previous health conditions or to children of 
parents who are residents of the Palestinian territories. Physicians 
for Human Rights-Israel (PHR-I) estimated that one-third of families 
with children who are not legal residents were able to purchase medical 
insurance. Although the law provides for emergency medical care for 
every resident, 16 migrant workers and asylum seekers reportedly stated 
that they were denied access to emergency medical treatment in 
hospitals between September 2009 and September due to lack of health 
insurance and inability to pay the required fees.
    By law the Government should provide education to all children 
living in the country, regardless of their status in the Ministry of 
Interior's population registry. NGO and media reports cited instances 
in which children of asylum seekers allegedly were not provided access 
to the country's educational system due to decisions by local school 
and government officials. For example, according to Hotline, children 
of asylum seekers in Eilat were not accepted into the local school 
system 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 based on 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 Arab-Israelis, 
regularly win Knesset seats. The law requires that a party obtain 2 
percent of the vote to win Knesset seats. In 2008 Prime Minister Ehud 
Olmert resigned after declining to run in a Kadima Party primary 
election. When Kadima Party head Tzipi Livni was unable to form a 
government, Olmert remained as caretaker prime minister until a 
government was formed following February 2009 elections that were 
considered free and fair. In March 2009 following protracted 
negotiations, Benjamin Netanyahu became prime minister of a Likud-led 
coalition government.
    The Basic Law prohibits the candidacy of any party or individual 
that denies the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the 
Jewish people or the democratic character of the state, or that incites 
racism. Otherwise political parties operated without restriction or 
interference. In January 2009 the Supreme Court overturned a Central 
Elections Committee decision to ban the Knesset's two Arab political 
parties, the United Arab List-Ta'al and Balad, from participating in 
the February 2009 elections on the grounds that they did not recognize 
the state and called for armed conflict against it.
    At year's end the Knesset had 23 female and 14 Arab members. The 
30-member cabinet included two women, but no Arabs; three women were 
deputy ministers. Five members of the 15-member Supreme Court, 
including its president, were women. One Arab was on the Supreme Court.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government implemented the law effectively. There were reports of 
government corruption during the year, although impunity was not a 
problem. Media routinely reported on corruption. The National Police, 
the state comptroller, the attorney general, and the accountant general 
were responsible for combating official corruption. Senior officials 
were subject to comprehensive financial disclosure laws.
    During the year the Government investigated and prosecuted several 
senior political figures for alleged misconduct.
    On July 13, a court found Knesset Member and former minister of 
justice Tzachi Hanegbi guilty of perjury in a case related to political 
appointments. In November the judges ruled that the perjury involved 
``moral turpitude,'' thereby forcing him to leave the Knesset 
immediately; he was also assessed a fine of NIS 10,000 ($2,813).
    In September the minister of defense appointed an IDF ombudsman to 
investigate allegations of corruption surrounding IDF appointment 
processes, widely known as the ``Galant Document'' affair.
    On December 30, the Tel Aviv District Court convicted former 
president Moshe Katsav of rape and obstruction of justice, as well as 
of sexual assault and sexual harassment of three government employees 
in 2006.
    On May 24, police recommended indicting Foreign Minister Avigdor 
Lieberman for breach of trust based on evidence that he received 
classified information about an ongoing corruption investigation 
against him. The attorney general did not decide whether to issue an 
indictment by year's end. In August 2009 police recommended the 
attorney general indict Lieberman on bribery, money laundering, 
obstruction of justice, and other charges. The attorney general had yet 
to make a decision at year's end.
    On April 14, police arrested former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski 
on suspicion of accepting NIS three million ($844,000) in bribes. On 
August 23, the police recommended indicting him and a list of 
individuals for taking a bribe, bribery mediating, and breach of trust 
in connection with Jerusalem's Holyland residential construction 
project. The list included former prime minister Ehud Olmert for 
receiving a bribe while he was mayor of Jerusalem; Bank HaPoalim 
Directorate Chairman Danny Dankner for bribery and tax offenses; former 
Israel Land Administration head Yaakov Efrati for fraud and breach of 
trust; former deputy mayor Yehoshua Polak for bribery, fraud, breach of 
trust, money laundering, and tax offenses; Holyland developer Hillel 
Cherney; and Olmert's former bureau chief, Shula Zaken. At year's end 
state prosecutors had yet to decide whether to indict those whom the 
police recommended.
    In August 2009 Attorney General Menachem Mazuz indicted former 
prime minister Olmert along with his former chief of staff Zaken on 
three charges involving breach of trust, falsifying corporate 
documents, and fraudulent conduct. Mazuz also charged Olmert with tax 
evasion and Zaken with illegal eavesdropping. Olmert and Zaken both 
pled not guilty to all charges. At year's end the investigation 
regarding Olmert's political appointments was completed and 
notification letters were sent to the suspects, but a hearing had not 
been scheduled. An additional six persons were indicted on related 
charges, including former tax authority chief Jacky Matza, three tax 
authority officials, and two businessmen.
    The Government did not effectively implement its 1998 Freedom of 
Information Law. Many government bodies did not disclose their internal 
regulations as required, and others failed to publish annual reports. 
The 2008 state comptroller's report found that approximately half of 
governmental authorities did not make available to the public their 
administrative directives or procedures for requesting information or 
services.
    On January 13, the High Court of Justice dismissed ACRI's 2005 
freedom of information petition to require the Government to provide 
timely public access to the ministries' unclassified archives. The 
court awarded legal expenses to ACRI, however, as it found the 
Government had adjusted its policies in the interim in response to the 
petition. In August the Government published the new archives' 
regulations shortening the limitation periods on archival materials and 
ensuring their public availability.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Numerous domestic and international human rights groups operated 
without government restriction, investigating and publishing their 
findings on human rights cases. Human rights NGOs have standing to 
petition the Supreme Court directly regarding governmental policies and 
can appeal individual cases to the Supreme Court. Government officials 
were cooperative to varying degrees, and routinely invited domestic 
NGOs, including those critical of the Government, such as ACRI, 
Mossawa, Adalah, the PHR-I, and Gisha, among others, to participate in 
Knesset hearings on proposed legislation. A unit in the foreign 
ministry maintained relations with certain international and domestic 
NGOs. The Government responded publicly to criticisms that it believed 
to be unfounded.
    The state comptroller also served as ombudsman for human rights 
issues. The ombudsman investigates complaints against statutory bodies 
that are subject to audit by the state comptroller, including 
government ministries, local authorities, state enterprises and 
institutions, government corporations, and their employees. The 
ombudsman is entitled to use any relevant means of inquiry and has the 
capacity to order any person or body to assist in the inquiry.
    During the year the Ministry of Interior, operating under a 2002 
order, barred entry to foreign nationals affiliated with certain 
Palestinian human rights NGOs and solidarity organizations. The 
Government stated this was done on an individual basis, not according 
to the activities or platform of the NGOs with which they were 
affiliated.
    On September 22, the UN Human Rights Council released the report of 
a fact-finding mission that accused security forces of summarily 
executing six of the nine passengers killed on a Turkish NGO-organized 
flotilla of ships intending to reach the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister 
Netanyahu's office dismissed the report as ``biased'' and 
``distorted.'' On July 12, the IDF investigation into the May 31 events 
concluded that the use of live fire was justified, although it 
criticized organizational and intelligence failures for not being 
prepared for the level of violence committed by some of the flotilla's 
passengers. The Turkel Commission, appointed by the Government on June 
14 as an independent public commission of inquiry with international 
observers, concluded that the blockade was legally imposed and enforced 
according to international law; it found no instance of excessive use 
of force.
    On November 22, the UN Children's Fund criticized the Government 
for not having a comprehensive strategy to protect the rights of 
children and for excluding the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from the 
application of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
    The Government made several policy changes in response to criticism 
from NGOs and international organizations, including the UN Goldstone 
Report, regarding the protection of human rights during the 2008-09 
Operation Cast Lead incursion into the Gaza Strip. Following IDF 
investigations, changes included new limitations on the use of white 
phosphorus in urban settings; the introduction of population assistance 
officers into combat brigades and battalions to focus on minimizing 
civilian casualties and hardship; new written procedures for planners 
to provide for civilian safe havens, evacuation routes, medical 
treatment, and humanitarian access; and new written policies governing 
the destruction of private property and civilian infrastructure.
    During the year the Government introduced several programs to spur 
economic development in Arab towns and to encourage greater hiring of 
minorities. On March 21, the Government allocated NIS 778 million ($219 
million) for the economic development of 13 Arab towns to raise 
employment, improve transportation, encourage housing development, and 
improve security and law enforcement.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, 
marital status, political beliefs, disability, or age, and the 
Government effectively enforced these prohibitions.

    Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a felony, punishable by 16 
years in prison. The law doubles the penalty if the perpetrator 
assaults or rapes a relative. The Government reported 727 cases opened 
due to rape complaints through October. The Government effectively 
enforced rape laws during the year.
    On December 30, the Tel Aviv District Court convicted former 
president Moshe Katzav of two counts of rape (see section 4).
    NGOs supporting victims of sexual abuse reported a 13 percent rise 
in requests for assistance during the first half of the year in 
comparison with the same period in 2009. The NGOs reportedly received 
4,250 requests for assistance. More than 40 percent of applicants said 
they were victims of rape or attempted rape, and two-thirds said they 
were sexually assaulted before the age of 18. The law prohibits 
violence against women, but domestic violence against women was a 
problem. As of September women filed 11,123 domestic violence 
complaints with police, of which at year's end 2,688 were still being 
investigated, 4,364 were transferred to the State Attorney's Office, 
340 were heard by courts, and 3,741 were closed.
    The Ministry of Social Affairs operated a battered women's shelter 
and an abuse reporting hotline. The police operated a call center to 
inform victims about their cases. Women's organizations provided 
counseling, crisis intervention, legal assistance, and shelters.
    Women's rights NGO Kayan Feminist Organization (Kayan) and PHR-I 
petitioned the Supreme Court to require the Ministry of Health to 
provide health care to battered women living in shelters and to those 
who were without legal status in the country. The case was still 
pending at year's end.
    Several ``honor killings'' occurred within the Arab-Israeli 
community. On October 20, police arrested Ramadan and Khaled Musrati on 
suspicion of involvement in four ``honor killings'' in Lod. The victims 
were alleged to be two men and two women believed to be in 
relationships with each other that their families viewed as 
inappropriate.
    Sexual harassment is illegal but remains widespread. The law 
requires that suspected victims be informed of their right to 
assistance. Penalties for sexual harassment depend on the severity of 
the act and whether blackmail is involved; range from two to nine 
years' imprisonment.
    According to a survey by the Ministry of Industry published in 
June, 35 to 40 percent of women reported experiencing sexual harassment 
at work, one-third of whom experienced it in the previous 12 months. 
Among the women who reported harassment, 69 percent said they had 
received ``proposals,'' 47 percent reported comments of a sexual 
nature, 22 percent cited physical violation, 10 percent reported 
humiliation, and 7.7 percent reported extortion and threats.
    In November DIPO opened an investigation into allegations by a 
Public Security Ministry employee that police commander Uri Bar-Lev 
sexually harassed her. The investigation continued at year's end.
    ``Modesty patrols'' continued to harass women in Haredi 
neighborhoods. An article in Yediot Ahronot on March 3 reported that 
police arrested two Haredi men at the Western Wall compound on 
suspicion that they threw chairs at a group of praying women from the 
Woman of the Wall organization, a group occasionally targeted by 
religious groups for exercising their religion at holy sites.
    In March 2009 the Jerusalem District Court sentenced Elhanan 
Buzaglo to four years' imprisonment and required him to pay NIS 10,000 
($2,813) in compensation to a woman who had divorced her husband and 
abandoned her religious way of life. Buzaglo and four other persons 
beat the woman at her home and threatened to kill her if she did not 
move out of the house.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and means to 
do so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception 
and skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care was widely 
available, although women in Haredi communities often had to seek 
approval from a rabbi to use contraception. According to data from the 
UN Population Fund for 2008, the maternal mortality rate in the country 
was seven per 100,000 births. Women and men were given equal access to 
diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
    In the secular judicial system, women and men enjoyed the same 
rights, but religious courts restricted the rights of Jewish and Muslim 
women. A Jewish woman is allowed to initiate divorce proceedings, but 
her husband must give his consent to make the divorce final. Because 
some men disappear or refuse to grant the divorce, thousands of so-
called ``agunot'' (chained women) may not remarry or give birth to 
legitimate children. Rabbinical tribunals may, and sometimes did, 
sanction a husband who refused divorce but still did not grant a 
divorce without his consent.
    A Muslim woman may petition for and receive a divorce through the 
Sharia courts without her husband's consent under certain conditions, 
and a marriage contract may provide for other circumstances in which 
she may obtain a divorce without her husband's consent. A Muslim man 
may divorce his wife without her consent and without petitioning the 
court.
    Christians may seek official separations or divorces, depending on 
the denomination, through ecclesiastical courts. During the year Kayan 
criticized the Episcopal Ecclesiastical Court in Nazareth, which is not 
under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice, for lack of 
transparency, unnecessary delays, and a judge's refusal to rule in an 
alimony case.
    On September 28, the Supreme Court outlawed public gender 
segregation in Jerusalem's Haredi Mea Shearim neighborhood, in response 
to a petition submitted by NGOs and a Knesset Member asking the court 
to prevent enforcement of gender separation after conservative men 
physically and verbally assaulted women for walking on a designated 
men's only road. Dozens of women protested on September 29 to demand 
immediate enforcement of the court decision.
    According to its Web site, the Yad L'Achim's anti-assimilation 
department receives approximately 1,000 calls per year identifying 
Jewish women who become involved with foreign workers or Arab men. Yad 
L'Achim responded in some cases by what it termed ``launching military-
like rescues from hostile Arab villages and setting the women up in 
'safe' houses around the country, where they could build new lives for 
themselves.'' A December 2009 ``rescue'' from the Gaza Strip of Oshrit 
Ohana and her four children, reportedly coordinated with the IDF and 
Interior Minister Eli Yishai, was widely popular among the public, but 
critics claimed such ``rescues'' sometimes disregarded the will of the 
women involved.
    Although the law prohibits discrimination based on gender in 
employment and wages and provides for class action suits, complaints of 
significant wage disparities between men and women persisted.
    A May 2009 Yediot Ahronot article described a new regulation in the 
ultra-Orthodox Shas' Maayan Torah education network that prohibits 
female workers from working without a head covering that completely 
covers their hair. Many Haredi women expressed disagreement with the 
new regulation that also bans the use of wigs as head coverings.
    The Government enacted a number of programs to improve the status 
of women in the work place and society. The Authority for the 
Advancement of the Status of Women in the Prime Minister's Office 
approved 289 scholarships for higher education for Druze, Bedouin, and 
Circassian female students in the north. The authority held 
professional training courses in Arab, Druze, and Circassian 
localities.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within or outside of the 
country to at least one citizen parent.
    On August 1, the cabinet established guidelines mandating that 
children of foreign workers may remain in the country with their 
parents only if they meet the following five criteria: the child 
studied the preceding year in the state school system; the child is 
enrolled for the current school year in the first grade or higher; the 
child has lived for at least five consecutive years in the country; the 
child's parents entered the country on a valid visa; and the child 
speaks Hebrew. According to government statistics released in August, 
20,000 children of foreign workers were residing in the country 
illegally during the year, 6,000 under the age of five. The Ministry of 
Interior threatened to deport hundreds of children who did not meet the 
established criteria, and some deportations began during the year. The 
Government ensured at least one parent was deported with a child.
    Education is compulsory through the ninth grade. The Government 
operated separate school systems for Hebrew-speaking children, Arabic-
speaking children, and Orthodox Jews. Ultra-Orthodox Haredi political 
parties continued to oppose government regulation of their government-
funded school systems. Large Haredi demonstrations were held in 
Jerusalem throughout the year following the Supreme Court's August 2009 
ruling that outlawed discrimination between Ashkenazi and Sephardic 
students in a religious girls' school in the Emmanuel Settlement.
    According to a National Council of the Child (NCC) report, in 2009 
hospitals and clinics identified 2,907 children who had suffered 
violence within the family and sexual abuse, in comparison with 1,989 
in 2000, a rise of 46 percent.
    The NCC received more than 10,000 complaints during the year 
covering issues of physical and sexual abuse of children, child 
pornography, and poor educational, health, and welfare services.
    According to the Ministry of Welfare, there were many cases of 
children with disabilities who were sexually assaulted that awaited 
investigation during the year.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report, at http://www.state.gov/g/tip/.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to 
health care, or the provision of other state services. Legislation 
mandates access to buildings and transportation, as well as 
accommodations for persons with disabilities in services and the work 
place. The Government enforced the laws with limited success but did 
not formulate specific regulations. Societal discrimination and lack of 
accessibility persisted in employment and housing. Television channels 
include subtitles or sign language, and the courts accommodate 
testimony from persons with intellectual disabilities or mental 
illness. The law mandates accessibility to urban public transportation, 
but not interurban buses; as of September 2009, approximately 40 
percent of buses did not have such access. Most train stations 
maintained access for persons with disabilities.
    There are an estimated 120,000 to 160,000 persons with severe 
mental illness, and very few receive rehabilitation services, according 
to research published by the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute.
    Various ministries and agencies maintained responsibility for 
persons with disabilities. The Commission for Equal Rights of People 
with Disabilities within the Ministry of Justice is responsible for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. It receives public 
inquiries, provides legal advice, represents clients, and educates and 
promotes best practices. It took legal action in the areas of 
accessibility and employment, and issued regulations to provide access 
to services and public sites. However, improvements were slow, 
according to Bizchut, a domestic NGO that advocates for the rights of 
persons with disabilities. On December 20, the commission released a 
report which stated that, of approximately 1.5 million citizens who 
consider themselves disabled, 43 percent of those with severe 
disabilities and 29 percent with moderate disabilities went without 
food at some stage over the past year, while more than one-third of 
those with severe disabilities and 23 percent with moderate 
disabilities could not afford essential medicine during at least one 
period in the year. In addition according to the report, 60 percent of 
persons with severe disabilities and nearly half of those with moderate 
disabilities could not afford heat, and 41 percent had their phone 
disconnected in the reporting period.
    During the year Bizchut's public inquiries hotline received 2,400 
calls from individuals alleging that their rights had been violated due 
to their disability. The main complaints focused on national insurance, 
education, housing, hospitalization, and legal assistance.
    In response to a petition to the Supreme Court submitted by NGOs 
including Bizchut, the Ministry of Education began a pilot program in 
one town to award each child with special needs a personal education 
budget. Bizchut continued to claim throughout the year that the 
education system did not provide adequate support to children with 
special needs.
    The Division for Integrating Persons with Disabilities in the Labor 
Market within the Ministry of Industry examines and promotes employment 
for persons with disabilities. In August 2009 an amendment to the 
National Insurance Law came into effect that allows persons who receive 
a disability pension to earn more by permitting a combination of income 
and pension, rather than requiring the total forfeiture of the 
disability pension.
    The Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services provides out-of-
home placement and sheltered employment for persons with cognitive, 
physical, and communication disabilities. It also handles criminal 
investigations involving persons with certain disabilities, either 
victims or offenders, when police request assistance.
    The National Insurance Agency provides financial benefits and 
stipends, the Ministry of Health provides mental health and 
rehabilitation services, and the Ministry of Education provides special 
education services. However, Bizchut continued to criticize the lack of 
services provided in practice to mainstreamed pupils, which effectively 
limited their integration into regular class settings.
    An article in Yediot Ahronot on July 25 described a new IDF program 
to allow persons with disabilities to complete basic army training; 19 
persons graduated from an initial course held in July.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Citizens of Arab origin and 
Palestinian residents of the West Bank and East Jerusalem living in the 
country faced discrimination in public and private life. Tensions 
between Arabs and Jews were high in areas where the two communities 
overlap, such as Jerusalem, the Galilee, and Negev, and in some cities 
with historically separate Jewish and Arab neighborhoods.
    On November 5, according to police and victim reports, a group of 
eight teenagers severely beat a Chilean tourist in downtown Jerusalem 
after mistaking him for an Arab. Police arrested the suspects on 
charges of committing an attack causing grave bodily harm.
    On December 21, police arrested a group of nine Jewish teenagers 
suspected of perpetrating a series of violent attacks against Arab 
youths in Jerusalem during November and December. In one case the group 
allegedly began beating a victim, asked for his identity card to 
determine whether he was Arab, and then continued beating him after the 
card showed that he was.
    In November Arab students in Safed reported experiencing anonymous 
harassment including telephone calls threatening to set their apartment 
on fire and one of their cars being spray painted, ``Arabs out.'' The 
students also alleged that a local rabbi asked them to leave the town 
and return to an Arab country, because ``Safed should be Jewish.''
    In December dozens of rabbis signed a letter urging Jewish owners 
of apartments not to rent their properties to Arabs, claiming it would 
deflate the value of their homes as well as those in the neighborhood. 
The rabbis also urged neighbors of anyone renting or selling property 
to Arabs to caution that individual and to inform the general public. A 
subsequent letter signed by 30 rabbis' wives urged Jewish women not to 
work, date, or do community service with non-Jews. Numerous government 
officials and senior rabbinic authorities expressed concern that the 
letters were encouraging racism in the Jewish population.
    At year's end a trial continued against Yaakov (Jack) Teitel, a 
Jewish settler in the West Bank who was indicted in 2009 for crimes 
including the 1997 killings of Palestinian shepherd Issa Jabrin near 
Hebron and Samir Akram Balbisi, an Arab taxi driver in Jerusalem, and 
the 2008 bombing deaths of professor Ze'ev Sternhell and a Messianic 
Jewish leader's 15-year-old son, Ami Ortiz. On August 30, the Jerusalem 
District Court ruled he was fit to stand trial.
    On January 6, the Tel Aviv District Court convicted Eliyahu Aharoni 
of conspiracy to commit arson with a racist motive and for illegally 
producing and carrying incendiary bombs. In 2008 police arrested him 
and five other young Jewish men in Tel Aviv for allegedly firebombing 
three Arab apartments in a Jewish neighborhood. The other five were not 
indicted due to lack of evidence.
    Arab and other minority residents of the country faced official and 
societal discrimination in a number of areas, including employment, 
education, land ownership, and naturalization.
    The law exempts Arab citizens, except for members of the Druze 
religion, from mandatory military service, but some serve voluntarily. 
Citizens who do not perform military service enjoy fewer social and 
economic benefits. Arab citizens generally were ineligible to work in 
companies with defense contracts or in security-related fields if they 
did not serve in the military. The Government managed a National Civil 
Service program for citizens not drafted for military service, giving 
Arab citizens, Haredi Jews, Orthodox Jewish women, and others the 
opportunity to provide public service in their own communities and thus 
be eligible for the same benefits accorded military veterans. Of the 
12,000 volunteers during the 2009-10 academic year, 1,256 were Arab 
citizens, half of whom served in education, 22 percent in health, 16 
percent in welfare, and the remainder in legal and environmental work 
and road accident prevention. Ninety percent of the Arab volunteers 
were women.
    The law requires that minorities have ``appropriate 
representation'' in the civil service and on the boards of government-
owned corporations, but Arab citizens were underrepresented in most 
fields of employment, including the Government. According to data as of 
June reported by the Committee for the Examination of Appointments, 
which works to provide for appropriate representation, 39 out of the 98 
governmental corporations satisfied the requirement, and 18 others were 
exempt. One percent of government company employees were Arab, Druze, 
or Circassian; these groups formed about 20 percent of the overall 
population. An affirmative action program undertaken to promote the 
hiring of Arabs, Druze, and Circassians in the civil service has 
slightly increased their representation each year. According to the 
Government, 6.97 percent of government employees in 2009 were Arab, 
Druze, or Circassian, compared with 6.17 percent in 2007.
    Resources devoted to the education of Arab children were inferior 
to those devoted to Jewish children in the public education system. In 
January the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 
(OECD) estimated that public spending for children in Arab localities 
was at least one-third lower than for children in Jewish 
municipalities. There were on average 25 Jewish schoolchildren per 
classroom, while Arab children averaged 29 per classroom.
    According to the NGO Pedagogic Council for Arab Education, 
disparities in education between Jewish and Arab students limit Arab 
students' access to higher education. According to the NGO Dirasat, 
Arab-Israelis composed just 10.6 percent of all university 
undergraduate students and less than 1 percent of all tenured 
professors. Of 4,012 tenured university professors, 38 were Arab (34 
men and four women).
    Approximately 93 percent of land was in the public domain, 
including approximately 12.5 percent owned by the NGO Jewish National 
Fund (JNF), whose statutes prohibit sale or lease of land to non-Jews. 
According to a 2005 attorney general ruling, the Government cannot 
discriminate against Arab citizens in marketing and allocating lands it 
manages, including those of the JNF. As an interim measure, the 
Government agreed to compensate the JNF for any land it leased to an 
Arab by transferring an equal amount of land from the Israel Lands 
Administration (ILA) to the JNF. Legal petitions against the JNF policy 
of leasing public land only to Jews were ongoing at year's end. The NGO 
Israel Land Fund continued its program to purchase Arab land throughout 
the country and market it to Jewish buyers, including in the diaspora; 
the organization claimed that all the land belonged to Jewish people 
and described as a ``danger'' the purchase of Jewish-owned lands by 
non-Jews.
    On November 8, the Supreme Court rejected a petition by Arab 
residents in Jaffa arguing that the ILA illegally leased public land to 
an organization that will market new apartments built on the land 
exclusively to Jewish citizens. The court stated that ILA is obligated 
to prevent discrimination, but it denied the petition because the land 
rights had already been sold.
    New construction is illegal in towns that do not have an authorized 
outline plan for development, which is the legal responsibility of 
local authorities. At year's end according to the Government, 41 of the 
country's 128 Arab communities had fully approved planning schemes, 28 
were awaiting approvals from district or national planning committees, 
35 had outline plans in the final stages of the localities' approval 
process, nine began developing their outline plans, and 15 were still 
working towards creating master plans. However, Arab advocacy 
organizations continued to challenge the demolition of illegal 
buildings in the Arab sector by claiming that the Government unfairly 
restricted building permits and rezoned open space areas to exclude 
Arabs from expanding built-up areas. In the country's 46 unrecognized 
Bedouin ``villages'' constructed haphazardly on state land in the Negev 
claimed by various tribes, all buildings were illegal since there were 
no recognized local authorities to promote an authorized detailed plan. 
Approximately 60,000 Bedouin resided in such unrecognized villages, 
while more than 120,000 lived in legally planned and constructed urban 
and suburban centers.
    On July 27, the police demolished the 45 structures of the 
unrecognized Bedouin ``village'' of al-Arakib, which had been built 
illegally on state land, after multiple eviction orders and a 2007 
Supreme Court decision. For decades the state had leased the area to 
Bedouins for agriculture, but in 1998 the el Tory tribe moved from 
Rahat and attempted to settle on the land they claimed was wrongly 
expropriated from their tribe in 1951. Despite 12 years of court 
proceedings producing repeated injunctions, including a 2003 evacuation 
notice against the nine individuals then found to be trespassing at Al-
Arakib, the Bedouin clan continued to return to the site. Many advocacy 
groups criticized the demolition as enforcing the expropriation of 
property that the Bedouin clan claimed was its own prior to 1951, 
although it was unable to prove prior ownership in court. Police 
repeatedly demolished rebuilt structures on eight separate occasions by 
the end of the year.
    The law bars family reunification in cases where one spouse is a 
non-Jewish citizen of Iran, Iraq, Syria, or Lebanon. Male spouses who 
are 35 or older and female spouses who are 25 or older may apply for 
temporary visit permits but may not receive residency based on their 
marriage and have no path to citizenship. The Government originally 
enacted the law following 23 terrorist attacks involving suicide 
bombers from the occupied territories who had gained access to Israeli 
identification through family unification. During the year human rights 
NGOs and international organizations continued to criticize this ban, 
which primarily affected Palestinian spouses of Arab citizens. Mossawa 
claimed the law affected more than 21,000 families, including couples 
with long-standing marriages. In June 2009 in response to a petition by 
Kayan, PHR-I, and ACRI, the Supreme Court demanded an explanation 
within six months from the Government for its refusal to grant social 
and health insurance to an estimated 5,000 Palestinian spouses of 
citizens who were granted ``staying permits'' to reside legally in 
Israel. On January 27, the court recommended the Government provide a 
temporary solution that would be in place until an official policy 
could be formulated. On July 4, the Government requested an additional 
five months to formulate a response regarding the provision of social 
benefits to nonresidents.
    Public debate continued over the suggestion of some Jewish 
politicians, including the foreign minister and members of his Yisrael 
Beitenu party in media interviews and speeches throughout the year, of 
``an exchange of populated territories'' of Arab villages in Israel to 
the West Bank (in return for transferring Jewish settlements in the 
West Bank to Israel, by way of adjusting the border) as part of a 
negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Arab citizens 
of Israel overwhelmingly condemned the proposal, while Jewish opinion 
ranged from support to condemnation.
    While Arab communities in the country generally faced economic 
difficulties (the NGO Dirasat, the Arab Center for Law and Policy, 
stated that 97 percent of all Arab local councils ranked in the bottom 
four economic development clusters on a national index), the Bedouin 
segment of the Arab population was the most disadvantaged. More than 
half of the population of about 160,000 Bedouin lived in seven state-
planned communities, which were among the eight poorest communities in 
the country, according to a 2008 report by Human Rights Watch. 
Approximately 60,000 Bedouin lived in at least 46 unrecognized tent or 
shack villages that did not have water and electricity, and lacked 
educational, health, and welfare services.
    Government planners noted there were insufficient funds to relocate 
Bedouin living in unrecognized villages to new towns, and the average 
Bedouin family could not afford to purchase a home in existing towns; 
however, the Government maintained a program to encourage such movement 
by providing low-cost land and compensation for demolition of illegal 
structures for those willing to move to designated permanent locations. 
Many Bedouin complained that moving to government-planned towns 
required giving up claims to land they had lived on for generations, 
while the Government claimed it was difficult to provide services to 
clusters of buildings throughout the Negev that ignored planning 
procedures.
    At year's end a government implementation team was in the final 
stages of creating a plan for the Bedouin housing situation in the 
Negev, as recommended in 2008 by the Goldberg Committee.
    By year's end the Supreme Court had not ruled on a 2006 Adalah 
appeal of the Haifa District Court decision not to overturn a Water 
Tribunal decision denying water services to unrecognized villages. 
Bedouins living in established towns have municipal services; the 
Government additionally built water centers in six Bedouin localities.
    The Government prohibits Druze citizens, like all citizens, from 
visiting Syria. The Government allowed noncitizen Druze from the Golan 
Heights to visit holy sites in Syria through the ICRC-managed 
pilgrimage program, but it has prevented family visitations since 1982.
    A population of about 100,000 Ethiopian Jews faced persistent 
social discrimination although officials and the majority of citizens, 
quickly and publicly condemned discriminatory acts against them.
    On May 4, approximately 200 parents and children protested racial 
segregation in Beer Sheva's Otzar Haim kindergarten, where they claimed 
that Ethiopian Jewish children were educated in a separate room from 
the rest of the children. An official from the Industry, Trade, and 
Labor Ministry then visited the site and forced the school to cease the 
segregation.
    On July 13, the NGO Tebeka, Advocacy for Equality and Justice for 
Ethiopian Israelis, filed suit against an Egged bus driver in the Petah 
Tikvah Magistrates Court for refusing a student entry and then making 
racist statements against Ethiopian Jews. The bus company suspended the 
driver, and the Ministry of Transport filed suit against the driver and 
the bus company.
    In the Bnei Brak neighborhood of Tel Aviv in November, a resident 
assaulted an Ethiopian Jewish teenager after refusing to allow her to 
enter a religious ritual bath. Police arrested the suspect and he was 
indicted before the Tel Aviv Magistrates Court.
    During the year the Government introduced several programs to spur 
economic development and to encourage greater hiring of minorities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits 
discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the Government 
generally enforced these laws.
    Gay pride rallies occurred peacefully in Tel Aviv on June 11 and in 
Jerusalem on July 29. An estimated 2,000 persons participated in the 
Jerusalem rally. There were police authorization and protection for the 
participants. Three separate antigay rallies were held in conjunction 
with the Jerusalem rally, including one in Independence Park where 
protesters held up signs reading: ``Sick perverts, get out of 
Jerusalem,'' according to media reports. There was also a demonstration 
against the march in the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Mea 
Shearim.
    There were no reports of violence against the lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community during the year; however, in 
August 2009 a masked gunman killed Nir Katz, 26, and Liz Trobishi, 16, 
and wounded 15 others in the offices of the NGO GLBT Israel in Tel 
Aviv. At year's end, a police investigation continued, but the 
perpetrator had not been found. High-level politicians, including the 
president and prime minister, condemned the attacks. Authorities 
arrested settler Yaakov Teitel (see sections 1.a. and the annex) in 
October 2009 after he posted signs praising the attack, but police did 
not charge him with the killings. On August 30, in commemoration of the 
2009 attack, the Tel Aviv municipality launched an educational program 
for Tel Aviv schools focusing on LGBT issues, including the prevention 
of discrimination.
    There were cases of official and societal discrimination against 
the LGBT community during the year.
    On September 14, the Supreme Court ruled that the Jerusalem 
municipality discriminated against a LGBT community center by not 
providing similar funding that had been provided to similar community 
centers.
    An article in Yediot Ahronot on September 19 stated that Jerusalem 
Family Court Judge Phillip Marcus called on the Government to 
investigate whether LGBT petitioners are ``pedophiles or serial 
killers.''

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violation or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The Government effectively 
implemented laws concerning the right of association and provided that 
citizens may join and establish independent labor organizations of 
their choice without previous authorization or excessive requirements. 
According to the Government, approximately 33 percent of the total 
workforce is unionized. The law allows unions to conduct their 
activities without government interference.
    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 while negotiations 
continue. Worker dismissals and the terms of severance arrangements 
traditionally have been the central issues of disputes.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right for citizens to bargain collectively, and it was 
enforced. There were no restrictions on collective bargaining 
agreements, which covered approximately 58 percent of all workers. 
Collective bargaining agreements extend to nonunion workplaces in the 
same sector. The law specifically prohibits antiunion discrimination, 
and none was reported.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor and criminalizes labor exploitation. 
However, according to a March OECD review, the laws concerning minimum 
employment conditions and foreign workers were not effectively 
enforced.
    The law provides that foreign laborers have legal status, decent 
working conditions, health insurance, and a written employment 
contract; nonetheless, some employers continued to force individual 
laborers who entered the country, legally and illegally, to live under 
conditions that constituted involuntary servitude.
    A 2009 reorganization of the immigration and employment law 
enforcement functions left the Ministry of Interior's Population, 
Immigration, and Border Crossings Authority with the power to arrest 
and detain workers but not to enforce labor or trafficking laws against 
employers. As a result, according to Hotline, even in cases when an 
illegal worker was detained when working, inspectors were unable to 
charge the employer with labor law violations or illegal employment.
    Some workers faced conditions of forced labor, including through 
such practices as the unlawful withholding of passports, restrictions 
on movement, the inability to change or otherwise choose one's 
employer, nonpayment of wages, threats, and physical intimidation. 
There were numerous documented cases but few resulting employer 
prosecutions, concerning foreign laborers' living in harsh conditions 
and subject to debt bondage. The NGO Kav LaOved identified several 
dozen employees in the agricultural sector held under conditions of 
slavery and subjugation and facilitated their release to government-run 
shelters. Thai agricultural workers, Chinese construction workers, and 
nursing care workers from India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the 
Philippines--particularly women--were at greatest risk for abuse, 
including trafficking, forced labor, nonpayment, and withholding of 
wages.
    On February 7, Kav LaOved filed a complaint with police alleging 
human trafficking of Thai agricultural workers. According to Kav 
LaOved, the employer paid the workers NIS 120 ($34) a day, far below 
minimum wage; forced them to work 14-hour days with only one day off 
every two weeks; and made them sign falsified reports of hours and 
salary. At year's end, police had taken no action against the employer, 
but authorities had moved the workers to a government-operated shelter 
and found them new jobs.
    Kav LaOved also filed complaints with police regarding trafficking 
at a moshav (privately owned farm) in the Beit Shean Valley, 
underpayment and harassment by an owner of a moshav near the Gaza 
Strip, and violations of the Work and Rest Hours Law, the Migrant 
Workers Law, and Minimum Wage Law by employers at a moshav in the Beit 
Shean Valley.
    In the caregiving sector, Kav LaOved filed complaints of violations 
in several cases, including allegations that a caregiver employed in 
Herzelia was forced to work without compensation in exchange for a 
``fee'' for her visa, that two additional caregivers in Herzelia were 
not given sufficient food and had wages withheld, and that a caregiver 
employed in Ashdod was forced to have sex.
    In August 2009 following a complaint by Kav LaOved, a criminal 
indictment was filed in the Beer Sheva Magistrate's Court against the 
agricultural company Katif Venture and Development Limited and some of 
its employees, charging them with employing Thai and Nepalese 
agricultural workers in inhumane conditions. The charges included 
making the employees work for 15 to 20 hours each day, seven days per 
week, paying well below the minimum wage with no overtime compensation; 
constantly threatening to accelerate the employees' work pace lest they 
be returned to their home countries; and prohibiting use of a 
telephone. The workers were also required to live in extremely crowded 
conditions in temporary buildings that were completely exposed to the 
elements. The employers were charged with exploitation, fraud, and 
causing injury by negligence. The case was pending in court at year's 
end.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g.tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws 
provide for protection of children from exploitation in the workplace 
and prohibit forced or compulsory labor; the Government generally 
enforced these laws.
    Children at least 14 years old may be employed during official 
school holidays in light work that will not harm their health. Children 
at least 15 years old who have completed education through grade nine 
may be employed as apprentices. Working hours for those children 
between16 and 18 years old are restricted in all sectors.
    During the year the Labor Laws Enforcement Division in the Ministry 
of Industry, Trade, and Labor initiated 250 investigations, 
investigated more than 1,000 employers for allegedly violating the law, 
filed 55 indictments against employers, and imposed 822 administrative 
fines totaling approximately NIS 10.5 million ($3 million).
    The Labor Law Enforcement Division also conducted national 
campaigns regarding employment terms of youth to promote the 
implementation of youth labor laws, especially during summer vacation.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Labor Inspection Service, 
along with union representatives, enforced labor, health, and safety 
standards in the workplace. Resource constraints affected overall 
enforcement, and according to the OECD the country continued to have a 
general problem of failing to enforce its labor laws.
    The minimum wage was NIS 3,850 ($1,083) per month for a 43-hour 
week. There are reduced minimum wages for youths and persons with 
disabilities. The Government considered the minimum wage, supplemented 
by special allowances for citizens, to provide a citizen worker a 
decent standard of living. Some union officials, NGOs, and social 
commentators disputed this claim. Noncitizen workers did not receive 
the special allowances. Resource constraints limited inspections, 
particularly of conditions in the settlements where many Thai citizens 
work.
    The law allows for citizens a maximum 43-hour workweek at regular 
pay. The law provides for citizens a daily break for a period of 45 
minutes, which may be divided into two breaks. Premium pay was 125 
percent for the first two hours and 150 percent for any additional 
hours, with a limit of 15 hours of overtime per week.
    The law applies to noncitizens, although with modifications, and 
enforcement was not adequate, according to Hotline and other NGOs. 
Migrant workers in the homecare sector are not covered by the Work and 
Rest Hours Law.
    The Government set occupational health and safety standards. The 
Ministry of Industry carried out inspections. Health and safety 
inspections in the homecare sector were particularly insufficient, 
according to Kav LaOved.
    Documented foreign workers were not entitled to many of the same 
benefits as citizens, including national health care. Employers are 
legally required to provide such insurance, and most employers did so. 
Female migrant workers in the homecare sector remained particularly 
vulnerable to abuse and forced labor. The live-in arrangements and lack 
of labor law enforcement led to many cases of women migrant workers 
working ``on a 24-hour basis,'' according to Kav LaOved. These workers 
also worked without suitable compensation for overtime and were forced 
to perform domestic tasks such as cleaning and cooking for all family 
members without compensation.
    According to Kav LaOved, foreign workers in the agricultural sector 
also remained vulnerable to health and safety violations; prolonged 
exposure to pesticides led to complaints of breathing difficulties, 
burns, skin allergies, and cases of cancer; and there were several 
complaints from agricultural foreign workers of nonpayment for 
overtime, excessive working hours, and poor living conditions.
    According to the Government, workers, including foreign workers, 
can remove themselves from a dangerous work situation and seek 
alternate employment. However, Kav LaOved maintained that in practice 
workers in the homecare and agricultural sectors were not able to seek 
alternative employment due to pressures from their sponsoring agencies.
    Brokers and employers collected hiring fees from migrant workers. 
The Government limited such fees to NIS 3,135 (approximately $883) per 
worker.
    On August 24, after complaints about excessive commission rates and 
profiteering over money transfers, the Ministry of Interior closed 
Interman Management Initiatives and Consultations Limited. The company, 
which brought migrant workers, largely from Thailand, to the country's 
agriculture sector, charged an average commission rate of NIS 35,546 
($10,000) for each foreign worker.
    The Government reported that, during the last two years, it revoked 
at least18 companies' recruitment licenses and their special permits to 
recruit foreign workers. Investigations and administrative hearings led 
to the closure of some recruitment agencies.
    Workers may contest deportation orders, but lack of fluency in 
Hebrew placed them at a considerable disadvantage. Interpreters were 
provided when available, but no court-appointed attorneys were 
provided. According to Hotline, the lack of interpreters in various 
governmental agencies continued to be a ``grave problem,'' and public 
information in languages other than Hebrew was hard to obtain.
 the occupied territories (including areas subject to the jurisdiction 
                     of the palestinian authority)
    Israel began occupying the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, the West 
Bank, and East Jerusalem during the 1967 War and continued to occupy 
those areas during the year. (For information about the Israeli-
occupied Golan Heights, please see the Israel report above.) During the 
year the Palestinian population of the West Bank was approximately 2.5 
million, and the Gaza Strip's population totaled 1.6 million, nearly 
all of whom were Palestinian. There were an estimated 260,000 Arabs 
living in East Jerusalem with residency permits rather than Israeli 
citizenship. Approximately 190,000 Israeli citizens, including a small 
number of Arab citizens of Israel, also lived in East Jerusalem; 
Israelis in the West Bank numbered approximately 300,000; and there 
were no Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
    The Palestinian Authority (PA) had a democratically elected 
president and legislative council. The PA exercised varying degrees of 
authority over the Palestinian population in the West Bank and none 
over Arab residents of East Jerusalem due to the Israel Defense Force's 
(IDF) continuing presence in the West Bank and Israel's extension of 
Israeli law and authority in 1967 to East Jerusalem; it had little 
authority in the Gaza Strip and none over Israeli residents of the West 
Bank.
    In 2005 Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Mahmoud 
Abbas won 62 percent of the vote in a presidential election regarded as 
generally free and fair. In the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council 
(PLC) elections, Hamas (a terrorist organization)-backed candidates won 
74 of 132 seats in elections that generally met democratic standards. 
In 2007 President Abbas dismissed the national unity government after 
Hamas staged a violent takeover of PA government installations in the 
Gaza Strip and killed hundreds in the Fatah movement and PA security 
forces; he appointed a cabinet of independents led by Prime Minister 
Salam Fayyad that continued to govern the West Bank during the year. 
Elements of the Hamas government maintained authority in the Gaza 
Strip, where they selectively applied the laws and legal structures of 
the PA. West Bank authorities postponed municipal PA elections 
scheduled to be held in the West Bank in July; however, the Palestinian 
courts ruled the postponement illegal in November. Both Israeli and PA 
security forces reported to civilian authorities. Hamas maintained 
control of security forces in the Gaza Strip. Armed militias and 
terrorist organizations were still active in some areas in the West 
Bank and the Gaza Strip.
    Principal human rights problems related to the PA included 
mistreatment in detention, arbitrary and prolonged detention, poor 
prison conditions, impunity, corruption, and lack of transparency. 
Domestic abuse of women, societal discrimination against women and 
persons with disabilities, and child labor remained serious problems.
    Residents of the Gaza Strip under Hamas had no right to political 
participation or to choose their government. Other human rights 
problems in the Gaza Strip included reports that Hamas security forces 
continued to kill, torture, kidnap, arbitrarily detain, and harass 
Fatah members and other Palestinians with impunity. There were reports 
of abuse of prisoners and failure to provide fair trials to those 
accused. Hamas also strictly restricted the freedom of speech, 
religion, and movement of the Gaza Strip residents. Corruption 
reportedly was a problem. Hamas promoted gender discrimination against 
women. Domestic violence against women also remained a problem. Hamas 
and other Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip launched rockets and 
mortars against civilian targets in Israel.
    Principal human rights problems related to Israeli authorities in 
the West Bank were reports of excessive use of force against civilians, 
including killings, torture of Palestinian detainees, improper use of 
security detention procedures, austere and overcrowded detention 
facilities, demolition and confiscation of Palestinian properties, 
limits on freedom of expression and assembly, and severe restrictions 
on Palestinians' internal and external freedom of movement. 
Additionally the IDF, in some cases, failed to pursue investigations 
and disciplinary actions related to violations. Violence by Israeli 
settlers was also reported. The IDF imposed serious restrictions on the 
importation of goods into the Gaza Strip and general prohibition on 
external travel for Gazans.
    (Note: Throughout the report, human rights concerns related to each 
actor (the PA, Hamas, and Israel) follow in sequential order.)
                        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 PA committed political killings; however, PA forces 
killed at least one civilian during the year. There were multiple 
reports that Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas, committed 
unlawful killings. The Israeli government reportedly committed at least 
one targeted killing in the occupied territories during the year, and 
reports of Israeli security forces killing civilian Palestinians, 
including protesters, continued.
    There was one reported killing by Palestinian security forces 
during the year. On May 1, PA security forces shot and killed 18-year-
old Rami Sa'id Salah al-Absi after he drove through a security 
checkpoint in Hebron; the PA actors reportedly suspected al-Absi was 
involved in the robbery of a Bethlehem clothing store. At year's end no 
action had resulted from an investigation of al-Absi's death.
    In July a Palestinian military court found five security officers 
negligent in the June 2009 death of Haitham Amer but acquitted the 
officers of more serious charges, according to Human Rights Watch 
(HRW). The court cited a lack of evidence in the case, despite an 
official Palestinian autopsy report stating that Amer had died during 
detention and interrogation at a General Intelligence Service facility 
in Hebron due to torture, as well as testimony by three detainees who 
witnessed his death.
    Civilian Palestinian factional violence during the year, including 
fights, family disputes, and manslaughter, resulted in 35 Palestinian 
fatalities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, according to the quasi-
governmental Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR). The PA was 
not responsible for these fatalities.
    Hamas-controlled security forces and other Palestinian terrorist 
groups continued to kill Israelis and Arabs in the West Bank and the 
Gaza Strip. According to Israeli government statistics, Palestinian 
terrorist acts emanating from the West Bank killed six Israelis, 
including four civilians. No Israeli civilians died in violence 
emanating from the Gaza Strip, although the Israeli government 
attributed the death of a Thai migrant worker in Israel to a rocket 
attack launched from the northern Gaza Strip.
    In the Gaza Strip, according to local media and the ICHR, masked 
gunmen affiliated with Hamas unlawfully executed at least 32 persons 
during the year. By law the PA president must ratify the death penalty, 
but Hamas did not contact the PA regarding the executions. In some 
cases, such as that of Mohammed Ismail and Nasser Abu Freh on April 15, 
the executions were based on allegations that the victims collaborated 
with Israel.
    Hamas summoned 52-year-old Jamil Shafiq Shaqura for questioning at 
an internal security facility in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, where he 
was tortured, according to Israeli human rights NGO B'Tselem; he died 
on January 6 from a stroke as a result of his abuse.
    On June 14, unknown actors shot and killed an Israeli police 
officer, Yehushua Sofer, in an attack on his patrol car near the 
Hebron-area Israeli settlement of Beit Haggai, according to IDF 
reports. The attack injured two other police officers. Israeli 
authorities opened an investigation and arrested suspects with Hamas 
affiliations on July 22. At year's end there were no updates.
    On August 31, Hamas gunmen shot and killed four Israeli residents 
of the West Bank settlement of Beit Haggai, who were traveling by car 
near Hebron. The four victims were identified as married couple Yitzak 
and Talia Ames, Avishai Shindler, and Kochba Even-Chaim; retaliatory 
skirmishes occurred near a number of West Bank settlements, with 
Israeli settlers reportedly throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at 
Palestinian villagers.
    Israeli security forces killed 79 Palestinians during the year, 
including seven minors in the Gaza Strip and two minors in the West 
Bank, which was an increase from the 59 killings in 2009 (not including 
deaths during Operation Cast Lead), according to statistics maintained 
by B'Tselem. Israel described all IDF actions in the occupied 
territories as ``operational activities,'' preventing accountability 
for breaches of law and investigations, according to B'Tselem.
    The Israeli government was responsible for at least one targeted 
killing. On September 17, Israeli security personnel shot and killed 
Iyad As'ad Abu Shelbaya in his home at the Palestinian Nur ash-Shams 
refugee camp during the night. The Israeli government suspected that 
Abu Shelbaya, known for his reported links to Hamas, had taken part in 
an August 31 attack that killed four Israeli settlers (see above).
    At year's end there was no update or investigation into the death 
of Khaled Harb Khaled Sh'alan, a 23-year-old resident of Gaza City and 
a reported Islamic Jihad commander, who was killed by Israeli 
helicopter fire in March 2009.
    Reports of Israeli forces killing Palestinians in restricted areas 
in the Gaza Strip and in waters off the Gaza Strip coast continued 
during the year. Israel acknowledged the land ``buffer zone'' in May 
2009 to be 328 yards from the border fence, although it generally 
enforced the buffer zone at 547 yards, with reports of Palestinians 
being shot at as far away as 1,640 yards from the border fence. Israel 
barred access to fishing areas beyond three nautical miles from the 
shore; for example, in four incidents in October, Israeli naval forces 
fired ``warning'' shots at Palestinian fishing boats, forcing them 
ashore. Israel enforced these restrictions with the stated intention of 
preventing attacks by Palestinian armed factions. The IDF rarely 
launched investigations into buffer zone shootings, although on 
September 15, it announced that three Gazans, ages17, 21, and 91, 
killed by the IDF earlier in the year near the border fence, had not 
been involved in terrorist activities.
    On March 21, Israeli security forces shot and killed two 
Palestinian 19-year-olds looking for scrap metal on farmland east of 
the West Bank village of Awarta, according to several NGOs and press 
reports. The two were not in a restricted area. The Israeli soldiers 
claimed that Salah Muhammad Kamel Quareq and Muhammad Feisal Mahmoud 
Quareq told them that they were on their way to work in the fields but 
did not produce identification documents upon request and, 
subsequently, attempted to attack the border guards with a pitchfork. 
Medical reports indicated that the shots came from close range. The 
Israeli chief military prosecutor ordered an investigation into the 
killings, the results of which were not available at year's end, 
although authorities dismissed the soldiers' squad commander.
    On May 14, the IDF shot and killed 75-year-old Fouad Ahmad Yusef 
Abu Matar, a resident of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, when 
he approached the perimeter fence east of Jabalya Refugee Camp.
    On June 11, according to local media sources, Israeli border police 
shot and killed Ziad Jilani, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem, 
while he lay on the ground. Jilani had swerved his vehicle into a group 
of officers, injuring several, but eyewitnesses told the media that 
Jilani did not pose a danger at the time of the shooting. It was 
unclear if Jilani hit the officers deliberately; eyewitness accounts 
reported that Jilani swerved to avoid stones that bystanders had thrown 
at the officers.
    On September 24, according B'Tselem, Israeli naval force machine-
gun fire killed 19-year-old Muhammad Mansur Omar Baqar while he was 
fishing off the coast of Jabalya in the Gaza Strip.
    Israeli security forces reportedly killed three demonstrators 
during the year. In most cases the protesters were demonstrating near 
restricted areas or the separation barrier.
    On March 20, Israeli security forces in the West Bank village of 
Iraq Burin shot and killed two Palestinian adolescents during a local 
demonstration related to a water dispute with a nearby settlement, 
according to several NGOs and press reports. There were conflicting 
reports as to whether Usaied Abd al-Naser Muhammad Qadous, 17 years 
old, and Muhammad Ibrahim 'Abd al-Qader Qadous, 15 years old, threw 
rocks at Israeli police during the demonstration. Israeli officials 
claimed that forces employed tear gas and rubber-coated bullets to 
disperse demonstrators but did not use live ammunition. Villagers, 
international protesters, PA officials, and Israeli NGOs all claimed 
that live ammunition caused the deaths, and PA medical personnel 
released an X ray to the media showing what doctors stated was a bullet 
lodged in the brain of one of the boys. On March 23, the IDF's chief 
prosecutor ordered the army to open an internal investigation into the 
circumstances that led the soldiers to open fire; no results were 
available at year's end.
    On April 28, an IDF soldier shot and killed Ahmad Suliman Salem 
Deeb, a 19-year-old resident of Gaza City who was taking part in a 
demonstration against the ``buffer zones,'' during which some 
demonstrators threw stones, according to press reports.
    On May 25, the Israeli central district prosecution filed an 
indictment for negligent manslaughter against an unidentified retired 
border policeman suspected of shooting 11-year-old Palestinian Ahmed 
Moussa in the West Bank in 2008. The incident was one of several 
connected to protests against construction of the separation barrier.
    On July 12, a judge advocate general (JAG) ordered the Military 
Police Investigation Unit to investigate the death of Bassem Abu 
Rahmah, who was struck in the chest by a tear gas canister during an 
antibarrier demonstration in April 2009. According to B'Tselem, the JAG 
initially declined to probe the incident but changed its stance after 
forensic evidence indicated that soldiers fired the canister directly 
at the victim, contrary to initial debriefing statements. Citing video 
footage of the incident, B'Tselem noted that Abu Rahmah remained on the 
Palestinian side of the fence and did not endanger soldiers. At year's 
end the IDF had not released an update in the case, according to local 
NGO reports.
    On December 31, Jawaher Abu Rahmah, a resident of the West Bank 
village of Bil'in, inhaled tear gas from canisters fired by the IDF to 
disrupt protests against the separation barrier, according to NGO and 
press reports. She died the following day of complications from the 
inhalation, according to the PA. The IDF claimed that she did not die 
as a result of the tear gas inhalation, but rather improper medical 
treatment.
    At year's end no findings were available from an Israeli 
investigation into the 2008 death of Yousif Ahmed Amira, whom IDF 
soldiers shot in the head during a protest.
    Israeli forces also killed civilians during episodes of conflict 
throughout the year, including killings from tank fire and tear gas. 
The IDF regularly used tanks and remote-controlled weapons stations to 
fire on Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip, according to reports from 
the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA). 
IDF personnel maintained secure stations every several hundred yards 
along the border fence; each station contained machine guns with a 
nearly one-mile firing range. The IDF also used tanks firing 
``flechette'' projectiles, which explode in midair, releasing thousands 
of 1.5-inch metal darts. In July alone flechettes killed at least two 
civilians and injured 10, including four children, according to UNOCHA.
    On May 9, during hostilities at the Karmi Tsur settlement north of 
Hebron, a one-year-old boy from the southern West Bank village of Beit 
Ummar died, reportedly as the result of inhaling tear gas deployed by 
Israeli forces. The canister landed outside the boy's window, and he 
died of respiratory complications, according to press reports.
    B'Tselem reported that on December 9, Israeli tank fire killed 16-
year-olds Husam Khaled Ibrahim Abu Sa'id and Isma'il Walid Muhammad Abu 
'Odeh and 91-year-old Ibrahim Abdallah Suliman Abu Sa'id near Biet 
Hanoun, while the three grazed livestock. According to B'Tselem, none 
had engaged in hostile activity.
    The 147 military police investigations of the killings or injuries 
of Palestinians by Israeli forces led to few convictions. The NGO Yesh 
Din reported that in 2009 only 2 percent of investigations by the 
Israeli Military Police Criminal Investigation Division led to 
indictment (four investigations). Between 2000 and 2009, the average 
rate of indictment was 6 percent. B'Tselem attributed such statistics 
to a procedural conflict of interest in the investigation process 
because Israeli forces involved in the fatality are also responsible 
for collecting the information that the JAG uses to determine whether 
to launch a military police investigation. Since 2001 B'Tselem has 
monitored 35 cases of Palestinians injured or killed from bullets fired 
by Israeli police and border police officers. Only 16 of the cases were 
investigated, of which only two cases resulted in indictments.
    Human rights organizations also complained that the IDF--through 
the JAG--initiated many investigations months or more than a year after 
the incident, making it difficult to find evidence or identify 
witnesses, and that the investigations unit lacked sufficient Arabic 
speakers.
    Israeli civilians killed two Palestinians. On May 13, a settler 
shot in the back and killed 15-year-old Aysar Yasser Fawaz Zaraqah, who 
threw stones at the settler's car near al-Mazra'a as-Sharqiya in the 
West Bank. There were no reports of an investigation into his death. On 
September 22, an Israeli private security guard shot and killed Samer 
Mahmoud Ahmad Sarhan in East Jerusalem. The guard responsible for 
Samer's death was released on bail. Yesh Din continued to claim that 
settler violence was insufficiently investigated. There was no evidence 
of a public investigation at year's end.
    The PA and Israel took steps to address and investigate allegations 
of abuses related to the 2008-09 Operation Cast Lead conflict; however, 
NGOs criticized Hamas for failing to investigate abuses adequately.
    During the year the PA established an independent commission to 
review the allegations against it in the context of the conflict.
    Amnesty International (AI) criticized Hamas authorities for failing 
to investigate fully abuses perpetrated by Gazans during the conflict, 
citing specifically the firing of indiscriminate rockets by Palestinian 
armed groups into southern Israel. AI claimed Hamas did not respond 
with legal or any other action against the al-Qassam Brigades, which 
claimed responsibility for rocket attacks aimed at civilian targets.
    During the year Israel provided specific examples of investigations 
relating to Operation Cast Lead and their outcomes, including new 
orders to enhance civilian protections. Local and international NGOs 
continued to criticize Israel's investigation and disciplinary action 
relating to casualties from Operation Cast Lead as insufficient. 
B'Tselem reported that 773 of the estimated 1,385 Palestinians killed 
were civilians. The Israeli government maintained that the civilian 
death count was 295 and noted that Hamas operated within civilian 
populations.
    Since 2009 the IDF has opened investigations into 150 incidents 
involving alleged violations of law of war by its forces. Various human 
rights organizations reiterated concern that Israeli army commanders or 
military police carried out the investigations, potentially reducing 
impartiality. NGOs also criticized the Israeli government's decision 
not to investigate fully allegations of serious violations, such as 
Israel's use of white phosphorus and the targeting of civilian 
infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
    Israel issued two indictments related to Cast Lead in a human 
shield case (see section 2.c.) and in a civilian death during the year. 
The IDF reprimanded an officer and sanctioned two others for failing to 
exercise appropriate judgment during an incident that resulted in 
civilian casualties in the al-Maqadmah mosque during Operation Cast 
Lead. Additionally, an IDF brigadier general and a colonel were 
disciplined for approving the use of explosive shells in violation of 
the safety distances required in urban areas during Operation Cast 
Lead.
    In 2009 the IDF chief of staff ordered operational debriefings for 
at least 60 investigations focused on law of war violations during 
Operation Cast Lead. Held by the army under the Military Justice Law, 
operational debriefing delayed criminal investigations because 
information provided cannot be released or used as evidence in a court 
of law.

    b. Disappearance.--There were few reports of politically motivated 
kidnappings and disappearances in connection with internal Palestinian 
conflict, largely due to improved security conditions in the West Bank.
    In the Gaza Strip, Hamas security operatives carried out 
extrajudicial detentions based on political affiliation during the 
year; information concerning the whereabouts and welfare of those 
detained was not consistently or reliably available, nor were those 
detained offered due process or access to family and legal counsel.
    In 2006 Popular Resistance Committee and Hamas militants tunneled 
from the Gaza Strip to Israel, killed two soldiers, and abducted a 
third, Gilad Shalit. At year's end Shalit remained detained in the Gaza 
Strip.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The PA Basic Law prohibits torture or use of force against 
detainees; however, international human rights groups reported that 
torture remained a problem. Following allegations of abuse in the 
deaths of four prisoners in PA custody in 2009 (see section 1.a.), 
Prime Minister Fayyad dismissed a number of PA security officials and 
issued a directive against prisoner mistreatment, abuse, or torture, 
with a corresponding order for Palestinian prison and detention center 
monitoring. As a result the PA provided all security forces with 
written guidelines for interrogation and detention that remained in 
effect during the year, including a section on prisoners' rights. 
Nevertheless, according to HRW, reports of mistreatment were common 
during the year, and the PA was lax in prosecuting security officials 
for detainee mistreatment. Palestinian detainees registered 163 
complaints of torture with the ICHR during the year. Reported abuse by 
PA authorities in the West Bank included forcing prisoners to sit in a 
painful position for long periods, beating, punching, flogging, 
intimidation, and psychological pressure. International observers noted 
that abuse was not systematic or routinely practiced in PA prisons, 
although some prisoners experienced abuse during arrest or 
interrogation.
    A 2009 HRW report alleged abuses by Fatah-affiliated Palestinian 
security officials against Hamas members and supporters in the West 
Bank, as well as abuses by Hamas security forces against Fatah-
affiliated officials in Gaza Strip. According to reports these trends 
continued during the year.
    On September 16 and 19, according to HRW, PA security authorities 
arrested an unidentified man and Ahmad Salhab and tortured them in 
custody in a facility in Jericho. The PA suspected both men of ties to 
Hamas. Authorities released the first man after 10 days but held Salhab 
until October 16, when they transferred him to a hospital to treat 
injuries reportedly related to torture, as well as torn spinal disks 
that were a previous result of mistreatment during confinement in 2008.
    Torture carried out by the Gaza Strip Hamas Executive Force was not 
restricted to security detainees but also included persons associated 
with the Fatah political party, those held on suspicion of 
``collaboration'' with Israel, or those considered to engage in immoral 
activity. There were reports that Hamas deployed undercover officers to 
attack, beat, and (in some cases) detain these persons, usually without 
intent to kill. Hamas took no action to investigate reports of torture, 
and documentation of abuses was limited, due in part to fear of 
retribution by victims and, in part, to PA officials and NGOs lacking 
access to Gaza Strip prisoners. The ICHR reported that complaints of 
abuse included being forced to stand in an uncomfortable stress 
positions, flogging, hand binding, suspension, blindfolding, punching, 
and beatings with clubs or hoses.
    According to human rights NGO reports and photographic 
documentation released on May 12, Hamas forces beat Jamal Abu Qumsan, 
an unmarried art gallery owner, regarding the accusation that he had 
nonmarital sexual relations. Abu Qumsan sustained blows along his back, 
legs, and buttocks. Human rights organizations claimed that such 
attacks and interrogations were common, but victims were reticent to 
come forward.
    Hamas organized attacks in the West Bank. On September 1, Hamas 
members reportedly shot and wounded two Israeli residents of a Jordan 
Valley settlement near Ramallah; Hamas's military wing immediately 
claimed responsibility. On November 17, the PA arrested various Hamas 
members suspected of planning bomb attacks and abductions and targeting 
a prominent Palestinian government official.
    There were no reports that Hamas used human shields during the 
year. According to a 2009 report released by Israel's Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, Hamas used human shields, including children, during 
Operation Cast Lead by placing launch pads and operation centers in 
civilian facilities.
    Israeli law, as interpreted by a 1999 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. The decision also 
indicates that interrogators who abuse detainees suspected of 
possessing such information may be immune from prosecution. Human 
rights organizations reported that ``moderate physical pressure'' in 
practice included beatings, requiring an individual to hold a stress 
position for long periods, and painful pressure from shackles or 
restraints applied to the forearms. Israeli NGOs continued to criticize 
what they termed abusive Israeli detention practices, including 
isolation, sleep deprivation, protracted handcuffing, shackling, and 
psychological abuse, such as threats to interrogate elderly parents or 
demolish family homes.
    The NGO Defense for Children International-Palestine Section (DCI-
Palestine) claimed Israeli security authorities often tortured and 
abused minors in custody to coerce confessions during interrogation, 
employing tactics such as beatings, long-term handcuffing, threats, 
rape, and solitary confinement. In 40 affidavits collected by DCI-
Palestine in the last six months of the year, 28 children arrested and 
detained by the IDF claimed they were beaten and kicked, 24 experienced 
some form of position abuse, seven were stripped naked, and three were 
subjected to electric shocks.
    On March 23, Israeli soldiers arrested a 16-year-old known as Basel 
from the West Bank village of at-Tabaqa. According to sworn testimony 
collected by DCI-Palestine, soldiers blindfolded, bound, and beat 
Basel, then transferred him to local settlers, who also beat him. He 
claimed he was pressured into confessing to throwing stones and that he 
was threatened with imprisonment and electric shocks. The IDF later 
left him barefoot on a road outside a West Bank settlement at 1 a.m., 
approximately 10 miles from his home.
    On November 24, Israeli border police beat and kicked seven-year-
old Adam in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, according to a 
DCI-Palestine affidavit.
    In 2008, according to the NGO the Public Committee Against Torture 
in Israel (PCATI), the Israeli Security Agency (known as the Shin Bet 
or ISA) arrested Jalal Sawafta and interrogated him and his parents. 
The Shin Bet interrogator allegedly threatened to demolish the family 
home if Sawafta's parents did not convince Sawafta to confess to 
complicity in rigging a car bomb. PCATI reported that Sawafta's 
complaint about the incident was closed at year's end, but the State 
Attorney's Office provided no detailed explanation for its decision to 
close the complaint, and there had been no investigation.
    Degrading treatment by Israeli soldiers was documented on the 
Internet. In August former Israeli soldier Eden Abergil posted online 
photographs of herself posing with blindfolded and handcuffed 
Palestinian detainees. Although Israeli authorities condemned the act 
as degrading, there was no evidence of results in any investigation. In 
October the IDF launched an investigation into an online video, 
purportedly posted in 2008, featuring a soldier mocking and dancing 
around a blindfolded Palestinian detainee.
    At year's end two policemen from the Ma'ale Adumim police station, 
who were arrested in 2008 for severely abusing a Palestinian from 
Bethany, remained under house arrest, and investigations continued, 
according to PCATI.
    Israeli law, high court rulings, and an IDF order prohibit Israeli 
forces from using human shields, but the prohibition was reportedly not 
always observed. Israeli soldiers used civilians, including three 
children, according to DCI-Palestine, as human shields, endangering 
their lives by forcing them to remain in or near houses being used as 
military positions or carrying out dangerous tasks such as inspecting 
properties. According to the Israeli Ministry of Justice, when a human 
shield complaint is registered, the Investigative Military Police opens 
an investigation.
    On February 18, during a raid on a house in Nablus, Israeli 
soldiers reportedly forced 16-year-old Dua'a to search her home for 
potential booby traps. The soldiers ordered her to open closets and 
lift mattresses in the house, according to DCI-Palestine. There was no 
investigation or update at year's end.
    On April 16, two IDF soldiers detained 14-year-old Sabri in front 
of a school in Beit Ummar and forced him to walk in front of them while 
Palestinian protesters, urged by the IDF personnel, threw stones. The 
incident was photographed and published widely in Palestinian media. On 
October 19, the Israeli Military prosecutor for operational matters 
indicated that military police had opened an investigation into the 
case, but there was no update at year's end.
    On August 19, IDF soldiers near Nablus beat a 13-year-old boy known 
as Nazzal during a raid and forced him to guide them through an 
inspection of his uncle's house, according to DCI-Palestine. There was 
no investigation or update at year's end.
    In the first conviction by Israeli courts in any human shield case, 
on October 3, an Israeli military court convicted two unidentified 
Israeli soldiers from the Givati Brigade who used a nine-year-old boy, 
identified as Majid Abd Rabbo, to search bags believed to contain 
explosives in January 2009 during Operation Cast Lead. Authorities 
sentenced the soldiers to three-month suspended prison terms for 
exceeding their authority by endangering a life and behavior unbecoming 
a soldier; both were also demoted. The IDF also disciplined a 
lieutenant colonel for permitting Rabbo to enter a structure where 
combatants were present.
    Nonstate Palestinian groups attacked Israeli targets in the West 
Bank. For example, the Syria-based Abu Musa group claimed 
responsibility for the September 26 shooting of two Israelis south of 
Hebron.
    Israeli civilians committed violent acts against Palestinian 
civilians and their property with reportedly little or no intervention 
and no subsequent investigation by Israeli officials. Some settlers 
reportedly used violence against Palestinians to keep them away from 
settlements and land that settlers sought to expropriate. The Palestine 
Center estimated that between 2009 and mid-year, settlers committed 
approximately 1,000 acts of violence against Palestinians and their 
property. DCI-Palestine claimed in July that it had documented 38 cases 
of children attacked and injured by settlers between March 2008 and 
July 2010 near settlements in the vicinity of Bethlehem, Ramallah, 
Salfit, Hebron, and Nablus; in three of those incidents, children were 
killed. Six of the attacks, affecting eight children, reportedly 
occurred during the year. A November 2009 UNOCHA report cited settler 
violence as ``a key factor undermining the physical security and 
livelihoods of Palestinians in many areas throughout the West Bank.''
    On July 26, settlers conducted a series of attacks for more than 12 
hours on the Palestinian village of Burin, during which time settlers 
assaulted Palestinians, looted vehicles, and burned nearby Palestinian 
fields, according to NGO and media reports. Local officials and NGO 
field workers on site stated that the IDF largely observed the attacks 
and took no action to prevent the attackers from regrouping. Local 
officials claimed PA fire service crews were restricted for more than 
an hour from entering the area to put out the flames.
    On September 1, following a Hamas-related shooting that killed four 
Israeli settlers, approximately 50 settlers from the Kiryat Arba 
settlement near Hebron threw rocks at the nearby home of the 
Palestinian Idris family. Settlers knocked over outside fixtures and 
set fire to grass in front of the house. According to media reports, 
IDF soldiers accompanied the settlers and did not prevent the attacks. 
On the same day, another settler attack arbitrarily targeted 
Palestinian vehicles by breaking windows near the Jet junction, between 
Nablus and Qalqilya.
    On November 11, settlers targeted a Palestinian woman and her two 
children, ages 10 and 11 years old, with rocks as they went to school 
in Tuqu village, near Bethlehem in the West Bank, according to media 
reports. A Palestinian group later protested the incident by burning 
tires and throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles, and a clash with Israeli 
forces ensued.
    Settler violence against Palestinians in the Old City of Hebron 
continued to decline, according to local NGOs, attributed primarily to 
Palestinian video documentation of settler harassment. Nevertheless, 
residents and several former IDF soldiers reported that Israeli 
authorities in the Old City consistently refrained from protecting 
Palestinians against settler violence and failed to enforce law and 
order on assailants.
    In April 2009 two male settlers near Ma'on settlement attacked a 
woman who was eight months pregnant. The men, whose faces were covered, 
pushed her to the ground, kicked her, and beat her with sticks. 
Although B'Tselem reported that Hebron police in May stated that they 
had interrogated three suspects, at year's end there was no evidence of 
an investigation.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--PA prison conditions 
improved in recent years, although the PA prison system remained 
significantly inadequate for the prison population it served. PA civil 
police prisons, which held nonsecurity prisoners, remained severely 
overcrowded. Space and capacity issues also reduced the availability of 
medical care and vocational or other programs for inmates in civil 
police prisons.
    Unlike in the previous year, there were no deaths reported in PA 
civil police prisons from adverse conditions.
    In December there were approximately 1,050 prisoners in the seven 
PA civil police prisons; women and male juveniles each constituted 
approximately 2 percent of the prison population, according to PA 
statistics. Male juveniles were at times housed with adult male 
prisoners. PA intelligence services held several hundred security 
detainees separately from the general population. PA authorities 
undertook prison improvement efforts at various facilities.
    All PA civil police prisons allowed visitations on a weekly basis, 
religious observance, a procedure for submitting complaints, and an 
investigation process for complaints. During the year the PA generally 
permitted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) access to 
detainees and allowed regular inspections of prison conditions. 
Preliminary, unpublished accounts by human rights groups, humanitarian 
organizations, and lawyers indicated that, as in previous years, there 
were some difficulties gaining access to specific detainees, depending 
on which security organization managed the facility.
    Ombudsmen cannot serve on behalf of prisoners.
    In the Gaza Strip prison conditions were reportedly poor, and 
little information was available. Detention facilities were 
unofficially reported below international legal or humanitarian 
standards. Hamas authorities announced an inquiry into the 2008 death 
of Taleb Mohammed Abu Sitta, who died of injuries following Hamas 
police detention. As a result Hamas suspended several police officers 
from duty, but there were no reports that any were tried, according to 
AI. The ICRC conducted monitoring visits to some prisoners in the Gaza 
Strip, but Hamas authorities denied representatives permission to visit 
captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
    IDF detention centers were less likely than Israeli civilian 
prisons to meet international standards, with some, such as the Ofer 
detention center, providing living space as small as 15 square feet per 
detainee. In November B'Tselem and Hamoked reported unsatisfactory 
conditions in Shin Bet's Petah Tikva Prison, including poor hygienic 
conditions. Prisoners also continued to claim inadequate medical care. 
According to the Israeli Ministry of Justice, the IDF continued to 
ameliorate living conditions in two detention centers in the West Bank. 
Also, in November 2009 Israel began building a new detention complex 
next to the Ofer Camp military courts.
    According to Israeli official figures, approximately 5,935 
Palestinians were held in Israeli civilian prisons in December. 
Palestinian minors arrested in the West Bank were subject to the 
Israeli military courts system, which recognizes persons 16 years of 
age or older as adults; all minors between the ages of 16 and 18 were 
held in pretrial or posttrial detention with adults. Israeli minors 
between the ages of 16 and 18 arrested in the West Bank were subject to 
Israeli criminal and civil courts.
    PCATI reported that approximately 650 prisoner complaints of 
mistreatment in Shin Bet facilities were not forwarded to police for 
criminal investigation between 2001 and November 2010.
    Israel permitted the ICRC to monitor prison conditions. The Israeli 
Bar Association and NGOs sent representatives to meet with prisoners 
and inspect conditions in prisons, detention centers, and IDF 
facilities. Human rights groups reported delays and difficulties in 
gaining access to specific detainees, frequent transfers of detainees 
without notice, and the limited ability of families of imprisoned 
Palestinians, particularly Gazans, to visit.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Palestinian law prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, in practice the PA failed to 
charge detainees promptly and regularly held detainees for months 
without trial. Hamas also charged that the PA detained individuals 
during the year solely on the basis of their Hamas affiliation.
    Reportedly Hamas practiced widespread arbitrary detention in the 
Gaza Strip.
    Israeli law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, but Israeli 
security services did not always abide by these prohibitions.
    Palestinian security detainees were under the jurisdiction of 
military law, which permits 10 days' detention without access to a 
lawyer or appearing before a court. There is no requirement that a 
detainee have access to a lawyer until after interrogation, a process 
that may last weeks.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--In West Bank 
Palestinian population centers, mostly ``Area A'' as defined by the 
Oslo-era agreements, the PA has formal responsibility for security and 
civil control; however, Israeli security forces since 2002 have 
conducted regular security operations in Area A cities without 
coordinating with PA security forces. In ``Area B'' territory in the 
West Bank, composed mostly of small Palestinian villages and farmland, 
the PA has civil control--including civil policing--but Israel retains 
responsibility for security control. In ``Area C,'' which contains 
Israeli settlements, military installations, some small Palestinian 
villages and farmland, and open countryside, Israel retains full civil 
and security control.
    Six PA security forces operated in the West Bank. The PA Civil 
Police has primary responsibility for civil and community policing. The 
National Security Force (NSF) conducts gendarmerie-style security 
operations in circumstances that exceed the capabilities of the Civil 
Police. The Military Intelligence agency, a subunit of the NSF, handles 
intelligence and criminal matters involving PA security force 
personnel, including accusations of abuse. The General Intelligence 
service is responsible for external intelligence gathering and 
operations; the Preventive Security Organization is responsible for 
these matters internally. The Presidential Guard protects facilities 
and provides dignitary protection. The Civil Defense service provides 
emergency services. PA security services are under the operational 
control of the minister of the interior. Military Intelligence is 
responsible for investigations into allegations of abuse and corruption 
involving PA security forces and can refer cases to court.
    In the Gaza Strip, forces under Hamas control maintained security. 
Press and NGO reports suggested Hamas enforced strict control across 
all sectors of society. Hamas police reportedly facilitated and 
benefited from illegal activity, such as the operation of smuggling 
tunnels.
    Israeli authorities maintained their West Bank security presence 
through the IDF, Shin Bet, the Israeli National Police, and the Border 
Police. Israeli authorities in some instances investigated and punished 
abuse and corruption, but there were several reports of failure to take 
disciplinary action in cases of abuse.
    According to Israeli and Palestinian NGO and press reports, the IDF 
was insufficiently responsive to violence perpetrated by Israeli 
settlers in the West Bank against Palestinians. The Association for 
Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) stated that Israeli security and justice 
officials operating in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem displayed bias 
against Arab residents in investigating incidents involving Arab and 
Israeli actors. Palestinian residents, in several cases, sought to 
press charges against Israeli settlers or their security guards, but 
many complaints went uninvestigated despite the availability of 
evidence. Most complaints filed by Arab residents of East Jerusalem 
were of police misconduct from the Shalem and David police stations, 
which are responsible for Jerusalem's Old City and surrounding Arab 
neighborhoods where some Israeli settlers maintained highly defended 
presences.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--PA law 
provides for prompt judicial determination of the legality of 
detention, and this provision was largely--but not uniformly--observed 
in practice. PA law allows police to hold detainees without charge for 
24 hours and with court approval for up to 45 days; it requires that a 
trial must start within six months or the detainee must be released. In 
several reported cases, PA security forces detained persons without 
warrants and without bringing them before judicial authorities within 
the required timeframe; however, PA judicial officials claimed no 
detentions extended beyond the time limit without trial. Bail and 
conditional release were available upon discretion of judicial 
authorities. Authorities generally informed detainees of the charges 
against them, albeit sometimes not until interrogation.
    PA Military Intelligence in a number of cases reportedly exceeded 
its legal authority to investigate other security services' officers 
and detained civilians suspected of ``security offenses'' such as 
terrorist activities. Hamas charged that the PA detained individuals 
during the year solely on the basis of their Hamas affiliation, but the 
PA presented evidence that many of these individuals had been charged 
with criminal offenses under civil or military codes. For example, 
Hamas stated that the PA unnecessarily targeted and in some cases 
carried out wave arrests of Hamas affiliates after PA officers detained 
seven members of an armed Hamas cell in the West Bank suspected of 
killing Israelis in shootings in Hebron and Ramallah on August 31 and 
September 2, respectively. Similarly, on December 9, PA authorities 
arrested 28 suspected Hamas supporters within 24 hours in Hebron, 
Nablus, Bethlehem, Tulkarem, Qalqilia, Salfit, and Jenin.
    As in 2009 the PA sought military judicial review and court orders 
for detaining civilians suspected of terrorist activity. In several 
such cases, the PA disregarded civilian court orders requiring the 
release of these suspects, citing countervailing military court orders. 
In most of these incidents, the PA was unwilling to provide evidence 
required by the civilian court system, and the military courts provided 
a more efficient system to deal with any shortcomings in providing 
evidence.
    There were reports that some PA security forces used 
disproportionate force during arrest operations. The PA General 
Administration for Reform and Rehabilitation Center, under the 
authority of the Ministry of Interior, operated a mechanism for 
reviewing complaints of prisoner abuse.
    In the Gaza Strip, Hamas reportedly detained a large but 
unverifiable number of persons during the year, largely without 
recourse to legal counsel, judicial review, or bail. Many of these 
detentions were apparently politically based, targeting former PA 
officials, Fatah party members, and those suspected of ties to Israel.
    In one case, on February 15, Hamas detained British journalist Paul 
Martin without charge and held him until March 11. Martin was 
reportedly suspected of espionage but never faced charges. He did not 
appear before a judge to assess the legality of his detention and had 
no access to his lawyer between February 19 and March 1. Reports also 
indicated that neither Martin nor his lawyer had access to the evidence 
that led to his arrest, according to HRW.
    Israeli authorities operate under military and legal codes in the 
occupied territories (see also Israel, section 1.d., Arrest Procedures 
and Treatment While in Detention). By law detainees can be held for up 
to 90 days without access to a lawyer. Israeli authorities stated that 
their policy is to post notification of arrests within 48 hours, but 
senior officers may delay notification for up to 12 days, effectively 
holding detainees incommunicado. A military commander may request that 
a judge extend this period indefinitely.
    Persons detained on security grounds fall under one or more of 
several legal regimes, which allow for the transfer of administrative 
detainees from the West Bank to detention in Israel. As a general 
practice, Arabs without Israeli citizenship detained for security 
violations were not granted bail.
    Several NGOs claimed that Israel continued to overuse the 
administrative detention process in unexceptional and nonsecurity cases 
and as an alternative to standard criminal proceedings, particularly in 
cases where evidence is insufficient or cannot be publicly presented. 
Administrative detainees, according to B'Tselem, were not provided 
sufficient information on the reasons for their detention or the 
charges against them; they were rarely given an opportunity to refute 
the suspicions or access the evidentiary material presented against 
them in court. At year's end, according to B'Tselem, Israel held 204 
Palestinians under ``administrative detention'' without having charged 
them with a crime; this was a decrease from the 278 held at the end of 
2009. A military judge can reportedly issue administrative detention 
orders for up to six months, renewable indefinitely. PCATI alleged 
military commanders in the occupied territories used administrative 
detention orders based on ``security reasons'' even when the accused 
posed no clear danger. On December 26, Israel released a 16-year-old 
known as Moatasem after holding him in administrative detention since 
March 20.
    Throughout the year there were reports that Israeli security forces 
in East Jerusalem and in the West Bank arbitrarily arrested and 
detained Palestinian protesters and activists, particularly those 
participating in antibarrier demonstrations. Israeli authorities 
generally provided Palestinians held in Israeli military custody inside 
Israel access to their lawyers, but impediments to movement on West 
Bank roads or at crossings often made consultation difficult and 
postponed trials and hearings. The Government frequently delayed 
notification to foreign government officials after detaining their 
citizens in the occupied territories.
    During the year the Shin Bet continued its practice of 
incommunicado detention, including isolation from the ICRC, legal 
counsel, and family, throughout the duration of interrogation. There 
were also reports of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading 
treatment during interrogation, often to elicit confessions (see 
section 1.c.). The Palestinian human rights organization Addameer 
reported that 39 Palestinians were held incommunicado during the year. 
In a study released in November, PCATI estimated that approximately 
8,000 to 10,000 of the 11,790 Palestinians held by Israeli authorities 
in the West Bank from 2005 and 2007 were for some period of time 
detained incommunicado. According to Physicians for Human Rights-Israel 
(PHR-Israel), isolation of prisoners with mental illness was common 
(see section 6, Persons with Disabilities). According to the Israeli 
government, the Israel Prison Service does not hold detainees in 
separate detention punitively or to induce confessions, but rather only 
when a detainee threatens himself or others and other options have been 
exhausted, or, in some cases, during interrogation to prevent 
disclosing information. In such cases the Israeli government maintained 
that the detainee had the right to meet with representatives of the 
ICRC, Israeli Prison Service personnel, and medical personnel if 
necessary.
    Nevertheless, NGOs reported that the Government constrained access 
to prisoners by the ICRC and other independent groups. On January 21, 
the deputy state attorney denied October 2009 requests from PCATI, 
ACRI, and PHR-Israel for representatives of the Public Defender's 
Office to visit Shin Bet facilities to provide counsel. A study by 
PCATI and the Palestinian Prisoner Society revealed in December that up 
to 90 percent of Palestinians in Shin Bet detention did not have access 
to legal counsel until after signing confessions.
    B'Tselem cited a rise in the rate of Palestinian minors arrested 
and detained throughout the year in East Jerusalem, particularly in 
Silwan, in violation of Israel's youth law, which prohibits arrest or 
interrogation of minors after nightfall. NGO reports claimed that 
Israeli authorities routinely arrested minors at checkpoints, on the 
street, at night, and in early morning house raids, and transferred 
them to one of eight detention facilities for interrogation. In 
particular B'Tselem reported lack of parental presence at 
interrogation, as is permitted by law. In most cases authorities 
reportedly failed to inform parents where their children would be 
taken. According to DCI-Palestine, authorities also tortured and abused 
minors to coerce confessions (see section 1.c.).

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The 2002 Palestinian Basic Law, 
amended in 2005, provides for an independent judiciary. In practice the 
PA generally respected judicial independence and the autonomy of the 
High Judicial Council, maintained authority over most court operations 
in the West Bank. PA courts operated more efficiently than in previous 
years, demonstrating improvements in several procedural capacities, 
including case management, organization, transparency, evidence 
collection, and recordkeeping. Case backlogs were largely related to 
restrictions on movement imposed by Israeli authorities (see section 
2.d.). Additionally, PA-affiliated prosecutors and judges stated that 
these prohibitions hampered their ability to dispense justice, 
including restrictions on their ability to transport detainees and 
collect witnesses. The PA increased financial allocations to the courts 
to fund additional court administrative staff, in response to an 
existing lack of personnel. Efforts to expand reforms continued at 
year's end. In some cases involving investigations by PA intelligence 
services in the West Bank, civilian defendants appeared before the PA's 
military court system, which has jurisdiction over security personnel 
and crimes by civilians against security forces. Palestinian NGOs 
criticized the practice of trying civilian defendants in military 
courts, while the PA defended the practice based on the security nature 
of the crimes involved.
    In 2007 Hamas appointees replaced PA-appointed prosecutors and 
judges in the Gaza Strip. The PA declared the action illegal; however, 
courts operated by Hamas appointees continued functioning in the Gaza 
Strip throughout the year.
    Israeli law provides for an independent judiciary, and the 
Government generally respected civil court independence in practice. 
The IDF tried Palestinians accused of security offenses (ranging from 
rock throwing to membership in a terrorist organization to incitement) 
in military courts. Israeli law defines security offenses to include a 
variety of different charges. Israeli military courts rarely acquitted 
Palestinians charged with security offenses; sentences occasionally 
were reduced on appeal. Israeli civil law applied to Palestinian 
residents of East Jerusalem, and Israeli civil courts generally tended 
to rule against Palestinians.
    Several NGOs claimed that Israeli military courts, which processed 
approximately 7,000 Palestinians in the West Bank during the year, were 
not equipped to adjudicate each case properly. In a 2007 study, the 
Israeli NGO Yesh Din stated that plea bargains had largely replaced 
full legal proceedings. In a sampling of 118 detention hearings 
observed, of both minors and adults, the average hearing lasted three 
minutes and four seconds. Of the 9,123 detention hearings for 
Palestinians in 2006, only 23 hearings, approximately 0.29 percent, 
resulted in the defendant being found not guilty. DCI-Palestine, which 
represented several hundred Palestinian minors each year in Israeli 
military courts, claimed Israeli military justice officials had made 
only negligible improvements since 2006.

    Trial Procedures.--PA law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Defendants 
enjoy a presumption of innocence. Juries are not used. Trials are 
public, except when the court determines privacy is required by PA 
security, foreign relations, a party's or witness's right to privacy, 
or protection of a victim of a sexual offense or an ``honor'' crime. 
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an attorney 
in a timely matter during the trial, although during the investigation 
phase, the defendant only has the right to observe. The law provides 
for legal representation, at public expense if needed, in felony cases, 
but only during the trial phase. Defendants can confront or question 
witnesses against them or present witnesses and evidence during the 
trial, but not during the investigation phase; defendants may also 
review government-held evidence and have the right to appeal. 
Authorities generally observed these rights in practice.
    Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip follow the same criminal 
procedure law as the PA in the West Bank. However, Hamas does not use 
the same penal code as the PA in the West Bank, following instead the 
1936 penal code enacted by the British during the mandate period.
    Palestinians held by Israeli authorities in the West Bank or in 
Israel were subject to trial in Israeli military courts. Israelis 
living in settlements in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem were tried 
under Israeli civil law in the nearest Israeli district court.
    Signed confessions by Palestinian minors, which were written in 
Hebrew, a language most cannot read, constituted a source of evidence 
against minors prosecuted in Israeli military courts. Every Palestinian 
minor prosecuted in Israeli military courts during the year pleaded 
guilty; lawyers stated they were often reluctant to run full 
evidentiary hearings for fear the minor would remain longer in 
detention.
    According to HRW the August conviction of Abdullah Abu Rahmah, 
charged in relation to antibarrier protests in 2005 and 2009, did not 
specify particular events related to the charges against him and relied 
on statements in Hebrew signed by children unable to read the language 
that were later retracted. A court validated Abdullah Abu Rahmah's 
allegations of unfair trial and lack of proper investigation but 
acquitted him only partially (see section 2.b.).

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The PA during the year tried 
approximately 10 cases in which Palestinians were accused of 
collaborating with Israel. Following a Supreme Court ruling that found 
military court prosecution of civilians illegal, an unknown number of 
cases were transferred to governorate authorities during the year. 
Independent reports claimed that a variety of these cases may have 
included political prisoners. There were no statistics available on the 
number of political prisoners and detainees the PA may have held during 
the year.
    Hamas detained several hundred persons, allegedly because of their 
political affiliation, and held them for varying periods of time. 
Numerous allegations of denial of due process and some executions were 
associated with these detentions.
    There was no information at year's end about access to political 
prisoners by international humanitarian organizations.
    In two politically motivated events on April 12, Fatah stated that 
Hamas security forces raided the home of Fatah Revolutionary Council 
member Abdullah Abu Samhadana and later arrested Fatah official Ibrahim 
at-Tahrawi.
    Israel held noncitizen Palestinians in detention in Israel and in 
prisons in the West Bank. On March 28, the High Court of Justice 
rejected an NGO petition that called for a cessation of Palestinian 
prisoner and detainee transfers to Israeli territory inside the Green 
Line and an end to the use of military courts in such cases. PA 
officials claimed that at year's end there were 130 Palestinians held 
inside Israel serving sentences of at least 20 years--most were 
political and security prisoners.
    Ten Palestinians held by Israel were members of the PLC.
    On March 19, Israeli authorities arrested and held in 
administrative detention Hamas-affiliated PLC members Nezar Ramadan and 
Azzam Salhab; they were released without trial or charges on September 
8, according to Addameer.
    On October 18, Israeli soldiers arrested PLC member Hatem Qafisha, 
affiliated with Hamas via the ``Reform and Change Movement'' (Hamas' 
electoral campaign platform, see Section 3). Previously, authorities 
arrested Qafisha in 2007 and held him in administrative detention 
without charges or trial until November 2009. There were reports that 
he faced six months of administrative detention.
    On December 30, Israeli authorities rearrested Hamas politician 
Khalil al-Rabai in his Hebron home; al-Rabai previously served a three-
year prison term ending in 2009.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The PA civil and 
magistrate courts handled civil suits and were able to provide an 
independent and impartial judiciary in most matters. However, there 
were unconfirmed reports of various factions trying to influence 
judicial decisions. A citizen can file a suit against the Government, 
including on matters related to alleged abuses of human rights, but 
this was uncommon. There are administrative remedies available in 
addition to judicial remedies, but they were seldom used. The execution 
of court orders was not systematic.
    Gaza Strip residents may file civil suits, including those related 
to human rights violations. Unofficial anecdotal reports claimed that 
Gaza Strip courts operated independently of the Hamas government and 
were, at times, impartial. There were reports that enforcement of court 
orders improved.
    Israeli law permits Palestinians residing in the occupied 
territories to seek compensation for death, injury, or property damage 
at the hands of the IDF, but a 2002 law denies Palestinians the 
possibility of obtaining compensation in most cases for human rights 
abuses or injuries resulting from illegal acts by Israeli security 
forces. Amendments in 2005, which the High Court in 2006 partially 
overturned, added obstacles to Palestinian plaintiffs seeking 
compensation.

    Property Restitution.--When the IDF offered opportunities for 
compensation for demolished or seized homes, subject to an appraisal, 
verification, and appeals process, Palestinians generally refused, 
citing a desire not to legalize the confiscation. Due to documentation 
dating from the Ottoman period, a traditional land tenure system with 
communal, family, and individual rights commingled. According to 
Israeli-imposed definitions of land ownership, Palestinians had 
difficulty verifying ownership in Israeli courts (see section 1.f.).

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The PA required the attorney general to issue warrants 
for entry and searches of private property; however, Palestinian 
security services often ignored these requirements.
    Palestinian civilians targeted Israeli setters' properties. For 
example, on August 22, according to Israeli settlers in Shilo, 
Palestinians burned approximately 13 acres of settler-owned vineyards.
    Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip frequently interfered 
arbitrarily with personal privacy, family, and home, according to 
reporting from local media and NGO sources.
    There were no reports that Israeli security monitored private 
communications or movement of individuals without legal process. Under 
occupation orders only IDF officers of lieutenant colonel rank and 
above could authorize entry into Palestinian private homes and 
institutions in the West Bank without a warrant, based upon military 
necessity. There were no reported cases of IDF soldiers punished for 
acting contrary to this requirement.
    In the West Bank, Israel continued to demolish homes, other 
buildings, and other property constructed by Palestinians in areas of 
the West Bank under Israeli civil control on the basis that these 
buildings lacked Israeli planning licenses. Compensation was generally 
not offered in these cases. Properties 328 yards from the separation 
barrier or IDF military installations also remained subject to 
demolition or confiscation. There were 141 demolitions during the year. 
B'Tselem reported in July that more than 20 percent of the settlements' 
built-up areas rested on areas that Israel recognized as private 
Palestinian land. Exceptions to the November 2009 moratorium (which 
expired in September) on new residential settlement construction 
occurred on a case-by-case basis for projects with preexisting 
foundations and for public construction such as schools and 
infrastructure.
    During the year Israeli authorities demolished 113 houses and 240 
other commercial or community-use structures in ``Area C,'' which is 
under the full jurisdiction of Israeli civil and military authority. 
The demolitions affected 13,847 persons, including 7,777 children. This 
was a significant increase from the 191 demolitions in 2009, which 
affected 572 persons, including 332 children, according to UNOCHA. Many 
of these demolitions occurred in Bedouin and herder communities in the 
Tubas Governorate, where Israeli policies largely prohibit Palestinian 
construction.
    In March IDF personnel leveled several acres of Palestinian 
farmland in the West Bank village of Beit Jala to continue construction 
of the separation barrier, in some cases clearing land within feet of 
existing residential structures, according to NGO reporting. Lawyers 
representing several of the affected families stated that the IDF did 
not have valid orders and that the families did not have an opportunity 
to appeal the confiscations legally. A Palestinian family in the 
Bethlehem area whose property straddled the Jerusalem municipal 
boundary was encircled with fencing and concertina wire by the IDF; the 
family was allowed limited access in and out of the residence.
    On July 19, IDF personnel demolished more than 70 structures in the 
small farming village of al-Farisiya in the Jordan Valley; the action 
displaced 113 persons, approximately half of whom were children, 
according to NGO and media reports. Residents reported the village was 
designated a ``closed military zone,'' although military activity was 
not observed during the year. IDF troops returned on August 5 and 
demolished rebuilt structures.
    On October 12, the IDF confiscated 250 acres of Palestinian-owned 
land in the West Bank village of Jaloud, near the Israeli settlement of 
Eli, for military purposes. This order followed a series of incidents 
on October 10-13 in which the IDF, as well as Israeli settlers, 
separately bulldozed what residents claimed was Palestinian-owned land 
in the vicinity of existing Israeli settlements.
    In East Jerusalem home demolitions decreased significantly compared 
with 2009, although the Jerusalem Municipality demolished twice as many 
nonresidential structures (54 during the year, compared with 23 in 
2009), often affecting private family businesses. The Jerusalem 
Municipality demolished 24 homes in East Jerusalem that it stated were 
built without municipal permits, compared with 57 in 2009, although 
seven additional homes were demolished during the year by their owners 
after receiving a demolition notice to avoid being charged by the 
municipality for the cost of demolition.
    Construction did not begin at the site of the historic Shepherd 
Hotel in East Jerusalem, although municipal authorities issued 
construction permits for the site in March. In July 2009 the Jerusalem 
Municipality approved plans to construct two apartment buildings on the 
site of the hotel, owned by the Palestinian Husseini family from 1945 
to 1967; it was confiscated as absentee property by the Government of 
Israel in 1967 and privately purchased in the 1980s.
    In 2009 the court ruled against two Palestinian families living in 
the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shaykh Jarrah and ordered evictions 
for the Hanoun and al-Ghawi families, affecting 53 persons, including 
20 children. The Nakhalat Shimon group took control of the properties 
and submitted plans to demolish approximately 28 homes to make way for 
a new Israeli settlement, according to UNOCHA.
    In the Gaza Strip, B'Tselem reported that Israeli authorities 
destroyed 12 homes for alleged military purposes, displacing 38 
persons. The Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip also inhibited all mail 
delivery and importation of construction supplies.
    There were reports that East Jerusalem municipal authorities 
invaded Arab residents' privacy. According to ACRI some security 
cameras positioned in Arab neighborhoods pointed directly inside homes. 
Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem and the West Bank also claimed 
Israeli settlers and security guards often arbitrarily videotaped them 
in public.
    Israeli settlers reportedly continued to confiscate and vandalize 
Palestinian property during the year. As in previous years, violence 
and vandalism occurred during the autumn olive harvest, prompting 
disputes over land. By October 25, Israeli authorities had recorded 27 
official complaints about settler theft of olives from Palestinian 
trees. Israeli human rights organizations stated that the olive-harvest 
incidents indicated a new trend of disruptive activity by settlers 
towards Palestinians in the West Bank. Rabbis for Human Rights reported 
that approximately 600 trees were harvested near the Havat Gilad 
settlement before being harvested by their Palestinian owners. The ICRC 
reported in February that settlers had cut down, burned, or uprooted 
approximately 10,000 olive trees since 2008. There were no known 
investigations into the incidents. Affected Palestinians and human 
rights NGOs reported that the IDF was largely unresponsive to actions 
against Palestinians in the West Bank. The Israeli NGO Yesh Din 
reported in October that more than 90 percent of investigations into 
offenses against Palestinians carried out by Israeli settlers in the 
West Bank were unsuccessful. Yesh Din monitored 97 complaints filed 
against Israeli settlers for damage caused to Palestinian-owned trees; 
police closed every case due to unidentifiable perpetrators or 
insufficient evidence. Although IDF and Palestinian officials took 
steps for the first time to mitigate olive-harvest violence, in some 
instances Israeli security authorities reportedly prevented Palestinian 
farmers from accessing their land to harvest the crop.
    On August 17, according to residents of the West Bank village of 
Qusra, Israeli settlers from newly established settlement outposts 
attacked Palestinian olive groves, causing damage to hundreds of trees.
    In incidents throughout September and October, Israeli settlers in 
Shilo and Ariel confiscated farmland and cut down hundreds of 
Palestinian-owned olive trees, prompting retaliations by Palestinians, 
who reportedly cut down more than 100 settler olive trees, according to 
both NGO and media reporting.
    In September Israeli settlers harvested olives from Palestinian 
olive trees near Nablus and Qalqiliya, several weeks ahead of the 
traditional harvest season.
    Settlers also exploited religious tensions to harass Palestinian 
villages by vandalizing, breaking into, or burning at least three 
mosques. These incidents aimed to accomplish political ends, such as 
warning Israeli officials against supporting policies that limit 
settlers' presence in the West Bank, in a policy the settlers publicly 
referred to as ``price tag.''

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The PA Basic Law provides every 
person the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and expression, 
orally, in writing, or through any other form. The PA does not have 
laws specifically providing for freedom of press; however, PA 
institutions applied aspects of an unratified 1995 press law as de 
facto law. In practice, however, the PA security forces in the West 
Bank and members of the Hamas security apparatus in the Gaza Strip 
continued to restrict freedom of speech and press. Self-censorship 
continued as a result of political and social pressures.
    Although there is no PA law prohibiting criticism of the 
Government, there were reports that the Government was not fully 
tolerant of criticism. The PA prohibits calls for violence, displays of 
arms, and racist slogans but rarely enforced these provisions.
    Across the occupied territories, three Palestinian daily and 
several weekly newspapers, several monthly magazines, and three 
tabloids were published. There were approximately 25 television and 65 
radio stations; the PA operated one of each. Since 2008 several 
factional satellite stations opened, including the pro-Hamas al-Quds, 
established in 2008. Violence between Hamas and Fatah resulted in 
polarization of the Palestinian press. International news outlets 
continued to maintain offices and stringers in the Gaza Strip.
    During the year the PA ministries of information, interior, and 
telecommunications established and enforced the registration and 
licensing of local Palestinian television and radio stations. 
Registration fees ranged from 3,500 to 25,000 Jordanian dinars 
(approximately $5,000 to $35,000). During the year a number of smaller 
local radio and television stations were forced to close, at least 
temporarily, as they raised funds to cover the registration and annual 
licensing fees.
    PA security forces reportedly harassed, detained, and prosecuted 
journalists several times during the year due to their reporting. In 
the West Bank, PA security forces raided the offices of several 
independent media outlets suspected of filming local demonstrations. 
They confiscated videotapes and briefly detained several journalists 
working for Gaza-based media. PA security services reportedly 
threatened pro-Hamas journalists working in the West Bank and West 
Bank-based journalists working for the Gaza-based outlets.
    On May 11, PA intelligence services arrested Amer Abu Arfa, a 
correspondent of the Gaza-based Shihab news agency, in connection with 
his reporting. In June a PA court in Hebron sentenced him to three 
months in prison and a fine of 500 Jordanian dinars ($700) for 
``resisting the policies of the authorities.'' According to the 
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the PA considered the Shihab 
news agency pro-Hamas.
    On July 17, PA security forces raided the offices of the 
independent Watan television, reportedly because the outlet filmed a 
demonstration by the pan-Islamic political organization Hizb al-Tahrir.
    In January, according to the CPJ, a PA military court sentenced 
Tareq Abu Zaid, a reporter for the Gaza-based al-Aqsa satellite 
channel, to 18 months in prison for allegedly ``transferring 
information and money.'' The Palestinian Center for Development and 
Media Freedoms (MADA) and the International Freedom of Expression 
Exchange (IFEX) reported that Abu Zaid was arrested in November 2009 
because of his work as a correspondent for al-Aqsa television. On 
November 14, according to IFEX, PA authorities released Abu Zaid. The 
PA banned the Hamas-affiliated al-Aqsa television in 2007; however, 
since it is a satellite station, Palestinians living outside the Gaza 
Strip maintained access to it.
    The PA maintained a distribution ban in the West Bank on the twice-
weekly pro-Hamas al-Risala and the Filistin daily, both Gaza-based 
publications.
    For the first time in 10 years, the Palestinian Journalists 
Syndicate, a membership-based union representing the majority of 
Palestinian journalists based in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the 
Gaza Strip, with more than 400 journalists, held an election. The 
syndicate's new leadership laid out a detailed agenda of reforms, 
including the establishment and adoption of a set of bylaws and the 
development of ties with international organizations dedicated to the 
protection and promotion of journalists' rights.
    In the Gaza Strip, individuals publicly criticizing authorities 
risked reprisal by Hamas. On December 5, Hamas internal security forces 
dispersed a peace protest in which participants were criticizing the 
Government. In January 2009, according to HRW, an unidentified man 
criticized a Hamas leader in a conversation on the street. That 
evening, he stated, more than a dozen armed men with black masks took 
him from his home and shot him three times in the lower legs and 
ankles.
    Since 2007 only pro-Hamas broadcast media and the Voice of the 
People, a radio outlet affiliated with the terrorist organization 
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, operated in the Gaza 
Strip. Hamas maintained the closure of all Fatah-affiliated television 
and radio broadcast outlets in the Gaza Strip. The Fatah-allied 
Palestinian television and Voice of Palestine radio continued operating 
in Ramallah after relocating there from the Gaza Strip in 2007. Two 
other Fatah-affiliated radio stations in the Gaza Strip, al-Hurriyah 
and al-Shabab, remained off the air during the year.
    Journalists faced arrest, harassment, and other pressure from Hamas 
due to their reporting or political affiliation (see also section 1.d., 
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention). Hamas constrained 
journalists' freedom of movement during the year, banning access to 
Rafah and hospitals in the Gaza Strip. On several occasions during the 
year, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human 
Rights, Hamas detained journalists from independent and Fatah-
affiliated outlets.
    On August 14, Hamas raided the Gaza City Reuters office, following 
Reuters reporting about a violent Hamas-Salafist incident in Rafah.
    On November 10, Hamas representatives raided the Ramattan News 
Agency to stop a press conference hosted by the Palestinian National 
Action Committee.
    On December 13, Hamas authorities detained and questioned Ziad 
Ismail Awad, a contributor to the Kuwaiti television channel Wasl and 
the office director at the Fatah parliamentary bloc in the Gaza Strip. 
According to MADA, Awad stated that he was questioned about producing a 
television program depicting Palestinian suffering in the Gaza Strip 
and about his connections to the PLC. He was released that evening but 
reported poor treatment in detention.
    During the year Hamas continued to ban distribution of the PA's 
official daily, al-Hayat al-Jadida, in the Gaza Strip. On July 6, local 
Palestinian media reported that Israeli authorities agreed to allow the 
distribution of Palestinian newspapers into the Gaza Strip starting the 
following day. The purported change in policy represented the first 
time since February 2009 that Israel agreed to allow Palestinian 
newspapers to enter the Gaza Strip. The following day, despite the 
well-publicized announcement, Israeli authorities at the border 
crossing refused to allow the newspapers to enter the Gaza Strip. Both 
Hamas and Israeli authorities claimed that the other prevented 
circulation of the dailies.
    Israeli authorities placed limits on certain forms of expression in 
the occupied territories. For instance, in East Jerusalem, displays of 
Palestinian political symbols were punishable by fines or imprisonment, 
as were public expressions of anti-Israeli sentiment and of support for 
terrorist groups. Authorities reviewed Arabic publications for material 
perceived as a security threat; this review pertained to all Jerusalem-
based publications, but al-Quds was the only newspaper in the occupied 
territories subjected to regular Israeli censorship.
    As a general rule, Israeli media were able to cover the occupied 
territories, except for combat zones where the IDF temporarily 
restricted access, but closures, curfews, and checkpoints limited the 
ability of Palestinian and foreign journalists to do their jobs (see 
section 2.d.). Israel revoked the press credentials of the majority of 
Palestinian journalists during the Second Intifada in 2000, with the 
exception of a few Palestinian journalists who worked as stringers for 
prominent international media outlets. As a result most Palestinian 
journalists were unable to cover stories outside the Palestinian-
controlled areas of the West Bank.
    There were reports of Israeli authorities detaining or assaulting 
journalists during the year.
    On January 12, Israeli authorities detained and later deported 
Jared Malsin, editor in chief of the English-language section of the 
independent Bethlehem-based Ma'an News Agency. The CPJ reported that 
interrogation transcripts indicated Malsin was deemed a security risk 
because of his political beliefs and reporting.
    On January 28, Israeli forces reportedly assaulted a group of 
Palestinian journalists covering olive tree planting in the West Bank 
village of Burin. According to reports by MADA and the CPJ, soldiers 
informed the journalists that photographs were prohibited because the 
area is a closed military zone. When the reporters refused to stop 
taking photographs, the soldiers hit the reporters and attempted to 
seize their cameras before employing tear gas and stun grenades. 
According to MADA, there was no investigation or prosecution as a 
result of the incident.
    On April 30, the IDF prevented al-Jazeera from covering an 
antibarrier demonstration in Bil'in. Security forces arrested al 
Jazeera camera operator Maidi Bannoura and his assistant Nader Abu Zer, 
according to media reports. According to al-Jazeera, no investigation 
or prosecution took place as a result of the incident.

    Internet Freedom.--According to a report issued by the Palestinian 
Central Bureau of Statistics in 2009, 32.3 percent of Palestinians had 
access to the Internet. There were no PA restrictions on access to the 
Internet or reports that the PA monitored e-mail or Internet chat 
rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression 
of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
    On October 31, PA authorities arrested Walid Husayin, a 26-year-old 
barber from Qalqilya, and charged him with insulting Islam after he 
posted provocative comments about atheism on his blog and on social 
media. At year's end he had not been granted a trial and remained in 
prison.
    Hamas did not restrict Internet access; however, based on anecdotal 
reports from Palestinian civil society organizations and social media 
practitioners, Hamas authorities monitored Internet activities and 
postings of Gaza Strip residents. Individuals posting negative reports 
or commentary about Hamas, its policies, or affiliated organizations 
faced questioning and were at times required to remove or modify online 
postings. No information was available regarding punishment for not 
complying with such demands.
    In June Hamas authorities arrested Sri Mohammed Qudwah, the editor 
of the online al-Sabah newspaper, and confiscated his equipment, 
according to Freedom House.
    Israeli authorities did not restrict access to the Internet; 
however, they monitored some Internet activity. In March 2009 the IDF 
central military censor began to monitor blogs, and there was at least 
one report that the IDF monitored Internet chat rooms during the year.
    On March 20, the IDF reportedly arrested Moatasem Nazzal, a 16-
year-old from Qalandiya refugee camp, in his home and held him in 
administrative detention, which was renewed twice. During interrogation 
the IDF allegedly asked Nazzal about his Internet friendship with a 
Gaza Strip resident, whom he met in an Internet chat room.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--In the West Bank, the PA did 
not place restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. During 
the year Palestinian authorities did not interfere with education; 
however, restrictions on movement adversely affected academic 
institutions in the West Bank, and violence affected them in the Gaza 
Strip (see section 2.b.).
    In the Gaza Strip, Hamas and other groups sought to disrupt UN-run 
academic programs that did not teach a strict interpretation of Islam. 
Twenty-five masked men of unknown affiliation burned and vandalized a 
UN summer camp on June 27; the perpetrators accused the UN of 
corrupting Gazan youth with a summer program of human rights studies, 
games, and sports.
    Israeli authorities generally did not permit students from the Gaza 
Strip to attend West Bank universities. On July 7, the Israeli High 
Court rejected a petition submitted by the Israeli NGO Gisha and the 
Palestinian NGO al-Mezan on behalf of Fatma Sharif, a human rights 
lawyer in the Gaza Strip, who had been accepted into a master's degree 
program in human rights and democracy studies at Bir Zeit University in 
the West Bank, explaining that it would not intervene with the existing 
policy.
    However, in August the Israeli coordinator of government activities 
in the occupied territories granted three Gazans short-term renewable 
permits to pursue their undergraduate studies in the West Bank.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--Palestinian law permits public meetings, processions, and 
assemblies within legal limits. It requires permits for rallies, 
demonstrations, and large cultural events, and authorities rarely 
denied them. However, there was at least one example of PA forces 
disrupting a meeting during the year.
    On August 25, according to several NGO and political activists, PA 
security officials disrupted a meeting of political activists and 
members of civil society organizations who were discussing Palestinian 
negotiations with Israel. NGOs and press reports claimed that 
plainclothes officers disrupted the event and initiated small 
altercations with the activists. On August 30, PA Prime Minister Fayyad 
issued a public apology for the disruption of the event; on September 
1, the organizers of the original conference staged a public rally 
without incident.
    Following the 2007 Fatah-Hamas clashes in the Gaza Strip, Hamas 
banned rallies and impeded freedom of assembly for Fatah members. In 
2008 Hamas decreed that any public assembly or celebration in the Gaza 
Strip required prior permission, in contradiction to the PA basic law.
    From the beginning of the year, according to B'Tselem reports, the 
IDF implemented for the first time since the Oslo peace process, a 
military order that effectively prohibited Palestinian demonstrations 
and limited freedom of speech in the West Bank. The regulations 
stipulate that a gathering of 10 or more persons requires a permit from 
the regional commander of military forces if the event relates to any 
``political subject'' or might be construed as such. The penalty for a 
breach of the order is 10 years' imprisonment or a heavy fine. 
According to IDF statistics requested by B'Tselem, there was one 
conviction during the year under the order.
    Israeli security forces used force against Palestinians and others 
involved in demonstrations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, killing 
two West Bank protesters and one antibarrier demonstrator during the 
year. The IDF used force particularly against protests by the Popular 
Resistance Committee against the construction of the separation 
barrier.
    On January 15, the Jerusalem District Police arrested 17 
demonstrators during a nonviolent protest in Jerusalem, including Hagai 
El-Ad, ACRI's executive director. The demonstrators claimed authorities 
detained them for 36 hours, then released them without condition after 
the Jerusalem Magistrate Court ruled that there was no legal cause for 
their arrest. ACRI stated the arrests exemplified what it described as 
a growing trend by the police to disperse demonstrators unlawfully and 
conduct arbitrary arrests to intimidate demonstrators.
    In February the IDF Central Command designated the areas adjacent 
to the separation barrier in the villages of Bil'in and Ni'lin as 
closed military areas every Friday during the hours in which 
Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists regularly 
demonstrated. There were frequent skirmishes between the antibarrier 
protesters and IDF personnel. IDF and Israeli police personnel 
stationed on the far side of the barrier during weekly protests in 
Bil'in and Ni'lin, for instance, responded to rock throwing with tear 
gas, stun grenades, sound bombs, and rubber-coated bullets. During the 
year Israeli forces began using a specially treated water to disperse 
the crowds; sprayed as a mist, it has an overwhelming odor of sewage 
that lasts for days and can induce vomiting. B'Tselem reported that 
Israeli forces also arrested many demonstration organizers, holding 
some of them without charge for periods of up to three weeks, and 
deported some foreign participants. The IDF continued to detain 80 
residents of Bil'in since 2005.
    In December 2009 Israeli authorities arrested Abdullah Abu Rahmah 
of the Bil'in Popular Committee and charged him in a military court 
with arms possession, stone throwing, incitement, and illegal assembly. 
In August the court acquitted Abu Rahmah of the charges of arms 
possession and stone throwing but convicted him on charges of 
incitement (defined as ``the attempt, verbally or otherwise, to 
influence public opinion in the area in a way that may disturb the 
public peace or public order'') and illegal assembly. On October 11, 
the court sentenced Abu Rahmah to one year in prison including time 
served, setting a release date of November 18. The military prosecutor 
appealed Abu Rahmah's sentence prior to his release date, asking that 
his release be delayed ``to serve as a deterrent not only to [Abu 
Rahmah] himself, but also to others who may follow in his footsteps.'' 
The court increased Abu Rahmah's sentence to 16 months. Several NGOs 
estimated that the strict sentence was also an attempt by Israeli 
authorities to intimidate Palestinian protesters.
    During the year Israeli authorities also arrested demonstrators 
protesting land ownership decisions, particularly in the East Jerusalem 
neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. On March 4, the Israeli High Court of 
Justice ruled that police in Jerusalem had been overly restrictive in 
barring protests near contested properties in the Sheikh Jarrah area; 
the ruling temporarily prompted increased turnout at the weekly 
protests.

    Freedom of Association.--In the West Bank, the PA law allowed for 
freedom of association, but it was sometimes limited in practice.
    In the Gaza Strip, Hamas attempted to prevent various organizations 
from operating. On October 12, security forces reportedly closed the 
Gaza headquarters of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate without 
prior notification or explanation. In November Hamas blocked a 
conciliatory International Federation of Journalists meeting that aimed 
to connect West Bank and Gaza journalists.
    In July 2009 Hamas closed at least 45 NGO offices. Most of the NGOs 
were Fatah-affiliated, but a number were politically independent.
    Israel maintained prohibitions on at least seven prominent East 
Jerusalem-based Palestinian institutions--the Orient House, the de 
facto PLO office in Jerusalem, the East Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce, 
the Higher Arab Council for Tourism, the Palestine Research Center, the 
Palestinian Prisoners Club, and the Social Research Office--claiming 
that the groups violated the Oslo Accords by operating on behalf of the 
PA in Jerusalem.
    On January 11, IDF and Israeli immigration officials entered 
Ramallah and arrested a Czech activist with the International 
Solidarity Movement (ISM), later deporting her on the basis that she 
lacked a valid Israeli visa. On February 7, according to local press 
reports, Israeli officials detained two foreign ISM activists; both 
were released on February 8 following their agreement not to reenter 
the West Bank. The ISM's stated purpose is to strengthen Palestinian 
popular resistance to the Israeli occupation through ``direct-action'' 
methods, such as demonstrations and protests.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The Basic Law provides for freedom of 
movement, and the PA generally did not restrict freedom of movement. 
The Basic Law does not specify regulations regarding foreign travel, 
emigration, or repatriation.
    Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip enforced movement restrictions 
on Gazans attempting to exit to Israel via the Erez Crossing and 
maintained more relaxed restrictions on transfer to Egypt via the Rafah 
Crossing; Hamas authorities did not appear to enforce routine 
restrictions on internal movement within the Gaza Strip, although there 
were some ``no go'' areas to which Hamas prohibited access.
    The PA, Hamas, and Israel governments generally cooperated with the 
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons and refugees, although the ability of the UN Relief 
and Works Agency (UNRWA) to operate freely in Gaza was constrained by 
both Hamas and Israeli officials.
    The IDF restricted Palestinians' movement within the occupied 
territories and for foreign travel, and it heightened these 
restrictions at times, citing military necessity. Barriers to movement 
included checkpoints, a separation barrier between the West Bank and 
Israel, internal road closures, and a blockade on the Gaza Strip. 
Restrictions on movement affected virtually all aspects of life, 
including access to places of worship, employment, agricultural lands, 
schools, hospitals, and the conduct of journalism, humanitarian, and 
NGO activities. During the year the IDF relaxed restrictions at several 
checkpoints and roads that previously posed significant barriers to 
movement by Palestinian populations between the West Bank and urban 
centers. Nevertheless, according to UNOCHA, as of June there were 505 
obstacles to movement inside the West Bank, identified as follows: 66 
fully manned checkpoints, 20 occasionally manned checkpoints, 106 road 
gates, 167 earth mounds, 46 road barriers, 70 roadblocks, 20 earth 
walls, and 10 trenches.
    According to UNOCHA, the Israeli government largely halted the 
remaining planned construction of a separation barrier along parts of 
the Green Line (the 1949 Armistice line) and in the West Bank, mostly 
due to a lack of political will and an overall increase in security. If 
completed, the barrier would separate approximately 9.5 percent of the 
West Bank (135,000 acres inhabited by up to 50,000 Palestinians), 
including parts of Jerusalem, from the rest of the West Bank territory 
in a ``seam zone.'' Israel continued to restrict movement and 
development within this area, including access by some international 
organizations. During the year approximately 34 of the checkpoints 
along the separation barrier were restricted to Israelis and 
Palestinians with permits. Palestinians with worker permits were 
required to pass through one of 11 pedestrian crossings. Palestinians 
with permits, those working in international organizations, and 
biometric card holders and their immediate families were able to pass 
in vehicles through any of the crossings. A 2003 petition by the NGO 
HaMoked against the legality of the permit system had not been ruled on 
by year's end, although a 2004 International Criminal Court advisory 
body deemed the barrier contrary to international law.
    Private security companies employed by the Israeli government 
controlled points of access through the barrier, and international 
organizations and local human rights groups claimed these companies did 
not respond to requests to move goods and officials through the 
barrier. The barrier affected the commutes of school children living on 
its eastern side and attending school in Jerusalem. For example, 
students from Bir Nabala, which is surrounded by the barrier, took 
detours of seven to 10 miles to pass through checkpoints to reach 
school. The barrier and the permit system also affected some farmers 
who were separated from land and water resources, which curtailed 
agricultural practice and resulted in deterioration of the harvest 
quality and quantity.
    Operating hours of the accessible gates were limited and erratic, 
although usually announced. Crossing procedures were relaxed at some 
checkpoints to the east of the separation barrier; Israeli authorities 
lifted permit requirements, extended operating hours, and performed 
fewer searches and random documentation checks in comparison with 
previous years, especially during holidays.
    Israeli authorities frequently prohibited travel between some or 
all West Bank towns. Palestinians who lived in affected villages stated 
that such ``internal closures,'' which could last years, had negative 
economic effects. During periods of potential unrest and during major 
Israeli, Jewish, and Muslim holidays, Israeli authorities enacted 
``comprehensive external closures,'' which precluded Palestinians from 
leaving the West Bank. The IDF also imposed temporary curfews confining 
Palestinians to their homes during arrest operations.
    Although Israeli authorities reopened Route 354 and Route 443, with 
some restrictions to Palestinian traffic, three other roadblocks on 
Route 60 impeded movement for tens of thousands of residents of 
Palestinian villages south of Hebron, cutting direct access for 
businesses to the city's commercial center. Palestinians not resident 
in the Jordan Valley generally were unable to drive on the main north-
south route, Highway 90.
    The blockade on the Gaza Strip imposed by Israel since 2007 
continued its significant effect on the population in the Gaza Strip, 
according to the UNRWA and other humanitarian and human rights groups. 
The UN estimated that 80 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip 
relied on international food aid during the year. International and 
Israeli human rights organizations described the blockade as 
``collective punishment'' of the residents of the Gaza Strip, as it 
restricted access to basic goods and prevented civilians from temporary 
travel abroad or changing their place of residence permanently. During 
the year Israel eased the blockade, but with only one open commercial 
crossing, the number of truckloads entering the Gaza Strip each week 
was less than 40 percent of that before the blockade began.
    Israel's strict closure on the Gaza Strip also resulted in the 
cessation of postal services. Humanitarian organizations reported that 
the closure significantly hindered their ability to operate and limited 
opportunities for Gazans to communicate with family and friends outside 
the Gaza Strip.
    The UNRWA operated 228 schools with more than 206,000 students in 
the Gaza Strip, but the agency claimed its capacity was severely 
overstretched by the Israeli blockade and that restrictions on movement 
and access undermined its ability to provide education. UNRWA schools 
in the Gaza Strip ran on a double-shift in ``compressed learning 
periods'' and were severely overcrowded with as many as 50 students per 
classroom. Thousands of students were schooled in makeshift classrooms, 
including one school serving 865 students built entirely from shipping 
containers.
    Essential infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, including water and 
sanitation services, was in a state of severe disrepair due in part to 
an inability to bring in spare parts and components under the blockade. 
The sewage and water systems were frequently inoperable, and as a 
result approximately 21 million gallons of raw or partially treated 
sewage was pumped into the ocean each day, according to the UNRWA. 
Israel prohibited private sector companies from importing cement and 
gravel; entry of these goods was permitted only for specific UN or 
other internationally coordinated projects. As a result Gaza Strip 
residents lacked the necessary supplies to rebuild homes destroyed 
during Operation Cast Lead.
    Personal travel in and out of the Gaza Strip was limited to one 
crossing point and was restricted to humanitarian cases only; however, 
Israeli authorities denied many Gazans access to Israel and Egypt for 
medical treatment and detained some during the year. PHR-Israel claimed 
that, based on security considerations, Israeli authorities did not 
issue medical or humanitarian exit permits to Palestinians in the Gaza 
Strip regardless of professional medical opinions. Israeli authorities 
also rejected requests for Palestinians to exit the Gaza Strip for 
medical treatment due to fears that the patients might emigrate and 
unite with family in the West Bank. On January 11, various NGOs, 
including al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, Adalah Legal Center, and 
PHR-Israel, petitioned the attorney general against the practice of 
detaining patients at the border, but on March 2, the General Security 
Service stated that Israel may legally arrest persons at the border 
seeking medical treatment.
    In March 2009 the Israeli Ministry of Defense released a detailed 
rubric for determining whether a resident of the Gaza Strip may be 
permitted exit and entry under exceptional humanitarian cases. Between 
January and June, Israel refused exit to all of the 1,095 orthopedic 
and neurology patients in need of medical treatment; in June Israeli 
authorities told PHR-Israel that hip and knee replacements did ``not 
meet the criteria `` for issuing exit permits. In January Israel 
prevented 17 patients from going to Ramallah for cornea transplants, 
resulting in the disposal of the donated organs.
    Movement to the West Bank from Gaza was severely restricted to a 
limited number of Palestinians holding Israeli-issued permits. In one 
case, Israeli authorities refused to allow Issam Hamdan, a 40-year-old 
man suffering severe back pain, to enter Israel to receive specialized 
medical care in Jerusalem because Israeli authorities suspected he 
might reunite with his wife and four children in the West Bank. On 
February 9, the NGOs PHR-Israel and Gisha filed a petition before the 
Supreme Court on behalf of Hamdan, prompting Israeli authorities to 
withdraw objection and allow him to seek treatment in Jerusalem.
    On October 16, two-year-old Gazan Nasma Abu Lashee died of 
treatable leukemia while waiting for permission from Israeli 
authorities to receive treatment in Israel.
    Israel continued to enforce restrictions on access to farmland in 
the Gaza Strip near the border with Israel and to fishing areas along 
the coast, with the stated intention of preventing attacks by 
Palestinian armed factions. Israel on average enforced an approximately 
1,000 yard-wide ``buffer zone'' and at times fired warning shots as far 
away as 1,640 yards from the border, according to UNOCHA (see also 
section 1.a.). The ``buffer zone'' encompassed approximately 24 square 
miles, representing 17 percent of the Gaza Strip's total land mass. 
UNOCHA estimated that nearly 35 percent of the Gaza Strip's cultivable 
land was located within the restricted area.
    Eighty percent of the maritime area designated accessible to Gazans 
under the Oslo Accords remained off-limits; the IDF implemented a 
three-nautical-mile-wide limit that was strictly enforced by Israeli 
naval patrol boats. In the northern Gaza Strip, Israel prevented 
Palestinians from accessing a 1.5-nautical-mile-wide strip along the 
maritime boundary with Israel and a one-nautical-mile-wide strip in the 
south, along the maritime boundary with Egypt, as established in the 
1994 Gaza-Jericho Agreement. Israeli naval forces regularly fired 
warning shots at Palestinian fishermen entering the restricted sea 
areas, in some cases directly targeting the fishermen, according to 
UNOCHA. The Israeli military often confiscated fishing boats 
intercepted in these areas and detained the fishermen.
    IDF soldiers at checkpoints sometimes subjected Palestine Red 
Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulances from the West Bank to delays or 
refused entry to Jerusalem, for security reasons. Patients were moved 
across checkpoints from one ambulance to another. The PRCS reported 
violations against its teams and humanitarian services during the year. 
Most incidents (159) included blocking access to those in need, 
preventing their transport to specialized medical centers, or 
maintaining delays on checkpoints for periods ranging from 30 minutes 
to two hours. Most incidents (142) took place on checkpoints leading to 
Jerusalem, while the remainder took place on other checkpoints circling 
the West Bank.
    On April 13, Israeli Military Order 1650 went into effect, 
broadening the definition of ``infiltrator'' in the Prevention of 
Infiltration Law to include anyone who enters the West Bank unlawfully 
or any persons in the West Bank without permits, making them subject to 
criminal charges and potential deportation to the Gaza Strip. 
Palestinians and human rights NGOs expressed concern about whether the 
order legalized the deportation of up to 35,000 Palestinians living in 
the West Bank with registered Gaza Strip addresses. In 2000 Israel 
stopped updating changes in address for Palestinians who moved from the 
Gaza Strip to the West Bank. As a result thousands of Palestinians, 
originally from the Gaza Strip but living in the West Bank for many 
years, continued to hold identity cards with home addresses in the Gaza 
Strip. There were reports that Palestinians were deported to the Gaza 
Strip border on these grounds during the year.
    On April 21, Israeli authorities transferred West Bank resident 
Ahmad Sabbah Said to the Gaza Strip following his release from an 
Israeli prison, where he had served a nine-year sentence on charges for 
offenses committed during the Second Intifada. Several NGOs claimed he 
was transferred immediately, without a judicial review. Authorities 
justified the deportation by his possession of an identity card issued 
in the Gaza Strip, where he lived for one year in the 1990s. Sabbah's 
wife and children remained in the West Bank city of Tulkarem.
    On April 27, the Israeli government expelled 19-year-old Hebron 
resident Fadi Aiada al-Azazma to the Gaza Strip. According to HaMoked, 
al-Azazma was taken into custody from his workplace and transferred to 
the Gaza Strip hours later, without a judicial review. Al-Azazma was 
born in the Gaza Strip but moved to the West Bank with his family when 
he was seven years old.
    Israeli authorities delivered both deportees to the Erez crossing 
point at the northern end of the Gaza Strip. According to press 
reports, Hamas refused to allow either Sabbah or al-Azazma to pass 
through a checkpoint inside the border so as not to ``legitimize'' 
Israel's removal of Gazan identity card holders from the West Bank. 
Both remained in a tent for more than one month in the area between the 
Israeli and Hamas positions; however, both were living in the Gaza 
Strip at year's end, according to reports.
    The IDF since 2000 restricted Gazan students from studying in the 
West Bank or Israel and limited West Bank Palestinians from university 
study in East Jerusalem and Israel (see section 2.a.). During the year 
students were allowed to leave the Gaza Strip only when escorted by 
foreign diplomats or contractors of the country accepting them for 
study. Some students from the Gaza Strip accepted for university study 
abroad were unable to apply for visas in Jerusalem and were therefore 
prevented from leaving for further education abroad.
    The PA issued passports for Palestinians in the West Bank and the 
Gaza Strip. Because there were no commercial flights from the occupied 
territories, and permits to use Ben Gurion airport were not available, 
travelers departed by land to Jordan or Egypt. Foreign citizens of 
Palestinian ethnicity had difficulty obtaining or renewing visas 
permitting them to enter Israel from either Ben Gurion airport or land 
entry points.
    Palestinians possessing Jerusalem identity cards issued by the 
Israeli government needed special documents to travel abroad. Upon the 
individual request of Palestinians, the Jordanian government issued 
them passports.
    Residency restrictions affected family reunification, as it did not 
qualify as a reason to enter the West Bank. For any child, access to a 
parent in the West Bank was permitted only if no other relative was 
resident in the Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities did not permit 
Palestinians who were abroad during the 1967 War, or whose residence 
permits the Government subsequently withdrew, to reside permanently in 
the occupied territories. It was difficult for foreign-born spouses and 
children of Palestinians to obtain residency. Palestinian spouses of 
Jerusalem residents were required to obtain a residency permit and 
reported delays of several years in obtaining them. Palestinians in 
Jerusalem also reported delays in registering newborn children.
    The PA basic law prohibits forced exile, and the PA did not use 
forced exile.
    In practice Israeli revocations of Jerusalem identity cards 
amounted to forced exile to the occupied territories or abroad and have 
continued in recent years. There were no statistics on residency 
revocations available at year's end. According to HaMoked, the Ministry 
of Interior revoked the Jerusalem residency of more than 700 
Palestinians in 2009. In 2008 the Ministry of Interior revoked the 
residency of 4,577 Palestinians in East Jerusalem, including 99 minors. 
The number of cases of residency revocation in 2008 alone was equal to 
approximately one-half the total number of cases of residency 
revocation between 1967 and 2007. Reasons for revocation include having 
acquired residency or citizenship in a third country, living abroad for 
more than seven years, or, most commonly, being unable to prove a 
``center of life'' in Jerusalem. Some Palestinians born in Jerusalem 
but who studied abroad reported losing their Jerusalem residency 
status.
    On June 3, the Israeli National Police notified four Hamas-
affiliated PLC members of the revocation of their Jerusalem residency 
status, according to the Civic Coalition for Defending Palestinian 
Rights and press reports. The decision to revoke their Jerusalem 
residency permits came from the Israeli Ministry of Interior shortly 
after their election to the PLC in 2006. Israeli authorities arrested 
and detained the four individuals for three years; three were released 
during the year and continued to reside in Jerusalem under the 
administration of the ICRC, and the fourth remained in detention at 
year's end awaiting trial on illegal presence charges.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--There were approximately 
20,500 IDPs in the occupied territories, nearly all of whom remained 
displaced as a result of Operation Cast Lead. Although they have no 
specific legislation to protect IDPs along UN principles and 
guidelines, West Bank and Gaza Strip authorities are bound by 
international human rights laws underlying these obligations on 
displacement. The PA provided some assistance to those displaced 
through rental subsidies and financial assistance to reconstruct 
demolished houses. The UNRWA and humanitarian organizations provided 
services to aid IDPs in the Gaza Strip.
    During the year the UNRWA provided rental assistance to 
approximately 2,000 families whose shelters were destroyed during 
hostilities, assisted with the living expenses of 3,810 families whose 
shelters were destroyed or severely damaged during hostilities, and 
identified 10,283 families whose shelters needed to be fully rebuilt. 
In March the UNRWA received approval to import construction materials 
to complete the construction of 151 shelters in Khan Younis, which had 
been stalled since Israel imposed the Gaza Strip blockade in 2007. 
However, due to the requirement that UN projects be approved on a case-
by-case basis and the general ban on the importation of cement and 
gravel, the UNRWA was unable to begin construction on any additional 
shelters. The UNRWA continued to provide psychological support and 
counseling, including for children traumatized by hostilities with 
Israel, through its community mental health program.
    During the year according to the UNRWA, the Israeli government 
obstructed IDP access to UNRWA-provided humanitarian assistance in 
refugee communities in at least 339 incidents in parts of the West 
Bank, causing lengthy detours.
    The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center reported that Israeli 
demolition of Palestinian property in East Jerusalem added to the 
threat of displacement for Palestinians (see section 1.f.).

    Protection of Refugees.--There were no reports of persons seeking 
asylum or residence in the occupied territories.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 the 132-member PLC 
was elected in a process under the Basic Law that international 
observers concluded generally met democratic standards in providing 
citizens the right to change their government peacefully. Hamas-backed 
candidates participated in the 2006 PLC elections under the name 
``Reform and Change Movement,'' rather than ``Hamas,'' and won 74 of 
132 seats. Fatah won 45 seats; independents and candidates from third 
parties won the remaining seats. The PLC lacked a quorum and did not 
meet during the year. Although the Israeli government and the PA 
followed mutually agreed guidelines for Palestinians residing in 
Jerusalem to vote in 2005 and 2006, not all Palestinians were allowed 
to vote in East Jerusalem, and those who could vote were required to do 
so via post offices (of which there were few), thereby complicating 
their efforts to vote.
    On June 10, immediately before candidate registration ended, the PA 
canceled municipal elections scheduled for July. The Hamas and Islamic 
Jihad parties had pledged to boycott the elections, and various Fatah 
members claimed plans to run as independents. The Ministry of Local 
Government stated that the decision to postpone came in response to the 
demands of some Arab nations and a number of ``friends in the world.'' 
The calls from abroad reportedly advised the PA to postpone the 
elections ``to pave the way for a successful end to the siege on the 
Gaza Strip and for continued efforts at unity,'' the statement 
explained.
    There were 17 women in the 132-member PLC (which was not called 
into session) and three women in the 16-member cabinet. There were 
seven Christians in the PLC and two in the cabinet.
    Civil society organizations in the Gaza Strip claimed Hamas 
authorities and other conservative Islamist groups did not tolerate 
public dissent, opponents, or the promotion of values that ran contrary 
to their political and religious ideology.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Palestinian law provides criminal penalties for official 
corruption. The PA operated a functioning anticorruption commission, 
special prosecutors, and an anticorruption court consisting of a panel 
of three judges. PA ministers were subject to financial disclosure 
laws. The PA attorney general had official responsibility for combating 
government corruption. Nevertheless, there were allegations of corrupt 
practices among Fatah officials, particularly in the theft of public 
funds and international assistance money. Supervisors dismissed 
anticorruption unit head Fahmi Shabaneh in 2009 after he uncovered a 
sex scandal relating to one of President Abbas' aides.
    In the Gaza Strip, local observers and NGOs alleged instances of 
Hamas complicity in corrupt practices, including involvement by the 
Hamas Executive Force, but access to information and reporting were 
severely inhibited.
    PA law requires official PA institutions to ``facilitate'' 
acquisition of requested documents or information by any Palestinian, 
but it does not require agencies to provide such information. Reasons 
for denial generally referred to privacy rights and security necessity.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Palestinian human rights groups and several international 
organizations generally operated without PA restriction, and officials 
cooperated with their efforts to monitor the PA's human rights 
practices.
    PA officials generally cooperated with and permitted visits by UN 
representatives or other organizations, such as the ICRC. Several PA 
security agencies, including the General Intelligence Service and the 
Civil Police, appointed official liaisons with human rights groups.
    The quasi-governmental ICHR continued serving as the PA's ombudsman 
and human rights commission. The ICHR issued monthly and annual reports 
on human rights violations within Palestinian-controlled areas; the 
ICHR also issued formal recommendations to the PA.
    In the Gaza Strip, Hamas authorities pressed international and 
local aid organizations providing emergency assistance to coordinate 
relief efforts with the Hamas-controlled ``Ministry of Social 
Affairs.'' Several Gaza-based NGOs reported that Hamas prevented aid 
groups from distributing assistance after they refused to comply with 
Hamas regulations. Gaza-based NGOs reported that Hamas representatives 
appeared at their offices to assure compliance and summoned NGO 
representatives to police stations for questioning. On May 24, Hamas 
authorities prevented the ICHR from holding a press conference to 
release its annual human rights report.
    Israeli, Palestinian, and international NGOs monitored the Israeli 
government's practices in the occupied territories and published their 
findings, although restrictions on freedom of movement in the West 
Bank, fighting, and access restrictions in the Gaza Strip made it 
difficult to carry out their work. The Israeli government permitted 
some human rights groups to publish and hold press conferences; it 
provided the ICRC with access to most detainees.
    On January 31, several NGOs including B'Tselem, Gisha, Yesh Din, 
and PHR-Israel, submitted a complaint to Israel's president and prime 
minister regarding the Government's obstruction of their work in the 
occupied territories. They claimed that Shin Bet had summoned 
demonstrators and human rights activists for investigation and, in some 
cases, warned activists that they must refrain from political activity. 
The NGOs claimed that Israeli military authorities placed severe 
restrictions on organizations working in the occupied territories to 
provide medical care, accompany residents to their agricultural work 
and children to school, and help residents file complaints of violence 
by Israeli security forces or settlers.
    Also in January the Association of International Development 
Agencies (AIDA), an umbrella organization for NGOs operating in the 
occupied territories, reported that Israel ceased issuing the 
appropriate type of work visa to foreign nationals working for most 
international NGOs operating in the occupied territories. The 
Government instead issued most of these employees tourist visas, which 
do not permit employment, and some visas permitted only a single entry. 
AIDA claimed the new visa policy would impinge upon the international 
NGO community's ability to recruit international staff and operate in 
Jerusalem, where many NGOs keep offices. The decision does not apply to 
the 12 organizations, including the ICRC, that were active in the West 
Bank prior to 1967.
    International NGOs reported continued difficulty accessing ``seam 
zone'' communities in the northwestern West Bank, particularly Barta'a 
al-Sharqiya in the Jenin Governorate, due to excessive demands for 
searches of personnel, including UN employees, based on their 
nationality.
    Israeli authorities throughout the year prevented PHR-Israel's 
medical delegations from entering the Gaza Strip to provide treatment 
and medical counseling, perform surgery, train Palestinian medical 
staff, distribute medication, and refer patients for follow-up 
treatment in Israeli hospitals. Israeli authorities also rejected two 
requests by a medical delegation from the Musallam Center in Ramallah 
to enter the Gaza Strip to perform eye surgery and cornea transplants, 
according to PHR-Israel.
    UN organizations and international NGOs criticized the Israeli 
government in regard to the May 31 flotilla incident, exclusion of the 
West Bank and Gaza Strip from the application of the UN Convention on 
the Rights of the Child, and the protection of human rights during the 
2008-09 Operation Cast Lead incursion into the Gaza Strip (see Israel, 
section 5).

Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses
    Women.--Rape is illegal under PA law, but the legal definition does 
not address spousal rape. Punishment for rape is five to 15 years in 
prison.
    PA law does not explicitly prohibit domestic violence, but assault 
and battery are crimes. A woman must provide two eyewitnesses (who are 
not relatives) to initiate divorce on the grounds of spousal abuse. 
According to HRW few domestic violence cases have been successfully 
prosecuted in recent years. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau 
of Statistics, violence against wives, especially psychological 
violence, was common in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Specifically, 
a 2009 survey by the Palestinian Women's Information and Media Center 
found that 52 percent of Gazan women faced regular physical violence 
and 14 percent were subjected to sexual violence. Thirty-seven percent 
of women in the Gaza Strip cited domestic violence as the primary 
safety problem facing women and girls in their communities, according 
to a 2009 survey conducted by the UN Gender Task Force. The results 
reported increases in domestic violence against women among households 
displaced by conflict. Displaced women were more likely than other 
women to say they feel unsafe using a bathing or latrine facility, and 
they also cited a greater lack of reliable sanitary materials.
    During the year the UNRWA initiated a referral mechanism for 
refugee women who are victims of violence in the West Bank and the Gaza 
Strip. In some cases women approached village or religious leaders for 
assistance. The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed 
Forces (DCAF) conducted a study of women's issues in the occupied 
territories in 2009, reporting that many women and girls were reluctant 
to resort to women's organizations, human rights organizations, or 
security and justice providers, such as the police and courts, because 
of the strong social stigma attached to reporting abuses. Many women 
and girls stated they believed the legal system discriminated against 
women.
    Sexual harassment was a highly sensitive issue in the occupied 
territories, particularly abuses committed by family members. The DCAF 
reported that Palestinian women and girls claimed public harassment was 
commonplace; reports of verbal harassment, unwanted flirting, and 
inappropriate touching were frequent, causing anxiety and apprehension 
in some young women and girls. The DCAF and other NGOs reported that 
for some women, cultural taboos and fear of scandal compelled them to 
remain silent. Some young women claimed that they were held responsible 
for ``provoking'' men's harassing behavior.
    The ICHR reported no ``honor'' killings in the Palestinian 
territories during the year. According to NGO reports, the Jordanian 
penal code, as applied in the West Bank by the PA, reduces the penalty 
for honor-based killings.
    Couples and individuals in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East 
Jerusalem had access to contraception. Information regarding family 
planning was lacking, although the UNRWA held workshops for Palestinian 
men, underscoring their role in family planning. High workload, poor 
compensation, and resource shortages continued to affect skilled 
attendance during labor and postpartum care, much of which was provided 
by midwives. There was no reliable data on figures of maternal 
mortality in the occupied territories. While governmental authorities 
and community and international NGOs operated HIV/AIDS education, 
prevention, and screening programs, limited information was available 
about the equality of services provided for women.
    A Palestinian Ministry of Women's Affairs existed to promote 
women's rights. The law provides for equality of the sexes, but 
personal status law and traditional practices discriminate against 
women. For Muslims in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, personal status 
law is derived from Sharia (Islamic law), which includes inheritance 
and marriage laws. Women can inherit, but not as much as men. Men may 
take more than one wife, although they rarely did in urban areas (the 
practice was more common in small villages). Women may add conditions 
to marriage contracts to protect their interests in divorce and child 
custody but rarely did so. Muslim women were generally discouraged from 
including divorce arrangements in a marriage contract as a result of 
societal pressure.
    Hamas maintained control of the Gaza Strip and enforced a 
conservative interpretation of Islam on the Gaza Strip's Muslim 
populations, which particularly discriminated against women. 
Authorities prohibited any public mixing of the sexes. Plainclothes 
officers routinely stopped, separated, and questioned couples to 
determine if they were married; premarital sex is a crime punishable by 
imprisonment. Hamas's ``morality police'' also punished women for 
riding motorcycles and dressing ``inappropriately.'' Hamas operated a 
women's prison to hold women convicted of ``ethical crimes'' such as 
``illegitimate pregnancy.'' On July 18, Hamas authorities banned women 
from smoking the traditional water pipe in public cafes on the grounds 
that it was inappropriate. According to media reports, plainclothes 
security officers enforced the decree, and several cafe owners were 
questioned or temporarily detained for nonenforcement. Although 
enforcement of ``ethical crimes'' was in some cases inconsistent, 
according to press reports, it continued to increase.
    Across the occupied territories, 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.
    Palestinian labor law states that work is the right of every 
capable citizen; however, it regulates the work of women, preventing 
them from taking employment in dangerous occupations. According to the 
UN Development Program's 2005 Arab Human Development Report, 
Palestinian women experienced a significant employment gap in 
comparison with their male counterparts, with women consisting of 
approximately 15 percent of the labor force. Women endured prejudice 
and, in some cases, repressive conditions at work. Additionally some 
employers reportedly provided preferential treatment to their male 
counterparts. According to Freedom House, women earned 65 percent of 
men's wages in the West Bank and 77 percent in the Gaza Strip.
    The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, a membership-based union 
representing the majority of Palestinian journalists based in East 
Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, did not allow female 
journalists' membership. There were specific reports that female 
journalists in the Gaza Strip faced hurdles in pursuing employment. The 
UN Development Fund for Women reported that gender-specific stereotypes 
restricted female journalists in their content coverage, limiting them 
to issues such as beauty, fashion, women, and children.
    Female education rates were high, particularly in the West Bank, 
and women's attendance at universities exceeded men's, but female 
university students reported discrimination by university 
administrators, professors, and their male peers, according to the 
DCAF. According to press and NGO reports, in some instances girls not 
wearing conservative attire in Hamas-run schools were sent home by 
teachers, although enforcement was not systematic.

    Children.--Israel registers the births of Palestinians in 
Jerusalem. The PA registers Palestinians born in the West Bank and the 
Gaza Strip, and Israel requires that the PA transmit this information 
to the Israeli Civil Administration. As the PA does not constitute a 
state, the PA does not determine ``citizenship'' alone. Children of 
Palestinian parents can receive a Palestinian identity card (issued by 
the Israeli Civil Administration) if they are born in the occupied 
territories to a father who holds a Palestinian identity card. The PA 
Ministry of the Interior and the Israeli Civil Administration both play 
a role in determining a person's eligibility.
    Education in PA-controlled areas is compulsory from age six through 
the ninth grade. Education is available to all Palestinians without 
cost through high school.
    In the Gaza Strip, primary education was not universal. The UNRWA 
and Hamas provided educational instruction.
    In Israeli-administered East Jerusalem, Palestinian children did 
not have access to the same educational resources as Israeli children 
(see section 6, Minorities).
    Child abuse was reportedly a widespread problem. The Basic Law 
prohibits violence against children; however, PA authorities rarely 
punished perpetrators of familial violence. A 2009 study by the UN 
Gender Task Force found that in the southern Gaza Strip, survey 
participants reported a high level of perceived domestic violence 
against children.
    Israeli security forces also participated in violence against 
children in custody or during arrest (see section 1.c.), according to 
NGO and UN reports. The IDF fired at minors working inside or near the 
Gaza Strip buffer zone; DCI-Palestine documented 23 cases between March 
and December of children shot while collecting building material and 
scrap metal, and in one case grazing goats, near the border fence with 
Israel. DCI-Palestine reported that most children were shot in the leg 
without intent to kill. The IDF fired on children as far as 875 yards 
from the border fence.
    There were reports of female genital mutilation performed on girls 
during the year, although the scope of the practice was unknown.
    The PA considers statutory rape a felony, based on the Jordanian 
penal code of 1960, which also outlaws all forms of pornography. The 
minimum age for consensual sex is 18. Palestinian judges reportedly 
issued harsher sentences to persons involved in pornography including 
images of children. Punishment for rape of a victim under the age of 15 
includes a minimum sentence of seven years.

    Anti-Semitism.--In both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, 
Palestinian media published and broadcast material that included both 
anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic content, which sometimes amounted to 
incitement. Rhetoric by several Palestinian groups included expressions 
of anti-Semitism, as did sermons by some Muslim religious leaders. Some 
Palestinian religious leaders rejected the right of Israel to exist. 
Hamas's al-Aqsa television station carried shows for preschoolers 
extolling hatred of Jews and suicide bombings.
    Palestinian media not under the control of the PA, particularly 
those controlled by Hamas, continued to use inflammatory anti-Semitic 
language. Unofficial Palestinian television broadcast content that 
sometimes praised holy war to expel the Jewish presence in the region. 
Some children's programs shown on Hamas television legitimized the 
killing of Israelis and Jews via terrorist attacks.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The Basic Law states that all 
Palestinians are equal. There is no reference to discrimination or 
disability. Access to public facilities was not mandated.
    Palestinians with disabilities continued to receive poor quality 
services and care. The PA depended on UN agencies and NGOs to care for 
persons with physical disabilities and offered substandard care for 
persons with mental disabilities.
    Familial and societal discrimination against persons with 
disabilities existed. Press reports indicated that some parents in the 
West Bank performed hysterectomies on mentally ill girls to prevent 
them from becoming pregnant; most of these parents stated they intended 
to protect their daughters from rape.
    There were reports that Israeli authorities placed detainees deemed 
mentally ill or a threat to themselves or others in isolation without 
full medical evaluation. According to PHR-Israel, isolation of 
prisoners with mental disabilities was common. In March PHR-Israel and 
Addameer petitioned the Israeli High Court of Justice to amend article 
36 of the National Security Orders, which they claimed allows for 
indefinite detention of a Palestinian accused of a felony if the 
detainee is deemed unfit for punishment on mental health grounds. The 
NGOs filed the petition after PHR-Israel received a case in which 
Israel Prison Service authorities held an unnamed Palestinian found 
unfit for punishment for weeks in a prison psychiatric ward, although 
doctors determined it was not medically necessary.
    In another case PHR-Israel petitioned for the release of Ibrahim 
Abu Mustafa from isolation. Abu Mustafa had been detained in isolation 
since 2004 on the grounds that he posed a hazard to his surroundings 
due to his mental health condition. On August 25, the state notified 
Abu Mustafa that he would be released from isolation; however, at 
year's end his release was not confirmed.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Palestinians faced violence and 
discrimination in the occupied territories (see also sections 1.c. and 
1.f.). Access to social and commercial services, including housing, 
employment, education, and health care, in settlement areas in the West 
Bank was available only to Israelis. Israeli officials discriminated 
against Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem regarding access to 
employment and legal housing by denying Palestinians access to 
registration paperwork. In both the West Bank and Jerusalem, Israeli 
authorities placed often insurmountable hurdles on Palestinian 
applicants for construction permits, including the requirement that 
they document land ownership in the absence of a uniform post-1967 land 
registration process, high application fees, and requirements that new 
housing be connected to often-unavailable municipal works. According to 
B'Tselem, since 2000 Israel has curtailed the Palestinian population 
registry, denying paperwork to Palestinians and effectively declaring 
Palestinians illegal residents. Some Palestinians defined as illegal 
residents faced harassment, arrest, or deportation to the Gaza Strip.
    Israeli settler radio stations broadcasting from the West Bank 
depicted Arabs as subhuman and called for expulsion of Palestinians 
from the West Bank.
    The Municipality of Ma'ale Adumim in the West Bank continued 
applying a 1965 Jordanian labor law to Palestinian employees that 
denied them some social benefits enshrined in Israeli labor law, such 
as rehabilitation pay, pensions, travel expenses, and education 
funding.
    Israel's system of water distribution in the West Bank 
discriminated against Palestinian populations and failed to provide 
Palestinian residents with a sufficient, regular, and safe water 
supply, according to ACRI. Israel controlled 85 percent of the water 
supply in the West Bank and allocated on average 16 gallons of water 
per person per day to Palestinians and 63 gallons per person per day to 
Israeli settlers. According to the World Health Organization, 26 
gallons per person per day is the minimum daily amount required to 
maintain basic hygiene standards and food security.
    In the West Bank, some NGOs reported an increase in settler 
expropriation of natural water springs located on privately owned 
Palestinian land. Yesh Din documented settler expropriation of 26 
springs and their conversion into recreational ``nature parks.'' 
Palestinian residents reported that water supplies were intermittent, 
and settlers and their security guards denied Palestinians, including 
shepherd and farmers, access to the springs. PA officials in July 
stated that Israeli authorities closed five Palestinian wells in the 
Tubas Governorate, while the Israeli national water company, Mekorot, 
drilled 17 new wells in the governorate. Mekorot reduced the water 
ration for one Tubas Governorate village, Bardala, from 315 cubic yards 
per hour to 120 on average; 30 percent of Bardala residents received no 
water on some days.
    There were reports that Israeli authorities attempted to reduce the 
Palestinian population and limit their movement in areas under Israeli 
control. Military authorities severely restricted Palestinian vehicular 
and foot traffic in the commercial center of Hebron, citing a need to 
protect several hundred Israeli settler residents. Palestinians were 
prohibited from driving on most roads in downtown Hebron and from 
walking on Shuhada Street and other roads in the Old City; however, 
Israeli settlers were permitted free access on these roads. The 
prohibition, which began in 2000, has resulted in the closure of 1,829 
business and 1,014 Palestinian housing units, according to B'Tselem; 
the IDF closed most shops on the street and sealed entrances to 
Palestinian houses. Four Palestinian families who maintained residence 
on the street had access during the year.
    Jerusalem municipal and Israeli national policies aimed to decrease 
the number of Palestinian residents and increase Israeli claim to East 
Jerusalem. The Israeli government and Jerusalem Municipality used a 
combination of zoning restrictions on building by Palestinians, 
confiscation of Palestinian lands, and demolition of Palestinian homes 
to ``contain'' non-Israeli neighborhoods, while simultaneously 
permitting construction of new housing for Israeli residents in 
predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Municipality 
maintained its longstanding policy of city planning along 
ethnoreligious demographic lines across the city in an effort to keep 
the Jewish population at 70 percent.
    The Israeli NGOs Bimkom and Ir Amim claimed that Palestinians in 
East Jerusalem were unable to purchase property or build on land owned 
by the Israeli Land Authority. Land owned or populated by Arabs 
(including Palestinians and Israeli Arabs) was generally zoned for low 
residential growth. Approximately 30 percent of East Jerusalem was 
designated for Israeli residents; Arabs were able in some cases to rent 
Israeli-owned property but were generally unable to purchase property 
in an Israeli neighborhood due to citizenship or military duty 
requirements that Arabs were unable to meet. Israeli NGOs claimed that 
of all land designated for housing in West Jerusalem and in the Israeli 
neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, at least 79 percent was unavailable 
for Arab construction.
    The Jerusalem Municipality and Jewish organizations in Jerusalem 
made efforts to increase Israeli property ownership or underscore 
Jewish history in areas occupied by Arabs or Muslim institutions. The 
Jerusalem Municipality advocated increased Jewish influence and 
property ownership in East Jerusalem's Kidron Valley, or ``Holy 
Basin.'' On June 21, the Jerusalem Municipal Planning Council voted to 
demolish at least 22 Arab-owned properties in the al-Bustan 
neighborhood to make way for a Jewish-themed historical park. Israeli 
NGOs claimed that this project, the evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, and 
other projects effectively encircled Jerusalem's Old City and Haram al-
Sharif/Temple Mount with Israeli-owned properties, severing Palestinian 
societal connections to the area.
    Although Israeli law entitles Arab residents of East Jerusalem to 
full and equal services provided by the municipality and other Israeli 
authorities, in practice the Jerusalem Municipality failed to provide 
sufficient social services, infrastructure, emergency planning, and 
postal service for Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. ACRI reported 
in October that only 10.3 percent of the Arab population received 
social services. Approximately 160,000 Arab residents of East Jerusalem 
had no suitable or legal connection to the municipal water network. 
Trash collection was insufficient in most Arab neighborhoods of East 
Jerusalem and nonexistent in others.
    Disparities in social services provided by Israeli authorities in 
East Jerusalem correlated to ethnicity. The Jerusalem Municipality did 
not provide sufficient educational resources for Palestinian children 
in East Jerusalem, according to ACRI and the NGO Ir Amim, which claimed 
that thousands of Palestinian students studied in crowded classrooms, 
often in ill-fitting structures that did not meet municipal standards.
    Most municipal forms were not available in Arabic. Bus services in 
Jerusalem were largely segregated. According to ACRI, eight post office 
stations in East Jerusalem served a population of approximately 
300,000, whereas 42 post office stations in West Jerusalem served a 
population of 500,000. Only one postman, serving 260,000 residents, 
delivered mail in Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.
    On August 6, the Israeli High Court ruled that an ultraorthodox 
school in the West Bank settlement of Emmanuel must stop separating 
students based on their ethnicity and remove all signs of 
discrimination. Since 2007 the school had separated students of 
different ethnic backgrounds and required them to wear different 
uniforms.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Palestinian law, based on the 
1960 Jordanian penal code, prohibits homosexual activity, although in 
practice the PA did not prosecute individuals suspected of such 
activity. Cultural and religious traditions rejected homosexuality, and 
some Palestinians claimed that PA security officers and neighbors 
harassed, abused, and sometimes arrested homosexuals because of their 
sexual orientation.
    Israeli press reported that Majed Koka, a gay Palestinian man from 
the West Bank who immigrated illegally to Israel, was continued to 
await a response from the Israeli Interior Ministry regarding his 
petition for legal residency on humanitarian grounds. Koka in September 
stated that he could not safely live in Nablus, his hometown, as an 
openly gay man.
    In the Gaza Strip, an unidentified 19-year-old man remained in 
prison without trial because of his homosexual orientation, according 
to HRW.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The PA Ministry of 
Health provided treatment and privacy protections for patients with 
HIV/AIDS; however, societal discrimination against affected individuals 
was common.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law permits workers to form and 
join independent unions of their choice, and this right was respected 
in practice. Labor unions in the Gaza Strip continued to operate 
despite a severely weakened economy. However, in many cases Hamas 
replaced Fatah-affiliated union leaders with Hamas members or 
sympathizers, and during the year Hamas detained a number of non-Hamas-
affiliated union activists.
    The two most active unions were the General Union for Palestinian 
Workers and the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions, which was 
a member of the International Trade Union Confederation. Both unions 
were registered with the PA Ministry of Labor. Membership in the Union 
of Arab Employees (UAE) is automatic and mandatory for all West Bank 
UNRWA employees.
    According to the NGO United Civilians for Peace, Palestinians 
working in West Bank settlements reported hostile responses to their 
efforts to organize unions.
    Workers in Jerusalem may establish unions but may not join West 
Bank federations. Despite this restriction the West Bank-based PA 
Employees' Union and Teachers' Union counted East Jerusalem members 
among their ranks, and Israeli authorities rarely took steps to enforce 
this restriction unless high-profile events or senior PA officials were 
involved. Workers holding Jerusalem identity cards may belong to the 
Israeli General Federation of Labor (Histadrut), but they may not vote 
in Histadrut elections.
    PA law provides for the right to strike. In practice, however, 
strikers had little protection from retribution. Prospective strikers 
must provide written warning two weeks in advance of the basis for the 
strike (four weeks in the case of public utilities), accept Ministry of 
Labor arbitration, and submit 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 court. Accordingly, in practice 
the right to strike remained questionable.
    PA employees organized fewer strikes than in previous years, in 
large part because the PA was able to pay salaries during the year in 
the West Bank. In general PA employees staged strikes over nonpayment 
of wages, to protest disparities between union claims and official cost 
of living statistics, or to demand payment of arrears. There were no 
reports of private-sector strikes during the year.
    UAE employees called for strikes throughout the year. The union 
engaged in some coercive actions during employee strikes in October and 
November by physically preventing nonstriking employees from entering 
the workplace and reportedly engaging in physical violence in a few 
incidents.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
protects collective bargaining, and this was enforced in certain cases. 
However, there were reports that PA enforcement of collective 
bargaining rights for unions serving other than PA employees was 
limited. Collective bargaining agreements covered 20 percent of 
workers.
    Antiunion discrimination and employer interference in union 
functions are illegal, and the Government enforced these prohibitions.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the PA labor 
law does not expressly forbid forced or compulsory labor, PA law states 
that work is a right and that the PA will attempt to provide it for any 
capable individual. The Ministry of Labor interpreted this statement to 
prohibit forced and compulsory labor. However, children were vulnerable 
to forced labor conditions.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--By 
law children under the age of 15 are not permitted to work in PA-
administered areas, and Ministry of Labor inspectors enforced this 
prohibition through factory visits and inspections. PA officials 
reported that the Ministry of Labor employed 45 labor inspectors, who 
investigated child labor violations. However, they are not specifically 
trained for child labor inspections, and they perform this function as 
part of their other duties as inspectors. The ministry acknowledged 
their need for more inspectors. Hiring of children between the ages of 
15 and 18 for limited types of employment is permitted under set 
conditions, including limited hours and a prohibition on operating 
certain types of machines and equipment. The law states that children 
shall not be allowed to perform work that might damage their safety, 
health, or education and prohibits working at night, hard labor, and 
travel beyond their domicile. Nevertheless, many underage children--
with estimates as high as 72 percent of Palestinian children--in PA-
administered areas worked on family farms and in shops, as street 
vendors, in factories, or in small enterprises.
    In the Gaza Strip, the UN estimated that hundreds of children were 
forced to find work, as the poor economy made it difficult for families 
to provide adequate resources solely through parental income. Children 
worked in high-risk activities and zones, including as laborers in the 
tunnel networks between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and in collecting 
scrap materials from areas close to the Israeli border, where they were 
at risk of live fire from Israeli troops (see sections 1.c. and 6, 
Children). Some children were used as informants and human shields in 
armed conflict. Information on respect for child labor laws in the Gaza 
Strip was not available.
    The PA Ministry of Labor 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, and there were no Israeli inspectors in West Bank 
settlements and industrial zones. The Israeli government stated that it 
did not issue permits for Palestinian West Bank residents younger than 
18 years old to work in Israeli settlements, except in the Jordan 
Valley, where the law allows work permits for persons from the age of 
16 and older. Migrant workers living in the Jordan Valley during the 
harvest season brought their families with them, but their children did 
not have proper structures for schools because the Israeli government 
prohibited the construction of classrooms.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no minimum wage in 
Palestinian-controlled areas. Prior to 2000, average wages for full-
time workers provided a decent living standard; however, living 
standards dropped significantly over the past decade due to increases 
in cost of living that outpaced salary increases. The average wage in 
the occupied territories was 1,000 Jordanian dinars (approximately 
$1,400) per month, approximately the same as the Israeli minimum wage.
    The NGO United Civilians for Peace and the Israeli NGO Kav laOved 
reported that the Israeli minimum wage was generally the highest wage 
paid to Palestinians working in settlements and that such workers 
complained of receiving much lower wages than Israelis working in the 
same areas. Palestinians reported that they continued to receive wages 
lower than the Israeli minimum wage, despite a 2008 high court ruling 
that Israeli labor laws apply to relations between Palestinian workers 
and Israeli employers in settlements in the occupied territories. The 
ruling granted Palestinian workers the same rights and benefits as 
workers in Israel. However, several cases brought by Palestinians 
against Israeli employers who offered less than the minimum wage 
remained pending in Israeli courts at year's end.
    On October 20, Palestinian workers in an Israeli Sol-Or factory on 
the Green Line went on strike for multiple days, demanding their legal 
entitlement to the Israeli minimum wage. The workers claimed they 
received an inadequate 90 shekels (approximately $24) for an eight-hour 
workday involving hazardous tasks.
    In the West Bank, the average workweek was 43 hours, and in the 
Gaza Strip it was approximately 40 hours, according to the Palestinian 
Central Bureau of Statistics. The maximum official Sunday to Thursday 
workweek was 48 hours. There were reports that PA government employees 
were pressured to work additional hours to be promoted. Employers are 
required to allow Christians to attend church on Sunday if the employee 
desires. Some employers offered Christians the option of not working on 
Sunday rather than Friday.
    The PA Ministry of Labor was responsible for safety standards, but 
its enforcement ability was limited. There were no reported exceptions 
for any sector, industry, or company to labor ministry standards. 
However, employees of small construction and service firms were at 
greatest risk for workplace injuries, according to union officials. 
Unions complained that the PA did not effectively monitor smaller 
worksites, which were at times below legal standards for safety.

                               __________

                                 JORDAN

    The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a constitutional monarchy ruled 
by King Abdullah II bin Hussein, with a population of six million. The 
constitution concentrates executive and legislative authority in the 
king. The multiparty parliament consists of the 55-member House of 
Notables (Majlis al-Ayan), appointed by the king, and a 120-member 
elected lower house, the Chamber of Deputies (Majlis al-Nuwwab). 
Parliamentary elections, which international observers deemed credible, 
were held on November 9 after the king dissolved parliament in November 
2009. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    There were limitations on the right of citizens to change their 
government peacefully, and a newly drafted electoral law perpetuated 
the significant underrepresentation of urban areas and citizens of 
Palestinian origin in leadership positions. Domestic and international 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported cases of arbitrary 
deprivation of life, torture, poor prison conditions, impunity, 
arbitrary arrest and denial of due process through administrative 
detention, prolonged detention, and external interference in judicial 
decisions. Citizens continued to describe infringements on their 
privacy rights. Restrictive legislation and regulations limited 
freedoms of speech and press, and government interference in the media 
and threats of fines and detention further encouraged self-censorship, 
according to journalists and human rights organizations. The Government 
also continued to restrict freedoms of assembly and association. Legal 
and societal discrimination and harassment remained a problem for 
women, religious minorities, converts from Islam, members of the 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, and some 
persons of Palestinian origin. Local human rights organizations 
reported widespread violence against women and children. The Government 
restricted labor rights, and local and international human rights 
organizations reported high levels of abuse of foreign domestic 
workers.
                        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 during the year that the Government or its agents committed 
unlawful killings.
    In November 2009 Saddam al-Saoud died of injuries allegedly 
sustained in police custody at the Al Hussein Police Station. Saoud's 
family said Public Security Directorate (PSD) officers caused Saoud's 
injuries when they hit him on the head with a gun. At year's end, 
felony cases against six PSD officers remained pending.
    Also in November 2009 Fakhri Kreishan died of injuries sustained 
during an altercation with police two days earlier in the southern city 
of Ma'an. A police officer reportedly hit him on the head with a baton. 
At year's end, the felony case against the officer was pending.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices; however, international 
NGOs continued to report incidences of torture and widespread 
mistreatment in police and security detention centers. Article 208 of 
the penal code prohibits torture by public officials, including 
psychological harm, and provides penalties of as long as three years' 
imprisonment for the use of torture, with an increased penalty of up to 
15 years if serious injury occurs. Human rights lawyers found the law 
ambiguous and supported amendments to better define ``torture'' and 
strengthen sentencing guidelines. The Government has not charged an 
individual under article 208.
    Local and international NGOs criticized the use of special police 
prosecutors and courts to try PSD personnel accused of torture and 
police misconduct as ineffective and not transparent. As part of the 
2009 reform process, the Government gave civilian prosecutors authority 
to assist in the investigation of torture allegations, even though such 
cases were tried in a police court.
    International and domestic organizations stated that security 
forces continued to practice torture, particularly in police stations; 
however, observers commented that allegations of torture in prisons 
decreased during the year. On May 14, as part of its periodic review 
process, the UN Committee against Torture expressed ``deep concern'' at 
``the numerous, consistent, and credible allegations of a widespread 
and routine practice of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in 
detention facilities and that such allegations were seldom investigated 
or prosecuted.'' A August 30 National Center for Human Rights (NCHR) 
report on prisons and police detention centers cited 33 complaints of 
mistreatment in detention centers and three complaints from prison 
inmates between January 1 and June 30. The NCHR report also commented 
on individual violations perpetrated by law enforcement staff in some 
police stations and observed that several forms of torture were 
practiced against the defendants and detainees. A report issued in 
January by the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) also noted 
that torture continued to be practiced in the country's prisons and 
police stations. HRW claimed that the reform program does not address 
accountability for abuses and that initiatives by the NCHR and other 
groups were ``far from sufficient considering the lack of both 
political will and effective mechanisms to bring perpetrators to 
justice.''
    On March 1, members of the Criminal Investigation Unit with the 
Public Security Directorate in Irbid reportedly arrested Sayed Mahmoud 
Hamed Talafha on allegations of attempted robbery and beat him severely 
in custody. Officers reportedly struck him on the right leg where he 
had metal pins from a previous operation, hung him by the wrists to the 
back of a door, and pierced one wrist with a drill. The PSD 
spokesperson claimed that Talafha inflicted the wounds himself. 
According to his lawyer, on March 2, he had emergency surgery to repair 
his hand. The general prosecutor dropped the charges against Talafha on 
November 13, but he remained in administrative detention on the Maffraq 
governor's order. Talafha was released from administrative detention on 
December 2.
    In 2008 the director of the Sahab Police Station, a police officer 
of the Criminal Investigations Department, and the director of public 
security allegedly tortured and mistreated an individual known only as 
Raad. On March 22, Raad reportedly filed a civil case in the amount of 
7,000 dinars ($10,000) for psychological, physical, and moral damages 
resulting from torture, beatings, and other forms of cruel, inhuman, 
and degrading treatment at Sahab prison facility. Additionally he 
claimed the defendants forced him to remove his clothes, leaving him 
naked, and used an electric baton on him. Also in 2008 an individual 
known only as Wasfi, together with the directors of North Marka 
Security Center and the director of public security, allegedly beat and 
insulted an individual known only as Dawood. On March 10, Dawood filed 
a civil case for psychological, physical and moral damages resulting 
from torture and cruel and degrading treatment. Both cases were pending 
at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Significant problems 
remained in prisons, including poor legal services, understaffing, 
inadequate food and health care, poor sanitation standards, poor 
ventilation, extreme temperatures, inadequate access to potable water, 
ineffective prerelease and postrelease programs, and insufficient basic 
and emergency medical care. Some detainees reported abuse and 
mistreatment by guards during the year. Hunger strikes remained common, 
but prison riots and allegations of mistreatment reportedly decreased. 
Prisoners filed complaints of poor prison conditions with the PSD and 
the NCHR. The construction of four prisons during the year alleviated 
overcrowding to some extent.
    On July 19, a Web site published a report detailing stories of 
government authorities physically and verbally abusing children in 
government-run juvenile detention centers. In response to the 
allegations, the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD) investigated 
these claims and concluded that there was no evidence to support the 
children's claims; however, some local children's rights activists 
noted that abuse occurred in some government-run juvenile detention 
centers. In 2009 former and current residents and parents of children 
in several ministry-operated juvenile rehabilitation centers and 
orphanages reported verbal and physical abuse of children by 
supervisors. For example, parents of children in an Irbid juvenile 
center and former residents of an orphanage in Madaba reported physical 
abuse of children. At year's end, the Government investigation remained 
pending.
    In November 2009 the Council of Ministers passed amendments placing 
stiffer disciplinary measures, including salary deductions and 
termination, on civil servants who used corporal punishment on 
children, including those in schools and juvenile centers. However, 
authorities rarely used this punishment in practice.
    The PSD reported that some prisoners went on hunger strikes during 
the year to protest mistreatment, poor prison conditions, and a 
prisoner classification system under which some prisoners had been 
moved to different wards or prisons based on the type of crime, number 
of offenses, and other factors. The NCHR reported 205 prison strikes 
from January 1 to August 1.
    In February 2009 the Institute of Forensic Medicine, a part of the 
Ministry of Health, issued a report stating that prison clinic 
conditions were unsuitable and deteriorating and that inmates did not 
have access to basic health services. The report also criticized the 
lack of psychiatric treatment and follow-up care.
    According to government statistics, there were approximately 18,449 
inmates in 14 correctional and rehabilitation center (CRC) facilities. 
The Government generally held men, women, and juveniles in separate 
prisons and detention facilities; however, pretrial detainees were 
often held in the same detention facilities as convicted prisoners. The 
General Intelligence Directorate (GID) held some persons detained on 
national security charges in separate detention facilities. According 
to the NCHR, GID detainees are generally held in solitary confinement 
and are not allowed to meet unsupervised with visitors, including their 
lawyers. Islamist prisoners in Jweidah were held in a separate wing and 
kept in small-group isolation. International and domestic NGOs also 
reported that in some instances Islamist prisoners faced harsher prison 
conditions than other inmates.
    Prisoners and detainees had restricted access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and 
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without 
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. Authorities did not investigate credible 
allegations of inhumane conditions. The Government investigated and 
monitored prison and detention center conditions.
    The Government permitted local and international human rights 
observers to visit prisons and conduct private interviews. During the 
year the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited 
prisoners and detainees in all prisons, including those controlled by 
the GID and the military intelligence directorate, according to 
standard ICRC modalities. The Ombudsman's Bureau, a national 
institution that receives complaints about federal agencies, is unable 
to serve on behalf of prisoners to consider matters such as 
alternatives to incarceration, although it is permitted to look into 
cases of inhumane treatment. The NCHR conducted routine and unannounced 
prison inspections during the year, including visits to GID facilities.
    The Government continued its large-scale, long-term prison reform 
to transfer CRC management from the PSD to the Ministry of Justice. At 
year's end the Government had finished constructing four new CRCs with 
cells that meet international standards, raising the number of prisons 
from 14 to 18.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention. According to local and international human rights 
groups, the Government did not always observe these prohibitions in 
practice. In particular, the governors of the country's 12 governorates 
continued to use the Crime Prevention Law to administratively detain 
individuals without due process.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PSD controls 
general police functions. The PSD, GID, gendarmerie, Civil Defense 
Directorate, and military share responsibility for maintaining internal 
security. Members of the gendarmerie assist police in emergencies, 
provide diplomatic security, and respond to riots, protests, and 
demonstrations. The Civil Defense Directorate is responsible for public 
safety during natural disasters and civil disturbances. The PSD and 
gendarmerie report to the minister of interior with direct access to 
the king when necessary, and the GID in practice reports directly to 
the king.
    Civilian authorities maintained control over security forces. 
According to local and international NGOs, the Government did not 
thoroughly investigate and punish all credible reports of corruption or 
abuse by security forces. The Government used mechanisms to investigate 
abuse and corruption, but there were wide-scale allegations of 
impunity. Citizens may file complaints of police abuse or corruption 
with the PSD's human rights office or with one of 50 police prosecutors 
stationed throughout the country. Complaints of abuse and corruption by 
the gendarmerie may be filed directly with the gendarmerie. A GID 
liaison officer receives complaints against the GID and refers them to 
GID personnel for investigation. Complaints against the PSD, 
gendarmerie, and GID may also be filed with the NCHR or several other 
NGOs, such as the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR). The PSD's 
preventive security office is tasked with investigating allegations of 
police corruption. The PSD and gendarmerie try their personnel 
internally with their own courts, judges, and prosecutors, in a manner 
not transparent to the public.
    Allegations of torture and mistreatment continued, according to 
numerous credible observers. During the year citizens filed 46 
complaints, including allegations of mistreatment against PSD 
personnel. NGOs noted that victims may be reluctant to file formal 
complaints due to impunity within the police and security apparatus.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law allows 
suspects to be detained for up to 24 hours without a warrant in all 
cases. The criminal code requires that police notify authorities within 
24 hours of an arrest and that authorities file formal charges within 
15 days of an arrest. Human rights observers claimed that police 
continued to make arrests before obtaining warrants and prosecutors did 
not file charges or seek extensions in a timely manner. The period to 
file formal charges can be extended for as long as six months for a 
felony and two months for a misdemeanor. Local NGOs stated that 
prosecutors routinely requested extensions and judges granted them. 
This practice generally lengthened pretrial detention for protracted 
periods. As of year's end, approximately 800 persons were reportedly 
being held in prison without formal charge. Bail is allowed under the 
penal code and used in some cases. Some detainees reported not being 
allowed timely access to a lawyer, but authorities generally permitted 
family member visits. Authorities appointed lawyers to represent 
indigent defendants charged with felonies, although legal aid services 
remained minimal. There were allegations of long periods of 
incommunicado detention in GID facilities, and the UN Committee against 
Torture's May 14 report expressed serious concern about the 
Government's failure in practice to afford all detainees, including 
detainees held in GID and PSD facilities, with ``all fundamental legal 
safeguards from the very outset of their detention,'' including the 
right to notify a relative and to be informed of their rights and 
charges against them at the time of detention.
    The State Security Court gives judicial police, charged with 
conducting criminal investigations, authority to arrest and keep 
persons in custody for 10 days. This authority includes arrests for 
alleged misdemeanors. In cases purportedly involving state security, 
the security forces arrested and detained citizens without warrants or 
judicial review, held defendants in lengthy pretrial detention without 
informing them of the charges against them, and did not allow 
defendants to meet with their lawyers or permitted meetings only 
shortly before trial. Defendants before the State Security Court 
usually met with their attorneys at the start of a trial or only one or 
two days before. A case may be postponed for more than 48 hours only 
under exceptional circumstances determined by the court. In practice, 
cases routinely involved postponements of more than 10 days between 
sessions with proceedings lasting for several months. In most cases the 
accused remained in detention without bail during the proceedings. 
Several inmates were in detention without charge at year's end.
    Under the Crime Prevention Law, provincial governors may detain 
individuals suspected of planning to commit a crime or those who 
allegedly shelter thieves, habitually steal, or constitute a danger to 
the public, and in practice they used this provision widely. Those 
accused are subject to imprisonment or house arrest as ``administrative 
detention'' without formal charges. A detention order may be for as 
long as one year, but governors can impose new orders to prolong 
detentions. During the year governors administratively detained 12,345 
individuals. Several international and national NGOs noted that 
governors routinely abused the law, imprisoning individuals when there 
was not enough evidence to convict them and prolonging detentions of 
prisoners whose sentences had expired. The law was also widely used to 
incarcerate women at risk of being honor crime victims. The NCHR and 
other human rights organizations called for the abolishment of the 
Crime Prevention Law.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, the judiciary's independence in 
practice was compromised by allegations of nepotism and the influence 
of special interests. Unlike the previous year, there were no reports 
of interference by senior judges in junior judges' cases. The Judicial 
Council, a committee led by the president of the Court of Cassation, is 
composed of other high-ranking judges from various courts and the 
Ministry of Justice. The council approves judicial appointments after 
initial nominations by the ministry, and it assigns and evaluates 
judges. The executive branch, through the ministry, controls most 
judicial functions, giving the Government the ability to influence 
judicial decisions. The Judicial Council continued to lack the internal 
capacity to effectively manage judicial administrative and financial 
matters and therefore lacked independence. Unlike the previous year, 
there were no allegations that the former council's head reassigned 
judges or forced them to retire early for personal instead of policy 
reasons.

    Trial Procedures.--The law presumes that defendants are innocent. 
All civilian court trials, including state security court trials, are 
open to the public unless the court determines otherwise. Juries are 
not used. Defendants are entitled to legal counsel, provided at public 
expense for the indigent in cases involving the death penalty or 
potential life imprisonment. In many cases defendants have no legal 
representation. In July 2009 the Government passed an amendment that 
made court rulings legally binding without the presence of the 
defendant if an attorney for the defendant is present. Defendants could 
present witnesses on their behalf and question witnesses presented 
against them. Defense attorneys were generally granted access to 
government-held evidence relevant to their clients' cases. Defendants 
can appeal verdicts; appeals are automatic for cases involving the 
death penalty. In the State Security Court, defendants convicted of 
felonies have the right to appeal their sentences to the Court of 
Cassation, which is authorized to review issues of both fact and law. 
All citizens were accorded these rights. Civil, criminal, and 
commercial courts accord equal weight to the testimony of men and 
women; however, in Sharia courts, which have jurisdiction over Muslim 
marriage, divorce, and inheritance cases, the testimony of two women 
was equal to that of a man in most circumstances.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Citizens and NGOs alleged that 
the Government continued to detain individuals, including political 
opposition members, for political reasons during the year, and that 
governors continued to use administrative detentions for what appeared 
to be political reasons. In a few cases, the media and human rights 
organizations reported that authorities kept detainees in solitary 
confinement and denied them access to lawyers.
    A 2008 HRW report stated that political prisoners, including 
Islamists convicted of crimes against national security, reportedly 
received greater abuse than other prisoners.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
judiciary in civil matters. Individuals may bring lawsuits related to 
human rights violations and did so during the year. The High Court of 
Justice hears administrative complaints. The courts are open to all 
residents. Courts also have jurisdiction over any person in civil 
matters, including lawsuits in which the Government is a plaintiff or a 
defendant.
    During the year at least two individuals who alleged being tortured 
in 2008 filed civil cases for damages (see section 1.c.).

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary interference in private 
matters, but the Government did not respect this prohibition in 
practice. Citizens widely believed that security officers monitored 
telephone conversations and Internet communication, read private 
correspondence, and engaged in surveillance without court orders.
    The law requires that security forces obtain a warrant from the 
prosecutor general or a judge before conducting searches; however, 
during the year foreign migrant workers with valid work and residency 
permits reported that police forcibly entered their homes without 
warrants as part of a joint police and labor inspection campaign to 
verify the legal status of workers.
    A few religious activists reported that the GID withheld their 
certificates of good behavior required for job applications or to open 
a business, or threatened not to allow their children to enter or 
graduate from university. The GID usually withholds a certificate of 
good behavior if there is a criminal record; however, there is no 
public information outlining the GID's policies for issuing the 
certificates.

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 did not 
respect these rights in practice. A 2009 Freedom House report on media 
freedom called the country ``not free.'' On May 8, the Amman-based 
National Center for Defending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) issued 
its 2009 annual report, which concluded that media freedoms 
deteriorated in 2009. Journalists reported that the threat of detention 
and imprisonment under the penal code for a variety of offenses, and 
stringent fines of as much as 20,000 dinars ($28,000) under the press 
and publications law for defamation led to self-censorship. There were 
several incidents during the year in which the Government prohibited 
journalists from reporting on high-profile court cases. The 
Government's use of ``soft containment'' of journalists, such as 
financial support, scholarships for relatives, and special invitations, 
led to significant control of media content. In March the Government 
amended the Press and Publication Law to remove administrative 
detention as a punishment for journalists and created a court to deal 
specifically with matters of freedom of expression and speech. The 
amended law prohibits journalists from being referred to State Security 
Courts for freedom of expression or speech issues, and none were 
referred there during the year.
    The law provides punishment up to three years' imprisonment for 
insulting the king, slandering the Government or foreign leaders, 
offending religious beliefs, or stirring sectarian strife and sedition. 
In practice citizens were generally able to criticize the Government, 
although they reportedly exercised caution in regard to the king, the 
royal family, the GID, and other sensitive topics such as religion.
    On February 13, in response to a lawsuit brought by private 
citizens, state security forces detained journalist Muwaffaq Mahadin 
and environmentalist Sufian al-Tal for two weeks for having given 
separate public interviews criticizing the army's security role in 
Afghanistan. State security charged them with ``harming relations with 
a foreign country,'' ``stirring sectarianism,'' ``harming the stature 
of the state and the army,'' instigation, and slander. The case was 
sent to the State Security Court, which did not have jurisdiction, then 
to the prosecutor general. At year's end, the court case was pending.
    In late February the GID arrested university student Imad al-Ash 
for allegedly sending an instant message that ``insulted the monarchy'' 
and participating in online forums expressing ``controversial religious 
opinions.'' Ash denied the charges. On July 13, the security court 
sentenced him to two years in prison. Ash appealed the ruling, and the 
court upheld his two-year prison sentence on October 2.
    On July 25, PSD officers arrested university student Hatim al-
Shuili on charges of ``causing national strife'' and ``insulting the 
monarchy'' over a poem he denied writing that reportedly criticized the 
king. Shuili was detained until September 8, when the king pardoned him 
along with 17 others accused of insulting the monarchy.
    As of year's end, the PSD had not yet released any findings in its 
alleged investigation of the October 2009 beating of opposition figure 
Layth Shbeilat in an Amman bakery. Shbeilat and many local observers 
connected the assault to a lecture he presented at the Socialist 
Thought Forum two days earlier in which he called for increased efforts 
to fight government corruption and the need to question and hold 
officials accountable.
    Independent print media existed, including several major daily 
newspapers; however, such publications must obtain licenses from the 
state to operate. The independent print and broadcast media largely 
operated without restriction, but media observers reported governmental 
pressure to avoid sensitive topics such as the royal family, the GID, 
and religion. Media organizations and journalists reported that the 
Government influenced the appointment of editors in chief at some major 
publications, whether by virtue of officials' positions on the boards 
of directors of government-affiliated publications or through 
undisclosed contacts. The Government has a majority share on the board 
of directors for one major daily newspaper and a minority share in 
another. The Governmental Audiovisual Commission, whose mandate is to 
license private broadcast agencies, has authority to recommend 
rejection of a broadcast license without a stated reason. Media 
observers note that when covering controversial subjects, government-
owned Jordan Television, Jordan News Agency, and Radio Jordan reported 
only the Government's position.
    Apart from the arrest of Muwaffaq Mahadin, there were no reports of 
physical violence or harassment of journalists during the year. As of 
year's end, the Government had not released any findings of its alleged 
investigation into the January 2009 gendarmerie attack on an Al Jazeera 
television crew. There were no updates in the June 2009 case of poet 
and reporter Islam Samhan, sentenced to one year in prison and a fine 
of 10,000 dinars ($14,200) on charges of slandering Islam and insulting 
``religious sentiment'' for his use of Qur'an verses and prophets in 
his poetry, or the 2008 arrest of El-Ekhbariya editor in chief Fayez 
Al-Ajrashi on charges of ``inflaming sectarian strife'' and ``sowing 
national discord.'' Both men remained free on bail at year's end.
    The Government directly and indirectly censored the media. 
Authorities monitored and censored printing presses and edited articles 
deemed offensive before they could be printed. Journalists claimed the 
Government used informants in newsrooms and that GID officials 
monitored reporting. Editors reportedly received telephone calls from 
security officials instructing them how to cover events or to refrain 
from covering certain topics or events. Government officials also 
reportedly bribed journalists to influence their reporting. According 
to a 2009 Center for Defending the Freedom of Journalists survey, 95 
percent of journalists polled exercised self-censorship. The survey 
also reported that 70 percent of journalists thought the Government 
used ``soft containment'' to control the media at a medium to high 
degree. Ninety-four percent said they avoid writing about or 
broadcasting military matters, and 83 percent said they avoid 
discussing religious topics.
    On March 10, a State Security Court attorney general prohibited the 
press from reporting or commenting on the case of the Jordan Petroleum 
Refinery Company expansion project without his personal approval, 
purportedly to allow the judicial authorities to work ``calmly'' on the 
case.
    The Government continued to enforce bans on the publication of 
selected books for religious, moral, and political reasons. Some 
foreign films were edited prior to release.

    Internet Freedom.--There were government restrictions on access to 
the Internet. Citizens and activists widely believed that the 
Government monitored electronic correspondence and Internet chat sites; 
therefore, they practiced self-censorship over such media. Individuals 
and groups were unable to express their views via the Internet, 
including by e-mail. According to the 2010 International Research and 
Exchange Board Jordan Media Strengthening Program, Internet usage was 
30 percent. Internet speech is regulated by the Press and Publication 
Law.
    On August 3, the Government issued the Information Systems Crime 
Law, a ``temporary'' law (see section 3) that would require law 
enforcement officials to have probable cause and a warrant before 
entering and searching any place suspected of being used to commit a 
cybercrime or to seize property and make arrests based on suspicion of 
illegal cybercrime activity.
    On August 5, authorities blocked 50 domestic news Web sites in 
government institutions and offices purportedly to ``end confusion 
about topics related to the Government.''
    During the year the Ministry of Interior continued to monitor 
Internet cafes for ``security reasons'' via video cameras. The ministry 
also required cafe owners to register users' personal data, submit 
records of visited Web sites, and prevent access to questionable Web 
sites, as defined by the ministry.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government placed some 
limits on academic freedom. Some members of the academic community 
claimed there was an ongoing intelligence presence in academic 
institutions, including monitoring of academic conferences and 
lectures.
    On April 29, the administration of Hashemite University introduced 
an amendment requiring that candidates running for student elections 
must have participated in religious and national occasions and 
cultural, scientific, social, artistic, and voluntary activities at the 
university. Local organizations and the media criticized the amendment, 
calling it a government attempt to control student elections by 
ensuring that the candidate is familiar to the administration.
    In September 2009 the National Campaign for Defending Students' 
Rights criticized the interference of security services in student 
activities, especially in university student council elections. 
Security personnel reportedly told students to vote for specific 
candidates. The group also noted that universities had punished or 
expelled students for distributing literature expressing solidarity 
with Palestinians.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for freedom of assembly, but the 
Government restricted this right. The Public Gatherings Law stipulates 
that organizations do not need approval to hold routine internal 
meetings and activities but that routine public meetings--including 
workshops and training sessions--require approval. Governors are not 
required to provide a legal reason for denial of permission to hold an 
event, and there is no standard in the law for what constitutes an 
impermissible public gathering. If an organization fails to apply for 
permission for an event, its members face imprisonment from one to six 
months and a fine of as much as 3,000 dinars ($4,300). If a governor 
does not issue a response within 48 hours, applicants are entitled to 
hold the event without legal liability.
    Throughout the year several civil society organizations and 
political parties accused the Government of being stringent in issuing 
permits for public gatherings based on political factors rather than 
security concerns. Governors sometimes denied requests for peaceful 
demonstrations and civil society gatherings. In some cases the 
Government granted approval at the last moment, making it difficult for 
organizers to plan events.
    On May 10, Muhammad al-Sunaid and Ahmad al-Luwansa, leaders of the 
Committee of Day Laborers, gathered with 30 other day laborers to hold 
a peaceful protest outside an office where the minister of agriculture 
was scheduled to speak. After the protest they attended the minister's 
speech, where they questioned the firing of day laborers working at the 
ministry and called for the minister's removal. The governor ordered 
the PSD to arrest Sunaid and al-Luwansa and charged them with holding 
an unlawful gathering. Luwansa was detained at the Security Directorate 
in Madaba for one day and was released without charges. Sunaid was 
detained for 10 days and was charged with ``unlawful gathering,'' which 
carries a sentence of up to one year. On July 27, the Security Court 
sentenced Sunaid to three months in prison, and he was appealing the 
sentence at year's end.
    In late October the Islamic Action Front requested permission to 
hold a protest. On November 3, the Government denied their request; 
however, on November 6, the group staged a sit-in to protest the 
rejection of their permit request. There was no response from the 
Government.
    On November 6, the governor of Amman rejected a sit-in request by 
the Popular Unity Party's ``boycotters for change'' campaign.
    Government investigation committees cleared the gendarmerie of 
excessive use of force in the January 2009 case when the gendarmerie 
allegedly used batons, tear gas, and water cannons to disperse 
demonstrators throwing rocks and protesting outside the Israeli 
embassy. The gendarmerie were also cleared in the July 2009 incident in 
which they were accused of using batons to disperse a sit-in at the 
Ministry of Agriculture protesting importation of Israeli fruit and 
vegetables.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of 
association, but the Government limited this freedom in practice. The 
law gives the MOSD the right to reject applications to register an 
organization or to receive foreign funding for any reason, and it 
prohibits the use of associations for the benefit of any political 
organization. The law also gives the ministry significant control over 
the internal management of associations, including the ability to 
dissolve associations, appoint new boards of directors, send government 
representatives to any board meeting, prevent associations from merging 
their operations, and appoint an auditor to examine an association's 
finances for any reason. The law requires associations to inform the 
ministry of board meetings, submit all board decisions for approval, 
disclose members' names, and obtain the Ministry of Interior's security 
clearances for board members. The law includes severe penalties, 
including fines up to 10,000 dinars ($14,200).
    The MOSD advisory board overseeing NGOs is chaired by the minister 
of social development and includes representatives from seven other 
government bodies and four civil society representatives. As of year's 
end, the prime minister had not appointed the civil society 
representatives. Local and international NGOs claimed that the law 
severely restricted the work of independent organizations. During the 
year the Government did not deny any organizations permission to 
register or to receive foreign funding; however, a local NGO reported 
that prolonged bureaucratic procedures to secure government approval of 
foreign funding led to the organization losing the proposed funding.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; however, there were some restrictions. The UN reported 
that the Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Relief and Works Agency for 
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
    Some mothers claimed that they were prevented from departing the 
country with their children because authorities enforced requests from 
fathers to prevent their children from leaving. However, authorities 
did not stop fathers from exiting the country with their children when 
the mother objected. There were reports some women were required to 
obtain the permission of either their husband or father in order to 
acquire or renew a passport, despite the 2003 Passport Law, which 
stipulates that women do not need a custodian to renew passports. The 
GID sometimes withheld passports from citizens for alleged security 
reasons. Employers or authorities sometimes held the passports of 
foreign workers.
    Some persons of Palestinian origin living in the country were 
citizens and received passports; however, the Government reported that 
there were approximately 165,000 Palestinian refugees, mostly of Gazan 
origin, who did not qualify for citizenship. Approximately half of 
these persons received two-year travel documents that do not connote 
citizenship and do not contain a national number. West Bank residents 
without other travel documentation were eligible to receive five-year 
travel documents that do not connote citizenship. Local and 
international human rights organizations 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 
or in which national identification numbers were revoked, thereby 
revoking citizenship.
    A HRW report issued in February claimed that more than 2,700 
Jordanians of Palestinian origin had their citizenship revoked between 
2004 and 2007. The Government maintained this policy was in line with 
its efforts to implement its disengagement from its former claims to 
the West Bank. For example, government officials stated that a national 
number may be revoked if an individual obtains Palestinian travel 
documents, works for any part of the Palestinian Authority, or does not 
renew a family reunification permit. Activists complained that the 
disengagement regulations did not outline such procedures, that the 
process was not transparent, and that the Ministry of Interior's appeal 
process was virtually nonexistent. Claimants reported that appeals were 
not resolved to their satisfaction. Human rights activists also claimed 
the Government refused to renew the passports of former residents of 
Palestinian origin at overseas embassies.
    The law prohibits internal and external forced exile, and the 
Government did not use forced exile in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. Its 
laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and 
the Government has not established a formal system of providing 
protection to refugees and does not have any national legislation 
pertaining to the status and treatment of refugees. The Government 
respected the UNHCR's eligibility determinations regarding asylum 
seekers, including those who entered the country clandestinely. A 1998 
memorandum of understanding between the Government and the UNHCR 
contains the definition of a refugee, confirms the principle of 
nonrefoulement, and allows recognized refugees a maximum stay of six 
months, during which period the UNHCR must find a durable solution. In 
practice the Government provided protection against the expulsion or 
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be 
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership 
in a particular social group, or political opinion. However, according 
to observers, the Government did not accept refugees for resettlement 
from third countries or facilitate local integration, particularly of 
refugees in protracted situations.
    The UNRWA and the Government continued to provide services, such as 
health care, education, the right to work, and social services, to 
Palestinian refugees during the year. At year's end, approximately two 
million Palestinian refugees were registered with the UNRWA in the 
country.
    The Government granted nationality to approximately 700,000 persons 
displaced from former territories during the 1967 war with Israel. An 
additional 120,000 persons displaced during the 1967 war held temporary 
residency permits, and an additional 200,000 Palestinian refugees were 
also estimated to be living in the country without any direct 
assistance.
    The Government generally recognized the UNHCR's requests to grant 
temporary protection for all Iraqi asylum seekers, including new 
arrivals, rejected asylum or resettlement cases, and recognized 
refugees whose cases had been suspended by resettlement countries. The 
Government estimated there were 450,000 to 500,000 Iraqi refugees in 
the country; NGO estimates varied from 100,000 to 200,000. As of years' 
end, a total of 30,800 Iraqi refugees in the country were registered 
with the UNHCR. Most registered refugees received legal and material 
assistance from the UNHCR and other international and nongovernmental 
humanitarian organizations. The Government provided education and 
health care to Iraqis and tolerated the prolonged stay of many Iraqis 
beyond the expiration of the visit permits under which they entered the 
country. During the year the Government waived any overstay fines and 
exit fees for those returning to Iraq. Few Iraqi refugees received work 
permits due to bureaucratic hurdles and significant overstay fines they 
would have to pay when applying for such permits.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law does not provide citizens the right to change their monarch 
or government. The king appoints and dismisses the prime minister, 
cabinet, and the House of Notables, dissolves parliament, and directs 
major public policy initiatives. Citizens may participate in the 
political system through their elected representatives in the Chamber 
of Deputies. The cabinet, based on the prime minister's recommendation, 
appoints the mayors of Amman, Wadi Musa (Petra), and Aqaba, a special 
economic zone. The mayors of the other 93 municipalities are elected.
    The king proposes and dismisses extraordinary sessions of 
parliament and may postpone regular sessions for as long as 60 days. In 
November 2009 the king dissolved parliament and called for 
parliamentary elections in the final quarter of 2010. Although the 
constitution states that elections must be held within four months of 
parliament's dismissal or the previous parliament is reinstated, the 
king exercised his constitutional authority to extend this period. 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 ``temporary'' laws do not expire. 
Although they are technically subject to action by parliament when it 
returns to session, in practice they typically remain in force in the 
absence of legislative action.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On November 9, the country 
held parliamentary elections, which international observers stated in 
their preliminary reports were ``credible'' and ``a clear improvement 
over the nation's 2007 polls,'' while recommending future reforms such 
as establishing an independent electoral management body, preprinting 
ballots to mitigate concerns over voting procedures for the illiterate, 
strengthening representation for all citizens, and introducing 
regulations to allow for systematic appeals of the election results.
    The country was without an elected parliament for the majority of 
the year, during which time the cabinet issued a number of temporary 
laws. On May 19, the cabinet issued a ``temporary'' elections law that 
increased the women's quota in the parliament to 12, added four 
parliamentary seats to underrepresented urban districts, and divided 
the existing electoral districts into nongeographic subdistricts based 
on the number of seats within each district. The new subdistricting 
system served to change the rules for candidate registration by 
requiring candidates to run for a specific subdistrict, while still 
allowing voters to cast their single ballots for any candidate within 
the electoral district as a whole. Civil society groups and media 
commentators criticized the law for not going far enough in its reforms 
to address concerns about fairness and transparency, especially for 
persons of Palestinian origin. Many analysts commented that government 
did not adequately explain to citizens the new law's system of 
nongeographic subdistricts.
    The Government licensed political parties and other associations 
but prohibited membership in unlicensed political parties. The High 
Court of Justice may dissolve a party if it concludes that the party 
violated the constitution or the law. The law stipulates that a 
political party must have a minimum of 500 founding members from five 
governorates. Opposition parties complained that the law was 
unconstitutional and obstructed political dynamism. Political parties, 
NGOs, and independent candidates found the registration process onerous 
and costly and criticized the GID's annual screening process of 
founding party members. Political parties also complained that the 
mandated public funding of 50,000 dinars ($71,100) was insufficient to 
operate effective campaigns. Political analysts and opposition parties 
called on the Government to take active measures to promote party 
development, including amendments to the electoral system that would 
place greater emphasis on parties.
    Women have the right to vote. On November 9, 13 women were elected 
to parliament, exceeding the quota by one. There was one female 
governor, and three women served in the appointed 30-member cabinet. 
The law provides a 20 percent quota for women in municipal council 
seats and a 10 percent quota for women in the lower house of 
parliament.
    Citizens of Palestinian origin were underrepresented at all levels 
of government and the military. Many observers believed the electoral 
system was intended to reduce the representation of areas heavily 
populated by citizens of Palestinian origin in favor of tribal 
interests. The law allows voters to choose one candidate in multiple-
seat districts, which in the largely tribal society meant citizens 
tended to cast their vote for members of their own tribe. The law 
reserves nine seats in the lower house of parliament for Christians and 
three seats for the Circassian and Chechen ethnic minorities together, 
constituting an overrepresentation for these minorities. No seats were 
reserved for the relatively small Druze population, but they were 
permitted to hold office under their government classification as 
Muslims. The law also stipulates that Muslims must hold all seats not 
reserved for specified minority religions. Christians served as cabinet 
ministers and ambassadors. The Government traditionally reserves some 
positions in the upper levels of the military for Christians (4 
percent); however, Muslims held all senior command positions.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, it remained a problem. Domestic and international NGOs noted 
the Government did not implement the law effectively and officials 
often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. During the year the 
Government investigated allegations of corruption; however, there were 
few convictions. Many observers noted that investigations into official 
corruption typically focused on small-scale corruption. The use of 
family, business, and other personal connections to advance personal 
business interests was widespread. There were allegations of lack of 
transparency in government procurement, government appointments, and 
dispute settlement.
    During the year the Anticorruption Commission investigated 890 
cases of corruption. The cases dealt with fraud, misuse of public 
office, forgery, bribery, and embezzlement, as well as cases related to 
food and drug laws. Despite increased investigations, some local 
observers questioned the commission's effectiveness due to the limited 
amount of investigations involving senior officials or large government 
projects despite allegations against them.
    On July 7, the State Security Court sentenced three former 
officials--a former finance minister, a former Jordan Petroleum 
Refinery Company (JPRC) chairperson, and a former economic advisor to 
the prime minister--and a businessman to three years in prison after 
convicting them of bribery in connection with the JPRC expansion 
project. The defendants were acquitted on the charges of abuse of 
public office. The defendants appealed the conviction and were free on 
bail at year's end.
    In a 2009 high-profile case, the Government formed an ad hoc 
committee to investigate the embezzlement of 1.2 million dinars ($1.7 
million) from the Ministry of Agriculture. On August 31, the court 
found two men guilty of embezzlement and sentenced them to 22 years in 
prison.
    During the year citizens filed more than 2,776 complaints against 
public agencies with the Governmental Ombudsman Bureau. The bureau 
rejected 1,537 of the complaints because they did not fall under its 
mandate, but it amicably resolved 80 percent of the accepted cases and 
issued recommendations in 19 percent of the accepted cases. The bureau 
is charged with investigating complaints regarding any decision or 
action by public offices or their employees.
    The law requires certain government officials to declare their 
assets privately; in the event of a complaint, the chief justice may 
review the disclosures. Under the law failure to disclose assets could 
result in prison sentences from one week to three years or fines from 
five to 200 dinars ($7 to $280). As of year's end, no officials had 
been punished for failing to submit a disclosure.
    The law provides for public access to government information that 
is a matter of legal record but allows requests to be denied for 
reasons of ``national security, public health, and personal freedoms.'' 
Journalists criticized the law, claiming it permits the Government to 
deny requests without justification. A 2008 study by the Al Urdun Al 
Jadid Research Center showed that 58 percent of journalists were 
unaware of the law and nearly 85 percent did not know they had the 
right to request information. Fifty percent of journalists who had 
attempted to obtain government information characterized the 
Government's response as inadequate, and 13.8 percent said their 
requests triggered verbal abuse. In a 2008 Higher Media Council survey, 
nearly half of the journalists surveyed reported difficulty accessing 
information or said their requests had been denied outright.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Domestic and international human rights groups operated in the 
country with some restrictions. The law gives the Government the 
ability to control NGOs' internal affairs, including acceptance of 
foreign funding. NGOs were generally able to investigate and report 
publicly on human rights abuses throughout the year, although 
government officials were not always cooperative. Senior government 
officials accused local human rights organizations of having 
``Western'' or foreign agendas and focusing only on the negative 
aspects of an issue. Major local human rights organizations included 
the NCHR and several independent organizations, such as the MIZAN Law 
Group for Human Rights, the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies, the 
AOHR, the CDFJ, and the Adaleh Center for Human Rights Studies. 
Government entities met with members of these organizations and 
participated in many projects the organizations undertook.
    The Government generally cooperated with international NGOs, the 
UN, and other international governmental organizations. On May 14, as 
part of its periodic review process, the UN Committee against Torture 
expressed ``deep concern'' at continuing allegations of torture and 
mistreatment of detainees in the country (see section 1.c.).
    The Government-funded NCHR's reporting was largely regarded as 
objective and critical, although some local human rights groups and 
activists complained that the NCHR did not speak out sufficiently 
during the year on some controversial issues, such as freedom of 
expression, students' rights, citizenship, and religious freedom. The 
prime minister appoints the NCHR board chair and commissioner general. 
In April the NCHR issued its sixth annual report on the state of human 
rights in the country, which highlighted a range of continuing human 
rights problems in 2009, including excessive use of administrative 
detention, new restrictions on the right to establish civil society and 
professional associations, limitations on protests and demonstrations, 
restrictions on the right to access information, and physical attacks 
by students against their professors and vice versa.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution states that all citizens are equal under the law 
and prohibits discrimination based on race, language, and religion; 
however, discrimination on the basis of gender, disability, and social 
status is not specifically prohibited. The penal code does not address 
discrimination, thereby severely limiting judicial remedies.

    Women.--Violence and abuse against women continued, including 
widespread domestic violence, numerous honor crimes, and spousal rape. 
In rural areas violence against women was reported more frequently than 
in major cities, but women's rights activists speculated that many 
incidents in cities went unreported.
    The law stipulates a sentence of at least 10 years' imprisonment 
with hard labor for rape of a girl or woman age 15 years or older. 
Spousal rape is not illegal. During the year the PSD Family Protection 
Department (FPD) treated and investigated 395 cases of sexual assault, 
131 cases of rape against women, and 223 rape cases against children. 
There was no information available regarding prosecutions or 
convictions for rape during the year.
    In a survey of women in rural southern areas that the Higher 
Population Council and the Ministry of Health released in January 2009, 
30 percent of women 15 to 49 years old reported psychological abuse and 
20 percent reported physical abuse. Spousal abuse is technically 
grounds for divorce, but husbands can claim religious authority to 
strike their wives. A woman may file a complaint against her spouse for 
physical abuse with the FPD, certain NGOs, or directly with judicial 
authorities. During the year the FPD forwarded 2,021 complaints of 
domestic violence for prosecution. Violators of protection orders may 
face as long as six months in prison. Observers noted that judges 
generally supported a woman's claim of domestic abuse in court; 
however, due to societal and familial pressure, few women sought legal 
remedies. A 2007 survey by an international organization showed that 
only 22 percent of domestic violence victims sought any form of 
assistance. In 2008 the Jordan Center for Social Research conducted a 
survey indicating that women often did not admit they were subjected to 
violence and did not seek help because they were afraid of breaking up 
or damaging the reputation of their families. The results also showed 
some degree of acceptance of abuse, particularly among less-educated 
women. Of the respondents who reported a case of violence, 83 percent 
identified their husband, father, or brother as the perpetrator. There 
were few services available to victims of domestic violence, and most 
women were not aware of them.
    The Government-run shelter Dar al-Wafaq assisted approximately 730 
women and 160 children who were victims of domestic violence. It 
provided reconciliation services to victims and their families and 
worked with NGOs to provide services, such as legal and medical 
assistance. However, observers noted a lack of a comprehensive approach 
for victims and the absence of psychosocial counseling. The FPD 
continued to operate a domestic violence hotline during the year and 
received inquiries and complaints via the Internet and e-mail. The 
Jordanian Women's Union, a domestic NGO, maintained a hotline for 
victims of domestic violence and provided shelter to abuse victims. The 
Jordan River Foundation operated a child and family center in East 
Amman that provided shelter and assistance to domestic violence 
victims. During the year the quasi-governmental Jordanian National 
Commission for Women received 583 gender-related complaints ranging 
from domestic violence to discrimination.
    Authorities prosecuted 16 officially reported instances of 
homicides related to ``honor'' crimes that occurred over the past three 
years. Activists reported that many such crimes went unreported. An 
Information and Research Center study released in October 2009 on the 
causes of ``honor'' crimes in the country showed a high correlation 
between poverty and education with ``honor'' crimes. The study found 
that 73 percent of victims since 2000 were classified as poor, a group 
that constituted only 30 percent of the country's population. The 
brother of the victim was the perpetrator in 76 percent of the cases 
and the father in 13 percent.
    In July 2009 the Government established a specialized section 
within the criminal courts to hear all cases of ``honor'' crimes. 
During the year the court sentenced 15 perpetrators to 10 years in 
prison and one perpetrator to five years in prison. In most cases 
during the year, the family dropped the criminal charges, and the court 
issued a sentence of 10 years' imprisonment. Judges have the 
discretionary right, but not an obligation, to reduce sentences by as 
much as half if the victim's family does not press charges, even if the 
perpetrator and victim are from the same family.
    Prior to the creation of the specialized unit within the criminal 
court, some lower courts handed down 15-year sentences for second-
degree murder, but in every case the court immediately cut the sentence 
in half. In previous years the courts usually found perpetrators of 
honor killings guilty of a ``crime of passion,'' which merited a 
maximum sentence of three years. Although defendants were almost always 
found guilty, they often received token sentences of no more than six 
months. The maximum sentence for first-degree murder is death.
    On June 1 in East Amman, a man stabbed his sister 30 times on a 
busy street with the assistance of his 19-year-old cousin. The brother 
suspected that his sister was pregnant. The victim was rushed to the 
hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. The prosecutor general 
charged the brother and cousin with premeditated murder, and at year's 
end the case was pending.
    On July 23 in Deir Alla, a man shot and killed his 16-year-old 
niece with a machine gun at her wedding, confessing he did it to 
``cleanse his family's honor'' over suspicions the girl had lost her 
virginity a month earlier. The father and husband pressed criminal 
charges against the perpetrator; the case was pending at year's end.
    At year's end the March 2009 case of a man in Zarqa who beat to 
death his 19-year-old daughter with the assistance of two of her 
brothers remained pending at the criminal court.
    On April 23, the criminal court convicted and sentenced a man to 15 
years in prison for publicly stabbing his 24-year-old daughter 16 times 
on a main street in October 2009. The court reduced his sentence to 10 
years because the family dropped the charges.
    Through the administrative detention authority granted to governors 
under the Crime Prevention Act, authorities continued to place 
potential victims of honor crimes in involuntary protective custody in 
the Women's Correctional and Rehabilitation Center in Jweideh, a 
detention facility where some women had remained for more than four 
years. A woman detained in protective custody can be released only 
after her family signs a statement guaranteeing her safety and both the 
local governor and the woman agree to the release. During the year the 
Government released a number of women who had been detained for more 
than 10 years. Unlike in previous years, there were no cases of women 
being killed after release from protective custody. A human rights 
organization estimated that approximately 12 women were in protective 
custody. One NGO continued to work for the release of these women 
through mediation with their families. The NGO also provided a 
temporary but unofficial shelter for such women as an alternative to 
protective custody.
    According to the law, sexual harassment in the workplace is 
strictly prohibited. The law does not make a distinction between sexual 
assault and sexual harassment; both carry a minimum prison sentence of 
four years with hard labor. Women's groups stated that harassment was 
common, but many victims were hesitant to file a complaint and rarely 
did so because they often were blamed for inciting it, they feared 
losing their job, or they faced pressure to keep silent.
    Couples have the basic right to decide freely and responsibly the 
number, spacing, and timing of their children. Contraceptives were 
generally accessible to all men and women, both married and single, and 
provided free of charge in public clinics. Almost 99 percent of births 
in the country take place in hospitals with trained professionals. 
Comprehensive essential obstetric, prenatal, and postnatal care is 
provided throughout the country in the public and private sectors. 
According to data compiled by international organizations, in 2008 
there were approximately 59 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. 
There was no discrimination against women in the diagnosis and 
treatment of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
    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 Sharia court testimony.
    Under Sharia law 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; however, a Muslim spouse can 
designate some of his property to his non-Muslim spouse through a will. 
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. The existing temporary divorce 
law allows women to seek divorces in return for waiving financial 
rights or alimony. The law allows retention of financial rights under 
specific circumstances, such as spousal abuse. Special courts for each 
denomination adjudicate marriage and divorce for Christians.
    The Government provided men with more generous social security 
benefits than it gave women. The Government continued pension payments 
of deceased male civil servants to their heirs, but it discontinued 
payments to heirs of deceased female civil servants. Laws and 
regulations governing health insurance for civil servants do not permit 
married women to extend their health insurance coverage to dependents 
or spouses. However, divorced and widowed women may extend coverage to 
their children.
    Women's rights activists complained that the law granting women 
equal pay for equal work was not enforced. Many women said traditional 
social pressures discouraged them from pursuing professional careers, 
especially after marriage. The official unemployment rate for women was 
20 percent, compared with 11.9 percent for the country as a whole. A 
Jordanian National Council for Family Affairs study released in April 
2009 found that women were often denied basic labor rights, such as pay 
equality and the working hours and conditions outlined in the labor 
law. The study called for legislative changes and awareness campaigns 
to inform women of their rights.
    The law states that a woman has the right to obtain or renew a 
passport without the written permission of her husband; however, some 
women reported that authorities required a male custodian's permission.
    Married women do not have the legal right to transmit citizenship 
to their children. In practical terms this affects thousands of 
families whose father is of Palestinian origin. Female citizens married 
to noncitizen men may pass citizenship to their children only with the 
permission of the cabinet; however, the cabinet rarely took such 
action, the public was widely unaware of this mechanism, and permission 
was usually not granted in cases in which the father was of Palestinian 
origin. Women may not petition for citizenship for their noncitizen 
husbands, who must apply for citizenship after fulfilling a requirement 
of 15 years' continuous residency. Once a husband has obtained 
citizenship, he may apply to transmit citizenship to his children. 
However, in practice such an application may take years, and the 
Government may deny the application, resulting in the children becoming 
stateless.
    During the year a female citizen married to a Palestinian man from 
Gaza was not allowed to enroll her son in preschool because her son was 
not considered Jordanian. Furthermore, her husband was unable to work 
legally because the family could not afford to renew his residency 
permit on a yearly basis.
    In 2009 a female citizen whose Egyptian husband died after falling 
at a construction site had to reapply annually for a residency permit 
for her three Egyptian-citizen children to continue to enable them to 
live legally in the country and have access to education and health 
services. The cost of applying for residency every year was a 
significant burden, and the Government's approval was not guaranteed.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived only through the father. Children 
of female citizens and noncitizen husbands receive the nationality of 
the father and lose the right to attend public school or to seek other 
government services if they do not hold legal residency, which must be 
applied for every year and is not guaranteed. The Government did not 
issue birth certificates to all children born inside the country during 
the year. The Government deemed some children--including children of 
unmarried women, certain interfaith marriages, and converts from Islam 
to another religion--illegitimate and denied them proper registration, 
making it difficult or impossible for them to attend school, access 
health services, or receive other documentation. In one such case in 
2009, a single mother had to illegally bury her baby who died during 
childbirth because she was unable to obtain a birth or death 
certificate.
    Education is compulsory from ages six through 16 years and free 
until age 18. However, no legislation exists to enforce the law or to 
punish guardians for violating it.
    During the year authorities received and investigated 128 
complaints of child abuse and 223 complaints of child rape. A February 
2009 UN Children's Fund report stated that 71 percent of children were 
subjected to verbal abuse and 57 percent had experienced some form of 
physical abuse in school. Statistics on child abuse within households 
were not available. The law specifies punishment for abuses against 
children. For example, conviction for rape of a child younger than 15 
years potentially carries the death penalty. However, local 
organizations working with abused children pointed to gaps in the legal 
system that regularly resulted in lenient sentencing, particularly for 
family members. For example, the penal code gives judges the ability to 
reduce a sentence when the victim's family does not press charges. In 
child abuse cases, judges routinely accorded leniency per the wishes of 
the family. The National Council for Family Affairs and other local 
organizations stated that legislation does not provide children 
sufficient protection from abuse, specifically citing the legal 
authorization for parents to discipline their children using force.
    Some local children's rights activists noted that abuse occurs in 
some government-run juvenile detention centers (see section 1.c.). The 
defendants in a February 2009 shaken baby syndrome case and April 2009 
torture and killing of a five-year-old boy remained in jail at year's 
end, pending the outcome of their court cases.
    The Government continued to fund a child protection center that 
provided temporary shelter and medical care for abused children between 
the ages of six and 12. During the year the shelter housed 158 abused 
children. Observers noted that the shelter lacked qualified staff, 
psychosocial counselors, and a comprehensive approach to deal with 
victims of abuse.
    The minimum age for marriage is 18. With the consent of both a 
judge and a guardian, a child as young as 15, in most cases a girl, may 
be married. Judicial statistics indicated that in 2008-09 judges 
granted consent in 14,000 cases in which at least one person was 
between 15 and 18 years old. According to the May 2010 Jordan 
Population and Family Health Survey conducted in 2009, 6 percent of 
persons between ages 15 and 19 were married, the majority of those 
having been married between the ages of 17 and19. Instances of forced 
marriage as an alternative to a potential honor killing were reported 
in rural areas during the year. Observers note that, if a woman marries 
her rapist, according to customary belief, her family members would not 
need to kill her to ``preserve the family's honor.''
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html, as well 
as country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Anti-Semitism was present in the media, and 
editorial cartoons, articles, and opinion pieces sometimes depicted 
negative images of Jews without government response. Aside from 
expatriates, there was no resident Jewish community in the country.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides equal rights to 
persons with disabilities, who numbered around 200,000, according to 
government and NGO estimates. The Higher Council for the Affairs of 
People with Disabilities works with government ministries, the private 
sector, and NGOs to formulate and implement strategies to assist 
persons with disabilities. In July 2009 the council issued national 
accreditation standards for rehabilitation centers for persons with 
disabilities. According to the council there were more than 15,000 
students with disabilities attending 255 specialized centers and 
schools.
    Citizens and NGOs universally reported that persons with 
disabilities faced problems accessing education, transportation, and 
other services, particularly in rural areas. The Special Buildings Code 
Department is tasked to enforce accessibility provisions and oversees 
retrofitting of existing buildings to comply with building codes. Many 
private and public office buildings continued to have limited or no 
access for persons with disabilities.
    The law mandates that public and private sector establishments with 
between 25 and 50 workers employ at least one person with disabilities, 
and establishments with more than 50 workers must reserve 2 percent of 
their positions for persons with disabilities. However, these 
requirements were rarely enforced. Local organizations received 
complaints from persons with disabilities regarding employers who 
discriminated against them.
    In 2009 the Government provided monetary assistance to citizens 
with severe mental and multiple physical disabilities whose families 
earned less than 250 dinars ($360) per month, and the higher council 
and local NGOs operated assistance programs. During the year the higher 
council discontinued financial assistance previously provided to cover 
a portion of education, training, or rehabilitation expenses for 
persons with disabilities due to budget cuts.
    In September the Government announced that it would allow persons 
with disabilities to vote with the aid of personal assistants rather 
than verbally, ensuring them greater ballot secrecy and electoral 
access. Takafo, an NGO aiming to increase voter participation for 
persons with disabilities, confirmed that the Government made the 
necessary changes for the November 9 parliamentary elections to allow 
voters with disabilities greater accessibility and greater ballot 
secrecy.

    National/Ethnic/Racial Minorities.--There were three groups of 
Palestinians residing in the country, many of whom faced some 
discrimination. Those who migrated to the country and the Jordan-
controlled West Bank after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war received full 
citizenship, as did those who migrated to the country after the 1967 
war and hold no residency entitlement in the West Bank. Those still 
residing in the West Bank after 1967 were no longer eligible to claim 
full citizenship but were allowed to obtain temporary travel documents 
without national identification numbers, provided they did not also 
carry a Palestinian Authority travel document. These individuals had 
access to some government services but paid noncitizen rates at 
hospitals, educational institutions, and training centers. Refugees who 
fled Gaza after 1967 were not entitled to citizenship and were issued 
temporary travel documents without national numbers. These persons had 
no access to government services and were almost completely dependent 
on UNRWA services.
    Several human rights organizations stated that the Ministry of 
Interior revoked national numbers of many longtime citizens of 
Palestinian origin during the year, despite codified passport issuance 
procedures (see section 2.d.).
    Palestinians were underrepresented in parliament and senior 
positions in the Government and the military, as well as in admission 
to public universities. They had limited access to university 
scholarships.
    During the year there were reports of societal discrimination 
against Iraqis living in the country. Some employers reportedly refused 
to pay or underpaid Iraqis working illegally, and some landlords 
reportedly would not rent or sell to Iraqis.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexuality is not illegal 
in Jordan; however, societal discrimination against LGBT persons 
existed. A number of citizens reported sporadic police mistreatment of 
suspected LGBT persons. There were reports of individuals who left the 
country due to fear their families would punish them for their sexual 
orientation.
    In March 2009 the municipality of Amman reportedly denied an 
application to establish a gay rights organization.
    In 2008 security forces arrested four gays in a park in West Amman 
for ``lewd acts'' following a targeted operation by the police. The 
individuals were placed in solitary confinement in Jweidah Prison until 
they promised that they would not carry out any such acts in the 
future.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--HIV/AIDS was a largely 
taboo subject. Lack of public awareness remained a problem; many 
citizens believed the disease exclusively affected foreigners and gays. 
There was a social stigma against HIV-positive individuals in general. 
The Government continued efforts to inform the public about the disease 
and to eliminate negative attitudes against persons with HIV/AIDS, 
including a media strategy launched in September 2009. The Government 
continued to test all foreigners annually for HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, 
syphilis, malaria, and tuberculosis, and it deported foreigners who 
tested HIV positive.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides citizens working in 
the private sector, in some government-owned companies, and in certain 
professions in the public sector the right to form and join unions, but 
in practice this right was restricted. According to official figures, 
more than 10 percent of the workforce was organized into 17 unions 
which fall under a government-subsidized centralized federation, the 
General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions (GFJTU). On August 15, the 
Ministry of Labor issued a temporary law that allows foreign workers to 
join unions; however, foreign workers are not permitted to create 
unions or hold key positions.
    Government influence in union policies and activities reportedly 
continued. The Government required unions to be members of the GFJTU, 
the sole trade union federation, and new unions must be directly linked 
to 17 professions and sectors in which unions already exist before 
being approved by the Ministry of Labor. The Government subsidized and 
audited the GFJTU's salaries and activities, and it monitored union 
elections. Observers noted that the minister of labor may dissolve 
unions without judicial due process.
    Teachers employed in public schools held several sit-ins during the 
year to demand their own professional association and better work 
conditions. The Government did not agree to establish an association 
but approved the creation of a teachers' union, which would have 
broader legal restrictions and less autonomy than associations. As of 
year's end, the teachers had not agreed to this proposal and were in 
negotiations with the Government. In June the Government forced 
approximately 40 teachers, many of whom were actively calling on the 
Government to create an independent association, into early retirement 
but reinstated them just before school started on September 14.
    On July 15, the Government issued an amendment to the labor law 
allowing companies with more than 25 employees to form workers' 
committees to look into labor conditions. The amendment also allowed up 
to 28 days of sick leave per year and the recalculation of annual leave 
to exclude weekends.
    The law permits workers to strike only under certain conditions, 
including a minimum 14 days' notice to both the employer and the 
Government. Strikes are prohibited if a labor dispute is under 
mediation or arbitration. In practice workers generally went on strike 
without notifying the Government in advance, and the union or workers 
requested penalty waivers for the illegal strike as part of subsequent 
labor negotiations. During the year the gendarmerie broke up one strike 
deemed illegal due to lack of prior notice and briefly detained some 
strikers.
    As of year's end, a joint PSD-gendarmerie investigation continued 
into the alleged July 2009 case of gendarmerie forces using excessive 
force to break up a sit-in by workers at the general cargo port in 
Aqaba. Workers held the two-day sit-in to protest job losses and a 
housing compensation agreement connected to the sale of the port. The 
Government transferred the strike leader from the port of Aqaba to 
another position in Amman. Labor activists and NGOs noted no 
significant improvements at the Aqaba port; however, the workers 
received some of their demands, such as monetary support of between 
3,000 and 5,000 dinars ($4,200-$7,000) for moving expenses.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Unions have the 
right to bargain collectively, and in practice the Government respected 
this right, although observers stated that the legal procedures are 
cumbersome and discourage collective bargaining.
    The constitution prohibits antiunion discrimination, and the 
Ministry of Labor received no complaints of antiunion discrimination 
during the year; however, some nonunionized workers alleged retaliation 
from the Government based on strike activity and attempts to organize. 
This was particularly the case for foreign workers and contracted 
domestic employees, such as day laborers.
    Nearly 76 percent of the workers in the qualified industrial zones 
(QIZs) were noncitizens and for most of the year were not permitted to 
participate in unions or to engage in collective bargaining. As of 
year's end, foreign workers were not permitted to form unions but could 
join existing unions.

    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 of forced 
labor, particularly of domestic workers and garment sector factory 
workers. With the August 2009 passage of new domestic worker 
regulations, labor inspectors have the authority to inspect a labor 
complaint in a private home but only after receiving the employer's 
permission or with a court order. According to local NGOs, as of year's 
end, labor inspectors had not investigated reports of labor abuse in 
private homes. Domestic workers can file in-person complaints with the 
Ministry of Labor's Domestic Workers Directorate or the PSD; however, 
many domestic workers complained that there was no follow up to their 
cases either from the Ministry of Labor or the PSD. Domestic workers 
are covered by the labor laws, although not fully or effectively.
    Women, including some minors with forged documents, from countries 
including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines migrated to work as 
domestic servants, but some were subjected to conditions of forced 
labor, including withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, 
nonpayment of wages, threats, excessively long working hours, and 
physical or sexual abuse. The Philippines, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka 
prohibited the emigration of migrant workers for domestic work because 
of a high rate of employer abuse of domestic workers and administrative 
problems with overstay fines when employers filed to renew the 
employees' work permits. However, the prohibition did not reduce the 
flow of migrant workers.
    During the year an estimated 300 domestic workers from the 
Philippines, 275 Indonesian workers, and 400 Sri Lankan workers were 
sheltered at their respective embassies in Amman. Most had reportedly 
fled some form of forced labor, including unpaid wages and to a lesser 
extent sexual or physical abuse. By law employers are responsible for 
renewing residency permits but often fail to do this for their domestic 
helper employees. As a result most of the embassy-sheltered domestic 
workers were considered illegal residents, and many were stranded in 
the country because they were unable to pay the daily overstay fees of 
1.5 dinars ($3) to depart the country. Due to the large number of 
domestic workers sheltered at their respective embassies, the 
Government created a working group in August to examine the cases 
individually. In some cases this resulted in overstay fines being 
waived.
    Chinese, Bangladeshi, Indian, Sri Lankan, and Filipino men and 
women encountered conditions indicative of forced labor in some garment 
sector factories, including unlawful withholding of passports, late or 
nonpayment of wages, and excessive overtime. The Government actively 
inspected factories and investigated allegations of forced labor in 
garment factories, and reports of withholding of passports declined 
during the year. The Ministry of Labor required violators to conform to 
the requirements of the labor law and other governing legislation and 
imposed fines when appropriate. The ministry also publicized the 
outcomes of its findings.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor law forbids employment for children younger than 16 years of age, 
except as apprentices in nonhazardous positions. The law provides that 
employers who hire a child younger than 16 must pay a fine of as much 
as 500 dinars ($710), which is doubled for repeat offenses. The law 
bans those between the ages of 16 and 18 from working in potentially 
hazardous jobs, limits working hours for such children to six hours per 
day, mandates one-hour breaks for every four consecutive working hours, 
and prohibits these children from working after 8 p.m., on national or 
religious holidays, and on weekends.
    Children worked in mechanical repair, agriculture, fishing, 
construction, and the hotel and restaurant industry, as well as in the 
informal sector as street vendors, carpenters, blacksmiths, domestic 
workers, and painters, and in small family businesses. Child labor was 
reportedly concentrated in larger cities, such as Amman, Zarqa, and 
Irbid. A 2008 Department of Statistics study estimated that more than 
32,000 children between the ages of five and 17 were working in the 
country. Activists estimated the number to be higher, as many 
businesses and families tended to hide the practice.
    During the year the Ministry of Labor conducted 53,825 labor 
inspections including 19,165 child labor visits. In June officials 
inspected 412 institutions, issuing warnings to 75 employers and fining 
another 19 for recruiting children under the age of 16, mostly in 
mechanic shops, bakeries, blacksmith shops, carpentries, restaurants, 
and gas stations.
    On September 20, the Ministry of Labor reported that 32.4 percent 
of working children were in Amman, with the remainder distributed 
across the country, mainly in impoverished areas. Eighty-nine percent 
of the working children were boys employed in the car repair 
(approximately 36 percent), agricultural (27 percent), or hotel and 
restaurant (4 percent) sectors.
    The Government's capacity to implement and enforce child labor laws 
was not sufficient to deter the practice. The Ministry of Labor's Child 
Labor Unit coordinates government action regarding child labor and 
receives, investigates, and addresses child labor complaints. The unit, 
with three employees, coordinated child labor inspections for the 129 
labor inspectors.
    In 2009 the Government reinstated the National Committee to Combat 
Child Labor and initiated development of a new national strategy; 
however, as of year's end, the Government had not implemented the new 
national strategy. During the year international organizations trained 
78 general labor inspectors on techniques of combating child labor. 
Sixty-two inspectors participated in several labor training courses 
during the year.
    Labor inspectors issue fines for child labor violations but 
reportedly attempt alternative approaches first, such as ensuring safe 
work conditions and cooperating with employers to permit working 
children to attend school concurrently.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage was 
150 dinars ($213) per month, which did not provide a decent standard of 
living for a worker and family. Ministry of Labor inspectors enforced 
the minimum wage but were unable to ensure full compliance due to 
limited resources.
    The law requires overtime pay for hours worked in excess of the 48-
hour standard workweek. The law prohibits compulsory overtime but 
allows the employer to require the employee to work more than 48 hours 
a week for specific purposes, such as conducting an annual inventory, 
closing accounts, preparing to sell goods at discounted prices, 
avoiding loss to goods that would otherwise be exposed to damage, and 
receiving special deliveries. In such cases actual working hours may 
not exceed 10 hours per day, the employee must be paid overtime, and 
the period may not last more than 30 days. Employees can lodge a 
complaint directly with the Ministry of Labor or through organizations 
such as their union or the NCHR. Employees are entitled to one day off 
per week. Provisions for domestic workers were similar.
    The law specifies a number of health and safety requirements that 
the Ministry of Labor is authorized to enforce; however, workers do not 
have a statutory right to remove themselves from hazardous conditions 
without risking the loss of their jobs and may be fired if they attempt 
to do so. Foreign workers were more susceptible to dangerous or unfair 
conditions.
    Foreign workers, who make up the vast majority of workers in the 
QIZs and Export Processing Zones, were vulnerable to poor work 
conditions such as mandatory overtime, withholding of passports, and 
unacceptable living conditions in dorms. On August 18, the Phoenix 
Center for Economic and Informatics Studies issued a report claiming 
that approximately 10,000 attendants and cafeteria staff in the health 
support services sector were denied basic rights such as annual leave, 
health and safety conditions, and minimum wage as guaranteed under the 
labor law. The report indicated that a majority of the 23,000 day 
laborers were being denied their rights to job security and safety. 
Throughout the year day laborers held several strikes and sit-ins to 
demand job security, payment of overdue wages, and wage increases.
    On December 1, the Government issued a directive making the 
International Labor Organization project, Better Work Jordan, mandatory 
in all garment factories in the country. The project aimed to improve 
labor standards compliance through monitoring of factories and 
reporting on conditions as well as providing technical assistance.

                               __________

                                 KUWAIT

    Kuwait is a constitutional, hereditary emirate ruled by the Al 
Sabah family. The country has a population of 3.44 million, of whom 1.1 
million are citizens. Local observers and the press considered the May 
16, 2009, parliamentary election generally free and fair. Security 
forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Principal human rights problems included limitations on citizens' 
right to change their government. There were reports of security forces 
abusing prisoners. Authorities limited freedoms of speech, press, 
assembly, association, and religion. The Government limited freedom of 
movement for certain groups, including foreign workers and stateless 
Arab residents (called ``Bidoon''). The status of the Bidoon remained 
unresolved and they faced social and legal discrimination. Trafficking 
in persons remained a problem. Women did not enjoy equal rights. Worker 
rights were limited, and expatriate workers were subject to severe 
limitations of rights and discrimination as well, especially in the 
domestic and unskilled service sectors.

                        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.--Articles 53, 159, and 184 of the criminal law code 
prohibit torture and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or 
punishment; however, there were reports that some police and members of 
the security forces abused detainees during the year. Police and 
security forces were more likely to inflict such abuse on noncitizens, 
particularly non-Gulf Arabs and Asians, and there were several reported 
accounts of police abuse of transgender persons. The Government stated 
that it investigated all allegations of abuse and punished some of the 
offenders; however, in most cases the Government did not make public 
either the findings of its investigations or any punishments it imposed 
(see section 6).
    In February the Court of Appeals upheld a two-year prison sentence 
for three police officers accused of torturing a young man in prison in 
2008.
    There were no further developments concerning the allegations that 
security officials abused hundreds of Bangladeshi workers in the wake 
of 2008 labor strikes.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The Ministry of Interior 
permitted independent monitoring of prison conditions by international 
and local human rights groups, the media, and the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The ICRC visited all three prisons 
and the detention center and, unlike in 2009, the Government did not 
obstruct representatives of the Kuwait Human Rights Society from 
visiting prisons several prisoners during the year.
    The Central Prison Complex houses the country's only three prisons: 
a low-security men's prison, a high-security men's prison, and a 
women's prison. The prison complex exceeded its 3,200-person capacity; 
there were 201 inmates in the women's prison and 3,978 inmates in the 
men's prisons. Within the prisons, juveniles were detained separately 
from adults. The country also has a 1,000-person capacity deportation 
center in Talha that is not part of the prison complex. Some detention 
facilities lacked adequate sanitation and sufficient medical staff. 
There were reports of security forces abusing prisoners.
    Prisoners had reasonable access to personal visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and 
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without 
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions.
    Ombudsmen may not serve on behalf of prisoners.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government observed these prohibitions, 
apart from a few reports that police arbitrarily arrested nonnationals.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The police have sole 
responsibility for the enforcement of laws not related to national 
security, and State Security oversees intelligence and national 
security matters; both are under the purview of civilian Interior 
Ministry authorities. The military is responsible for external 
security.
    The police were generally effective in carrying out core 
responsibilities. There were reports that some police stations did not 
take seriously the requests of complainants, especially foreign 
nationals. In cases of alleged police abuse, the district chief 
investigator examines abuse allegations and refers cases to the courts 
for trial; there was no evidence of police impunity.
    Security forces sometimes failed to respond effectively to societal 
violence against family members or domestic workers.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A police 
officer generally must obtain an arrest warrant from a state prosecutor 
or a judge before making an arrest, except in cases of hot pursuit. 
There were few reports of police arresting and detaining foreign 
nationals without a warrant during the year. The courts generally do 
not accept cases without warrants issued prior to arrests. Detainees 
were generally allowed access to their lawyers and family members. 
However, in compliance with the penal code a suspected criminal may be 
held at a police station without charge for as long as four days, 
during which time authorities may prevent lawyers and family members 
from visiting. During this time lawyers are permitted to attend legal 
proceedings but are not allowed to have direct contact with their 
clients. The law provides the detained person the right to a prompt 
judicial determination about the detention's legality; however, this 
right was not always respected. If charges are filed, a prosecutor may 
remand a suspect to detention for an additional 21 days. Detainees were 
informed promptly of the charges against them. Prosecutors also may 
obtain court orders for further detention pending trial. There is a 
functioning bail system for defendants awaiting trial. The bar 
association provides lawyers for indigent defendants; in these cases 
defendants do not have the option of choosing which lawyer will be 
assigned to them.
    Of the 4,179 persons serving sentences or detained pending trial, 
an estimated 150 were held in the ``state security ward'' on security 
grounds, including some held for collaborating with Iraq during the 
1990-91 occupation. On March 23, the Ministry of Interior, in 
cooperation with the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, arranged for six 
Iraqi families to visit their relatives, imprisoned since 1991 for 
collaborating with Iraq during the occupation.
    Arbitrarily lengthy detention before trial was a problem, and 
approximately 10 percent of the prison population consisted of pretrial 
detainees. Pretrial detainees were held separately from convicted 
prisoners.
    During the year foreign nationals at the Talha Deportation Center 
were generally incarcerated between 10 days and two months awaiting 
deportation. Some prisoners were held for longer periods if they lacked 
required travel documents. There were reports of security forces 
abusing prisoners in the deportation center.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary and the right to a fair trial and states that 
``judges shall not be subject to any authority;'' however, the emir 
appoints all judges, and the renewal of judicial appointments is 
subject to government approval. Judges who are citizens have lifetime 
appointments; however, many judges are noncitizens who hold one- to 
three-year renewable contracts. The Ministry of Justice may remove 
judges for cause but rarely does so. Foreign residents involved in 
legal disputes with citizens frequently claimed the courts showed bias 
in favor of citizens.

    Trial Procedures.--By law, criminal trials are public unless a 
court or the Government decides the ``maintenance of public order'' or 
the ``preservation of public morals'' necessitates closed proceedings. 
There is no trial by jury. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence 
and have the rights to confront their accusers and to 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, and defendants used these services. Defendants have the 
right to confront witnesses against them and to present their own 
witnesses. Defendants and their attorneys generally have access to 
government-held evidence relevant to their cases and to appeal their 
cases to a higher court. The law affords these protections to all 
citizens.

    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, rulings 
occasionally were not enforced. Administrative punishments, such as 
travel bans, are also available in civil matters.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law provides for individual privacy and the 
sanctity of the home, and the Government generally respected these 
rights in practice. The law permits security forces to monitor private 
communications with the approval of the attorney general, and this 
monitoring occurred occasionally.
    The law forbids marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men 
and requires male citizens serving in the police force or military to 
obtain government approval to marry foreign nationals. In practice the 
Government offered only nonbinding advice in such matters and did not 
prevent any such marriages.
    The Government may deny a citizenship application by a Bidoon 
resident based on security or criminal violations committed by the 
individual's family members.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press ``in accordance with the conditions 
and in the circumstances defined by law.'' In practice the Government 
sometimes did not respect these rights, and journalists and publishers 
practiced self-censorship. Restrictions on the country's press freedoms 
increased during the year.
    The Government restricted freedoms of the press and of speech, 
particularly in instances related to national security. The law also 
specifically prohibits the publication of material insulting Islam, the 
emir, the constitution, or the neutrality of the courts or public 
prosecutor's office. The law mandates jail terms for anyone who 
``defames religion,'' and any Muslim citizen may file criminal charges 
against an author the citizen believes has defamed Islam, the ruling 
family, or public morals. The number of such cases filed against 
journalists and television stations continued to increase 
significantly; 678 were filed during the year, most of which resulted 
in fines. In comparison, fewer than 200 were filed in 2009.
    Pointed criticism of other ministers and other high-ranking 
government officials continued to be widespread and was permitted. 
During the reporting period, several individuals were charged with 
insulting the ruling family and, under separate legal provisions, 
slandering the prime minister.
    On March 7, parliamentarian Muhammad Hayef was fined 3,000 dinars 
(approximately $10,400) for comments he made in parliament during the 
May 2009 session deemed insulting to the ruling family. The daily 
newspaper Al-Ruia, which published his comments, was fined the same 
amount.
    Also on March 7, parliamentarian Marzouk al-Ghanem and the 
newspaper Al-Nahar were each fined 3,000 dinars ($10,400) for an 
article deemed insulting to the ruling family.
    On June 30, National Democratic Alliance head and Member of the 
National Assembly Khaled al-Fadala was sentenced to three months in 
prison and fined 150 dinars (approximately $525) for slandering the 
prime minister. On July 12, an appeals court released al-Fadala after 
reducing his sentence from three months to ten days.
    On December 13 authorities shut the local offices of the Al-Jazeera 
TV network and withdrew its accreditation after it broadcast footage of 
police using force to break up an unauthorized gathering of 
oppositions, and subsequently gave airtime to opposition 
parliamentarians who strongly criticized the Government for the 
police's actions.
    Journalist Muhammad Abdulqader al-Jassem continued facing various 
charges of insulting public officials. A lower court sentenced al-
Jassem on April 1 to six months in jail and fined him 5,000 dinar 
(approximately $17,400) for making slanderous remarks about the prime 
minister in 2009, but an appeals court overturned the conviction on 
July 12. Police rearrested al-Jassem on May 11 on separate charges of 
undermining the emir's status, attacking the regime, and spreading 
false information damaging to the country's national interests. On June 
28, after posting a 2,000-dinar (approximately $7,000) bail, al-Jassem 
was released. The case was pending at year's end.
    On November 22, in a third case of allegedly defaming the prime 
minister in a blog post, which claimed that the premier engaged in 
embezzlement, money laundering, and association with Iranian 
intelligence agents, a court convicted and sentenced al-Jassem to one 
year in prison. On December 15, the sentence was reduced to three 
months following an appeal.
    Throughout the year the Government restricted media freedoms on 
national security grounds. On May 4, citing security concerns, an order 
prohibited the media from publishing any more reports about the alleged 
dismantling of an Iranian spy network.
    On September 20, the Government revoked the citizenship of exiled 
Shia cleric Yasser al-Habib on the grounds that he disparaged the wife 
and companions of the Prophet Muhammad. The Government briefly 
detained, but did not charge, Sunni Islamist Mubarak al-Bathali who, in 
response to al-Habib's statements, advocated violence against the Shia 
community and two Shia parliamentarians.
    On October 13, police arrested the owner of the Scope TV channel, 
Fajr al-Saeed, on charges that her channel's airing of the satirical 
comedy Sawtak Wasal (Your Voice Has Been Heard) fomented insurrection. 
On October 14, Al-Saeed's case was transferred to a criminal court 
where it was pending at year's end.
    On October 17, relatives of Faisal al-Homoud al-Malik al-Sabah, who 
believed he had been slandered by al-Saeed's brother, talk show host 
Muhammad Talal al-Saeed, attacked the Scope TV office.
    On December 12, police arrested Kuwait University law professor 
Obaid al-Wasmi, who had taken part in a December 8 diwaniya, an 
informal weekly social and political gathering that has generally been 
considered a space for free and open discourse on economic, political, 
and social issues, at parliamentarian Jam'an al-Hirbish's home that was 
deemed illegal and subsequently broken up by the police. Al-Wasmi was 
charged with spreading false news abroad, taking part in a public 
gathering with criminal intent, exhorting the security forces not to 
break up the diwaniya (i.e., to disobey a lawful instruction), and 
infringing on the emir's authority. His case was pending at year's end.
    All print media were privately owned, although their independence 
was limited. They exhibited a diversity of opinion, but censored 
themselves to avoid criminal charges or fines, or to keep their 
licenses. All forms of media may be banned by the Ministry of Commerce 
at the request of the Ministry of Information.
    By law newspaper publishers must obtain an operating license from 
the Ministry of Information. Publishers may lose their licenses 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.
    There were no developments in the case former parliamentary 
candidate Muhammad al-Juwaihel, arrested in 2009 on charges of 
unlicensed broadcasting, making false claims, and compromising national 
security. The Government filed charges for public remarks broadcast by 
al-Juwaihel on his satellite outlet in which he reportedly insulted 
certain parliamentarians and made derogatory comments about Kuwaitis 
with dual citizenship and those of tribal and Bidoon origin. He was 
released on a 5,000-dinar (approximately $17,400) bail in December 
2009.
    Fuad al-Hashem of the daily newspaper Al-Watan continued to refuse 
to pay a 2008 fine of 7,190 dinars (approximately $25,000) for 
defamation as a result of convictions in three cases brought to court 
by the Qatari prime minister, who accused al-Hashem of harming his 
reputation in articles dealing with his relations with Israel.
    The Ministry of Information censored all books, commercial films, 
periodicals, videotapes, CDs, DVDs, and other imported material that it 
deemed morally offensive, although satellite dishes were widely 
available and allowed some citizens to receive unfiltered media. 
According to Ministry of Information censorship guidelines, material 
offensive to Islam or other religions, material which insults the emir 
and crown prince, and the display of immoral conduct are prohibited.
    The ministry also controlled the publication and distribution of 
all informational materials. In October, before the annual Kuwait 
international book fair, the ministry added 25 books to the thousands 
of titles already banned for being ``contrary to the fair and state 
policies.'' The newly forbidden titles included Egyptian Alaa al-
Aswani's bestselling novel ``The Yacoubian Building.''

    Internet Freedom.--According to International Telecommunications 
Union statistics for 2009, approximately 39 percent of the country's 
inhabitants used the Internet. The Government monitored Internet 
communications, such as blogs and discussion groups, for defamation and 
security reasons. The Ministry of Communications continued to block Web 
sites considered to ``incite terrorism and instability'' and required 
Internet service providers to block religious and pornographic Web 
sites that ``violate Kuwait's customs and traditions,'' in addition to 
political sites which the Government finds offensive. For example, the 
Web site of UK-based Shia cleric Yasser al-Habib was blocked. There 
were reports that the Government attempted to collect the personally 
identifiable information of a person in connection with that person's 
peaceful expression of political, religious, or ideological opinion or 
beliefs. Internet cafe owners were obligated to obtain the names and 
civil identification numbers of customers and to submit the information 
to the Ministry of Communication upon request.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The law provides for freedom 
of opinion and of research; however, academic freedom was limited by 
self-censorship, and the law prohibits academics from criticizing the 
emir or Islam.
    The Ministry of Interior reserved the right to approve or reject 
annual public events and rejected those it considered politically or 
morally inappropriate.
    According to the Middle East Studies Association, on February 11 
the Government revoked an entry visa for Madawi al-Rasheed, a professor 
at King's College London, who was scheduled to give a public lecture in 
the country on ``Suspended Political Reform in the Arab World'' to the 
Institute for Women's Development and Training. Although authorities 
issued a visa on January 26, it was reportedly revoked due to al-
Rasheed's widely published theories that conservative Islam inhibits 
democratization. The Government gave no official reason for denying al-
Rasheed's entry.
    In December 2009 authorities denied entry to Egyptian Qur'anic 
scholar Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd on the grounds that his already approved 
visa was invalid. Abu Zayd was scheduled to give two lectures on 
``Religious Reform in the Constitutional State'' and on ``Women's 
Issues: Between the Qur'an and Accepted Jurisprudential Thought.''
    There were no updates in the Commercial Attorney's Office's 
investigation of a hotel owner and party organizers for sponsoring a 
mixed-gender dance in 2008.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly. Organizers of 
public gatherings of more than 20 persons must obtain prior approval 
from the Ministry of Interior.
    Many adult male citizens, including members of the Government and 
of the National Assembly, and increasing numbers of female citizens, 
hosted or attended diwaniyas. A few women held female-only diwaniyas, 
and a small number of diwaniyas were open to both sexes.
    Authorities curbed freedom of assembly in some political or 
security-related cases. On April 10, the Government deported 17 
Egyptian expatriates who participated in a meeting in support of 
Egyptian opposition presidential candidate Muhammad El Baradei on the 
grounds that the assembly was not approved by the Ministry of Interior.
    On September 13, the Government invoked the 1979 Public Gatherings 
Law (which had previously been only sporadically enforced) to ban 
gatherings of more than 20 persons in an effort to head off sectarian 
strife resulting from an exiled Shia cleric's disparaging the Prophet 
Muhammad's wife. On December 8, in accordance with the same law, the 
emir issued a formal decree banning outdoor public gatherings exceeding 
20 persons. Later that day Ministry of Interior forces enforced the 
decree, forcibly shutting down a seminar at Member of Parliament Jam'an 
al-Hirbish's diwaniya, which the Government contended was an illegal 
public gathering. On December 14, the police disbanded another similar 
public gathering without incident.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association; however, the Government restricted this right in practice. 
The law prohibits officially licensed groups from engaging in political 
activities.
    The Government uses its power to license associations as a means of 
political control. There were 73 officially licensed nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) in the country, including a bar association, 
professional groups, and scientific bodies. The Ministry of Social 
Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) did not license any new NGOs during the year. 
There remained 149 NGOs pending licensing by the MOSAL; many have been 
waiting years for approval.
    The 45 NGOs licensed prior to 2004 continued to receive an annual 
government subsidy of 12,000 dinars (approximately $41,800) for their 
operating expenses, including travel to international conferences. NGOs 
licensed since 2004, when the MOSAL resumed issuing licenses following 
a period of refusing to do so, received no financial assistance. The 
only local independent NGOs dedicated specifically to human rights were 
the Kuwait Human Rights Society and the Kuwaiti Society for Fundamental 
Human Rights. The MOSAL rejected some license requests on the grounds 
that established NGOs already provided services similar to those the 
petitioners proposed. It can also 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 the MOSAL to attend international conferences as 
official representatives of their organization. The degree of 
government supervision and financing called into question the NGOs' 
independence and nongovernmental status.
    There were dozens 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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl//irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution generally provides 
for freedom of movement within the country; however, numerous laws 
constrain foreign travel, and the Government placed some limits on 
freedom of movement in practice. Although the Government contributed 
288,000 dinars (approximately $1 million) to the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) during the year, it was uncooperative 
with most UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations' efforts to 
provide implementation of protection and assistance to refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern.
    Women and Bidoon faced problems with or restrictions on foreign 
travel. In October 2009 the Constitutional Court issued and began 
enforcing a final ruling confirming a woman's right to obtain a 
passport without her husband's approval. However, a husband may still 
request that immigration authorities prevent his wife's departure from 
the country for up to 24 hours, after which a court order may extend 
the travel ban. The Government restricted the ability of the Bidoon 
population to travel abroad. It permitted some Bidoon to travel to 
Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj and continued to issue ``Article 17'' 
passports (temporary travel documents that do not confer nationality) 
for Bidoon.
    The law also permits travel bans on citizens or foreigners accused 
or suspected of violating the law, and it allows other citizens to 
petition authorities to do so. In practice, this resulted in arbitrary 
delays and difficulties for citizens or foreigners in leaving the 
country.
    The law prohibits the deportation or forced exile of citizens, 
although the Government can revoke citizenship of naturalized citizens 
for various causes, including felony conviction, and subsequently 
deport individuals. The Government cannot revoke the citizenship of an 
individual who is born a citizen, unless that individual has obtained a 
second nationality, which is against the country's law.
    During the year several hundred Bidoon emigrated.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol 
relating to the Status of Refugees. The laws do not provide for 
granting asylum or refugee status. There is no system for providing 
protection to refugees, and the Government did not grant refugee status 
or asylum during the year. The country's immigration regulations 
prohibit local settlement for asylum seekers. In practice, however, the 
Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened 
on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion. The constitution 
prohibits the extradition of political refugees; the Government often 
kept such persons in detention until they agreed to return to their 
home country or made alternative travel arrangements, and it rarely 
granted them permission to live and work in the country.

    Stateless Persons.--According to the law, citizenship is derived 
entirely from the father; children born to citizen mothers and 
nonnational fathers do not inherit citizenship unless the mother is 
divorced or widowed from the nonnational father. The law further fails 
to provide nonnationals, including Bidoon and non-Muslims, a clear or 
defined opportunity to gain nationality. In July, the Ministry of 
Interior issued a regulation that allows female citizens to sponsor 
their nonnational children (regardless of their age) and husbands for 
residency permits.
    Although the exact number of Bidoon residents was unknown, the 
Ministry of Planning estimated there were more than 100,000 Bidoon in 
the country at the end of 2006, the last year the Government collected 
those statistics. The Government continued to discriminate against 
Bidoon in areas such as education, employment, medical care, and 
freedom of movement. Bidoon children may not attend public schools. The 
Government accepted Bidoon in some government positions. Although some 
Bidoon worked in the armed forces or police and there are no legal 
strictures that prevent their service, the Bidoon have effectively been 
barred from enlisting in either force since 1985. Bidoon often faced 
difficulty in qualifying for the subsidized health care that citizens 
received, and the Government also made it difficult for Bidoon to 
obtain official documents necessary for employment or travel, such as 
birth certificates, civil identification cards, driver licenses, and 
marriage certificates.
    On March 19, the National Assembly's Health and Labor Committee 
issued a two-month ultimatum for the Ministry of Health to issue birth 
certificates to Bidoon newborns. On May 18, the Council of Ministers 
passed a resolution to issue birth certificates to all children of 
citizens married to Bidoon women. This resolution was based on 
precedents set in 2009. In March 2009 the Court of First Instance 
issued a marriage certificate to a Bidoon woman married to a citizen. 
In April 2009 and again in May 2009, the same court affirmed a Bidoon 
man's right to receive a marriage certificate and birth certificates 
for his children. Neither the justice nor health ministry complied with 
these 2009 court orders or the resolution of the Council of Ministers 
during the year.
    During the year as in 2009, the Government did not grant 
citizenship to any Bidoon. More than 80,000 Bidoon citizenship requests 
were pending at year's end. Many Bidoon were unable to provide 
documentation proving sufficient ties to the country or to present 
evidence of their original nationality. However, the Government 
maintained that the vast majority of Bidoon were concealing their true 
identities and were not actually stateless.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Citizens had only a limited, indirect impact on control of the 
executive branch, as the constitution stipulates that the country is a 
hereditary emirate. The 50 elected National Assembly members (along 
with government-appointed ministers) must by majority vote approve the 
emir's choice of crown prince (the future emir). The crown prince must 
meet three requirements: that he has attained the age of majority, is 
of sound mind, and is a legitimate son of Muslim parents. The National 
Assembly may remove the emir from power with a two-thirds majority vote 
if it finds that any of these three conditions is no longer accurate. 
The law provides citizens with the right to change their 
representatives in the legislative branch of government, and citizens 
exercised this right in practice through elections.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In May 2009, two months 
after the emir dissolved the National Assembly, a parliamentary 
election was held that was generally considered free and fair. It was 
the third election in three years, due to the emir's constitutional 
dissolutions of parliament in May 2006, March 2008, and March 2009.
    The Government did not recognize any political parties or allow 
their formation, although no formal law bans political parties. Several 
tribal affiliations and well-organized unofficial blocs operated as 
political groupings and held illegal primary elections to maximize 
their impact in National Assembly. Tribal leaders excluded women from 
the tribal primaries. Assembly candidates must nominate themselves as 
individuals and may run for election in any of the country's electoral 
districts. Tribes dominated two of the five constituencies and exerted 
influence on the other three.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law mandates criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and on 
occasion officials were believed to have engaged in corrupt practices 
with impunity. The Audit Bureau is the Government agency responsible 
for combating government corruption, and though it and a government-
formed committee reported various allegations of corruption and 
irregularities, there were no public high-profile corruption cases 
before the courts during the year. Parliament also frequently announced 
inquiries into suspected misuses of public funds, but none of these 
resulted in prosecution during the year. The World Bank's Worldwide 
Governance Indicators for 2009 reflected a decline from 2008 in public 
authorities' perceived control of corruption, which remained a problem.
    There were also reports of citizens' complaints about having to pay 
intermediaries to receive routine government services. Additionally, 
there were some reports of police corruption, especially when one party 
to a dispute had a personal relationship with a police official 
involved in a case. In addition, there were widespread reports that 
police showed favoritism towards citizens.
    The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Social Affairs and 
Labor revealed dozens of cases during the year of ministry employees 
forging documents to enable the importation of foreign workers. 
Violations were referred to investigative bodies within the ministries 
and then sent to the attorney general's office for action. Courts 
rarely took rigorous action against the violators.
    Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws.
    The law provides for public access to unclassified government 
information by citizens and noncitizens alike. The Government enforced 
the law.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government restricted the operations of domestic and 
international human rights groups and limits cooperation with them. The 
law permits the existence of NGOs; however, the Government continued to 
deny licenses to some NGOs. NGOs may not engage in political activity 
and are prohibited from encouraging sectarianism. They must also 
demonstrate that their existence is in the public interest. The only 
local independent NGOs dedicated specifically to human rights were the 
Kuwait Human Rights Society (KHRS) and the Kuwaiti Society for 
Fundamental Human Rights. Local licensed NGOs devoted to specific 
groups, such as women, children, foreign workers, prisoners, and 
persons with disabilities, were permitted to operate without government 
interference. A few dozen local unlicensed human rights groups operated 
without government restriction during the year. The Government and 
various National Assembly committees met regularly with local NGOs, and 
responded to their inquiries.
    The Government permitted international human rights organizations 
to visit the country. In January, Human Rights Watch officials visited 
and conducted interviews, including with government officials, 
principally concerning the protection of foreign domestic workers.
    The Government cooperated with international governmental 
organizations and permitted visits of their representatives. On her 
visit on April 20-21, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay 
emphasized the desirability of eliminating the labor sponsorship system 
requiring migrant works to secure local sponsors.
    The National Assembly's Human Rights Committee, which operates 
independently of the Government, is an advisory body that primarily 
hears individual complaints of human rights abuses. Committee members 
also visited the Central Prison during the year (see section 1.c.). The 
committee had access to adequate resources and was considered 
effective; it did not issue reports.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, origin, disability, 
or language; discrimination based on social status is not addressed. In 
practice the Government did not uniformly or consistently enforce laws 
against discrimination, and a number of laws and regulations 
discriminated against women, Bidoon, noncitizens, and domestic and 
expatriate workers.

    Women.--Violence against women continued to be a problem. Rape 
carries a maximum penalty of death, which the country occasionally 
imposed for the crime; however, spousal rape is not a crime. The media 
reported hundreds of rape cases during the year. Many of the victims 
were noncitizen domestic workers. Police occasionally arrested alleged 
rapists, and several were tried and convicted during the year; however, 
laws against rape were not always enforced effectively to protect 
noncitizen women.
    According to foreign diplomatic sources, victims reported that the 
majority of police stations and hospitals handled their cases in a 
professional way.
    The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence; cases are 
tried instead as assault, and a victim of domestic violence may file a 
complaint with police requesting formal charges be brought against the 
alleged abuser. On March 21, the MOSAL released the results of an 
interministerial study of domestic violence, drawn from a sample of 
1,569 families. The study defined the phenomenon as physical, material, 
psychological, and sexual violence and found the causes to be divorce, 
continued disputes between the couples, deviation, infidelity, and 
psychological problems. One-third of the families reported that they 
had experienced domestic violence; 17 percent of women reported that 
they had experienced it, compared to 42 percent of men.
    Each of the country's 83 police stations reportedly received 
complaints of domestic abuse. However, poor incentive to report abuse 
resulted from the strong social stigma associated with publicly 
acknowledging such problems. Even with documented evidence of the 
abuse--such as eyewitness accounts, hospital reports, and social worker 
testimony--police officials rarely arrested perpetrators of domestic 
violence. Noncitizen women married to citizens reported domestic abuse 
and inaction or discrimination by police during the year. A woman may 
petition for divorce based on injury from abuse, but the law does not 
provide a clear legal standard as to what constitutes injury. In 
addition, a woman must provide at least two male witnesses (or a male 
witness and two female witnesses) to attest to the injury.
    Although courts found husbands guilty of spousal abuse in previous 
years, most domestic abuse cases were not reported, especially outside 
the capital, and individuals reportedly bribed police officials to 
ignore domestic abuse charges. Abusive husbands, if convicted, rarely 
faced severe penalties. There were no shelters or hotlines specifically 
for victims of domestic violence, although a temporary shelter for 
domestic workers housed victims during the year.
    Honor crimes, according to the penal code, are penalized as 
misdemeanors. The law states that a man who sees his wife, daughter, 
mother, or sister in the ``act of adultery'' and immediately kills her 
and/or the man with whom she is committing adultery faces a maximum 
punishment of three years' imprisonment and a 225 dinars (approximately 
$800) fine, slightly less than a month's earnings at the public sector 
minimum wage. There were no reported honor crimes in recent years.
    There is no specific law that addresses sexual harassment; however, 
the law criminalizes ``encroachment on honor,'' which encompasses 
everything from touching a woman against her will to rape, and police 
strictly enforced this law. During the year, the Government deployed 
female police officers specifically to combat sexual harassment in 
shopping malls and other public spaces. Perpetrators face fines and 
jail time. Human rights groups characterized sexual harassment against 
women in the workplace as a pervasive, yet unreported, problem.
    There were no reports of interference in the right to decide freely 
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children, matters 
subject to agreement between husband and wife. Decisions regarding 
access to contraceptives, family size, and procedures involving 
reproductive and fertility treatments required the consent of both 
husband and wife. The information and means to make those decisions, as 
well as skilled attendance during childbirth were freely available. 
There was no formal family planning program; oral contraceptives were 
available over the counter. Women had ready access to essential 
obstetric and postpartum care. According to estimates developed by the 
World Health Organization, the UN Children's Fund, the United Nations 
Population Fund, and the World Bank, there were approximately nine 
maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the country in 2008. 
Information was not available regarding diagnosis and treatment of 
sexually transmitted infections.
    Women have some political rights; however, they do not enjoy the 
same rights as men under family law, property law, or in the judicial 
system, and they continued to face discrimination in many social and 
legal areas. Nevertheless, some women attained prominent positions in 
government and business. A parliamentary committee for women's and 
family affairs exists, and female parliamentarians made up four of its 
five members.
    Women continued to experience legal, economic, and social 
discrimination. Sharia (Islamic law) discriminates against women in 
judicial proceedings, freedom of movement, and marriage. Inheritance is 
also governed by Sharia, which varies according to the school of 
Islamic jurisprudence that different populations in the country follow. 
In the absence of a direct male heir, a Shia woman may inherit all 
property, while a Sunni woman inherits only a portion, with the balance 
divided among brothers, uncles, and male cousins of the deceased.
    When the children of a divorced woman reach age 18, she loses her 
right to live in housing purchased through the Government loan program, 
regardless of any payments she may have made on the loan, and a female 
citizen married to a noncitizen cannot, by law, qualify for the loan 
program. On July 18, the Ministry of Interior issued a regulation that 
allows female citizens to sponsor their nonnational children 
(regardless of their age) and husbands for residency permits. Female 
citizens married to noncitizens were previously required to pay annual 
residence fees of 217 dinars (approximately $750) for their husbands 
and children and had previously been unable to obtain any residency for 
their husband if he was unemployed. Citizen women cannot pass 
citizenship to their noncitizen husbands or their children. Male 
citizens married to female noncitizens did not face such discrimination 
in law or practice. Sharia courts have jurisdiction over personal 
status and family law cases for Sunni and Shia Muslims. Secular courts 
allow anyone to testify and consider male and female testimony equally; 
however, in the Sharia courts the testimony of a man is equal to that 
of two women.
    The law provides for a woman to receive ``remuneration equal to 
that of a man provided she does the same work''; however, it prohibits 
women from working in ``dangerous industries'' and in trades 
``harmful'' to health. In 2008 the Constitutional Court ruled that a 
housing benefits package which gave single women nothing while 
providing allowances for married men and women and unmarried men was 
unconstitutional. Educated women maintained that the conservative 
nature of society limited career opportunities, although there were 
limited improvements. Women accounted for 53 percent of the 270,000 
citizens working in the public sector, 44 percent of the 60,000 working 
in the private sector, and 72 percent of college graduates.
    The law requires that classes at all universities be segregated by 
gender. Public universities enforced this law more rigorously than 
private universities.
    Family matters are adjudicated in accordance with Sharia. The law 
prohibits marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men. A non-
Muslim woman is not required by law to convert to Islam to marry a 
Muslim male; however, in practice many non-Muslim women faced strong 
economic and societal pressure to convert. Failure to convert would 
grant custody of children to the father in the event of a divorce. By 
law, a non-Muslim woman who fails to convert is also ineligible for 
naturalization as a citizen and cannot inherit her husband's property 
without being specified as a beneficiary in his will.
    There were no female judges. On April 14, the Constitutional Court 
rejected a lawsuit by a female lawyer who claimed that her application 
for appointment in the public prosecution was unconstitutionally 
rejected because of her gender.
    In July female police officers began working in public, including 
on patrols at malls and providing airport and VIP security. Female 
police officers, the first of whom graduated from the police academy in 
2009, were previously restricted to deskwork and training new cadets.

    Children.--The Government was generally committed to the rights and 
welfare of citizen children, although noncitizen children received less 
support and attention. The Government automatically granted citizenship 
to orphaned or abandoned infants, including Bidoon infants.
    By law education for citizen children is free through the 
university level and compulsory through the secondary level. Education 
is neither free nor compulsory for Bidoon and expatriate children. Some 
Bidoon children attended private schools, and some did not attend 
school at all. The Government-administered Charity Fund to Educate 
Needy Children paid school fees for all Bidoon children (approximately 
2,000) who applied for assistance during the 2009-2010 school year.
    There was no societal pattern of child abuse.
    The legal marriage age is 17 for men and 15 for women, but younger 
girls continued to marry earlier in some tribal groups. The Ministry of 
Justice estimated that underage marriages constituted 2 to 3 percent of 
total marriages.
    All pornography is illegal; there are no laws specific to child 
pornography. There is no statutory rape law or minimum age for 
consensual sexual relations; however, premarital sexual relations are 
illegal.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html as well as 
country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Negative commentary regarding Jews appeared in the 
media. Anti-Semitic rhetoric often originated from self-proclaimed 
Islamists or conservative opinion writers. These columnists often 
conflated Israeli actions with those of Jews more broadly, particularly 
after the May 31 Israeli interception of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, 
which included several prominent Kuwaitis. School administrators have 
issued standing instructions to teachers to expunge English-language 
textbooks of any references to Israel or the Holocaust, and books 
dealing with these topics remained banned. The Government did not make 
any public statement on textbook censorship. There were no known Jewish 
citizens and an estimated few dozen Jewish foreign resident employees.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, and mental disabilities and 
imposes penalties on employers who refrain without reasonable cause 
from hiring persons with disabilities. The law also mandates access to 
buildings for persons with disabilities. The Government generally 
enforced these provisions. There were no specific reports of 
discrimination against persons with disabilities; however, noncitizens 
with disabilities did not have access to government-operated facilities 
or receive stipends paid to citizens with disabilities, which covered 
transportation, housing, job training, and social welfare.
    In June the Government enacted a new disability law providing 
larger disability grants, reduced working hours, and improved housing 
loans for citizens and Bidoon with mental or physical disabilities. The 
law requires government employers with workforces of 50 persons or more 
to recruit at least 4 percent of their workforce from vocationally 
trained persons with special needs. The law also allows citizens with 
disabilities, or those with disabled children, to receive larger than 
normal housing grants and earlier pensions. Although Bidoons are not 
normally entitled to receive housing grants, the new law's provisions 
included disabled Bidoons, or those with disabled children.
    Representatives from ministries, other governmental bodies, Kuwait 
University, and several NGOs constitute the Government's Higher Council 
for Handicapped Affairs, which makes policy recommendations, provides 
direct financial aid to persons with disabilities, and facilitates 
their integration into schools, jobs, and other social institutions. 
The Government supervised and contributed to schools and job and 
training programs oriented to persons with special needs.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexuality and cross-
dressing are illegal. The law punishes homosexual behavior between men 
older than 21 with imprisonment of up of to seven years; those engaging 
in homosexual activity with men younger than 21 may be imprisoned for 
as long as 10 years. The law imposes a fine of 1,059 dinars 
(approximately $3,700) and imprisonment for one to three years for 
those imitating the appearance of the opposite sex in public. No laws 
criminalize sexual behavior between women.
    During the year there were more than a dozen reports of police 
arresting transgender persons at malls and markets, beating them in 
custody and shaving their heads, and then generally releasing them 
without charges. The Government did not condone abuse by officials of 
transgender persons, but it also did not punish the abusers. For 
example, on December 31, police arrested two women for allegedly 
dressing and acting like men, according to the local press; the women 
were released the next day. In March 2009 Criminal Investigations 
Division officers raided a cafe, arresting five men for cross-dressing. 
By year's end there were no updates in this case.
    There were no official NGOs focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, or 
transgender matters, though unofficial ones existed. Societal 
discrimination based on sexual orientation was common; officials 
practiced to a lesser extent a de facto discrimination reflecting 
societal values and laws. There was no government response to either.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
    Unmarried men continued to face housing discrimination based solely 
on marital status. The law prohibits single men from obtaining 
accommodation in many urban residential areas.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    On February 20, a new private sector labor law was published, 
replacing a 1964 law that expanded rights for private sector employees 
but did not cover domestic servants. The sponsorship system for migrant 
workers rendered this group of workers vulnerable to abuse and 
mistreatment.

    a. The Right of Association.--With the exceptions of the country's 
domestic workers and maritime employees, the law provides that workers 
have restricted rights to join trade unions. The law gives workers the 
right to join unions without previous authorization. Nondomestic 
migrant workers can join unions, with restrictions, if they obtain a 
certificate of good conduct and moral standing from the Government, but 
they cannot run for seats or vote in board elections. An estimated 
100,000 persons, or 5 percent, of a total workforce of two million were 
organized into unions, mostly in the public sector and the oil, gas, 
and petrochemical industries.
    The Government restricted the right of association in forming 
unions. Only one union per occupational trade exists, and unions 
combine in the sole government-authorized federation. The Kuwait Trade 
Union Federation (KTUF) comprised 15 of the 47 licensed unions, 
amounting to the vast majority of union workers. The KTUF did not meet 
the needs of all workers and left many, such as bank workers and 
airline employees, dissatisfied. As a result, some unions or workers 
instead joined the unlicensed National Trade Union Federation.
    The law stipulates that any new union must include at least 100 
workers, 15 of them citizens and that union certification must be 
formally presented to them by the Government. Both the International 
Labor Organization and the International Trade Union Confederation 
criticized the citizenship requirement because it discouraged unions in 
sectors that employ few citizens, such as much of the private sector, 
especially construction and domestic workers.
    The Government essentially treated licensed unions as parastatal 
organizations, providing as much as 90 percent of their budgets and 
inspecting financial records. If a union ceases to exist, the 
Government, in turn, takes all its assets. Union leaders and board 
members are elected by citizen union members. The law prohibits unions 
from engaging political, religious, or sectarian issues. The law 
empowers the courts to dissolve any union for violating labor laws or 
for threatening ``public order and morals,'' although such a court 
decision may be appealed. By law the MOSAL can request the dissolution 
of a union by the Court of First Instance. The emir also may dissolve a 
union by decree. No union was dissolved during the year. The Government 
denied several public sector and oil sector unions' applications for 
official recognition during the year on the grounds that the law does 
not allow more than one union to represent the same profession or 
organization.
    The law denies foreign domestic workers (approximately 560,000 of 
the estimated 1.5-million noncitizen workforce) and maritime employees 
the right to associate and organize. It also discriminates against more 
than one million other foreign workers by denying union voting rights, 
the ability to stand for union leadership positions, and restricting 
membership to workers with at least five years of residence, although 
the KTUF stated that this last requirement was not widely enforced in 
practice.
    The law does not prevent the Government from interfering in union 
activities, including the right to strike. The requirements for 
conducting a legal strike were excessively lengthy and cumbersome in 
practice, and no legal strike took place during the year. To strike, a 
union must obtain permission from the Ministry of Interior, which did 
not grant permission for any of the strikes that took place during the 
year.
    Most labor disputes are resolved in compulsory negotiations; if 
not, either party may petition the ministry for mediation. If mediation 
fails the dispute is referred to a labor arbitration board composed of 
officials from the Court of Appeals, the Attorney General's Office, and 
the respective ministry involved. The law does not prohibit retaliation 
against strikers by employers. Employers generally tried to settle 
disputes with workers themselves in order to retain them.
    Foreign workers went on strike during the year. Most striking 
workers were employees of cleaning and security companies who claimed 
they either not been paid or had received insufficient salaries. In 
these instances the ministry responded by attempting to negotiate a 
settlement between the workers and the employers. However, the 
Government's Central Tenders Committee barred two cleaning companies 
for three months from bidding on government contracts because of a wage 
dispute that culminated in an October cleaners' strike affecting public 
sector buildings.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides workers, with the exceptions of domestic servants, maritime 
workers, and civil servants, the right to bargain collectively, subject 
to certain restrictions. In practice the Government generally respected 
the rights of those workers covered by the law. Collective agreements 
covered approximately 70 percent of the citizen labor force. There are 
no legal restrictions on collective bargaining. There is no minimum 
number of workers needed for such agreements.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer 
interference with union functions, and the Government generally 
protected those rights. Any worker alleging antiunion discrimination 
has the right to appeal to the judiciary. By law employers found guilty 
of such discrimination must reinstate workers fired for union 
activities. There were no reports of discrimination against employees 
based on their affiliation with a union.
    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, including by children, ``except in cases 
specified by law for national emergency and with just remuneration.'' 
However, there were reports of such practices, usually made possible by 
employer misuse of the sponsorship system of noncitizen workers.
    Domestic servitude was the most common type of forced labor, 
principally involving foreign domestic workers who are employed under 
the sponsorship system. Many of these workers are subjected to 
restrictions on movement and communication, forced overtime, non-
payment of wages, and some experience physical abuse. Female domestic 
workers are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse. Police and courts 
were reluctant to prosecute citizens for abuse in private residences.
    There were frequent reports of domestic workers committing or 
attempting suicide related to desperation over abuse or poor working 
conditions. The number of such cases continued to increase.
    See also the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits child labor, and the Government made efforts to enforce 
the law effectively. There were credible reports of underage workers, 
almost entirely concerning domestic servants of South Asian origin. 
Some underage workers, mostly domestic servants, entered the country on 
travel documents with falsified birth dates. Approximately 300 
inspectors from the MOSAL's Labor Inspection Department monitored 
private firms routinely for labor law compliance, including laws 
against child labor. Noncompliant employers faced fines or a forced 
suspension in their company operations. See also the Department of 
State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The legal minimum age for employment is 18; however, employers may 
obtain permits from the ministry to employ juveniles between the ages 
of 15 and 18 in nonhazardous trades. On September 6, the MOSAL issued a 
regulation further restricting the trades in which juveniles between 
the ages of 15 and 18 may be employed. 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.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On April 14, the MOSAL announced 
an increase in the national minimum wage for the private sector; 
however, this did not include domestic workers who earn up to 60 dinars 
(approximately $210) per month, which does not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and a family. The Government will not 
issue visas for dependents to accompany workers earning less than 250 
dinars per month (approximately $875).
    The law limits the standard workweek to 48 hours (40 hours for the 
petroleum industry) with one full day of rest per week and one hour of 
rest after every five consecutive hours of work. These standards were 
not well enforced, and domestic servants and other unskilled foreign 
workers in the private sector frequently worked in excess of 48 hours a 
week, often with no day of rest. Workers submitted complaints to the 
ministry's Labor Disputes Department.
    On February 22, a new private sector labor law, which does not 
apply to domestic workers, went into effect, increasing annual leave 
from 14 days to 30 days, mandating 70 days of paid maternity leave, and 
requiring that notices of termination be provided three months in 
advance (as opposed to a one-month notice). For work on Friday, workers 
are entitled to a day and a half's pay and a day off in the following 
week. The law also forbids requiring employees to work more than 60 
hours per week or 10 hours per day.
    In August 2009 the MOSAL issued a regulation to permit most foreign 
workers to change employers after three years of work without having to 
secure the permission of the original sponsor first. The regulation 
excludes domestic workers, public sector workers, and foreign workers 
involved in finance management, thereby applying to approximately two-
thirds of the country's two million foreign workers.
    The Government issued occupational health and safety standards; 
however, compliance and enforcement by the MOSAL appeared poor, 
especially with respect to unskilled foreign laborers. To decrease 
accident rates, the Government periodically inspected enterprises to 
raise awareness among workers and employers and to ensure that they 
abided by safety rules, controlled pollution resulting from certain 
industries, trained workers to use machines, and reported violations. 
Workers have the right to remove themselves from dangerous work 
situations without jeopardizing their continued employment, and legal 
protection existed for both citizen and foreign workers who filed 
complaints about such conditions. Inspections do not, however, extend 
into the home which is the workplace of the majority of the country's 
domestic workers. In past years government attention to worker safety 
issues was limited, resulting in poor training of inspectors, 
inadequate injury reports, and no link between insurance payments and 
accident reports. No such cases were reported during the year.
    The law provides that all outdoor work stop between noon and 4:00 
p.m. during the months of June, July, and August, or when the 
temperature rises to 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in the shade. 
The MOSAL monitored work sites to ensure compliance with these rules. 
There were no reports of violations during the year. Workers could 
report these violations to their embassies, to the Kuwait Trade Union 
Federation, or the Labor Disputes Department at the Ministry of Social 
Affairs and Labor.

                               __________

                                LEBANON

    Lebanon, with a population of approximately four 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 Shia Muslim. On June 7, the country held parliamentary 
elections international observers deemed generally free and fair. In 
May 2008 parliament elected President Michel Sleiman, who serves as the 
head of state. On June 27, the president and parliament appointed Saad 
Hariri prime minister-designate, and Hariri formed a cabinet November 9 
after lengthy negotiations. Civilian authorities generally maintained 
effective control of government security forces. UN Security Council 
(UNSC) resolutions 1559 and 1701 call upon the Government to take 
effective control of all Lebanese territory and disarm militia groups. 
Despite the presence of Lebanese and UN security forces, Hizballah 
retained significant influence over parts of the country, and the 
Government made no tangible progress toward disbanding and disarming 
armed militia groups, including Hizballah. Palestinian refugee camps 
continued to act as self-governed entities and maintained security and 
militia forces not under the direction of government officials.
    There were limitations on the right of citizens to change their 
government peacefully. Unknown actors committed unlawful killings, and 
there was one reported disappearance during the year that may have been 
politically motivated. Security forces arbitrarily arrested and 
detained individuals. Torture of detainees remained a problem, as did 
poor prison conditions, lengthy pretrial detention, and long delays in 
the court system. The Government violated citizens' privacy rights, and 
there were some restrictions on freedoms of speech and press, including 
intimidation of journalists. The Government suffered from corruption 
and lack of transparency. There were limitations on freedom of movement 
for unregistered refugees. Widespread, systematic discrimination 
against Palestinian refugees and minority groups continued. Domestic 
violence and societal discrimination against women continued, as did 
violence against children 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 the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful 
killings. There was at least one high-profile killing by unknown 
actors. On March 23, a roadside bomb blast close to Mieh Mieh, a 
Palestinian refugee camp east of Sidon, killed Kamal Medhat, deputy 
head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the country, 
along with Akram Daher, Khaled Daher, and Mohammed Shehadeh.
    There were few developments in killings by unknown actors from 
previous years.
    At year's end investigations were ongoing in two January 2008 
explosions: one targeted a diplomatic vehicle, killing three persons 
and injuring two security employees; the other killed Internal Security 
Forces (ISF) Information Technology Intelligence branch head Captain 
Wissam Eid and three others, and injured 36.
    During January 2008 riots protesting power outages in the 
predominantly Shia Muslim area of Shiyah, an unknown assailant shot and 
killed an Amal movement official. In response the riots turned violent, 
with protestors throwing stones and setting cars ablaze; seven 
civilians died, and more than 19 were injured. In February 2008 the 
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) arrested 17 persons, including 11 soldiers 
and three officers, for excessive use of force in containing the 
protests. Authorities later released on bail the three officers, some 
of the soldiers, and other individuals.
    In September 2008 unknown persons planted a car bomb that killed 
Druze opposition figure Saleh Aridi and injured six others. Aridi 
reportedly played a major role in the reconciliation efforts of Druze 
leaders Walid Jumblatt and Talal Arslan following the May 2008 conflict 
with Hizballah. At year's end the investigation was ongoing.
    There were no developments in investigations following several 2007 
car bombing deaths, including those of member of parliament (MP) Walid 
Eido and 10 others in June and MP Antoine Ghanem and eight others in 
September. There were no developments in the investigation of the 2006 
killings of Islamic Jihad member Mahmoud Majzoub and his brother or of 
the roadside bombs in Rmeileh that injured ISF Lieutenant Colonel Samir 
Shehade and killed four of his bodyguards.
    It remained difficult to distinguish politically motivated crimes 
allegedly committed by opposition groups or terrorists from simple 
criminal acts or disputes, as the Government did not exercise control 
over all its territory and investigations of suspicious killings rarely 
led to prosecutions.
    In April 2008 Joseph and Tony Zouki, supporters of pro-March 8 
Alliance MP Elie Skaff, allegedly shot and killed two Phalange party 
supporters, Nasri Marouni and Salim Assi, during the inauguration of 
the Phalange headquarters in Zahle. At year's end Joseph and Tony Zouki 
remained at large.
    In May 2008 Hizballah-led opposition fighters occupied parts of 
downtown Beirut to protest two government decisions against Hizballah. 
Armed clashes ensued between the predominantly Shia opposition and 
Sunnis aligned with the majority. The occupiers targeted Sunni-run 
political party offices and media outlets. There were also armed 
clashes between Druze and Hizballah in the mountains and between Sunnis 
and Alawites in the north. The May 2008 conflict reportedly resulted in 
more than 80 deaths and 250 injuries.
    According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), during the May 2008 
conflict, members of the opposition groups Hizballah, Amal, and the 
Syrian Socialist National Party (SSNP) used small arms and rocket-
propelled grenades (RPGs) in densely populated areas of Beirut, killing 
numerous civilians. For example, HRW reported opposition gunmen shot 
and killed Amal Baydoun and her son, Haytham Tabbarah, with an RPG 
while the two were trying to flee their Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood. 
Opposition gunmen shot and injured Tabbarah's two brothers later that 
day while they were trying to join their family at the hospital.
    Also in May 2008, supporters of the progovernment groups Future 
Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) resorted to violence 
against civilians and offices associated with opposition groups in 
areas under the groups' control in northern Lebanon, the Biqa', and the 
Shouf. According to Hizballah, PSP fighters detained and then executed 
two Hizballah followers. After examining photos of the two Hizballah 
members, HRW reported PSP fighters shot at least one victim in the head 
at close range. In Halba, a village in the north, armed Sunnis killed 
members of the SSNP who had surrendered. According to HRW, the 
judiciary has issued only one indictment related to the May 2008 
clashes, against an individual who shot at civilians. Other 
investigations have stalled with no prosecutions by year's end.
    In May 2008 a blast killed soldier Ossama Hassan at an army 
intelligence post near the northern city of Tripoli. In August and 
September 2008, two separate bomb attacks targeted buses filled with 
LAF soldiers on their way to work in Tripoli, killing 20 persons, 
including 14 soldiers, and injuring more than 90. In October 2008 the 
public prosecutor issued charges against 34 suspects accused of 
carrying out terrorist attacks, including the attack on the 
intelligence post and the Tripoli bus bombings. At year's end, 
authorities continued to detain 26 suspects; eight others, including 
Fadi Ghassan Ibrahim, remained at large. Judicial authorities also 
accused Ibrahim, a suspected member of Fatah al-Islam (FAI), of killing 
Brigadier General Francois el-Hajj and his bodyguard in 2007.
    Four suspected members of FAI charged with leading the 2007 Ain 
Alaq twin bus bombings remained in detention at year's end, without 
formal convictions or progress toward a trial.
    On April 29, the UN-appointed Special Tribunal for Lebanon ordered 
the Government to release for lack of evidence four generals suspected 
of collaborating in the 2005 killing of former prime minister Rafiq al-
Hariri and 22 other individuals. The officers were Major General Jamil 
Sayyed, former chief of Surete Generale (SG); Major General Ali Hajj, 
former ISF head; Brigadier General Raymond Azar, former chief of 
military intelligence; and Brigadier General Mustafa Hamdan, former 
commander of the presidential guard.
    Israeli cluster munitions from the 2006 conflict continued to kill 
and injure civilians during the year. In April the UN Interim Force in 
Lebanon (UNIFIL) estimated these munitions caused an ongoing average of 
two civilian casualties per month. The UN Mine Action Coordination 
Center estimated 560,000 to 1.1 million unexploded munitions remained, 
despite ongoing removal efforts. At year's end munitions had killed 44 
persons since the end of the conflict. On May 13, Israel provided 
strike data to the Lebanese government to assist in explosive ordnance 
disposal and demining efforts.

    b. Disappearance.--There was one report of an allegedly politically 
motivated disappearance during the year. On February 12, three masked 
men seized Middle East Airlines' Director of Information Technology 
Operational Services, Joseph Sader, as he got off a bus and walked to 
his office in the Rafiq Hariri Beirut International Airport. According 
to Sader's brother, the men threw Sader into a van and drove away. A 
small bus carrying army personnel who also witnessed the accident 
pursued but reportedly lost the van in heavy traffic. Although the ISF 
was investigating the disappearance, some expressed concern at 
government and security officials' refusal to discuss the case, and at 
least one source claimed the kidnappers transferred Sader to LAF 
intelligence, purportedly to investigate his relationship with an 
acquaintance who had connections to Israel. According to press reports, 
Bishop Elie Haddad, Melkite Roman Catholic Pastor of Sidon and Deir al-
Qamar, said in an interview with television channel OTV Sader was still 
alive, and a local armed group without connections to Hizballah was 
holding him. Sader remained missing at year's end.
    In December 2008 plainclothes military intelligence officers took 
Syrian citizen and United National Alliance member Nawar Abboud and two 
of his employees from his office in Tripoli to al-Qubbeh military base 
for interrogation. Authorities reported they released all three over 
the next two days, but Abboud remained missing at year's end despite 
his family's reportedly extensive efforts to find him. On November 10, 
the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), the body mandated 
to investigate complaints of arbitrary deprivation of liberty, declared 
Abboud's disappearance to have been arbitrary. The WGAD said the 
Government's response to its queries on Abboud's whereabouts had been 
``brief and imprecise'' and urged the Government to ``show with 
precision the proof that he was liberated.'' At year's end Abboud's 
whereabouts were still unknown.
    There were no developments in the 2007 kidnapping and killing case 
of Ziad Ghandour and Ziad Qabalan, who were affiliated with PSP leader 
Walid Jamblatt. In September 2008 the public prosecutor issued charges 
against 14 persons, including brothers Mohammed, Shehadeh, Abdallah, 
Abbas, and Ali Shamas, who remained at large at year's end.
    More than 17,000 persons reportedly disappeared in the country 
during the 1975-1990 war. On October 23, judicial authorities ordered 
the Council of Ministers to release the official investigations report 
issued in 2000, of which only a three-page summary had been previously 
available. At year's end the report had not been published.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law does not specifically prohibit torture or cruel, 
inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and there were reports 
government officials employed such practices. According to human rights 
groups--including Amnesty International (AI), the Lebanese Association 
for Education and Training (ALEF), and HRW--torture was common, and 
security forces abused detainees. Human rights organizations reported 
torture occurred in certain police stations, the Ministry of Defense 
(MOD), and the ISF's intelligence branch and Drug Repression Bureau 
detention facilities in Beirut and Zahle. At year's end the Government 
had not submitted its initial report under the Convention Against 
Torture--a report due in 2001. The Government also continued to deny 
the use of torture, although authorities acknowledged violent abuse 
sometimes occurred during preliminary investigations at police stations 
or military installations where suspects were interrogated without an 
attorney. Such abuse occurred despite national laws preventing judges 
from accepting confessions extracted under duress.
    Former prisoners, detainees, and reputable local human rights 
groups reported the methods of torture and abuse applied included 
hanging by the wrists tied behind the back, violent beatings, blows to 
the soles of the feet, electric shocks, sexual abuse, immersion in cold 
water, extended periods of sleep deprivation, being forced to stand for 
extended periods, threats of violence against relatives, deprivation of 
clothing, withholding of food, being deprived of toilet facilities, and 
continuous blindfolding.
    On January 22, LAF soldiers allegedly discovered two men engaged in 
homosexual activity in the lobby of an uninhabited building in Beirut. 
They dragged them to Sassine Sqaure in Beirut and severely beat them. 
According to reports soldiers punched, kicked, and jabbed the men with 
their rifle butts. The beating reportedly ended only when bystanders 
began to intercede, but the LAF detained the men at police barracks on 
the attorney general's order until their release a few days later.
    On July 8, LAF officials arrested and beat Mathieu Fever, a French 
citizen and son of Jean-Francois Fever, head of security for UN 
agencies in the country. The LAF alleged Fever had attempted to 
obstruct a convoy transferring a dangerous criminal and the convoy 
repeatedly warned Fever to move. Fever had a broken leg when the LAF 
released him two hours after the arrest. No new developments were 
reported in this case by year's end.
    From October to November 2008, authorities reportedly tortured Fadi 
Anwar Sabunah, who was in detention at the MOD. According to 
international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Alkarama (Dignity), 
officers tortured Sabunah before he reportedly signed a confession to 
end the torture. At year's end he faced criminal charges before the 
Beirut military tribunal related to May, August, and September 2008 
bomb attacks on LAF soldiers.
    From November 2007 to February 2008, according to Alkarama, ISF 
intelligence agents allegedly tortured Amer and Mosbah Hashash in 
incommunicado detention at the ISF Directorate General detention center 
in Beirut. Authorities reportedly tortured the brothers to force them 
to sign confessions they were not permitted to read. The brothers, who 
were charged with forming a terrorist group, were awaiting trial at 
year's end.
    In 2007 security forces arrested five men in Tripoli on suspicion 
of supplying weapons to FAI. Security forces reportedly broke one 
suspect's jaw while he was in detention and forced another to stand for 
long periods of time, beating him severely if he tried to rest. Police 
dropped charges against two suspects; the others remained in custody at 
year's end.
    According to the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH), on July 
31, the military court sentenced Faysal Ghazi Moqalled to life 
imprisonment for his 2006 interaction with the Mossad, the Israeli 
intelligence agency. Moqalled originally was illegally detained for 
five months in a Hizballah prison in 2006, where he was allegedly 
tortured. Subsequently the MOD detained him for 20 months, and he was 
allegedly tortured again. His trial on appeal was scheduled for 
February 2010.
    The army intelligence service arrested Mahmoud Qassem Rafeh in 2006 
on suspicion of being an Israeli agent and subsequently detained him at 
the MOD, where he was allegedly tortured and forced to sign a 
confession. Rafeh was detained for approximately two years before he 
was permitted access to a lawyer; at year's end he was in prison 
awaiting trial.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions were poor and did not meet minimum international 
standards. Prisons were overcrowded and sanitary conditions, 
particularly in women's prisons, were very poor. NGOs working with 
prisoners reported three cases of prisoner-on-prisoner rape in Roumieh 
prison during the year. According to one NGO, 27 prisoners died during 
the year primarily due to authorities' negligence and failure to 
provide appropriate medical care. The Government did not consider 
prison reform a high priority.
    At year's end there were 4,800 prisoners and detainees, including 
pretrial detainees and remand prisoners, in facilities built to hold a 
maximum of 2,500 inmates. NGOs reported at the end of the year, 138 
minors and 336 women were incarcerated. Overcrowding and limited prison 
facilities meant pretrial detainees were often held together with 
convicted prisoners, and juveniles may have been held together with 
adults during the year. Men and women are held separately in similar 
conditions. The LAF carried out interrogations of security detainees in 
detention centers at the MOD. Authorities held FAI prisoners in 
separate cells at Roumieh prison.
    The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by local and international human rights groups and the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and such monitoring 
took place during the year. According to its 2008 annual report, the 
ICRC carried out 136 visits to 6,104 detainees in 21 prisons and 
detention centers.
    Nongovernmental entities such as Hizballah and Palestinian militias 
also operated detention facilities.
    The Government made modest efforts to rehabilitate some inmates 
through education and training programs. A 15-month project funded by 
the European Union and implemented by the Association for Defense of 
Rights and Freedoms used theater arts to help inmates express 
themselves and communicate with others.

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

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The ISF, under the 
Ministry of Interior (MOI), 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, control the borders. The LAF is responsible for external security 
but may also arrest and detain suspects in the country on national 
security grounds. Both the State Security Apparatus and the SG collect 
information on groups deemed possible threats to state security.
    Government security officials and agencies and the police force are 
subject to laws against bribery and extortion. In practice a lack of 
strong enforcement limited the laws' effectiveness. The Government 
acknowledged the need to reform law enforcement behavior. The ISF 
maintained three complaint hotlines. Hotline operators in North 
Lebanon, South Lebanon, Biqa', and Mount Lebanon each received 
approximately 50 calls per day; the Beirut operation center received 
approximately 100 calls per day. If the calls indicated urgency, the 
ISF dispatched its forces for assistance. During times of particular 
security instability, these centers received a greater number of calls.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
generally requires a warrant for arrest and provides the right to a 
lawyer, a medical examination, and referral to a prosecutor within 48 
hours of arrest. If authorities hold a detainee longer than 48 hours 
without formal charges, the arrest is considered arbitrary and the 
detainee must be released. In such cases officials responsible for the 
prolonged arrest may be prosecuted on charges of depriving personal 
freedom, but charges are rarely filed. A suspect caught in the act of 
committing a crime must be referred to an examining judge, who decides 
whether to issue an indictment or to order the release of the suspect. 
By law bail is available in all cases regardless of the charges, 
although the amounts demanded may be set prohibitively high.
    The law guarantees detainees prompt access to a lawyer and to 
family members. However, the state does not provide legal assistance, 
although the Beirut Bar Association provides lawyers for indigent 
defendants.
    Authorities did not observe many provisions of the law, and 
government security forces--as well as extralegal armed groups such as 
Hizballah--continued the practice of arbitrary arrest and detention. In 
addition, the law permits military intelligence personnel to make 
arrests without warrants in cases involving military personnel and 
those involving alleged espionage, treason, and weapons possession.
    According to the CLDH, there have been clear cases of arbitrary 
detention and torture among persons detained on spying charges. For 
example, the CLDH reported four individuals accused of spying 
complained various security services tortured them to force them to 
sign confessions.
    Bureaucratic inefficiency delayed some cases. According to the 
CLDH, on September 25, authorities summoned Haytham Zantout to the 
Shiyah police station, where they interrogated him concerning a 
financial case. Zantout spent a night at the police station and four 
nights at the Baabda Court jail before authorities transferred him to 
Roumieh prison. After three hearings the investigative magistrate 
ordered him released on October 19. However, due to a delay in 
transmitting the release order to prison authorities, Zantout was only 
released on December 10, seven weeks after his ordered release date.
    Palestinian refugees were subject to arbitrary arrest and detention 
by state security forces and rival Palestinian factions. No statistics 
on the number of such cases were available at year's end.
    For example, on September 5, Hizballah reportedly arrested Salah 
Ezzedine and conducted an interrogation into his alleged financial 
fraud scheme before remanding him to the custody of government law 
enforcement personnel. Both Ezzedine and his business partner Youssef 
Faour were charged with fraud, embezzlement, distributing worthless 
checks, and violating the country's fiscal law.
    Human rights activists believed as of 2008 there were at least 600 
Lebanese and Palestinians from Lebanon in prolonged and often secret 
detention in Syria. In August 2008 Minister of Justice Ibrahim Najjar 
stated in a televised interview there were 745 citizens missing in 
Syria, some of them convicted criminals, and some victims of ``enforced 
disappearances.'' Najjar was the first government official to classify 
the detainees publicly. By year's end the Syrian government had 
released 130 detainees; all of those released had been convicted as 
criminals. According to NGO Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile, 
at year's end the Syrian delegation to the joint Syrian-Lebanese 
commission had not granted approval for the country's judges to check 
on the prisoners remaining in Syrian detention, although it had agreed 
in principle to do so.
    Pretrial detention was a serious problem. According to ISF 
statistics, of the 5,122 persons in prison in May, more than 3,200 had 
yet to go to trial. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concerns about arbitrary pretrial 
detention without access to legal representation and refused to support 
construction of new prisons until the issue of arbitrary pretrial 
detention was resolved.

    Amnesty.--On July 10, President Sleiman granted amnesty to 
Palestinian prisoner Youssef Shaaban, jailed since 1994 for allegedly 
killing a Jordanian diplomat. Shaaban's release came several years 
after the execution of the confessed killers in Jordan. Shaaban was 
sentenced on the basis of confessions intelligence services extracted 
from after torturing him. He had been claiming his innocence for 15 
years.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, in practice the judiciary was subject 
to political pressure, particularly in the appointment of key 
prosecutors and investigating magistrates. Influential politicians and 
intelligence officers intervened at times and used their influence and 
connections to protect supporters from prosecution. Despite 
intimidation generated by a series of unresolved political 
assassinations by unidentified assailants beginning in 2004, the 
aftermath of the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri led to the gradual 
reduction of Syrian influence over the judiciary.
    The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) appoints most judges, taking into 
account the sectarian affiliation of the prospective judge. A shortage 
of qualified judges impeded efforts to adjudicate cases that 
accumulated 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 
in the country.
    The judicial system consists of the civilian courts, a military 
court, the Judicial Council, and the Constitutional Council. There are 
tribunals for the 18 government-recognized religious affiliations to 
adjudicate matters of personal status, including marriage, divorce, 
inheritance, and child custody according to each confession's 
principles. Shia and Sunni religious communities use religious courts 
that apply Shari'a principles to resolve family legal matters. There 
are also religious family courts in the Christian sect and Druze 
communities. There was no universal or secular personal status civil 
court system, no full body of civil law, and no appeal mechanism for 
the confessional courts.
    The military court tries cases involving military personnel and 
civilians in security-related issues, but it also has jurisdiction over 
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 
cassation court. Defendants on trial by military tribunals have the 
same procedural rights as defendants in ordinary courts.
    The Judicial Council is a permanent tribunal of five senior judges 
that adjudicates threats to national security and some high-profile 
cases. Upon the recommendation of the minister of justice, the cabinet 
decides whether to try a case before this tribunal. Defendants before 
the Judicial Council have the same procedural rights as other 
defendants, but there is no right to appeal, and judges have the 
discretion to order the sessions, which are generally public, be 
closed.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants do not enjoy a presumption of 
innocence, and there is no trial by jury. Trials were generally public, 
but judges have the discretion to order a closed court session. 
Defendants have the right to be present at trial, to consult with an 
attorney in a timely manner, and to question witnesses against them, 
but they must do the latter through the court panel, which decides 
whether to permit the defendant's question. Although 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, of whom 80 percent were foreigners. A 
member of the Beirut Bar Association's Legal Aid Committee estimated as 
many as 20 percent of such defendants believed they did not receive 
proper representation. Defendants may present witnesses and evidence, 
and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to 
their cases. Defendants have the right of appeal. These rights 
generally were observed and applied to all defendants, both citizens 
and foreigners.
    Palestinian groups in refugee camps operated an autonomous and 
arbitrary system of justice outside the control of the state. For 
example, local popular committees in the camps attempted to resolve 
disputes using tribal methods of reconciliation. If the case involved a 
killing, the committees occasionally transferred the perpetrator to 
state authorities for trial.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
judiciary in civil matters. In practice it was seldom used to bring 
civil lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations the 
Government allegedly committed. During the year there were no examples 
of a civil court awarding an individual compensation for human rights 
violations the Government committed against them. Many potential 
litigants perceived such litigation was not worth the effort because 
the process was lengthy and there were few precedents of successful 
outcomes.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the law prohibits such actions, authorities 
frequently interfered with the privacy of persons regarded as enemies 
of the Government. The law requires police obtain warrants before 
entering homes except when in close pursuit of armed attackers, and 
they generally did so.
    The Army Intelligence Service monitored the movements and 
activities of members of opposition groups. Security services continued 
to eavesdrop, although the law requires prior authorization. Defense 
Minister Elias Murr stated that Law 140, which regulates eavesdropping, 
was implemented as of February 3. The law allows the State Prosecutor's 
Office to request permission to tap telephone calls made in connection 
with ordinary crimes. It also allows the ministries of defense and 
interior to request the interception of calls related to political and 
terrorist activities. These ministries must first inform the Council of 
Ministers of their intention to request a particular telephone tap. 
Subsequently they must submit all specific requests to the relevant 
authorities. The law also provides for the formation of an independent 
judicial committee to receive telephone-tapping complaints and permits 
security services to monitor suspected criminals' telephones. On August 
17, the press reported the establishment of a new telephone-tapping 
center, operated by army officers, with the capacity of recording 
72,000 calls per day.
    Militias and non-Lebanese forces operating outside the area of 
central government authority also frequently violated citizens' privacy 
rights. Various factions used informer networks and telephone 
monitoring to obtain information regarding their perceived adversaries.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, but political violence and extralegal 
intimidation in recent years have led to self-censorship among 
journalists. Individuals are free to criticize the Government but are 
legally prohibited from publicly criticizing the president and foreign 
leaders.
    Dozens of newspapers and hundreds of periodicals were published 
throughout the country, financed by and reflecting the views of local, 
sectarian, and foreign interest groups. In cooperation with the UN 
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) regional 
office in Beirut, the Maharat Foundation released its annual report on 
the status of freedom of expression and opinion in the country for the 
year 2008. It noted the law restricts the freedom to issue, publish, 
and sell newspapers. The law also limits the number of political 
periodical publications to 25 per day for political publications and 20 
a day for provisional political publications; prohibits the release of 
any publication without a prior license from the minister of 
information in consultation with the Press Union; and outlaws owning or 
managing a printing press without informing the Ministry of 
Information. There was limited state ownership of newspapers and 
periodicals; of the nine television and 33 radio stations, all but one 
television and one radio station were privately owned. The majority of 
media outlets had political affiliations, which sometimes hampered 
their ability to operate freely in areas dominated by other political 
groups and affected the objectivity of their reporting.
    In November 2008 more than 15 supporters of the SSNP attacked 
Future News Television reporter Omar Harqous with sticks in Beirut's 
Hamra Street, injuring him in the head, neck, and chest. Harqous, who 
was admitted to a hospital for treatment, filed a complaint against the 
SSNP, its president, and the assailants, claiming the attack was 
motivated by his political reporting and editorials and that the 
assailants called him a Jew. The case was under appeal at year's end.
    During the year several journalists privately reported receiving 
threats from political parties, politicians, fellow journalists, and 
opposition militia figures who generally threatened violence against 
them and their families if they did not cease writing articles on 
sensitive political issues. During the May 2008 conflict, there were 
physical attacks on several journalists and photographers, and armed 
Hizballah fighters closed four government-affiliated media outlets for 
several days. According to the Maharat Foundation's 2008 survey, 10 of 
the 61 journalists interviewed had experienced a shooting or beating in 
2008, six had been threatened or intimidated, and four had been 
illegally detained.
    The law permits censorship of pornographic material, political 
opinion, and religious material considered a threat to national 
security or an offense to the dignity of the head of state or foreign 
leaders. The 1991 security agreement between the Government and the 
Syrian government, still in effect, contains a provision prohibiting 
the publication of any information deemed harmful to the security of 
either state. The SG reviews and censors all foreign newspapers, 
magazines, and books before they enter the country.
    On October 19, the media reported the Government forced a private 
school to remove pages reportedly describing Hizballah as a terrorist 
organization from a history book, following a complaint by former labor 
minister Mohammad Fneish. Any of the recognized religions may 
unilaterally request the SG ban any book. The Government may prosecute 
offending journalists and publications in the publications court.
    Officials also used libel laws to suppress criticism during the 
year. On July 31, security forces surrounded the headquarters of the 
Al-Jadeed television station to serve an arrest warrant against Ghada 
Eid, the host of weekly talk show Corruption, for allegedly slandering 
judge Shaheed Salameh during an episode of her show. The court issued 
an arrest warrant for Eid when she failed to appear at a hearing on the 
case; she claimed she had not received the summons. Eid avoided arrest 
on July 31 but surrendered to authorities on September 14. She was 
subsequently released on six million pounds ($4,000) bail. On November 
30, in a separate libel case against judge Afif Shamseddine, the press 
court sentenced Eid to three months' imprisonment and a fine of 30 
million pounds ($20,000). The court also demanded she read the 
accusation against her aloud on the first episode of her show following 
implementation of the sentence.
    In September 2008 the Execution Bureau of Beirut enforced a 
provisional seizure of property against Al-Jadeed in compliance with a 
decision by the Court of Publications. Former justice minister Charles 
Rizk had filed a lawsuit in 2007 against the head of the station's 
editorial department, Maryam al-Bassam, accusing her of libel. Ruling 
in favor of Rizk, the court judgment forced Al-Jadeed to pay 50 million 
pounds ($33,333) to Rizk as compensation and 13 million pounds ($8,666) 
to the state in penalty and judgment fees. Al-Jadeed paid the 
compensation to the state but appealed to the Supreme Court to avoid 
paying compensation to Rizk, who in turn requested the provisional 
seizure of Al-Jadeed's property. At year's end, there were no new 
developments. At year's end, authorities had not pursued most judicial 
cases launched in previous years against journalists.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government reportedly censored some Internet 
sites, but there were no reports the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could generally engage in 
the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including e-mail and 
Internet discussion groups. According to 2008 International 
Telecommunications Union statistics, approximately 23 percent of the 
country's inhabitants used the Internet. The SG and MOJ sometimes 
contacted Internet service providers to block pornographic and 
religiously provocative Web sites.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom, apart from libel and slander laws, 
but the Government censored films, plays, and other cultural events; 
filmmakers, playwrights, festival organizers, and others practiced 
self-censorship.
    The SG reviews all films and plays, and prohibits those deemed 
offensive to religious or social sensitivities. On February 16, the SG 
banned director Marc Abi Rached's film Help--about a homeless boy who 
meets a female prostitute living with a gay man--after having 
previously granted permission to screen the film. Help was subsequently 
presented at the October 7-14 Beirut International Film Festival, 
during which the SG banned the films Le Chant des Mariees, Confortorio, 
and Gostanza Da Libbiani for objectionable content. At year's end the 
SG's ban on the public screening of the Israeli animated film Waltz 
with Bashir remained in force.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly, but the Government sometimes restricted this 
right in practice. The MOI required prior approval for rallies, and it 
sometimes did not grant permits to groups that opposed government 
positions.

    Freedom of Assembly.--Unlike previous years there were no reported 
cases of security forces abusing demonstrators or failing to prevent 
violence against them.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, but the Government imposed limits on this right. The law 
requires every new organization to submit a notification of formation 
to the MOI, which then issues a receipt. The MOI sometimes imposed 
additional and inconsistent restrictions and requirements and withheld 
receipts, turning the notification process into a de facto approval 
process. In some cases the MOI sent notification of formation papers to 
the security forces to initiate inquiries on an organization's founding 
members. Organizations must invite MOI representatives to any general 
assembly where members vote on by-law amendments or positions on the 
board of directors. The MOI must then validate the vote or election; 
failure to do so could result in the dissolution of the organization.
    The MOI did not immediately validate the February 2008 elections of 
the Israeli Communal Council, a legally registered Jewish organization 
representing the small Jewish community and Jewish property owners who 
do not reside in the country. As with the previous two such elections, 
the MOI did not validate them until May 2008, following diplomatic 
intervention.
    The cabinet must license all political parties (see section 3).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
religion and the freedom to practice all religious rites, provided the 
public order is not disturbed. The Government generally respected these 
rights, but there were some restrictions.
    The Government must formally recognize a religious group for it to 
obtain official status. A group must submit a statement of its doctrine 
and moral principles for government review to ensure that such 
principles do not contradict popular values or the constitution. The 
group must ensure the number of its adherents is sufficient to maintain 
continuity. Alternatively, religious groups may apply for recognition 
through existing religious groups, all of which are variants of Islam 
or Christianity. Official recognition conveys certain benefits, such as 
exemption from taxes 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. Although the Government did not recognize 
officially some Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, and Protestant Christian 
groups, the groups were allowed to practice their faith without 
government interference, but the law did not recognize their marriages, 
divorces, and inheritances in the country.
    Protestant evangelical churches are required to register with the 
Evangelical Synod, a nongovernmental advisory group that represents 
those churches to the Government. Representatives of some churches 
complained the Synod has refused to accept new members since 1975, 
thereby preventing their clergy from ministering to adherents in 
accordance with their beliefs.
    Although the law stipulates anyone who ``blasphemes God publicly'' 
may face imprisonment for as long as one year, no prosecutions or 
arrests were reported under this law during the year.
    The unwritten ``National Pact'' of 1943 stipulates the president, 
the prime minister, and the speaker of parliament be a Maronite 
Christian, a Sunni Muslim, and a Shia Muslim, respectively. The 1989 
Ta'if 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.
    Religious affiliation is encoded on national identity cards and 
indicated on civil status registry documents but not on passports, and 
the Government complied with requests of citizens to change their civil 
records to reflect changes in religious status. On February 11, the MOI 
issued a circular informing citizens they would be allowed to remove 
their religious affiliations from their civil registry records. The MOI 
did not make public the number of persons who had taken advantage of 
this option during the year. Government documents refer to Jewish 
citizens as ``Israelites'' even though they are not Israeli citizens.
    The law provides that only religious authorities may perform 
marriages, but the Government recognized civil marriage ceremonies 
performed outside the country.
    Although there were no legal barriers to proselytizing, traditional 
attitudes and edicts of the clerical establishment strongly discouraged 
such activity.

    Societal Abuses and Discrimination.--Societal harassment and 
discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice 
occurred, often in relation to political events, and the Government 
failed to prevent or punish such actions.
    During the year there were examples of Maronite religious leaders 
attempting to prevent evangelical Christians from proselytizing to 
other Christians and of Druze religious figures hindering Maronite 
missionary efforts.
    At year's end there were approximately 100 Jews living in the 
country and 6,000 registered Jewish voters who lived abroad but had the 
right to vote in parliamentary elections.
    During the year Hizballah directed strong rhetoric against Israel 
and the Jewish population, and it cooperated in publishing and 
distributing anti-Semitic literature. Al-Manar TV, controlled and 
operated by Hizballah, continued to broadcast anti-Semitic material 
that drew no government criticism.
    On November 5, the Government censored The Diary of Anne Frank from 
a textbook used by the International College. The action followed a 
campaign by Hizballah claiming the work promoted Zionism. Hizballah's 
Al-Manar television channel ran a report condemning the book for 
focusing on the persecution of Jews.
    On September 28, Khaled Shebli Khelo allegedly threw a Molotov 
cocktail at the Maghen Abraham synagogue, the last remaining synagogue 
in the country. Security authorities arrested Khelo the same day, and 
investigations into the incident were ongoing at year's end.
    During the year representatives from the Israeli Communal Council 
reported continued acts of vandalism against a Jewish-owned cemetery in 
downtown Beirut. The Government had not arrested or prosecuted suspects 
for these crimes as of year's end.
    For a more detailed discussion, see the 2009 International 
Religious Freedom Report at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights for 
citizens but placed limitations on the rights of Palestinian refugees. 
The Government cooperated with the UN Relief and Works Agency for 
Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), the UNHCR, and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, and 
other persons of concern.
    The Government maintained security checkpoints, primarily in 
military and other restricted areas. On main roads and in populated 
areas, security services used a few police checkpoints to conduct 
warrantless searches for smuggled goods, weapons, narcotics, and 
subversive literature. Government forces were unable to enforce the law 
in the predominantly Hizballah-controlled Beirut southern suburbs and 
did not typically enter Palestinian refugee camps.
    According to UNRWA, Palestinian refugees registered with the MOI's 
Directorate of Political and Refugee Affairs (DPRA) may travel from one 
area of the country to another. However, the DPRA must approve transfer 
of registration for refugees who reside in camps. UNRWA stated the DPRA 
generally approved such transfers. The LAF granted Palestinian refugees 
residing in the area adjacent to the Nahr el-Barid camp permanent 
permits, which they must produce at the LAF checkpoint to enter the 
area.
    The law prohibits direct travel to Israel.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--According to international 
humanitarian organizations, a significant number of persons remained 
displaced as a consequence of the 1975-1990 civil war, the 2006 war, 
and the 2007 displacement of Palestinian refugees from the Nahr el-
Barid camp. Many IDPs endured dangerous conditions, including lack of 
food, electricity, and potable water, during their displacement and 
after their return home. The Ministry of the Displaced paid 
compensation to IDPs to leave illegally occupied properties, removed 
debris from conflict-affected areas, provided rebuilding assistance, 
and initiated infrastructure projects. The High Relief Commission 
coordinated national international humanitarian assistance.
    The World Bank and the Ministry of the Displaced estimated the 
civil war displaced 500,000 to 800,000 persons. The Government set a 
2002 target date to complete returns, but as of 2002 an estimated 
300,000 remained displaced. In 2006 the Government reported 17,000 
persons remained displaced, but others estimated only 20 to 25 percent 
of the original number had returned home. Some IDPs displaced during 
the civil war have neither returned home nor attempted to reclaim and 
rebuild their property due to the hazardous social and economic 
situation in some areas.
    According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, at the 
height of the 2006 war between Israel and Hizballah, as many as one 
million persons fled their homes; approximately 735,000 were internally 
displaced, and approximately 230,000 fled to neighboring countries. 
According to government estimates, 90 percent of the IDPs returned home 
within four days of the ceasefire, but many homes had been destroyed, 
compensation was rarely sufficient for rebuilding, and unexploded 
ordnance restricted freedom of movement. In December 2008 the UNHCR 
estimated 40,000 to 70,000 such persons remained IDPs. UNRWA reported 
more than 20,000 Nahr el-Barid residents remained displaced at year's 
end.
    During the year there were no substantiated reports the Government 
deliberately attacked or forcibly resettled IDPs or made efforts to 
obstruct access by domestic or international humanitarian 
organizations.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. Its 
laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status. As a 
result more than 70 percent of refugees registered with the UNHCR do 
not have any legal status and thus are liable to arrest for their 
illegal status. In practice the Government provided some protection 
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their 
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion.
    Authorities repatriated refugees on a voluntary basis during the 
year. According to the UNHCR, domestic courts often sentenced refugees 
to one month's imprisonment and fines instead of deportation. Courts 
often referred to the Convention against Torture, to which the country 
is a party, which states no state party shall expel, return, or 
extradite a person to another state where there are substantial grounds 
for believing he or she would be in danger of being subjected to 
torture. After serving their sentences, most refugees remained in 
detention unless they found employment sponsors and the SG agreed to 
release them in coordination with the UNHCR.
    A 2003 agreement between the SG and the UNHCR recognizes and grants 
protection to non-Palestinian refugees, providing temporary relief for 
those seeking determination of refugee status. Those wishing to claim 
refugee status must do so within two months of arriving in the country. 
The SG issues residence permits, valid for three months, during which 
time the UNHCR must make a refugee status determination. The SG 
extended residency permits for as long as 12 months for those to whom 
the UNHCR accorded refugee status. The Government granted admission and 
temporary (six-month) refuge to asylum seekers, but not permanent 
asylum. The SG sometimes arbitrarily detained asylum seekers at its 
detention facility for more than a year and then deported them.
    The second largest group of refugees in the country were Iraqis. At 
year's end 10,288 Iraqis were registered with the UNHCR. The UNHCR 
estimated 30,000 to 50,000 Iraqis were living in the country; many 
entered the country illegally in search of jobs, education, and 
security. Local NGOs and community workers estimated approximately 
20,000 Iraqis were vulnerable and in need of assistance. During the 
year the Government provided limited services for Iraqi refugees but 
had no process for regularizing their status. The Government did not 
take action to provide a temporary protection regime for Iraqi asylum 
seekers, as advocated by the UNHCR, and the Government regularly 
deported Iraqis who may have had valid persecution claims. According to 
the SG there were 16 detained Iraqis in the country at year's end. 
During the year the SG deported 183 illegal Iraqi immigrants to Iraq. 
From February 18 until June 18, the SG granted a grace period for 
illegal immigrants, during which period Iraqis could regularize their 
status. The SG allowed Iraqi detainees an additional three months to 
arrange for new sponsors in the country if they did not wish to return 
to Iraq.
    By law Palestinian refugees are considered foreigners, although in 
several instances they are accorded poorer treatment than other 
foreigners due to the country's insistence on the principle of 
reciprocity, which is prejudicial to stateless Palestinians. UNRWA has 
the sole mandate to provide health, education, social services, and 
emergency assistance to Palestinian refugees residing in the country as 
well as in the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, and Jordan. As of June 30, 
421,993 UNRWA-registered Palestinian refugees were living in or near 12 
camps throughout the country. The majority of Palestinian refugees were 
those displaced during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 and their 
descendants. Additional Palestinians arrived in 1967 after the Six-Day 
War and in the 1970s after many were expelled from Jordan.
    The amount of land allocated to official refugee camps in the 
country has only marginally changed since 1948, despite a four-fold 
increase in the registered refugee population. Consequently, most 
Palestinian refugees lived in overpopulated camps subject to repeated 
heavy damage during multiple conflicts. Poverty, drug addiction, 
prostitution, and crime reportedly prevailed in the camps, although 
reliable statistics were not available. In accordance with a 1969 
agreement with the PLO, PLO security committees, not the Government, 
provide security for refugees in the camps.
    During and after the 2007 fighting in Nahr el-Barid, which resulted 
in the displacement of an estimated 35,000 Palestinian refugees, LAF 
and ISF forces arbitrarily detained and physically abused some 
Palestinian refugees and citizens of other countries suspected of being 
militants. The LAF interrogated many men as they left the camp and 
detained those suspected of supporting or having information about FAI 
(see section 1.c.). FAI attacked members of international humanitarian 
organizations who attempted to enter the Nahr el-Barid camp to provide 
assistance. An FAI attack on a UN aid convoy claimed the lives of two 
Palestinian refugees. The Nahr el-Barid conflict caused multiple 
humanitarian concerns. Palestinian refugees and Lebanese displaced by 
the violence had no access to running water, sewage, or electricity for 
weeks. Refugees who left the camp were treated for dehydration, 
diarrhea, and stomach illnesses, and, due to security problems, UNRWA 
clinics in the camp were not fully functioning. The Government provided 
emergency relief with assistance from UNRWA, the international donor 
community, and humanitarian NGOs.
    During the year there were reports members of various Palestinian 
factions and foreign militias detained their rivals during clashes over 
territorial control of the camps, particularly in the north and south.
    At year's end 15,000 refugees had returned to areas adjacent to the 
camp. Displaced communities raised concerns about their security and 
freedom of movement, as security measures tightened in response to 
sporadic clashes in the northern part of the country. In June 2008 
UNRWA, the Government, and the World Bank launched a comprehensive, 
three-year plan to rebuild Nahr el-Barid camp and surrounding 
communities. Reconstruction in the official camp began in November 
following bureaucratic and political delays.
    According to human rights observers, Palestinian refugees faced 
severe restrictions in access to work opportunities. Few Palestinians 
received work permits, and those who found work usually were directed 
into unskilled occupations. In 2005 the minister of labor issued a 
memorandum authorizing Palestinian nationals born in the country and 
registered with the MOI to work in 50 (out of 72) professions otherwise 
banned to foreigners. There were no indications this memorandum was 
implemented consistently. Some Palestinian refugees worked in the 
informal sector, particularly in agriculture and construction. 
Palestinian incomes continued to decline in real terms. Iraqi refugees 
also faced significant restrictions on their ability to work, with many 
working in the informal labor sector. Seventy percent of registered 
Iraqi refugees were men, who were particularly at risk for labor 
exploitation and deportation.
    Palestinian refugees residing in the country were not able to 
obtain citizenship and were not citizens of any other country. 
Palestinian refugee women married to citizens were able to obtain 
citizenship and transmit citizenship to their children. Palestinian 
refugees, including children, had limited social and civil rights and 
no access to public health, education, or other social services. The 
majority relied entirely on UNRWA for education, health, relief, and 
social services. Children of Palestinian refugees faced discrimination 
in birth registration, and many reportedly had to leave school at an 
early age to earn income.
    Iraqi refugees had access to both the public and private education 
systems. The UNHCR reported approximately 1,000 Iraqi children were 
registered in schools, and it provided grants to the children to help 
defray the costs associated with attending school. Iraqi refugees also 
had access to the primary health care system. The UNHCR, through NGOs, 
provided secondary health care.
    Property laws do not explicitly target Palestinian refugees, but 
they bar persons who do not bear the nationality of a recognized state 
from owning land and property, which directly and effectively excludes 
Palestinians. Under this law Palestinians may not purchase property, 
and those who owned property before this law was issued in 2001 are 
prohibited from passing the property to their children. The parliament 
justified these restrictions on the grounds 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 
limited-size plots of land.

    Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived exclusively from the 
father, which may result in statelessness for children of a citizen 
mother and a noncitizen father when registration under the father's 
nationality is not possible.
    Approximately 3,000 Palestinian refugees were registered neither 
with the UNRWA nor with the Government. Also known as undocumented, or 
non-ID, Palestinians, most moved to the country after the expulsion of 
the PLO from Jordan in 1971. Non-ID Palestinians were not eligible for 
assistance from UNRWA, faced restrictions on movement, and lacked 
access to fundamental rights under the law. The majority of non-ID 
Palestinians were men, many of them married to UNRWA refugees or 
citizen women, who could not transmit refugee status or citizenship to 
their husbands or children.
    In January 2008 the Government agreed to grant a new legal status 
to non-ID Palestinians. By the end of 2008, the LPDC and UNRWA had 
facilitated the issuance of identification cards to 1,200 non-ID 
Palestinians. However, the process was suspended during the year, and 
all the cards issued have expired.
    At year's end the MOI had not rendered a decision on the legal 
status of approximately 4,000 persons who stood to lose citizenship due 
to the State Consultative Council's 2003 decision to invalidate the 
1994 naturalization decree, which naturalized several thousand 
Palestinians.
    Approximately 1,000 to 1,500 of the 75,000 Kurds living in the 
country were without citizenship despite decades of family presence in 
the country. Most were descendants of migrants and refugees who left 
Turkey and Syria during World War I but had been denied the right to 
citizenship to preserve the country's sectarian balance. The Government 
issued a naturalization decree in June 1994, but high costs and other 
obstacles prevented many from acquiring official status. Some held an 
``ID under consideration'' that states no date and place of birth.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides citizens the right to change their government 
peacefully in periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal 
suffrage; however, lack of government control over parts of the 
country, defects in the electoral process, and corruption in public 
office significantly restricted this right in practice. Elections for 
parliament must be held every four years, and parliament elects the 
president every six years to a single term. The president and 
parliament nominate the prime minister, who, with the president, 
chooses the cabinet.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On June 7, parliamentary 
elections were held in the 26 electoral districts. Observers concluded 
the elections were generally free and fair, with minor irregularities. 
In its final report, a EU observer team stated there were no major 
irregularities; that the elections benefited from legal improvements 
introduced in September 2008, such as an independent election 
commission, abolition of the voter card and multiday elections, and 
regulation of campaign finance and media; and voter turnout was higher 
than in previous elections, at almost 52 percent compared to 43 to 45 
percent in 2005. The September 2008 electoral law also established out-
of-country voting provisions for the 2013 parliamentary elections.
    The cabinet must license all political parties. The Government 
scrutinized requests to establish political movements or parties and 
monitored their activities to some extent.
    The political system is based on confessional affiliation, and 
parliamentary seats are allotted on a sectarian basis. There were four 
major, and numerous smaller, political parties. The larger, sectarian-
based parties maintained the greatest influence in the country's 
political system, although a number of smaller parties existed or were 
in the process of forming.
    There were significant cultural barriers to women's participation 
in politics. Prior to 2005 no woman held a cabinet position. One woman 
served as a member of the national unity cabinet formed in July 2008, 
and two women were appointed to the cabinet formed late in the year.
    Minorities were able to participate in politics to some extent. 
Regardless of the number of its adherents, every government-recognized 
religion was given at least one seat in parliament. Three 
parliamentarians representing minorities (one Syrian Orthodox and two 
Alawites) were elected in the June elections. These groups also held 
high positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the LAF. As 
Palestinian refugees are not citizens, they have no political rights. 
An estimated 17 Palestinian factions operated in the country, generally 
organized around prominent individuals. Most Palestinians lived in 
refugee camps that one or more factions controlled. Refugee leaders 
were not elected, but there were popular committees that met regularly 
with the UNRWA and visitors.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The Government provides criminal penalties for official corruption, 
but the penalties were seldom enforced, and government corruption was a 
serious problem. A September Transparency Lebanon report enumerated 
types of corruption in the country, such as systemic clientelism; 
judicial failures, especially in investigations of politically 
motivated killings; electoral fraud from the absence of preprinted 
ballots; and bribery. According to the report, all bureaucratic 
transactions are facilitated through the payment of bribes; in addition 
to regular fees, customers pay bribes of at least 60,000 pounds ($40) 
for a new driver's license, 40,000 pounds ($27) for car registration, 
and 4.5 million to 45 million pounds ($3,000 to $30,000) to get a 
residential building permit.
    In its annual National Integrity System Study, the Lebanese 
Transparency Association (LTA) reported during the parliamentary 
elections LTA monitors witnessed vote buying through cash donations on 
election day in many electoral districts. LTA issued a press statement 
the day after the elections stating acts of vote-buying occurred in 
Metn, Zahle, Batroun, Zghorta, West Bekaa, and Saida. The report 
indicated the value of a vote reached from 90,000 pounds ($60) to 
150,000 pounds ($100) in Saida, 1,300,000 pounds ($800) in Zahle, and 
up to 4,500,000 pounds ($3,000) in Zgharta.
    On June 9, OTV broadcast a recording of a conversation between MP 
Michel Murr and Father Elias Akkary in which Murr asked Akkary to 
retrieve the preprinted ballots he had distributed on behalf of Murr's 
opponent or else face the secret services. Akkary had reportedly agreed 
to campaign for Murr but instead campaigned for Murr's opponent, MP 
Ibrahim Kenaan.
    The law requires public officials to disclose their financial 
assets to the Constitutional Council, but the information was not 
available to the public. The Court of Accounts, the Central Inspection 
Department, the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative 
Reform, the Central Bank's Special Investigation Committee, and the 
Disciplinary Board were tasked with fighting corruption.
    There are no laws regarding public access to government documents, 
and the Government did not respond to requests for documents.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without overt government restriction and 
investigated and published their findings on human rights cases. 
Domestic human rights groups included the Lebanese Association for 
Human Rights, the Foundation for Human and Humanitarian Rights-Lebanon, 
the Beirut Bar Association's Institute for Human Rights, and the 
National Association for the Rights of the Disabled. Government 
officials generally cooperated with NGOs, but following the 2007 Nahr 
el-Barid conflict, the Government obstructed a monitoring visit to the 
camp conducted jointly by several international and domestic NGOs, 
including HRW, ALEF, the Palestinian Human Rights Organization, and the 
Palestinian Foundation for Human Rights.
    The Government cooperated with international governmental 
organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives and other 
international bodies such as the ICRC. On May 27, the ICRC released its 
2008 annual report on its activities in the country. On April 22, the 
UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon wrote a letter to the parliamentary 
human rights committee reviewing his discussion with members about 
civil, political, economic, and social rights, including those of 
refugees, and reporting on treaty obligations.
    Parliament's Committee on Human Rights made little progress due to 
the absence of a government for most of the year. At year's end there 
was no evidence that the committee had begun implementing the existing 
national action plan calling for legal changes to guide ministries on 
protecting specific human rights and the implementation of certain 
measures, such as improving prison conditions.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status, and it provides for equality among all 
citizens. 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 for persons with disabilities, there 
were few accommodations for them. Discrimination based on race, 
language, or social status is illegal, but foreign domestic employees 
often were mistreated, 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 prohibits rape, and the Government effectively 
enforced the law. The minimum prison sentence for a person convicted of 
rape is five years, or seven years for raping a minor. Although the law 
does not provide for it, victims' families may offer rapists marriage 
as an alternative to preserve family honor. Spousal rape was not 
criminalized. According to the local NGO KAFA (Enough) Violence and 
Exploitation, nonspousal rape was relatively common. KAFA reported 80 
percent of domestic violence victims suffered spousal rape as well. 
Although there were no official statistics on the number of abusers who 
were prosecuted, prosecution was rare, according to KAFA.
    The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and 
domestic violence, including spousal abuse, was a problem. There were 
no authoritative statistics on its extent. Despite a law that sets a 
maximum sentence of three years in prison for battery, some religious 
courts may legally require a battered wife to return to her home 
despite physical abuse. Women were sometimes compelled to remain in 
abusive marriages because of economic, social, and family pressures. 
Foreign domestic servants, usually women, were often mistreated, 
abused, and in some cases raped or placed in slavery-like conditions 
(see section 7.c.).
    The Government provided legal assistance to domestic violence 
victims who could not afford it, but in most cases police ignored 
complaints submitted by battered or abused women. A local NGO, the 
Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women, worked to reduce 
violence against women by offering counseling and legal aid and raising 
awareness about the problem. From January to September, KAFA assisted 
98 victims of domestic violence.
    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 he 
committed the crime in response to a socially unacceptable sexual 
relationship conducted by the victim. For example, although the penal 
code stipulates murder is punishable by either a life sentence or 
death, a defendant who can prove the killing was an honor crime 
receives a commuted sentence of a maximum of seven years' imprisonment. 
According to a March 2008 Agence France Presse article, although honor 
crimes were not widespread in the country, every year men killed a 
number of female relatives under the pretext of defending family honor.
    The law on prostitution requires brothels be licensed, including 
regular testing for disease. Government policy was to reject all new 
license requests for brothels in an attempt to eliminate prostitution; 
consequently most prostitution in the country was unlicensed and 
unregulated. The SG closely monitored women working in adult clubs. 
Foreign women's residency permits did not exceed six months, and they 
were deported if they were caught overstaying their permits.
    The law prohibits sexual harassment, but it was a widespread 
problem, and the law was not effectively enforced. Social pressure 
against women pursuing careers was strong in some parts of society. Men 
sometimes exercised considerable control over female relatives, 
restricting their activities outside the home or their contact with 
friends and relatives.
    Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to 
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination, 
coercion, and violence. There are no legal prohibitions or governmental 
encumbrances to equal access under the law for reproductive health care 
products or services, although the most advanced clinics and practices 
were in the larger metropolitan areas. The Government provided free 
hospital treatment and free antiretroviral drugs for all persons living 
with HIV/AIDS.
    Women suffered discrimination under the law and in practice.
    Many family and personal status laws, which varied widely across 
the various confessional court systems, discriminated against women. 
For example, Sunni civil courts apply an Islamic inheritance law that 
provides a son twice the inheritance of a daughter. Immigration law 
also discriminates against women, who may not confer citizenship on 
their spouses and children, except widows may confer citizenship on 
their minor children. By law women may own property, but they often 
ceded control of it to male relatives due to cultural reasons and 
family pressure. The law provides for equal pay for equal work for men 
and women, but in the private sector there was discrimination regarding 
the provision of benefits.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived exclusively from the father, 
which may result in statelessness for some children of a citizen mother 
and noncitizen father (see section 2.d.).
    The Government did not register the births of children born in the 
country to Palestinian refugees or non-ID Palestinian parents, 
resulting in the denial of citizenship and restricted access to public 
services, including school and health care. Children of citizen mothers 
and Palestinian fathers were not granted citizenship. According to the 
Government Higher Council for Childhood, although Palestinian refugee 
births were not officially registered, the General Directorate for 
Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, which falls under the MOI, maintained 
birth figures.
    Iraqi, Sudanese, and Somali refugee children and children of 
foreign domestic workers also faced obstacles to equal treatment under 
the law, and NGOs reported ongoing discrimination against them, 
although some could attend school. According to an October 2008 report 
by the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), children born 
in the country of migrant domestic workers had no official identity.
    For Sri Lankans, Filipinos, and West Africans, the law allows a 
child who is already registered in a school to have residency. Many 
children of domestic workers faced marginalization and racism because 
of their parents' social status. No accurate statistics on the number 
of such children born in the country existed at year's end, although 
Caritas estimated there were approximately 75 children.
    In a joint KAFA-Save the Children Sweden study released in October 
2008, 16 to 20 percent of children eight to 17 years old admitted 
experiencing at least one form of sexual abuse at an average age of 10 
years. The survey also showed most sexual abuse occurred at home, and 
54 percent of the sexually abused children said they told someone about 
the abuse, most commonly their mother. Focus group discussions revealed 
a lack of knowledge about the prevalence of, or factors leading to, 
child sexual abuse; and also indicated gender bias in addressing such 
cases, as girls' experiences were treated with greater secrecy.

    Trafficking in Persons.--The law does not specifically prohibit 
trafficking in persons. However, the country was a destination and 
transit point for trafficked persons, and there were reports persons 
were trafficked to and through the country. The Government may 
prosecute traffickers under criminal law on abductions. Trafficking in 
persons remained a problem during the year.
    The country was a destination for Eastern European, Russian, and 
Syrian women who were contracted as dancers in adult clubs and sexually 
exploited. Most of these women engaged in voluntary illegal 
prostitution, but some reported intimidation or coercion and 
restrictions on freedom of movement.
    The country was also a destination for women from Africa and Asia, 
usually contracted as domestic workers. Some of these workers found 
themselves in situations of involuntary servitude including 
restrictions on movement, withholding of passports, nonpayment of 
wages, threats, and physical or sexual assault, with little practical 
legal recourse.
    Children were trafficked within the country for forced labor 
(mostly street vending) and sexual exploitation.
    A high percentage of traffickers were employers and employment 
agencies.
    Some foreign women became illegal workers due to their employer's 
failure to renew their work and residency permits or because they fled 
from their employer. The women were subject to detention, rendering 
them vulnerable to trafficking when abusive sponsors used the women's 
illegal immigration status to intimidate them and coerce them into 
labor. Unscrupulous employers sometimes falsely accused an employee of 
theft as a pretext to relinquish their contractual responsibilities to 
their employees and their obligation to pay taxes and provide a return 
airline ticket.
    At year's end 100 Ethiopian women were in detention awaiting trial 
for not having passports. The women claimed their passports had been 
taken from them when they started as domestic workers or that they 
never had passports. Authorities arrested most of the women on the 
street after they fled from their employers. Breaking their contracts 
deprived them of a guaranteed flight home on completion of their work.
    The penal code stipulates that abduction be punished by hard labor 
and that abductors who engage in sexual exploitation be sentenced to at 
least one year in prison. According to the MOJ, there were no 
prosecutions or convictions under this law during the year. NGOs and 
foreign embassies reported many victims of exploitation and abuse 
preferred quick administrative proceedings, which resulted in monetary 
settlements and repatriations, rather than legal proceedings that were 
often lengthy and difficult. Victims frequently dropped cases before 
prosecution was completed in exchange for compensation. A small number 
of exploited foreign workers won cases against their employers, but 
nonjudicial action resolved the majority of cases. As a result 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.
    The SG, MOJ, and Ministry of Labor (MOL) have responsibilities for 
combating trafficking. The MOL regulates local employment agencies that 
place migrant workers with sponsors. In 2008 the MOL closed two 
employment agencies for violations of workers' rights, including 
physical abuse, and warned a number of others it found in noncompliance 
with MOL regulations. The Government did not provide trafficking 
victims with shelter, legal, medical, or psychological services, or 
relief from deportation. The SG allowed Caritas social workers 
unrestricted access to its retention center for foreign persons to 
provide detainees with counseling, assistance, and legal protection. 
The SG also continued to refer potential victims to Caritas. Once 
victims were identified, the Government transferred them to a ``safe 
house,'' and Caritas could assist them. The SG sometimes granted 
victims permission to remain in the country as long as two months to 
assist in investigation of their cases and prosecution of their 
abusers.
    The SG allows migrant workers who do not wish to be repatriated to 
their home countries to change their sponsors legally by means of 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 action may be part of a negotiated out-of-court settlement.
    The Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can 
be found at: www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although prohibited by law, 
discrimination against persons with disabilities continued. The Civil 
Service Board, which is in charge of recruiting government employees, 
continued to refuse applications from persons with disabilities. The 
law stipulates at least 3 percent of all government and private sector 
positions be filled by persons with disabilities, provided such persons 
fulfill the qualifications for the position; however, there was no 
evidence the law was enforced in practice. The law mandates access to 
buildings by persons with disabilities, but the Government failed to 
amend building codes. Many persons with mental disabilities were cared 
for in private institutions, several of which the Government 
subsidized.
    A study by the UN Development Programme in 1990, just after the end 
of the civil war, estimated one in 10 citizens--as many as 300,000 
individuals--had disabilities, but the Ministry of Social Affairs had 
registered only 70,000 persons for official disability cards at year's 
end.
    The Ministry of Social Affairs and the National Council of Disabled 
are responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. 
According to the president of the Arab Organization of Disabled People, 
little progress has been made since the law on disabilities was passed 
in 2000. Approximately 100 relatively active but poorly funded private 
organizations made most of the efforts to assist persons with 
disabilities.
    On May 13, the MOI issued a decree to ensure accessibility to 
polling stations for persons with special needs during the June 
parliamentary voting. Following the decree the Lebanese Physically 
Handicapped Union, sponsored by the International Foundation for 
Election Systems, conducted a study mapping 1,741 polling stations 
throughout the country and assessed them according to the ministry's 
six accessibility criteria. The study showed that only six polling 
stations out of 1,741 satisfied all six criteria.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were reports Syrian 
workers, usually employed in manual labor, continued to suffer 
discrimination following the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian forces, although 
to a lesser extent than in previous years. According to an IRIN report, 
many Syrians in the country have been attacked, robbed, beaten, and 
sometimes killed over the past four years.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Discrimination against 
homosexual activity persisted during the year. The law prohibits 
``unnatural sexual intercourse,'' an offense punishable by up to one 
year in prison. The law was sometimes applied to men engaging in 
homosexual activity; it was rarely applied to women, although the 
domestic NGO Helem (from the Arabic acronym for Lebanese Protection for 
Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders) reported police used the 
law to blackmail women.
    At year's end Helem reported on December 3, a judge in the Batroun 
District rendered the first decision determining ``unnatural sexual 
intercourse'' does not apply to homosexual activity, which he ruled a 
part of nature.
    Meem, the first NGO in the country exclusively for nonheterosexual 
women, hosted regular meetings in a safe house, provided counseling 
services, and carried out advocacy projects for nonheterosexual women.
    On February 25, Helem organized a demonstration in Beirut to 
protest an attack by security forces against two gay men (see section 
1.c.) and against the homophobic provisions of the law. On May 10 and 
on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Helem in 
coordination with Meem and Gay-Straight Alliance organized gay rights 
demonstrations. The Government permitted these demonstrations, and 
there was no violence from any source reported against the 
demonstrators.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Although there are no 
discriminatory laws, Helem reported during the year at least five HIV-
positive individuals reported discrimination by dentists or hospital 
staff.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows all workers except 
government employees to establish and join unions with government 
approval, and workers exercised this right in practice. The MOL must 
approve the formation of any union. The MOL controlled the conduct of 
all trade union elections, including election dates, procedures, and 
ratification of results. The law permitted the administrative 
dissolution of trade unions and forbade them to engage in political 
activity.
    The General Labor Confederation (GLC), the umbrella organization 
for trade unions, estimated there were approximately 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.
    The law provides that unions conduct activities free from 
interference, but the MOL at times interfered in union elections and 
registered unions not considered representative by the GLC. Unions have 
the right to demonstrate, with advance notice and approval by the MOI.
    Most unions belonged to federations. There were 52 federations that 
were voting members of the GLC, six of which the judiciary declared 
illegal in 2007 because they had failed to obtain the required GLC 
general directorate majority vote, although at year's end they remained 
members. Many others were reportedly unrepresentative and created by 
political interest groups to offset the votes of the 13 established 
labor federations that represent workers. The GLC remained the only 
organization the Government recognized as an interlocutor for workers, 
while approximately 13 federations that composed the ``Salvation 
Committee of the GLC'' no longer participated in GLC meetings but had 
not declared an official breakaway at year's end.
    Palestinian refugees may organize their own unions. Because of 
restrictions on their right to work, few Palestinians participated 
actively in trade unions. Palestinian refugees are legally barred from 
entering certain unionized professions such as engineering, law, and 
medicine.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
protects the right of workers to organize and to bargain collectively, 
and the Government supported this right in practice. Most worker groups 
engaged in some form of collective bargaining with their employers. 
There is no government mechanism to promote voluntary labor-management 
negotiations. The law protected workers against antiunion 
discrimination, although the law was weakly enforced.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not 
specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor, but 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. Women from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and 
Russia were trafficked and forced to provide sexual or domestic 
services. Children from Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria were most subject to 
forced labor.
    Government regulations also prohibited employment agencies from 
withholding foreign workers' passports for any reason. In practice 
employment agencies and household employers often withheld domestic 
workers' passports. Recruitment agencies and employers were required to 
sign employment contracts with foreign workers. On February 5, the MOL 
published a standardized contract to be used by all employment agencies 
locally and overseas for all domestic workers. It regulates working 
hours and stipulates workers be given days off for vacations and 
holidays. According to NGOs assisting migrant workers, some employers 
did not pay their workers regularly and some withheld their salaries 
for the duration of the contract, which was usually two years. Asian 
and African female workers especially had no practical legal recourse 
because of their low status and isolation and because labor laws did 
not protect them. Due to the prevalence of such abuse, the Government 
prohibited foreign women from working if they were from countries 
without diplomatic representation in the country.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There are laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace, 
but the Government sometimes did not effectively enforce these laws. 
According to 2005 UNICEF statistics, 7 percent of children between five 
and 14 years old were involved in child labor. The International Labor 
Organization (ILO) estimated there were 100,000 child workers, of whom 
25,000 were thought to be in the tobacco industry, and a large 
percentage worked in informal sectors of the economy, including 
construction, agriculture, mechanics, and fisheries. Street children 
worked selling goods, polishing shoes, and washing car windows. 
Traffickers used children for commercial sexual exploitation and work 
under hazardous conditions in sectors, such as metalwork, construction, 
automobile repair, welding, and seasonal agriculture.
    The minimum age for employment is 14 years old. The law requires 
juveniles, defined as children between 14 and 18 years of age, undergo 
a medical exam to ensure their fitness for a particular position before 
beginning work. The labor code prohibits employment of juveniles 
younger than 18 years old for more than six hours per day and requires 
one hour of rest if work is more than four hours. Juveniles younger 
than 17 years old are prohibited from working in jobs that jeopardize 
their health, safety, or morals, or working between the hours of 7 p.m. 
and 7 a.m. The law prohibits the employment of juveniles younger than 
16 years old in industrial jobs or jobs physically demanding or harmful 
to their health.
    The MOL enforced these requirements through its Child Labor Unit, 
established in 2001 in cooperation with the ILO. Enforcement improved 
during the year, as the unit worked to train its inspectors and recruit 
new ones. At year's end the MOL employed approximately 130 labor 
inspectors and assistant inspectors who helped to enforce child labor 
laws. The Higher Council of Childhood provided education to families 
and children to help prevent child abuse.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The legal minimum wage was 
500,000 pounds ($333) per month, which did not adequately provide a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family. The minimum wage for 
the private sector is set by the council of ministers; the minimum wage 
for the public sector is also set by the council of ministers, but 
requires additional approval from parliament.
    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 stipulates 48 hours is the 
maximum duration of work per week in most corporations except 
agricultural entities. A 12-hour day is permitted under certain 
conditions, including a stipulation the overtime provided is 50 percent 
higher than the pay for other hours.
    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 
workers did not have the right to remove themselves from hazardous 
conditions without jeopardizing their employment.
    Some private sector firms failed to provide employees with family 
and transport allowances as stipulated under the law, and did not 
register them with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF). Employers 
sometimes registered their employees with lower salaries, to decrease 
their contributions to the NSSF and their end-of-service pay to the 
employee. Some companies did not respect legal provisions governing 
occupational health and safety. Workers may report violations directly 
to the GLC, MOL, or NSSF. In most cases they preferred to remain silent 
for fear of arbitrary dismissal.
    The law does not protect foreign domestic workers. Some employers 
mistreated, abused, and raped foreign domestic workers, who were mostly 
of Asian and African origin, or placed them in situations of coerced 
labor or slavery-like conditions. 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. Official contracts 
stipulate a wage ranging from 150,000 to 450,000 pounds ($100 to $300) 
per month, depending on the nationality of the worker. Victims of 
trafficking or abusive labor may file civil suits or seek legal action, 
but most victims, counseled by their embassies or consulates, settled 
for an administrative solution that usually included monetary 
compensation and repatriation. The Government did not release 
information on legal actions filed, but NGOs indicated fewer than 10 
legal actions were undertaken during the year. On December 9, a 
criminal court judge in Batroun sentenced a woman who beat her Filipino 
domestic worker to 15 days in prison, a fine of 50,000 pounds ($33), 
and 10,800,000 pounds ($7,200) in compensation. The victim was in the 
Philippines when the verdict was announced, and the judge refused the 
request of the citizen woman to bring the victim before the court.
    In 2008 the MOL closed two employment agencies for violations of 
workers' rights, including physical abuse. Perpetrators of the abuses 
were not further prosecuted for a number of reasons, including the 
victims' refusal to press charges and lack of evidence. An unknown 
number of other cases of nonpayment of wages were settled through 
negotiation. According to source country embassies and consulates, many 
workers did not report violations of their labor contracts until after 
they returned to their home countries.

                               __________

                                 LIBYA

    The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is an 
authoritarian regime with a population of approximately 6.3 million, 
ruled by Colonel Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi since 1969. The country's 
governing principles are derived predominantly from al-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. After elections in March 
2009, Secretary of the General People's Committee al-Baghdadi al-
Mahmoudi (prime minister equivalent) and the delegates of the 760-
member General People's Congress began three-year terms. In practice 
al-Qadhafi and his inner circle monopolized all positions of leadership 
and political power. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Citizens did not have the right to change their government. 
Continuing problems included reported disappearances, torture, 
arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, lengthy pretrial and sometimes 
incommunicado detention, official impunity, and poor prison conditions. 
Denial of fair public trial by an independent judiciary, detention and 
imprisonment of persons on political grounds, and the lack of judicial 
recourse for alleged human rights violations were also serious 
problems. The Government significantly restricted media freedom and 
continued to restrict freedom of speech (including Internet and 
academic freedom). It continued to severely impede the freedom of 
assembly, freedom of association, and civil liberties. The Government 
did not protect the rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, 
and in some cases participated in their abuse. Other problems included 
restrictions on freedom of religion; corruption and lack of 
transparency; discrimination against women, ethnic minorities, and 
foreign workers; trafficking in persons; and restriction 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 
confirmed reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary 
or unlawful killings.
    In May 2009 the Tripoli newspaper Oea reported that Ali al-Fakheri 
(also known as Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi) had been found dead in his cell 
in Abu Salim Prison from an apparent suicide and that the General 
Prosecutor's Office (GPO) had begun an investigation. The 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Watch (HRW) had met 
briefly with al-Fakheri during a visit to the prison in April 2009, but 
he refused to be interviewed. In a May 2009 statement, HRW called on 
authorities to conduct a full and transparent investigation. The NGO 
Amnesty International (AI) visited Abu Salim prison after al-Fakheri's 
death in May, but authorities denied access to his guards, forensic 
doctors, and the autopsy report. At year's end no results of the GPO 
investigation had been made public.
    There were no developments in the case of Mohammed Adel Abu Ali, 
who died in custody in 2008 after his return to the country when his 
asylum claim was denied in Europe. According to HRW, he was tortured in 
detention. London-based As-Sharq Al-Awsat reported that he belonged to 
the oppositionist ``al-Tabu'' Front for the Liberation of Libya.

    b. Disappearance.--In mid-February authorities released Abdulrahman 
al Qutiwi, whom security forces had arrested in 2007, along with others 
who appeared subsequently in court to face criminal charges of 
attempting to foment rebellion and conducting unauthorized 
communications with a foreign government. During his detention 
authorities did not bring al-Qutiwi to trial and kept him in 
incommunicado detention with his whereabouts unknown.
    In November the families of Izzat Yousef al-Maqrif and Jaballah 
Matar, who disappeared in Cairo in 1990, filed cases with the UN Human 
Rights Committee. Al-Maqrif and Matar were prominent members of the 
National Front for the Salvation of Libya, a political opposition 
group. Human rights organizations report that Egyptian authorities 
arrested al-Maqrif and Matar and transferred them to Libyan custody, 
where they were held in Abu Salim prison. Their families requested 
information regarding their status or confirmation of their death from 
the Government, but at year's end no information had been made 
available.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, but security personnel 
reportedly tortured and abused detainees and prisoners routinely during 
interrogations or as punishment. In December 2009 the Qadhafi 
International Charity and Development Foundation (QDF), an NGO founded 
and chaired by Muammar al-Qadhafi's son, Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi, that 
is registered in Switzerland with executive offices in Tripoli, 
released a report on human rights practices in the country. In a 
statement accompanying the release, the QDF said during the year it had 
recorded ``several flagrant violations'' and received a ``large number 
of complaints'' of torture during imprisonment and called for the 
Government to waive immunities from prosecution for officials accused 
of torture.
    There were reports of torture and abuse during the year. On July 2, 
HRW reported that guards had beaten members of a group of more than 300 
Eritreans detained on charges of illegal immigration.
    In previous years 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; depriving detainees of 
sleep, food, and water; hanging by the wrists; suspending from a pole 
inserted between the knees and elbows; burning with cigarettes; 
threatening with dog attacks; beatings on the soles of feet; being 
suspended by the arms; and denial of medical treatment.
    The law sanctioned corporal punishments such as amputation and 
flogging; no official cases were available for citation that such 
punishments were carried out.
    No further information was available at year's end concerning the 
2008 alleged abduction, interrogation, and torture of lawyer Dhaw al-
Mansuri.
    In July Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi conceded publicly that acts of 
torture and excessive violence had taken place in prisons. In a 2009 
meeting with HRW, Ministry of Justice officials complained that they 
were denied permission from the Ministry of Public Security to 
prosecute members of the Internal Security Organization (ISO) for 
alleged crimes committed within ISO-run prisons as well as arbitrary 
detentions outside of official detention centers.
    In April 2009 Ashraf Ahmad Jum'a al-Hajuj drew attention to his 
suit against the Government at a preparatory meeting for the Durban 
Review Conference, chaired by Libyan diplomat Najjat al-Hajjaji. Al-
Hajuj, a Palestinian doctor, was arrested in 1999 on charges that he 
and five Bulgarian nurses working in Benghazi infected hundreds of 
children with HIV. In 2008 he filed suit in France and at the UN Human 
Rights Commission in Geneva, arguing he was tortured repeatedly in 
detention. According to his testimony, the torture included rape by a 
German shepherd, fingernails ripped off, and electric shocks. He also 
testified that he was present when the Bulgarian nurses detained with 
him were tortured. He said most of the torture occurred during the 
early period after his imprisonment in 1999. At year's end the case was 
awaiting further action in a French court.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--According to diplomatic 
missions and international organizations, prison and detention center 
conditions ranged from poor to adequate. HRW and AI visited prisons 
during study tours in April and May 2009 respectively, but authorities 
did not allow full access to prisoners or facilities. During the year a 
United Kingdom-based NGO implementing a prison reform program in 
partnership with the General People's Committee for Justice had 
periodic access to some facilities. International organizations had 
some access to migrant detention centers throughout the country, but 
that access was restricted after an increase of at-sea interdiction of 
migrants, begun in May, led to severe overcrowding in the centers. 
Pretrial detainees, who reportedly accounted for more than half of the 
prison population, remained in the same facilities as convicts.
    There were effectively two prison systems in the country: one 
administered by the Ministry of Justice, and a second administered by 
security services. The security services administered Ain Zara and Abu 
Salim prisons, which housed approximately 500 prisoners at year's end, 
according to the Human Rights Society of Libya. Diplomats and foreign 
observers were allowed access to the Ministry of Justice prisons but 
were denied access to the security service prisons.
    In 2009, according to HRW, the minister of justice proclaimed that 
there were approximately 500 prisoners who had served their sentence or 
been acquitted by the courts but remained imprisoned under ISO orders. 
According to press reports, the minister asked to be relieved of his 
duties in light of his inability to enforce court orders to liberate 
acquitted prisoners, but he subsequently retained his position. HRW 
reported that the ISO head confirmed in December 2009 that his agency 
was detaining 330 prisoners who had completed their sentences or whom 
courts had acquitted, with no apparent legal authority to keep them in 
detention.
    In a September 2009 report, consultants from King's College of 
London reported that between 12,000 and 15,000 inmates were held in 34 
prison establishments in the country. The consultants reported that the 
prisons often were overcrowded. Periodic mass releases served to reduce 
pressure on prison facilities. Individual prison directors were unable 
to provide population estimates of their own prisons, and centralized 
records were not kept, according to prison authorities. Men and women 
were held in separate prisons and detention centers. Juvenile migrants 
generally were held with mothers while in detention.
    Based upon periodic visits to some Ministry of Justice detention 
facilities, foreign observers reported that prisoners and detainees had 
reasonable access to visitors and were permitted religious observance. 
Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to 
judicial authorities without censorship and investigated credible 
allegations of inhumane conditions. In some cases there was retaliation 
for complaints of prison conditions. In November 2009 authorities 
summoned Jamal al-Haji to a state security court and detained him for 
filing complaints of inhumane treatment during a previous detention.
    In contrast to Ministry of Justice facilities, access to prisons 
maintained by state security services, such as Ain Zara and Abu Salim, 
was tightly controlled. Security forces reportedly subjected prisoners 
and detainees to cruel, inhuman, or degrading conditions and denied 
them adequate medical care. Prisoners did not have reasonable access to 
visitors, and there was no transparent, credible system for submitting 
complaints or investigating allegations of inhumane conditions in these 
prisons.
    The Ministry of Justice worked with the QDF to identify and release 
prisoners who had been acquitted or had served their sentences, and in 
March the Ministry of Justice announced the release of 80 prisoners who 
had been acquitted, followed by the release in August of 37 prisoners 
who had been acquitted. However, observers and government officials 
noted that several hundred remained in custody.
    The Government did not allow independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by independent NGOs, the media, or international human 
rights groups. There was not a credible ombudsman who could serve on 
behalf of prisoners and detainees to consider such matters as 
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders to alleviate 
overcrowding; addressing the status and circumstances of confinement of 
juvenile offenders; or improving pretrial detention, bail, and 
recordkeeping procedures to ensure that prisoners do not serve beyond 
the maximum sentence for the charged offense.
    There was scant public information about conditions inside prisons.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross did not have an office 
in the country, although it monitored prison conditions in the country 
from its regional office in Tunis, Tunisia. During the year prosecutors 
and directors of several migrant detention centers participated in 
training sessions implemented by the International Organization for 
Migration on prison conditions and reform.
    In September 2009 the minister of defense-equivalent Abubakr Yunis 
Jabir appointed Muhammad Bashir al-Khadhar to head an inquiry into the 
1996 Abu Salim prison riot, in which a large but unknown number of 
prisoners died. Yunis stated that the inquiry would be empowered to 
imprison any officials found guilty of wrongdoing. Press reports 
indicated the families of victims approved the appointment. The 
minister of justice reported to HRW in April 2009 that previous 
investigations had resulted in an estimated 800 families receiving 
certificates confirming death, but officials did not provide bodies or 
explain the causes of death, through mid-July. According to HRW, 
authorities offered compensation of 200,000 dinars ($166,666) to the 
family of each victim if the family agreed to halt legal proceedings.
    Family members of some of the victims reportedly killed in the 1996 
incident attended the December 2009 launch of HRW's report on the 
country, where several family members repeated their rejection of 
compensation offers and demanded that responsible officials be brought 
to justice.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The criminal code establishes 
procedures for pretrial detention and prohibits arbitrary arrest and 
detention, but the Government did not observe these prohibitions. As in 
previous years, there were reports that security forces arbitrarily 
arrested and detained citizens. Security services detained individuals 
without formal charges and held them indefinitely without court 
convictions.
    On April 14, the Government released political dissident Jamal al-
Hajj, arrested in December 2009 on charges of criminal defamation after 
he criticized the Ministry of Justice for his treatment as a political 
prisoner between 2007 and 2009.
    In January 2009 police arrested former secretary general of the 
Human Rights Society and QDF advisor Juma'a Atiga and charged him with 
being a member of a banned organization and participating in the 
killing of the Libyan ambassador in Rome in 1984. According to press 
accounts, Atiga was released after two weeks' detention.
    There were no developments reported in the case of regime critic 
Fouad Nassar al-Mahmoudi. In 2007 security services detained al-
Mahmoudi upon his return from a long stay abroad and reportedly placed 
him in incommunicado detention.
    There were no developments in the case of Mahmoud Muhammad 
Boushima, a government critic resident abroad since 1981, whom police 
arrested during a 2005 trip to the country, according to an AI report. 
During an April 2009 visit to Abu Salim prison, HRW unsuccessfully 
requested a meeting with Boushima.

    Role of the 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 and everyday lives of individuals. In 
theory military and internal security forces are under direct civilian 
control under the Jamahiriya, or ``sovereignty of the masses'' system. 
In practice an inner circle of elites close to al-Qadhafi wields total 
control and uses security services to protect regime interests. The 
legal basis of security service authority is unclear; citizens have no 
obvious recourse against security services. Frequently cited laws are 
the 1971 and 1972 ``Protection of the Revolution'' laws, which 
criminalize activities based on political principles inconsistent with 
revolutionary ideology.
    The police and the ISO share responsibility for internal security. 
Armed forces and the External Security Service are responsible for 
external security. In practice it was unclear where authorities 
overlapped. Security forces were effective when combating internal and 
external threats against the regime. Security forces committed serious 
human rights abuses with impunity, including the lengthy extralegal 
detentions of political prisoners. They intimidated, harassed, and 
detained individuals without formal charges and held them indefinitely 
without court convictions, particularly in cases involving the 
political opposition. They regularly enjoyed impunity from criminal 
acts committed while performing their duties.
    In 2008 opposition members living abroad alleged that security 
forces battled Toubou tribesmen in the southeastern part of the 
country. Other observers within the country characterized clashes in 
the town of Kufra as societal violence between Toubou and Zawiya 
tribes. There were reports that between 11 and 30 civilians were killed 
in the fighting.
    In April AI reported that armed security personnel had forced 
evictions of Toubou tribespeople in Kufra and demolished their houses. 
AI also reported that Toubou tribespeople had alleged that authorities 
prohibited their children from attending school and refused to register 
the birth of Toubou children. Between November 2009 and April, dozens 
of Toubou were arrested after attempting to stop the demolitions, 
according to AI, and those who resisted were reportedly beaten with 
sticks.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
stipulates that authorities can obtain permission to detain persons for 
investigation without charge for as long as eight days after arrest. In 
practice security services at times held detainees indefinitely, 
arbitrarily, and secretly. Although the law requires that detainees be 
informed of the charges against them, the requirement was not enforced 
in practice. The law states that for a detention order to be renewed, 
detainees must be brought before a judicial authority at regular 
intervals of 30 days, but in practice security services detained 
persons for indefinite periods without a court order.
    The law provides for bail, access to counsel for pretrial 
detainees, and a public defender for anyone unable to afford a private 
attorney. However, detainees reportedly did not receive information on 
their right to legal representation during interrogation.
    Incommunicado detention remained a problem. The Government held 
many political detainees incommunicado for unlimited periods in 
unofficial detention centers controlled by branches of the security 
services. There were reports of nationals and foreigners detained 
without charge by the ISO. In November a British-Ghanian citizen filed 
suit in a London court claiming that the ISO had detained him 
incommunicado in a small cell for approximately four months. He charged 
that his captors threatened him with ``disappearance,'' beat him, and 
force-fed him narcotics.
    According to a June 2009 HRW report, migrants in Malta and Italy 
reported that authorities in Libya had subjected them to long periods 
of detention without recourse.
    The law allows women and girls, some of whom were victims of 
gender-based or domestic violence and who were suspected of violating 
moral codes, to be detained in ``social rehabilitation'' facilities. 
They could be detained indefinitely without access to legal 
representation or the opportunity to contest their detention in court. 
Women at these sites could be released only to their families, often 
the source of the threat to their safety. Women sometimes were 
subjected to forced marriage to strangers. HRW, which initially 
highlighted this phenomenon in a 2006 report, said the practice 
continued.

    Amnesty.--The Government regularly releases some prisoners to mark 
religious holidays. On August 31, as part of the annual Revolution Day 
commemoration, the Government reportedly pardoned 1,189 prisoners who 
had served at least half of their sentence, according to the Supreme 
Judicial Council.
    On March 24, authorities released from Abu Salim prison 214 
prisoners, including prisoners held for membership in the Libyan 
Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) and other jihadist groups. On August 31, 
authorities released an additional 37 prisoners from jihadist groups. 
In 2009 the LIFG stated that its 2007 merger with al-Qaida in the 
Islamic Maghreb was ``invalid'' and renounced violent jihad.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, but the judicial system was not independent in 
practice. Although the law stipulates that every person has the right 
to resort to the courts, security forces had the authority to sentence 
without trial, particularly in cases involving the political 
opposition. The Government used summary judicial proceedings to 
suppress domestic dissent. At his discretion al-Qadhafi and his close 
associates 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. In December 2009 the Ministry of 
Justice reported to HRW that disagreements between the judiciary and 
the ISO led to unfair trials and detention. The ministry reported that 
hundreds of prisoners that had been acquitted or had served their 
sentences remained in prison due to differences in the two responsible 
ministries, and it worked to release several hundred such prisoners. 
According to HRW an estimated 117 prisoners had been released during 
the year, and approximately 200 remained in prison. Early in the year, 
the Ministry of Justice established a review committee to compensate 
victims of wrongful imprisonment. According to the Ministry of Justice, 
the committee began to disburse compensation payments to victims, and 
families of victims, of wrongful imprisonment in August.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the presumption of 
innocence, informing defendants of the charges against them, and the 
right to legal counsel. Independent counsel was not always provided in 
practice. The presiding judge appoints defense lawyers automatically, 
even if the defendant has declined representation. In practice 
defendants often were not informed of the charges against them and 
usually had little contact, if any, with their lawyers. There were 
cases during the year in which officials did not present defendants 
with the charges against them until trial, and defendants did not 
always have access to evidence against them before trial.
    In November HRW, al-Karama, and the human rights NGO Track Impunity 
Always (commonly known as TRIAL) reported that they had obtained 
documents showing the ISO blocked a prosecutor's investigation into the 
role of security services officers in the 2006 death in detention of 
Ismail al-Khazmi. Authorities reportedly took Al-Khazmi from his 
workplace in 2006 and tortured him in a Tripoli prison. Authorities 
acknowledged his death one year later but did not provide information 
about the time and circumstances. The Government did not conduct a 
transparent inquiry into al-Khazmi's death.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--A large but unknown number of 
persons were in detention or prison for engaging in peaceful political 
activity or for belonging to an illegal political organization. The law 
bans any group activity based on any political ideology inconsistent 
with the principles of the 1969 revolution, in effect banning all 
political parties.
    On March 24, the Government reportedly released 214 political 
detainees from the Abu Salim prison, including those associated with 
banned Islamic groups, as part of a joint government-QDF terrorist 
rehabilitation program. On August 31, authorities released an 
additional 37 prisoners who were alleged members of jihadist groups who 
had undergone the terrorist rehabilitation program. Foreign observers 
reported that Ayn Zara and Abu Salim prisons at the end of the year 
housed an estimated 400 to 500 prisoners. In a 2009 report, HRW claimed 
dozens of political prisoners remained in jails. In 2008 human rights 
organizations and foreign diplomats speculated that there were 2,000 
political detainees, many held for years without trial. Hundreds of 
other detainees may have been held but for periods too brief to permit 
confirmation by outside observers.
    On April 14, the Government released political dissident Jamal al-
Haji after several months' imprisonment. He had publicly held the 
Government responsible for the 2009 death of Fathi al-Jahmi and had 
alleged torture of himself during his previous two-year imprisonment 
for ``attempting to overthrow the political system'' and 
``communication with enemy powers.''
    Geneva-based Solidarity for Human Rights, which describes itself as 
an independent human rights NGO, reported that Muhammad Bosadra, a 
prisoner who reportedly negotiated with guards during the 1996 Abu 
Salim Prison riots, had been transferred from prison and put under 
house arrest after his release from Abu Salim Prison in June 2009. He 
had been held incommunicado since 2005.
    In March authorities released Abdelnasser Al-Rabbasi, according to 
HRW. He had been jailed in 2003 and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment 
for submitting a short story on corruption to the Arab Times. According 
to the human rights group al-Karama, he was initially held 
incommunicado for several months after his arrest and tortured by the 
ISO.
    In May 2009 political activist and al-Qadhafi critic Fathi al-Jahmi 
died in Jordan. Government authorities had held him in solitary 
confinement without adequate medical care before transferring him to 
Tripoli Medical Center and then releasing him from custody and sending 
him to a hospital in Jordan in May. He was released from jail in a coma 
and in grave medical condition and died 17 days later. With the 
exception of two weeks in 2004, the regime had continuously detained 
al-Jahmi since 2002 for publicly calling for democratic reforms and for 
giving media interviews criticizing the regime. According to HRW the 
Government contended that it arrested al-Jahmi for telephoning foreign 
officials and ``providing them with information with the purpose of 
making their countries hate the Great Jamahiriya'' and for conspiring 
to serve the interests of a foreign country. The formal charges were 
attempting to overthrow the Government, slandering al-Qadhafi, and 
communicating with a foreign official without permission.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens did not have 
access to courts to seek damages for or demand cessation of human 
rights violations, although some released political prisoners were able 
to seek compensation through the court system. In August the Ministry 
of Justice announced it would pay compensation to released prisoners 
for wrongful detention commensurate to time served. The ministry 
declared that such released prisoners would receive an estimated 2,000 
dinars ($1,600) for each month of imprisonment. Separately the Human 
Rights Society said it was assisting the Government in the 
rehabilitation of released former members of extremist groups by 
offering a stipend, mentoring, and a return to prior employment.
    Security services intimidated, harassed, and detained individuals 
extralegally 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, but the Government did 
not respect the prohibitions. Security agencies often disregarded the 
legal requirement to obtain a warrant before entering a private home. 
They routinely monitored telephone calls and Internet usage, including 
e-mail communication with foreign countries. There was also physical 
surveillance of political activists and foreign organizations.
    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 ``cooperated'' with 
foreign powers. Exiled government opponents reported that authorities 
harassed their family members and threatened them with detention.
    Authorities inflicted collective punishment on the relatives of 
individuals, particularly those of convicted oppositionists. 
Punishments by law include denial of access to utilities (water, 
electricity, and telephone), fuel, food, and official documents; denial 
of participation in local assemblies; and termination of new economic 
projects and state subsidies. According to HRW some family members of 
victims of the 1996 Abu Salim prison killings reported that security 
services questioned them after they attended an HRW-hosted event in 
2009.
    There were no reports of application of the ``purge law'' that 
provides for the confiscation of private assets greater than a nominal 
amount. The law describes wealth in excess of such unspecified 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,'' but in practice freedom of speech and the press is 
severely limited, particularly criticism of government officials or 
policy. There are provisions in the penal code that criminalize 
``insulting public officials.'' The Government tolerated some 
difference of opinion within governmental structures in people's 
committee meetings and at the General People's Congress. The 
Publication Act allows the Government to silence critics through 
slander and libel provisions.
    The Government prohibited all unofficial political activities as 
well as most forms of political speech or expression. The wide reach of 
security services and broad networks of informants resulted in 
pervasive self-censorship.
    In August 2009 the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists called for 
a credible and transparent inquiry into the reported 2007 trial and 
sentencing to death of three unnamed individuals for the 2005 killing 
of Daif al-Ghazal, a prominent opposition journalist and anticorruption 
activist.
    The Government owned and controlled virtually all print and 
broadcast media. The official news agency, the Jamahiriya News Agency, 
is the designated conduit for official views. Government-controlled 
media neither published nor broadcast opinions inconsistent with 
official policy. In 2008 the quasi-official al-Ghad Media Group, a QDF 
subsidiary controlled by Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi, launched a satellite 
television station, a radio station, and two independent newspapers. 
According to the NGO Reporters without Borders (RSF), most of the 
journalists at these newspapers also worked for official media outlets, 
and the newspapers were printed on government presses. Local 
revolutionary committees in line with government opinion published 
several small newspapers.
    In 2009 the Government nationalized all privately owned news media. 
Al-Ghad newspapers Oea and Quryna suspended printing in January and 
resumed in July. The National Organization for Libyan Youth, an 
organization affiliated with al-Ghad, criticized the decision and said 
the Government's General Press Authority refused to print the two 
newspapers because of ``unauthorized'' reports of future appointments 
to the General People's Congress.
    On November 4, Secretary of the General People's Committee al-
Baghdadi al-Mahoudi again suspended printing of Oea after the newspaper 
published reports that al-Baghdadi would lose his government position. 
Local press reported that during the next two days police arrested 20 
journalists working for al-Ghad and detained them for several days. Al-
Mutawasit, an al-Ghad television station, began broadcasting from 
London in August 2009 but within days ran al-Jamahiriya programming in 
simulcast, ostensibly due to financial difficulties. In August the 
channel resumed original programming after a year-long hiatus, and at 
year's end it was broadcasting from London.
    According to HRW and AI, the ISO routinely harassed journalists, 
and overly broad provisions of the penal code served as the basis for 
frequent charges of criminal defamation.
    On February 17, authorities arrested four journalists working for 
Radio Benghazi program Massaa al-Kheir Benghazi (Good Evening Benghazi) 
and held them overnight, according to RSF. The program focused on 
exposing local government corruption as well as discussing politically 
sensitive issues such as the Abu Salim prison massacre. The station's 
director took the program off the air, dismissed the four journalists, 
and banned them from the station's premises.
    Some outlets in Tripoli had limited quantities of international 
weekly publications. Although the publications law restricts publishing 
rights to public entities, private companies were able to distribute 
newspapers and books in practice.
    Satellite television was widely available.

    Internet Freedom.--A single government-owned service provider 
offered Internet access. The number of Internet users was small but 
growing with improved broadband capability. According to 2009 data of 
the International Telecommunication Union, there were approximately 
82,500 Internet subscribers and 354,000 users. An estimated 5.5 percent 
of the population had access to the Internet. The Government reportedly 
monitored Internet communications. According to a 2009 report by the 
OpenNet Initiative, a partnership among several universities to analyze 
Internet filtering and surveillance, authorities selectively blocked 
some opposition Web sites and occasionally blocked others.
    In January the Government began filtering some Web sites, including 
YouTube, after the posting of videos of demonstrations by the families 
of Abu Salim victims, and of videos of al-Qadhafi's family members 
attending parties, according to RSF. Other independent and opposition 
Web sites also were blocked in January, including opposition sites such 
as Libya al-Youm, al-Manara, Jeel Libya, Akhbar Libya, and Libya al-
Mostakbal, according to HRW. Access was later restored to some of the 
sites. These and other opposition Web sites were periodically hacked or 
blocked throughout the year. In January 2009 the Geneva-based NGO 
Libyan League for Human Rights reported that six opposition Web sites 
operating abroad had been hacked, with some pages replaced with 
proregime content. Human rights activists, journalists, and local 
citizens launched a Facebook campaign to restore access to the sites. 
RSF reported that recently the Government established a regulatory body 
(Niyabat al-Sahafa) to monitor journalists reporting on corruption 
cases. In November Blackberry service was launched, but data service 
was not consistently available.
    During the year most of these Web sites were accessible to users of 
the state-owned Internet provider. Many Internet cafes operated via 
satellite connection to Europe, bypassing potential blocking by the 
state, although security services regularly monitored Internet use at 
cafes. Users were generally able to access blocked content through 
proxies and Virtual Private Network.

    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. 
Academic authorities encouraged selected students to study abroad, and 
some students were provided with government scholarships. According to 
HRW students were reportedly monitored by their embassies while abroad.
    All cultural events require advance government approval. Any group 
or individual seeking to organize a cultural event needs a government 
sponsor.

    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 law. In practice, 
however, the Government severely restricted these rights and permitted 
public assembly only with express advance approval.
    Families of the victims of the 1996 Abu Salim massacre regularly 
protested in Benghazi, and authorities generally tolerated their 
protests. In March 2009 authorities arrested five protesters and 
detained them incommunicado before their eventual release, according to 
AI.
    In October a group of lawyers who demanded new bar association 
elections met in the streets of Benghazi on at least two occasions, 
according to local Web sites. The lawyers were protesting what they 
viewed as government efforts to suppress the bar association's autonomy 
and prevent new leadership in the organization. The lawyers reportedly 
were allowed to assemble but were monitored by security services.

    Freedom of Association.--The Government severely restricted the 
right of association and generally only allowed institutions affiliated 
with the Government to operate. The Government did not allow the 
formation of groups based on political ideology inconsistent with the 
1969 revolution. In practice no nongovernmental organizations 
functioned in the country. The Government does not allow foreign 
funding to any organization or work of any political nature with 
foreign groups. In September, at a regional forum on civil society 
development in Tripoli, independent lawyers and journalists called for 
a revision of Law 19, which governs the formation of civil society 
groups, to enable greater freedom of association. Critics of the law 
said that it granted to security services undue authority to reject 
applications to form civil society organizations and that it gave the 
state wide-reaching authority to suspend organizations without cause. 
In September the Human Rights Society reported that it was urging the 
General People's Congress to review a draft law on civil society.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law stipulates that ``each 
citizen, during times 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 Government generally did not restrict 
freedom of movement within the country, but freedom to travel outside 
the country was at times restricted by the arbitrary seizure or 
nonissuance of passports. Authorities routinely held the passports of 
foreign spouses of citizens when they entered the country.
    The law does not allow, nor did the Government impose, forced exile 
as a punishment. The QDF continued to encourage dissidents abroad to 
return and publicly promised their safety.
    Though the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 
was allowed to operate for the majority of the year and provide some 
services to refugees, the Government generally did not cooperate with 
the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection 
and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning 
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of 
concern.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol. 
The country is a party to the Organization of African Unity Convention 
Governing the Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problem in Africa, in 
which states agree to cooperate with the UNHCR and agree that the 
convention is the regional complement to the 1951 convention. The 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees or asylum seekers. Domestic laws do not recognize asylum 
seekers or refugees as classes distinct from migrants in the country 
without residency permits. As such, refugees and asylum seekers are 
subject to laws pertaining to illegal migrants and were held regularly 
in detention.
    During the year authorities reversed a policy of limited refugee 
resettlement to third countries, and in June the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs ordered the UNHCR to close its office in Tripoli. The UNHCR was 
later allowed to continue processing its existing caseload but was 
forbidden from opening new cases. The Government denied requests for 
exit visas for some immigrants seeking refugee status.
    Until June the UNHCR operated in the country assisting refugees and 
asylum seekers despite the absence of a formal memorandum of 
understanding and the lack of a formal mechanism for individuals 
seeking protection in the country. At the time of its closing, the 
UNHCR reportedly had registered an estimated 9,000 refugees from the 
Palestinian territories, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, and other African 
countries and identified approximately 3,700 asylum seekers in the 
country.
    In September 2009 HRW quoted Brigadier General Mohamed Bashir Al 
Shabbani, the director of the Office of Immigration at the General 
People's Committee for Public Security, as saying, ``There are no 
refugees in Libya. They are people who sneak into the country 
illegally, and they cannot be described as refugees. Anyone who enters 
this country without formal documents and permission is arrested.'' In 
June 2009, during his visit to Italy, al-Qadhafi responded to criticism 
about the country's treatment of asylum seekers by calling the reported 
situation ``a widespread lie.'' In meetings with embassy officials 
throughout the reporting period, government officials insisted on 
referring to illegal immigrants as ``guests'' rather than refugees.
    The Government operated at least 10 detention centers for 
undocumented migrants and asylum seekers, among others. International 
organizations and some foreign diplomats had occasional access to these 
detention centers. The UNHCR and the International Organization for 
Migration had occasional access to asylum seekers registered with the 
UNHCR and irregular migrants in prisons and detention facilities. The 
UNHCR staff had limited ability to conduct private interviews with 
asylum seekers at government-operated detention facilities with 
facilitation by the quasi-NGO International Organization for Peace, 
Care, and Relief (IOPCR). The UNHCR had regular access to government 
officials and detained refugees through the IOPCR. However, since 
August 2009, coincidental with an influx of returned migrants due to 
at-sea interdiction, authorities restricted access to detention 
centers.
    On September 12, Libyan authorities aboard a local patrol boat 
opened fire on an Italian fishing boat believed to be holding illegal 
immigrants. Although no one was killed in the incident, HRW criticized 
what seemed to be a policy that allows shooting at boats carrying 
migrants from the country to Italy. The Government asserted that firing 
on unarmed migrants would violate the law.
    In October Egyptian media reported that a group of 16 Egyptians 
alleged that authorities shot at their vessel after it had drifted into 
Libyan waters and that the authorities detained them for nine months, 
during which time they reportedly were beaten and humiliated.
    In 2009 joint sea patrols with Italy began hindering many asylum 
seekers and refugees from successfully leaving the country. The patrols 
returned interdicted migrants to the country. Once returned, their 
numbers swelled migration detention centers beyond capacity. 
International organizations reported that conditions in the centers 
worsened significantly and along with rights groups expressed concern 
that the joint patrols returned all interdicted migrants to the country 
without screening for asylum seekers, sick or injured persons, pregnant 
women, unaccompanied children, or victims of trafficking or other forms 
of violence against women. In a September 2009 report, HRW criticized 
the interdiction program for denying individuals access to asylum and 
sending migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers back to detention in 
inhuman and degrading conditions where they face abuse by authorities. 
International organization access to returned migrants to screen for 
the above classes varied according to the decision of each detention 
center director.
    In June the Government announced the release of more than 3,000 
illegal immigrants held in detention and a program to grant illegal 
immigrants a two- to three-month grace period to obtain legal working 
permits. The Government did not screen the immigrants for potential 
refugees.
    The law prohibits the extradition of political refugees. In 
practice the Government provided some protection against the expulsion 
or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would 
be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, 
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Although 
the Government did not target UNHCR-recognized refugees for forcible 
deportation, the Government regularly and forcibly deported foreigners 
without properly screening refugees and asylum seekers from economic 
migrants.
    Government sources claimed in 2007 to have repatriated 30,940 
illegal migrants of the estimated 1.5 million to two million illegal 
migrants in the country, regardless of their status or claims to 
asylum.
    During the year the UNHCR registered approximately 9,000 refugees 
on its internal rolls, although it estimated there were 30,000 in the 
country. Of the total refugee population, an estimated 3,500 were in 
regular contact with the UNHCR mission in Tripoli. During the year the 
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 
were Palestinians, Iraqis, Sudanese, Eritrean, and Somalis, followed by 
smaller but growing numbers from sub-Saharan Africa.
    The Government stipulates that any foreigner who enters the country 
illegally shall be arrested and deported. The Government operated 
detention camps to hold noncitizens pending deportation and did not 
routinely inform diplomatic representatives when their nationals were 
detained. Persons in detention camps reportedly were abused, including 
reports of sexual abuse of women. In May 2009 HRW interviewed an 
Eritrean migrant in Rome who alleged that authorities held him in a 
single room with more than 160 other individuals with limited access to 
toilets, food, or water and that guards had beaten him. Another 
Eritrean migrant claimed authorities transported him with 200 other 
persons by truck to an inland deportation site at Kufra. Rather than 
deporting migrants at the border, authorities reportedly left migrants 
in the desert or released them to smugglers who then demanded payment 
for transportation to the coast.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The country does not have a constitution, and citizens do not have 
the right to change their government by peaceful means. The country's 
governing principles stem from al-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; in practice 
al-Qadhafi and his close associates monopolized every aspect of 
decision making in the Government.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The Government prohibits 
the creation of and 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 directly elected residential people's 
committees (roughly neighborhood voting districts), which in turn form 
the 424 basic people's congresses, municipal people's committees 
(sha'abiyas, formed of the basic people's congresses), the 760-member 
General People's Congress, and the 20 cabinet-level secretaries of the 
General People's Committee with a general secretary, each layer of 
which is involved in the selection of the next-higher level. Citizens 
participate through numerous organizations, including residential, 
vocational, professional, and skilled labor congresses. Voting for 
leaders of the local congresses is mandatory for all citizens 18 or 
older. In practice the regime exercised significant influence over 
legislation and enforcement of the General People's Congress' 
decisions.
    Elections to the General People's Committee occur at meetings of 
the General People's Congress. Elections generally are held every three 
years. The most recent elections were held in March 2009 with the 
people's congresses, the local bodies comprising all citizens, electing 
their leadership committees. The election process continues through the 
hierarchy of committees and congresses. Finally, the General People's 
Congress chooses the General People's Committee, which manages the 
daily affairs of the Government. Al-Qadhafi is considered the 
``Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution'' and is not elected by 
the citizens. He is structurally outside the political system but in 
practice retains authority over the Government.
    Revolutionary committees guard against political dissent and assure 
that citizens adhere to sanctioned ideology. These committees approve 
candidates for the General People's Congress. In practice revolutionary 
committees played an unclear role in enforcing official ideology, 
sometimes appearing increasingly marginalized and sometimes appearing 
active in political life.
    According to a 2009 report of the UN Committee on the Elimination 
of Discrimination against Women, women held 32 percent of the 760 seats 
in the General People's Congress. No reliable information existed on 
the representation of minorities in the Government.
    A state security court is responsible for hearing national security 
cases. The court's portfolio includes cases stemming from three laws: 
Law 80 of the 1975 penal code stipulating the death penalty for 
offenses against the security of the state; Law 71 of 1972, which 
classifies as ``treason'' all independent political activity; and a 
1969 revolutionary council decision that prohibits all forms of 
peaceful political opposition. Opposition groups and international 
human rights groups raised concerns that defendants in cases before the 
state security court may be denied access to an attorney and that cases 
are conducted in secret. The QDF called for the abolition of the court 
in its December 2009 report, and representatives of the organization 
stated that they were actively lobbying the Government to have the 
court dissolved. There was very little public information on the court, 
which according to AI was believed to convene within the confines of 
Abu Salim Prison in some instances. According to HRW no reports of 
state security court-ordered death penalties were carried out during 
the year, and there were no reports of any cases being tried in such a 
court.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Laws stipulating criminal penalties for official corruption are 
unclear and inconsistently applied. The Administration Monitoring Board 
is the Government agency responsible for oversight of official 
activities and prevention of corrupt practices. Officials regularly 
engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Government corruption 
coupled with favoritism based on family and tribal ties were perceived 
to be severe problems. Both contributed to government inefficiency.
    The law does not provide for financial disclosure by public 
officials or public access to government information, and the 
Government did not provide access in practice to citizens, pressure 
groups, or the media. The Government did not publicly provide detailed 
planning or budget documents.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government prohibited the establishment of independent human 
rights NGOs. In practice no NGOs functioned in the country. A few 
foreign organizations have attempted to register but have been refused. 
The QDF moderately criticized the Government's human rights practices 
on issues ranging from corruption to prolonged detention of political 
prisoners. Until December the QDF sponsored a human rights society that 
issued reports on human rights in the country.
    Restrictive laws that impose imprisonment for forming or joining 
international organizations without government authorization forced 
individuals wishing to carry out human rights work to operate abroad. 
In May 2009 the QDF facilitated AI's first fact-finding visit to the 
country since 2004. It also facilitated HRW's visit in April 2009, more 
than a year after the group's previous visit, but HRW's access to 
prisons continued to be restricted during the more recent visit.
    The QDF facilitated the December 2009 launch of HRW's report, 
Libya: Truth and Justice Can't Wait, from Tripoli, the first such event 
in the country by an international human rights organization. The 
report documented human rights practices in the country over the past 
five years, concluding that there had been ``some expansion of the 
space for free expression despite severe criminal penalties for free 
speech and association.'' The report noted the Government's attempt to 
address the 1996 Abu Salim massacre by acknowledging the death of the 
prisoners for the first time in 13 years and offering compensation, but 
no investigation or prosecutions. Families of the Abu Salim massacre 
victims, public citizens, and government officials attended the event.
    Associations engaging in unauthorized political activity were 
illegal. The Libyan Arab Human Rights Committee, a government body, did 
not release any public reports. Opposition or political organizations 
were not allowed to operate in the country, including the National 
Conference of the Libyan Opposition, National Front for the Salvation 
of Libya, and the Committee for Libyan National Action in Europe.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, religion, 
disability, or social status. The Government did not enforce these 
prohibitions effectively, particularly with regard to women and 
minorities.

    Women.--The 1969 Constitutional Proclamation granted women equality 
under the law. In practice traditional attitudes and practices 
continued that discriminated against women. Sharia (Islamic law) 
governs inheritance, divorce, and the right to own property. The law 
does not distinguish between genders for crimes of domestic violence, 
rape, or sexual harassment. Women have societal restrictions on their 
movement, even to local destinations.
    The law prohibits domestic violence, but there was scant 
information on the penalties or the extent of violence against women. 
There were 563 cases of rape reported in 2007; statistics were not 
disaggregated by gender. In 2008 courts heard more than 900 cases 
involving sex crimes. In January 2009 members of the Committee on the 
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women criticized the Government 
for not presenting data on violence against women. Courts handed down 
prison terms of varying length to convicted rapists, according to a 
2009 government response to the UN Human Rights Committee. Domestic 
abuse rarely was discussed publicly; HRW reported that students 
conducting a study on sexual violence in April 2009 found that victims 
were reticent to discuss their experiences due to fears of social 
stigmatization. The quasigovernmental Waatasemu Charity Foundation, 
headed by Muammar al-Qadhafi's daughter, Aisha al-Qadhafi, partnered 
with the UN to promote awareness of domestic abuse and sponsored a 
hotline for domestic abuse victims.
    The law criminalizes rape. A convicted rapist must marry the 
victim, with her agreement, or serve a prison term of as long as 25 
years. Rape victims who failed to meet high evidentiary standards 
reportedly could face charges of adultery, according to HRW.
    The law does not address spousal rape. According to government 
officials responding to the UN Human Rights Committee, ``if a wife is 
raped by force or in a way that she does not accept, she may lodge a 
complaint and demand that her husband be prosecuted and punished.'' 
There were 20 women's courts in Tripoli and in Benghazi to deal with 
cases that, according to government officials, could not be resolved 
privately and where women could avoid the social stigma of appearing in 
a court with violent criminals.
    The law does not prohibit female genital mutilation.
    The law allowed for arbitrary punishments for dishonoring family, 
and women and girls suspected of violating moral codes such as walking 
with a man unrelated to them could be detained indefinitely without 
being convicted or after having served a sentence and without the right 
to challenge their detention before a court (see section 1.d.). They 
were held in ``social rehabilitation'' facilities, in some cases 
because they had been raped and then ostracized by their families. The 
Government stated that a woman was free to leave a rehabilitation home 
when she reached ``legal age'' (18 years), consented to marriage, or 
was taken into the custody of a male relative. According to HRW, 
authorities transferred most women to these facilities against their 
will, and those who came of their own volition did so because no 
genuine shelters for survivors of violence existed. HRW maintained that 
the Government routinely violated women's and girls' human rights in 
``social rehabilitation'' homes, including violations of due process, 
freedom of movement, personal dignity, and privacy. One example of 
these violations is the practice of ``virginity exams'' in ``social 
rehabilitation'' facilities, where medical providers conducted invasive 
examinations to determine whether women detained in such facilities had 
engaged in sexual intercourse. These exams were believed to be devoid 
of medical accuracy.
    The law criminalizes sexual harassment, but there were no reports 
on how this law was enforced in practice. Expatriate women reported 
occasional harassment, including men exposing themselves and following 
women.
    In October 2009 HRW and the Geneva-based NGO Human Rights 
Solidarity reported that a group of women living in a state-run care 
residence for women and girls organized a demonstration calling for an 
end to sexual harassment in the residence. The GPO subsequently opened 
an investigation into the claims and in October 2009 charged the 
director of the residence with sexual harassment. However, the director 
reportedly was released.
    Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and have 
the information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, 
and violence. Virtually all births took place in hospitals, and more 
than 90 percent of mothers received pre- and postnatal care. The 
lifetime risk of maternal death was low, at one for each 350 live 
births, and female life expectancy was 77 years and rising. All forms 
of contraception were available free of charge. Waatasemu, the UN 
Office on Drugs and Crime, and other groups actively promoted awareness 
of HIV and sexually transmitted infections and encouraged equal access 
to medical care for women and men.
    The Department of Social Affairs, under the supervision of a 
cabinet-level member of the General People's Committee, is charged with 
collecting data and oversees the integration of women into all spheres 
of public life, although data were often out of date and incomplete. 
Women occupied significant positions in government and the judiciary.
    The General Union of Women's Associations, which the Government 
established as a network of quasi-NGOs, addresses women's employment 
needs. According to 2008 data from the International Labor 
Organization, 26 percent of women older than 15 were economically 
active, compared with 77 percent of men. Traditional restrictions 
continued to discourage some women from playing an active role in the 
workplace.
    The Government is the country's largest employer. Civil service 
salaries are set according to education and experience. Women and men 
with similar qualifications are paid at the same grade for positions 
that are substantially similar. The emerging private sector does not 
formally discriminate on the basis of gender for access to employment 
or credit, although women tend to earn less than men for similar work.
    Women constituted the majority of university students and graduates 
and made up almost one-third of university faculty.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived from either the mother or the 
father and registered in a government-issued family book. In July the 
Government made public a law allowing women married to foreign spouses 
to pass their own nationality to their children.
    There were no data on the number of unregistered births.
    The Government subsidized primary, secondary, and university 
education. Secondary education was compulsory through grade nine for 
both boys and girls, and 100 percent of children between the ages of 
six and 14 were enrolled in basic educational institutions, according 
to the Government's Universal Periodic Review submission to the UN 
Human Rights Council. The law imposes high fees on noncitizens enrolled 
in primary and secondary schools. The UN Human Rights Council noted 
that schools discriminated against children born out of wedlock.
    The law prohibits child abuse, and that prohibition was respected 
in practice.
    Sex outside of marriage is defined as adultery in Law 70 of 1973 
and is a felony offense. Eighteen is the age of consent for marriage, 
although a woman younger than 18 can marry with her father's consent.
    The country was not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--Although no statistics were available during the 
year, the country's Jewish population was extremely small and possibly 
nonexistent. There was no functioning synagogue. Discussions between 
the Government and representatives of the former Jewish community on 
possible compensation for Jewish communal property the Government 
confiscated after 1948 have continued since 2004.
    In December the United Kingdom's Guardian reported that in 2008 a 
Marks and Spencer store in Tripoli had been the target of anti-Semitic 
accusations by Libya's government. The English-Jewish owned brand's 
store was closed twice in 2008 for being a ``Zionist entity'' that 
supported ``the killing of Palestinians.'' Officials had taken the 
store's employees in for questioning. Local contacts perceived the 
attacks as political and aimed at Libyan private business rather than 
rooted in anti-Semitism. The Marks and Spencer store reopened in 2009 
and continued to operate at year's end.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for the rights of 
persons with physical, sensory, intellectual and mental disabilities 
and provides for monetary and other types of social assistance. A 
number of government-approved organizations cared for persons with 
disabilities and protected access to employment, education, health 
care, and other state services. Few public facilities had adequate 
access for persons with physical disabilities, and there was limited 
access to information or communications.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Arabic-speaking Muslims of 
mixed Arab-Amazigh (Berber) ancestry constituted 97 percent of 
citizens. The principal minorities were Amazighs and Tuaregs. Both 
minority groups are predominantly Sunni Muslims but identify with their 
respective cultural and linguistic heritage rather than with Arab 
traditions. Several nomadic groups live in areas along the country's 
desert borders, including members of Tuareg and Toubou tribes. The 
country is home to an estimated 1.5 million to two million foreign 
workers. Of those, nearly one million are thought to be of Sahelian or 
sub-Saharan African origin and are in the country as undocumented 
migrants.
    The 1969 Constitutional Declaration defined the country as an Arab 
nation and acknowledged Arabic as the country's only official language, 
and the regime officially denies the existence of non-Arab citizens.
    According to the Society for Threatened Peoples, Berber (Amazigh) 
people faced contradictory and at times threatening government 
policies. During the year the Government took steps to alleviate 
discrimination against the Berber minority. Unlike in previous years, 
limited exhibitions of Amazigh culture were permitted, including a 
televised history program. The Government allowed the written Amazigh 
language on more signs but reportedly prohibited it in official 
contexts. In August 2009 the QDF invited leading representatives of the 
World Amazigh Conference to Tripoli to discuss Berber culture and 
status in the country. Local politicians have also visited Berber towns 
in recent years. In 2007 the Government abolished a law prohibiting the 
use of Amazigh and Tuareg names.
    The Berber Web site Tawalt.com reported that revolutionary 
committee members in 2008 targeted Berber leaders near Yefren. 
Demonstrators reportedly chanted anti-Berber slogans, vandalized 
properties, and physically confronted counterprotesters. Opposition Web 
sites alleged the individuals acted in collusion with local police.
    According to the Society for Threatened Peoples and a 2008 MEED 
Business Intelligence report, the Toubou minority in the southeastern 
part of the country, especially in the town of Kufra, faced massive 
discrimination. An estimated 4,000 Toubou reportedly resided in Kufra. 
A government initiative to withdraw their citizenship and designate the 
Toubou as Chadian reportedly led to five days of fighting between 
security forces and the Toubou in 2008. As many as 33 persons 
reportedly died in the fighting. In April 2009, according to AI, armed 
security personnel used bulldozers to evict Toubou from their homes in 
Kufra, continuing a policy of forced evictions in place since November 
2009. AI reported that Toubou had complained that they were not allowed 
to attend local schools and were denied treatment at local hospitals 
because they lacked official identity documents.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was societal and 
official abuse based on sexual orientation and sexual identity. 
Citizens tended to hold negative views of homosexual activity, and 
homosexuality is socially stigmatized. Homosexual acts are a criminal 
offense punishable by three to five years in prison. The law provides 
for punishment of both parties. In November a girl who announced on the 
Internet that she was gay sought asylum in France after she was 
allegedly arrested, raped, and nearly forced into a marriage.
    No public information was available on societal discrimination on 
the basis of sexual orientation or identity. There were no reports of 
legal discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, 
housing, or access to education or health care.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence toward persons with HIV/AIDS. There were reports 
of societal stigmatization of persons living with HIV/AIDS, due to an 
association of the disease with drug use, sex outside marriage, and 
homosexuality. This stigma also resulted in underreporting of the 
disease. Treatment and medicine were provided to HIV/AIDS patients free 
of charge at special centers.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law prohibits independent 
associations; workers automatically enrolled in the Government-
organized General Trade Union Federation of Workers. 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. The Government required candidates for 
trade union office to be citizens.
    The law does not give workers the right to strike. Although trade 
unions have existed officially for more than 25 years, workers 
historically have seen them as idle organizations under government 
control.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
circumscribes the conduct of union activities, and collective 
bargaining was restricted in practice. For example, the Government must 
approve all collective agreements between unions and employers to 
ensure that they are in line with the Government's economic and social 
objectives. The Government has the right to set and cut salaries 
without consulting the workers.
    A free trade zone in Misrata officially opened in 2004, although at 
year's end it was not operating due to bureaucratic delays. According 
to local contacts, the delays were both construction and regulatory. 
Free trade agreements have labor provisions, especially the newer ones; 
however, the Misrata free trade zone is independent of a free trade 
agreement.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
any form of forced or compulsory labor, including child labor. 
Nevertheless, there were some reports of forced labor of migrant 
workers, particularly Filipino, Indian, and sub-Saharan Africans 
working in the construction sector after they were smuggled into the 
country. For information on trafficking in persons, please see the 
Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 
www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law forbids children younger than 18 from being employed, except when 
it is a form of apprenticeship. There was no information available on 
the prevalence of child labor, although there were no reports of child 
slavery, prostitution, or recruitment into armed conflict during the 
year.
    No information was available concerning whether the law limits 
working hours or sets occupational health and safety restrictions for 
children. The General People's Committee for Manpower, Employment, and 
Training is responsible for preventing child labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor law defines the rights 
and duties of workers except for migrant workers and includes matters 
of compensation, pension rights, minimum rest periods, and working 
hours. Although some public sector categories, such as professors, have 
received pay increases in recent years, a freeze imposed more than a 
decade ago continued to depress earnings. The minimum wage was 250 
dinars ($208) per month. The Government paid an additional pension of 
90 dinars ($75) for a single person, 130 dinars ($108) for a married 
couple, and 180 dinars ($150) for a family of more than two. 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 and utilities, and 
government workers received an additional 130 dinars ($108) per month 
for food staples during the year. Contracts, written in Arabic, exist 
for migrant workers and are the legal basis for granting visas for 
temporary workers. Contracts are only for legal immigrants and are a 
requirement for the hiring business to sponsor the worker; as a result, 
they are rare and generally only used if the business is closely 
monitored or regulated.
    The legal workweek is 40 hours. The law stipulates the minimum 
wage, standard working hours, night shift regulations, dismissal 
procedures, and training requirements. The law does not specifically 
prohibit excessive compulsory overtime.
    Labor inspectors were assigned by municipal governments 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 these standards. Certain industries, such as the petroleum 
sector, attempted to maintain standards that foreign companies set. 
There was no information about whether workers could 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-person workforce in 2004, but the labor law applies only to 
foreign workers who have work contracts, a fraction of the total. These 
workers are covered under the laws on acceptable conditions of work, 
while other migrants are considered to be illegally in the country. 
While the 2006 census counted 349,040 foreigners resident in the 
country, observers and diplomatic missions with large migrant 
populations in the country estimated during the year that the total 
number of undocumented workers was between 1.5 million and two million. 
Authorities permitted foreign workers 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. Foreign workers were 
subject to arbitrary pressures, such as changes in work rules and 
contracts, and had little choice other than to accept such changes or 
depart the country. Authorities deported many foreign workers for not 
having newly required work permits for unskilled jobs that they held at 
the time of arrest. In practice the Government had no practical means 
to track members of the informal foreign workforce or remittance flows, 
relying instead on the threat of deportation and random roundups to 
exercise authority. Roundups and deportation generally threatened only 
illegal or undocumented workers.

                               __________

                                MOROCCO

    Morocco is a monarchy with a constitution, an elected parliament, 
and a population of approximately 34 million. According to the 
constitution, ultimate authority 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 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 2007 multiparty parliamentary elections for the 
lower house went smoothly and were marked by transparency and 
professionalism. International observers judged that those elections 
were relatively free from government-sponsored irregularities. Security 
forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Citizens did not have the right to change the constitutional 
provisions establishing the country's monarchical form of government or 
those designating Islam the state religion. There were reports of 
torture and other abuses by various branches of the security forces. 
Prison conditions remained below international standards. Reports of 
arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, and police and security 
force impunity continued. Politics, as well as corruption and 
inefficiency, influenced the judiciary, which was not fully 
independent. The Government restricted press freedoms. Corruption was a 
serious problem in all branches of government. Child labor, 
particularly in the unregulated informal sector, and trafficking in 
persons remained 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 no 
reports that the Government or its agents committed any politically 
motivated killings; however, there were reports of deaths in police 
custody. On September 11, 37-year-old Fodeil Aberkane was arrested in 
Sale and charged with consuming cannabis. Released after 48 hours in 
jail, he returned after several days to reclaim his belongings, a 
motorcycle and a cell phone. An altercation followed and he was 
imprisoned, accused of ``assaulting officers during the exercise of 
their function.'' Two days later he was transferred to a Rabat hospital 
and pronounced dead. Authorities began an investigation but had not 
filed charges by year's end.
    In the 2008 case of Abderrezzak Kadiri, who died after a violent 
demonstration at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakesh, a 2009 government 
autopsy determined his wounds were consistent with a criminal assault. 
In August the Government reported that police had arrested and charged 
a suspect with assault and battery in connection with Kadiri's death, 
and Kadiri's family dropped charges against the Government.
    Unlike in previous years, there were no reports implicating 
security forces in the deaths of migrants seeking to illegally transit 
the country to Europe (see section 2.c.). The Government provided no 
further information regarding the death of a migrant who international 
human rights NGOs claimed was killed by police at the Melilla border in 
January 2009.

    b. Disappearance.--The country's penal code requires security 
forces to inform detainees of charges and to inform the detainee's 
family of his or her whereabouts within 48 hours. The 2003 
antiterrorism law provides an exception to this rule by permitting 
authorities to detain suspects without informing their families for up 
to 96 hours. This initial detention period may be renewed twice, up to 
a total detention time of 12 days. In addition authorities may withhold 
information about the charges from the detainee's lawyer for up to two 
days after the initial four-day detention expires (see section 1.d.).
    The Government stated that it followed the law in all cases, and 
that there were no cases of disappearance. However, the domestic 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) the Moroccan Association for Human 
Rights (AMDH), international NGOs Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty 
International (AI), and the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), an 
Islamist-oriented political party, claimed that in at least 13 cases, 
authorities did not follow the provisions of the penal code or the 
antiterrorism law and that prolonged periods in unknown locations 
amounted to disappearances in these cases. The Government and the 
domestic NGO Moroccan Organization for Human Rights (OMDH) disputed 
these charges, claiming that arrest and pretrial detention were 
mistakenly equated with abduction and forced disappearances and that 
families were informed about the whereabouts of those detained.
    Regarding the unresolved cases of disappearance dating back to the 
1970s and 1980s, the Governmental Consultative Council on Human Rights 
(CCDH) continued to cooperate with the UN Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as it seeks to investigate claims 
of enforced and involuntary disappearances. The CCDH has provided the 
OHCHR with information regarding 56 cases that the OHCHR considers 
unresolved. The CCDH and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 
noted that occasional new claims regarding disappearances that occurred 
in the 1970s and 1980s continue to be reported. Since 2004 the Justice 
and Reconciliation Authority (IER) and CCDH, its successor 
organization, completed investigations of approximately 938 cases of 
forced, long-term disappearances of regime opponents between the 
country's 1956 independence and 1999. The IER and CCDH determined only 
290 cases amounted to state-enforced disappearances. The CCDH 
acknowledged that, due to a lack of evidence, it will likely be unable 
to resolve the 56 remaining cases. The CCDH has provided the OHCHR with 
information regarding these 56 unresolved cases.
    Human rights groups representing ethnic Sahrawis, who reside 
throughout the country and make up a majority of the population of 
Western Sahara, claimed that at least 114 cases remained unresolved and 
accused the CCDH and IER of failing to acknowledge many additional 
cases of disappearances that occurred between the country's 
independence in 1956 and 1999, especially from Western Sahara.
    By year's end the CCDH reported it had paid reparations to 15,000 
victims of disappearance or other abuses committed between 1956 and 
1999 or to their family members. During the year 331 individuals 
received reparation payments totaling 46,233,210 dirhams ($5,540,289). 
The CCDH noted that although it continued to receive and investigate 
reparation claims during the year, it had shifted its focus toward 
conducting community reparation projects, including providing medical 
insurance to victims' families. During the year the CCDH disbursed 979 
medical insurance cards to individuals living in both Morocco and the 
Western Sahara territory. Some NGOs alleged the CCDH was flawed 
administratively and its reparations process was nontransparent, 
resulting in unequal payments and a lack of objective criteria for 
awarding payments.
    In May the CCDH sponsored the return of the remains of Abdeslam 
Ahmed EttToud, whose body was found in a secret tomb in Ghfsy in 2005. 
EttToud was kidnapped by armed men affiliated with the Istiqlal party 
in June 1956.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and the Government 
denied that it used torture. However, numerous NGO reports and media 
articles alleged that members of security forces tortured and abused 
individuals in their custody, particularly during transport and 
pretrial detention.
    The CCDH did not publish any reports regarding overall trends for 
incidents of torture and other abuses during the year. However, 
independent news media and domestic human rights groups, including the 
AMDH and OMDH, expressed concerns regarding increasing reports of 
security forces' engagement in arbitrary arrests and torture in prisons 
and police stations.
    On June 28, police in Fes arrested seven members of the Justice and 
Charity Organization (JCO, also known as Al-Adl Wal Ihsane) at their 
homes and immediately transferred them to a jail in Casablanca. The men 
were charged with abducting and torturing a former member of their 
organization, armed robbery, violence, and membership in an 
unauthorized organization. Through their lawyers, family members, and 
other JCO members, Abdallah Bella, Mohamed Slimani, Tarik Mahla, Hicham 
Mesbahi, Azzedine Slimani, Abou Ali Lamnouar and Hicham Houari claimed 
that police beat them in front of their families prior to arrest, and 
then tortured them for three days in detention in Casablanca. During 
this time, the men reported that they were beaten, shocked with 
electricity, sodomized with pens, suspended in the air, denied medical 
treatment, and kept permanently blindfolded. The JCO, AMDH, and OMDH 
claimed that a government physician examined the seven men on July 7 
and 8 and found injuries indicative of torture and abuse. The 
Government denied the allegations, and stated that the men had been 
arrested in response to a complaint filed by Mohamed Elrahzy, a former 
JCO member and Fes-based attorney. Elrahzy alleged that on May 17 the 
seven men kidnapped, tortured, and later released him. The JCO, AMDH, 
OMDH, and two Moroccan political parties--the PJD and the Socialist 
Union of Popular Forces--publicly called for an independent 
investigation. On August 30, the defendants filed a complaint against 
the Judicial Police after the issuance of the medical report on their 
allegations of torture. On December 21, the Fes Court of Appeals 
dropped the charges against the defendants due to a lack of evidence.
    On July 16, the Rabat Criminal Chamber of the court of appeals 
upheld the 2008 convictions of 35 defendants for forming a terrorist 
group, plotting attacks, and committing robberies and other crimes to 
finance their operations. The court reduced to 10 years the prison 
sentences of four defendants associated with Islamist political parties 
and one journalist and released a socialist party politician from 
prison for time served. Many appealed the verdicts on various grounds, 
including that the court failed to refer their cases to a forensic 
expert as required by the law against torture; some defendants claimed 
that their confessions were falsified or obtained as a result of 
torture (see section 1.e.).
    On March 31, the Marrakesh Court of Appeals decided the appeal of 
11 students who alleged that they had been victims of police abuse and 
torture and were sentenced to prison for their involvement in violent 
demonstrations in 2008 at Cadi Ayyad University. The court upheld the 
convictions and lengthened the sentences of one student from two to 
three years and another student from two to four years. On May 15, the 
nine other students were released at the expiration of their sentences. 
According to domestic and international NGOs, the students alleged in 
their appeal that security forces employed torture, sexual harassment, 
and other abuse, especially during their arrest and pretrial detention. 
The court did not consider (and the Government did not investigate) the 
torture claims; it reaffirmed that police investigations had shown the 
students' injuries were a result of confrontations during the protests, 
in which students threw Molotov cocktails and stones at police officers 
and damaged public property. The Government provided no new information 
about the case of Qadimi El Ouali, who was severely injured in the 2008 
demonstrations at Cadi Ayyad.
    The Government continued to improve implementation of the 2006 law 
against torture, which requires judges to refer a detainee to a 
forensic medical expert when the detainee or his or her lawyer requests 
it or if judges notice suspicious physical marks on a detainee. The 
Government reported that as of September public prosecutors and 
magistrates had requested expert medical examinations for 31 
individuals, compared with 27 requests in 2009 and 49 requests in 2008. 
Media and human rights NGOs documented cases in which the antitorture 
law provision was not implemented.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor and generally did not meet international standards. Prisons were 
overcrowded, resulting in poor hygienic conditions. There were no 
reports regarding inadequate provisions for ventilation, temperature, 
lighting, and access to potable water. The Moroccan Observatory of 
Prisons (OMP), an umbrella grouping of lawyers promoting better prison 
conditions, and other human rights NGOs continued to report during the 
year that prisons were overcrowded, prone to violence, and failed to 
meet local and international standards. The Government stated that its 
60 prisons held approximately 61,405 inmates as of August 31, allowing 
approximately 16 square feet per inmate, far short of the international 
standard of 97 square feet. Reports published by the OMP in 2008 and 
2009 maintained that the adult prison system operated at roughly 133 
percent capacity. Various NGOs estimated the number of minors in prison 
to range between 1,800 and 6,000. In many cases, those imprisoned as 
minors completed their sentences as adults.
    The Government reported that 84 inmates died in prison, 67 (80 
percent) of whom were hospitalized and under the care of the Ministry 
of Health; 26 (32 percent) of reported deaths were due to heart 
problems. Due to administrative constraints and lack of access to 
prisons, local human rights NGOs were unable to confirm or challenge 
these numbers. The Government acknowledged that providing adequate care 
was difficult given the overcrowded conditions and noted that prisons 
in cities such as Casablanca are especially overcrowded due to the 
refurbishment of nearby prisons, such as the one in Oukacha.
    Regarding the 2009 case of Mohamed Amine Akalai, who died in 
prison, authorities closed the case based on their determination that 
the death was the result of heart problems.
    The Directorate General for Prison Administration (DGAP), a 
separate agency that reports directly to the prime minister and 
informally to the king, has responsibility for managing all prisons in 
the country. It has its own budget and central administrative 
apparatus. The DGAP secured additional funds during the year to build 
new facilities, reduce crowding and increase living space per inmate, 
improve health care and other conditions, and improve security. The 
Ministry of Justice still directs the development and reform of penal 
policy.
    Although the law dictates that juvenile prisoners be separated from 
adults in prisons, this did not always occur in practice. There are 
three detention facilities, known officially as Reform and Education 
Centers (RECs), reserved exclusively for juveniles up to the age of 20. 
Several other adult prison facilities have dedicated areas for juvenile 
inmates. Due to the lack of juvenile prison facilities, authorities 
sometimes held juveniles with adults, particularly in pretrial 
detention and in police stations. As of August 31, the Government held 
4,851 juveniles under the age of 20 at various prisons. Human rights 
groups reported that young offenders were abused by other minors, older 
inmates, and prison guards. Offenders convicted of minor crimes are 
often placed in the same cell as those convicted of more serious 
offenses. Government figures indicated that only 3 percent of prisoners 
were women, and there was less overcrowding in the women's sections. 
Women were held separately from men.
    The Government began implementing vocational and educational 
training programs in prisons. The Mohammed VI Foundation for 
Reinsertion of Prisoners, managed directly by the king, provides 
educational and professional training to young inmates on the verge of 
release. The foundation runs RECs in 38 of the country's 60 prisons and 
works with more than 4,000 prisoners each year. Graduates of the 
foundation's training programs have a recidivism rate of 3 percent, in 
contrast to the national average of 40 percent. Since 2008 the 
Government has opened three new prison facilities in Khouribga, 
Tetouan, and Oued Zem. The Government has closed two prisons since 
2008, in Inzegane and Khouribga, due to poor sanitary conditions.
    The Government also runs 22 Child Protection Centers (CPCs), five 
of which are specifically for girls. The CPCs were originally intended 
to provide an alternative to prison for underage juvenile delinquents. 
However, the centers are now used to house delinquents, homeless 
children, victims of domestic violence, drug addicts and other 
``children in distress'' who have committed no crime. Unlike the 
prisons, the CPCs are managed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
    Some human rights activists asserted that the prison administration 
reserved harsher treatment and conditions for certain prisoners, such 
as Islamists. The Government denied allegations that it accorded 
different levels of treatment to any inmates, and maintained that there 
were no political prisoners in the country. Prisoners frequently 
employed hunger strikes to demand improved prison conditions or to 
protest lengthy pretrial detentions. Most of these ended within several 
days in response to concessions from the Government or prison 
authorities. Although prison authorities provided meals to prisoners 
three times per day, the amount of food provided was inadequate, and 
families and friends regularly supplemented prisoners' diets.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, including local human rights groups, but not by 
international groups or the media. As in years past, family members of 
prisoners accounted for the majority of prison visits. At least 600 
visits were by judiciary authorities for various oversight reasons. The 
DGAP also reported that 88 regional or parliamentary commissions made 
prison visits during the year. Authorities documented 132 visits by 
domestic NGOs during the first six months of the year. NGOs reported 
that although international NGOs visited prisons in previous years, the 
DGAP's new director general discouraged such visits, and they ceased. 
The International Committee of the Red Cross did not make any requests 
to visit prisoners.
    The quasigovernmental CCDH acted as an ombudsman for human rights 
and continued to expand the scope of its activities. The CCDH received 
complaints from prisoners and from family members writing on behalf of 
their imprisoned family members (see section 1.e.).
    Government policy permits NGOs that provide social, educational, or 
religious services to prisoners to enter prison facilities, but it does 
not permit NGOs that only have a human rights mandate to do so except 
with special authorization. There were no reports that prisoners and 
detainees were denied permission to practice their respective 
religions. Members of various NGOs, including the OMDH, AMDH, OMP, and 
Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Abuses (ASVDH), visited 
prisoners regularly to distribute food and personal items and to check 
on their health and well-being as ``friends or family,'' not as human 
rights NGO representatives.

    d. 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. According to local NGOs and 
associations, police did not always identify themselves when arresting 
suspects or consistently obtain warrants. Police reportedly held some 
detainees without charging them. It was common practice for security 
forces to arrest a group of persons, take them to a police station to 
be questioned, and then release them without charge.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The security apparatus 
includes several police and paramilitary organizations with overlapping 
authorities. The National Police (DGSN) manages the border and 
immigration services, as well as internal law enforcement, and reports 
to the Ministry of Interior. However, the borders are managed by 
different entities intervening in various capacities. For example, the 
Royal Armed Forces manage borders in Western Sahara and along the 
southern border with Algeria. Along the northern section of the eastern 
border with Algeria, the army, Auxiliary Forces, gendarmes, police, and 
customs authorities are present.
    The Auxiliary Forces are separate entities that have security 
responsibilities and also report to the Ministry of Interior. The 
Auxiliary Forces are often used to support gendarmes or police as 
necessary. The Royal Gendarmerie reports to the Ministry of Defense and 
is responsible for law enforcement in rural regions and on national 
highways. The main federal investigative body, the judicial police, is 
a hybrid DGSN and Justice Ministry entity. Both the Royal Gendarmerie 
and the judicial police report to the royal prosecutor, who orders 
investigations. The judicial police investigate violations of criminal 
law, terrorism, organized crime, and white-collar crime. The Department 
of Royal Security reports to the king.
    There was no systematic prosecution of security personnel who 
committed human rights abuses. Corruption and impunity reduced police 
effectiveness and respect for the rule of law. Petty corruption was 
widespread among the police and gendarmes, and broader, systemic 
corruption undermined law enforcement and the effectiveness of the 
judicial system.
    On February 23, the king issued a royal high directive designed to 
modernize and professionalize the national police force, the General 
Directorate for National Security, by making it an autonomous 
directorate. The Government stated that these changes were aimed at 
improving the quality of recruits and reducing corruption. Various 
components of the king's directive have been implemented. On October 1, 
traffic officers began wearing photo identification while performing 
their duties. This measure is expected to reduce widespread bribery by 
traffic officers and will allow citizens to report and document abuse. 
While the directive did not include provisions for additional training 
of security forces, the Government increased investigations, 
prosecutions, and training--including a human rights component--for 
security personnel.
    The Ministry of Interior increased investigations of abuse, human 
rights violations, and corruption across all security services under 
its purview. During the year the Government reported that it arrested, 
prosecuted, or opened investigations regarding 332 government 
authorities or security officials at all levels for crimes ranging from 
assault and battery to petty bribery throughout the country and Western 
Sahara. These included prosecutions for cases of drug trafficking or 
involvement in abetting illegal immigration against three chiefs of 
police, 25 police officers and customs agents, 21 staff members of the 
Auxiliary Forces, and 16 officers of the Royal Armed Forces and the 
Royal Navy. Information for the year was not available on the number of 
convictions and punishments, and many more incidents of alleged 
corruption were never investigated. Cases often languished in the 
investigatory or trial phases without resolution.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police may 
arrest an individual after a general prosecutor issues an oral or 
written warrant; in practice warrants were sometimes issued after the 
arrest. Warrants were generally issued on the basis of evidence and 
exclusively by authorized officials. Authorities denied defendants' 
access to counsel or family members during the initial 96 hours of 
detention under terrorism-related laws or 48 hours of detention for 
other charges, during which police interrogated detainees and alleged 
abuse or torture was most likely to occur.
    Under the antiterrorism law, after the first 96 hours, two 
additional 96-hour extensions are allowed at the prosecutor's 
discretion. Under the law a person may be detained without trial for as 
long as one year while an investigating magistrate completes work.
    NGOs continued to report that as many as 90 percent of incarcerated 
minors were in pretrial detention. The law provides for a limited 
system of bail, but bail was rarely granted. Some judges were unaware 
of legislation permitting the use of the bail system or other 
alternative sentencing provisions. The law does not require written 
authorization for a person to be released from detention. In some 
instances, judges released defendants on their own recognizance. The 
antiterrorism law does not include a system of bail. Under a separate 
military code, military authorities may detain members of the military 
without a warrant or public trial.
    According to the law, all defendants have the right to be 
represented by attorneys, and if a defendant cannot afford private 
counsel, a court-appointed attorney must be provided when the criminal 
penalty exceeds five years in prison. In practice effective counsel was 
not always provided. Police were required to notify a detainee's next 
of kin of the arrest as soon as possible after the initial 48-hour 
incommunicado detention in nonterrorism cases unless arresting 
authorities applied for and received an extension from a magistrate, 
but police did not always abide by this provision. Because of delays in 
notifying family, lawyers sometimes were not informed promptly of the 
date of arrest and were not able to monitor compliance with 
administrative detention limits, which authorities exceeded when 
individuals were suspected of links to terrorism.
    As of August 31, pretrial detainees made up 42 percent of the 
61,405 inmates in prison.

    Amnesty.--The Government used royal pardons rather than a parole 
system as the principal judicial mechanism for early release. The king 
pardoned 1,838 prisoners during the year. Pardons may take the form of 
release, sentence reduction, or transfer.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, but in practice the courts often did not act 
independently and were weakened by corruption and extrajudicial 
influence. Corruption and extrajudicial influence was reportedly most 
acute in criminal, commercial, and civil law cases. Many judges did not 
consistently base rulings on new laws and, at times, referred to 
outdated laws in their decisions. The king heads the Supreme Judicial 
Council, and the minister of justice presides over it in his absence. 
The council has administrative authority to hire, dismiss, and promote 
judges and can decide which judges to appoint to certain positions.
    During the year the Government exhibited some efforts to address 
corruption. The inspector general of the Justice Ministry investigated 
65 criminal or ethics complaints against judges (up from 55 in 2009), 
which resulted in the referral of 16 judges to the Supreme Judicial 
Council for disciplinary measures.
    In the 2008 suspected terrorist trial of 35 defendants, whose 
convictions were upheld on July 16, defendants claimed that they were 
deprived of a fair trial based on the Minister of Interior's public 
statements prior to the trial alleging that the accused persons were 
assumed to be guilty.
    Serious state security charges against civilians, including those 
relating to the monarchy, Islam, or territorial integrity (i.e., the 
country's sovereignty claim over Western Sahara), are typically tried 
in civilian courts. Cases regarding treason must be tried before a 
military court. While cases regarding territorial integrity can also be 
referred to a military court, the conditions under which a case may be 
moved to a military court are not transparent. It is also unclear from 
where such a decision originates (see the Western Sahara report). 
Judgments by military tribunals may be appealed. Depending on the 
military tribunal's decision, cases are sometimes moved to a civilian 
appellate court. NGOs and judicial reform advocates alleged that the 
Government interfered with the judiciary, especially in political 
cases, sometimes undermining the fairness of the trial.
    In 2008 73-year-old Colonel-Major Kaddour Terhzaz was arrested for 
allegedly threatening the country's security through divulging national 
defense information. The Permanent Military Court of the Moroccan Armed 
Forces in Rabat tried Terhzaz, found him guilty, and sentenced him to 
12 years at the Sale prison. In 2009 the military court rejected a 
cassation of the verdict (a military court version of appeal). In May 
an attorney submitted one final brief requesting that the case be 
reopened to examine new evidence, but the tribunal rejected the brief. 
Terhzaz's family members and the AMDH claimed that before the initial 
trial, his defense attorney was not given adequate time to prepare for 
the case and that officials prevented his attorney from visiting him. 
Various NGOs stated that no witnesses were allowed to testify at his 
trial. Family members also reported that Terhzaz has been in solitary 
confinement since November 2009. As of November 2010 Terhzaz remained 
in solitary confinement. The Government maintains that the Terhzaz case 
is a matter of national security, and the legal proceedings against him 
were fair and transparent.
    Regarding the case of the seven Sahrawi activists arrested in 
October 2009 on charges of ``intelligence cooperation with a foreign 
entity'' and ``incitement to disturb public order'' after a trip to the 
Sahrawi refugee camps near Tindouf and Algiers in Algeria, all seven 
activists continued to faced charges of incitement to disturb public 
order at year's end; the intelligence cooperation charge was dismissed. 
Four of the activists were provisionally released during the year, and 
three remained in prison in Casablanca. After several attempts at a 
trial were disrupted, the three were awaiting trial before a civilian 
court at year's end (see the Western Sahara report).

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants are presumed innocent. The law 
provides for the right to a fair public trial for all citizens; this 
did not always occur in practice, especially for those protesting the 
incorporation of Western Sahara into the country. Juries are not used, 
in accordance with the Napoleonic legal system.
    Although the Government claims that accused persons are brought to 
trial within two months, prosecutors may request as many as five 
additional two-month extensions of pretrial detention. Technically an 
accused person may be kept in detention for as long as one year prior 
to trial. There were several reports that authorities routinely held 
detainees beyond the one-year limit.
    Defendants have the right to be present at their trial and to 
timely consultation with an attorney, although these rights were not 
always enforced in practice. Attorneys were not appointed in all cases 
or, if provided, were poorly paid or provided in an untimely fashion, 
often resulting in inadequate representation. According to law, 
defendants in criminal and human rights cases have access to government 
evidence against them. In practice judges sometimes prevented or 
delayed access. Under the law, defense attorneys may question 
witnesses. Some judges reportedly denied defense requests to question 
witnesses or to present mitigating witnesses or evidence.
    Individuals 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 often decided cases based on forced confessions, especially 
in cases of Sahrawis or individuals accused of terrorism. Police 
statements about detainees were used in place of defendants' 
confessions.
    The law extends rights regarding trial procedures to all citizens. 
Family courts generally adjudicated divorce and child custody cases for 
Muslim citizens according to the 2004 family law. A parallel family 
legal system handled matters for Jewish citizens in accordance with 
traditional Jewish law. Designated juvenile judges have jurisdiction 
over cases relating to alleged offenses by minors between the ages of 
12 and 18. However, NGOs reported that judges' ignorance of the 
statutes and their lack of training on human and children's rights 
meant that provisions affecting children were not used and many minors 
received prison time for minor offenses.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Legislation does not define or 
recognize the concept of a political prisoner. The Government did not 
consider any of its prisoners to be political prisoners and stated that 
all individuals in prison in the country had been convicted or had been 
charged under criminal law and were awaiting trial. However, several 
NGOs, including the AMDH, Sahrawi organizations, and Amazigh (Berber) 
activist groups asserted that the Government imprisoned persons for 
political activities or beliefs under cover of criminal charges.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Individuals had access to 
civil courts for lawsuits relating to human rights violations and filed 
such lawsuits; however, the courts were not entirely independent or 
impartial in civil matters due to extrajudicial influence and 
corruption. There are administrative as well as judicial remedies for 
alleged wrongs.
    A national ombudsman resolves civil matters when the judiciary is 
unable to do so and has gradually expanded the scope of its activities. 
As of July 31, the ombudsman received 2,476 complaints; it judged 1,835 
to be valid and referred those cases to other public administrations as 
appropriate. The CCDH did not take direct action on specific cases but 
continued to serve as a conduit through which citizens expressed 
complaints about government malfeasance or human rights violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution states that an individual's home is 
inviolable, and that a search may take place only with 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 suspected terrorism, 
but the Government did not always observe these rights. Plainclothes 
security officers who did not identify themselves or present search 
warrants conducted home searches.
    As in previous years, authorities reportedly searched and shut down 
activities in the homes of members of the Justice and Charity 
Organization, an Islamist charitable and sociopolitical group the 
Government tolerated but did not officially recognize. Members used 
their homes for ``open houses'' where they held politically oriented 
meetings. On May 20 and 29, authorities detained for questioning 342 
male and female JCO members in the towns of Oujda, Tangiers, and Zaio. 
As in years past, during Ramadan authorities carried out raids, 
detained at least 21 JCO members, and forcibly dispersed meetings at 
private residences in several cities. JCO members claimed the DGST was 
responsible for the harassment. In almost every case, authorities 
detained, questioned, and later released JCO members without charges.
    Sahrawi activists reported that when NGOs held meetings at members' 
houses, both plainclothes and uniformed police occasionally intervened 
(see the Western Sahara report).

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law generally provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government continued 
to restrict freedom of the press through the legal system. Government-
provided figures for this year showed that six journalists or media 
outlets faced criminal or civil charges, down from 56 such cases in 
2009 and 42 in 2008. These numbers included cases the Government 
initiated as well as private citizens' libel complaints. Numerous human 
rights groups criticized the steady stream of criminal prosecutions, 
newspaper closings, and libel suits.
    The law prohibits citizens from criticizing Islam or the 
institution of the monarchy. It is also illegal to voice opposition to 
the Government's official position regarding territorial integrity and 
Western Sahara. The press, however, reported on controversial and 
culturally sensitive topics involving the military, national security, 
and sexuality.
    The antiterror law and the press code impose financial penalties on 
journalists and publishers who violate restrictions related to 
defamation, libel, and insults, including critical discussion of the 
monarchy, state institutions, territorial integrity, and Islam. Prison 
sentences may be imposed on those convicted of libel.
    The press code lists threats to public order as one of the criteria 
for censorship. The Government also has the ability to revoke licenses 
and to suspend and confiscate publications.
    Politically diverse newspapers and weeklies published articles 
critical of high-ranking officials and policies. Although authorities 
overlooked most of these instances, a few publications paid significant 
financial penalties when articles came close to the ``red lines'' of 
monarchy or the Western Sahara. The Government levied substantial fines 
that publishers accused of violating the law could not afford to pay. 
In some cases, these substantial fines appeared to be designed to 
bankrupt the publisher and force it to close. Many journalists also 
noted that there was great inconsistency in the Government's responses 
to sensitive articles that touched on the ``red lines,'' and they had 
no way to know when they might face sanction.
    In January the Ministry of Communication announced it would expand 
the scope of regulations regarding foreign television stations and 
begin require foreign stations to receive ministry approval on a 
monthly basis (rather than annually as before) to report on or record 
individuals outside Rabat. Initially the new restrictions were aimed at 
Al Jazeera. The requirements have also affected the television channels 
Al Hurra, Al Arabiya, and BBC.
    On January 27, governmental judicial liquidators took control of 
newsweekly Le Journal Hebdomadaire after a Casablanca commercial 
appeals court declared on January 25 that the publication's former 
publishing group, Media Trust, and its current one, Trimedia, were 
bankrupt. According to credible sources, the publication owed a debt of 
five million dirhams ($599,161). Le Journal incurred some of this debt 
in September 2009 when the Supreme Court ordered the publication to pay 
2,652,022 dirhams ($317,797) in damages for a libel suit concerning its 
sources of funding for an article on the Western Sahara by the European 
Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, a Brussels-based think 
tank. On April 18, a Rabat appeals court upheld the amount of damages 
awarded. However, international NGOs including HRW and Reporters 
without Borders (RSF), as well as local civil society members, observed 
that the Government continually found reasons to fine the magazine and 
discouraged companies from advertising with it. The Government claimed 
it was following the law by forcing a judicial liquidation since the 
company's debt exceeded 14,025,755 dirhams ($1,680,738). According to 
the Government, in 2004 Media Trust and Trimedia stopped paying 
salaries to employees and stopped paying debts to banks, the National 
Fund for Social Security, and the Treasury.
    On March 8, authorities arrested Mohammed Attaoui--a correspondent 
for the Arabic-language daily Al Mounataf, president of a local 
environmental NGO, and an employee of the Tounfite municipality--for 
possession of hashish and extortion. The Government alleged that 
Attaoui threatened to denounce a local civil servant in the press and 
demanded a 1,000 dirhams ($120) bribe to stay silent. On March 22, 
authorities charged Attaoui with extortion and a court sentenced him on 
the same day to two years in prison. RSF and many local media outlets 
reported that his arrest was related to a February 16 article 
denouncing Taoufite community leaders' corruption and illegal cedar 
trafficking. At year's end Attaoui was awaiting his appellate hearing.
    On June 3, the High Authority of Audiovisual Communication 
suspended Radio Mars for 48 hours and fined the station 57,000 dirhams 
($6,830) after a guest interviewee, Hicham Ayouch, jokingly remarked 
that he would like to become the president someday, a perceived 
challenge to the institution of the monarchy.
    Independent Arabic-language newspapers Al-Jarida Al-Oula, Al-Ahdath 
Al-Magrebia, and Al-Massae, which were fined 3.3 million dirhams 
($395,446) in June 2009 for insulting a foreign head of state, appealed 
their cases in late 2009; the court upheld the original finding against 
them.
    The Government banned the importation of foreign media when they 
were considered to undermine the sanctity of the nation or public 
order. For example, throughout the week of December 14, the Government 
blocked the distribution of leading international newspapers Al-Quds 
Al-Arabi, El Pais, and Le Monde for printing Wikileaks-related articles 
critical of the Government.
    The Government's case against Ahmed Benchemsi, the publisher of Tel 
Quel and Nichane magazines who was charged in 2009 with failing to show 
``due respect'' to the king, remained pending at year's end.
    The Government closed its case against Arabic-language weekly Al 
Michaal director Idriss Chahtane, who received a one-year prison 
sentence and a 10,000 dirhams ($1,198) fine for reporting false 
information on the king's health. The king pardoned Chahtane on June 11 
after he had served eight months of his sentence.
    The Ministry of Communications issued directives and guidance, and 
it subsidized publications including those critical of the Government. 
Direct government subsidies varied according to the percentage of the 
population reading the publication. The placement of government-
directed advertising influenced print media outlets' revenue and may 
have influenced their coverage.
    The Government censored the media directly and indirectly through 
licensing and advertising. The Government registered and licensed 
domestic newspapers and journals. Journalists and publishers exercised 
self-censorship in response to the threat of government pressure or 
closure.
    Authorities temporarily suspended publications that the Government 
judged offensive. Authorities restricted the importation of and 
censored the February 25 edition of the French weekly Le Nouvel 
Observateur because it contained information on the case of Colonel 
Kaddour Terhzaz (see section 1.e.). The weekly was later distributed 
without the Terhzaz story.
    There were no private television stations. The Government-owned 
Societe Nationale de la Radiodiffusion et de la Television, which 
wholly or partly owned and operated several local television and radio 
stations. It also partially owned the 2M television and radio network. 
The Government purchased a majority stake in formerly private Medi-Sat 
television this year in an effort to save it from bankruptcy. 
Independent radio stations require licenses, and a government committee 
monitored radio broadcasts to assure adherence to license agreements. 
The Government owned or partially owned the only television stations 
whose broadcasts could be received in most parts of the country without 
decoders or satellite dishes.
    In 2008 the Government suspended Al-Jazeera's broadcasting license, 
forcing it to cease broadcasting its nightly Maghreb news bulletin from 
Rabat. The Ministry of Communications continued to refuse to issue 
accreditation documents to two journalists, Anaz Bensalah and Mohamed 
Bakkali, who work for the Al-Jazeera television channel. Authorities 
provided no reason for this decision. The two journalists filed suit 
against the ministry in September alleging arbitrary suspension of 
their accreditation and seeking to have their accreditation restored. 
Hassan Al-Rachidi, whose press credentials were suspended, paid 49,000 
dirhams ($5,872) in fines.
    Authorities subjected some journalists to harassment and 
intimidation during the year.
    On June 4, authorities entered and searched the Casablanca 
residence of journalist Zineb el Rhazoui without a warrant. El Rhazoui 
claimed that the authorities seized a hard drive, computer, memory card 
from a camera, and some personal effects, which they alleged that Ali 
Amar, who was at the residence at the time of the search, had stolen. 
El Rhazoui and Amar were then detained for 12 hours and released. Amar 
was arrested again on June 7, charged with theft, and held for 24 
hours. On July 1, the Ain Sbaa Court of First Instance found Amar 
guilty of theft and sentenced him to a three-month suspended sentence 
and fines of 40,500 dirhams ($4,853). Journalists and NGOs criticized 
the Government's handling of this case, alleging that authorities had 
targeted El Rhazoui and Amar because they were journalists who had 
worked for Le Journal Hebdomadaire, which authorities permanently 
closed in January. Amar also published a book in April 2009 in France 
that was critical of the Moroccan king, and El Rhazoui was the 
cofounder of a group that gained notoriety in September 2009 after 
authorities prevented its members from violating a law that prohibits 
breaking the Ramadan fast in public.
    In a case dating from September 2009, Rabat police questioned 10 
journalists from three Arabic-language newspapers that had published 
articles about the king's health. Authorities released eight of the 
journalists, but courts convicted two, Ali Anouzla and Bouchra Eddou of 
Al-Jarida al-Oula, of defamation. In December 2009 the Rabat appellate 
court confirmed the verdict, and on June 30, the Supreme Court rejected 
Anouzla and Eddou's final appeal. Al-Jarida al-Oula suspended 
publication in May 2009 due to financial problems, but its owner 
announced early in the year his intention to create a new weekly Arabic 
magazine.
    Books were subject to seizure or were forbidden entry and sale. 
During the year several books concerning the monarchy and some foreign 
magazines were not permitted to enter the country.

    Internet Freedom.--There are neither specific laws nor a body of 
judicial decisions concerning Internet content or access. The 
Government did not generally restrict access to the Internet. 
Individuals and groups were generally able to engage in peaceful 
exchanges of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The 
International Telecommunication Union reported there were 41.3 Internet 
users per 100 inhabitants in 2009. The Government did not attempt to 
collect the personally identifiable information of persons over the 
Internet in connection with citizens' peaceful expression of political, 
religious, or ideological opinion or beliefs.
    In December 2009 bloggers Hazzam El Bachir, Boubaker Al-Yadib, and 
Abdelaziz Salami and Internet cafe owner Abdellah Boukfou alleged that 
police arrested them for their involvement in a student protest in 
Taghjijt. According to government reports, El Bachir and Boukfou 
participated in an unauthorized demonstration, destroyed public and 
private property, and seriously injured police officers on duty during 
the demonstration. Authorities further alleged that both men were in 
possession of publications aimed at inciting violence and racial 
discrimination. In December 2009 a court in Guelmim sentenced El Bachir 
to four months in prison, Boukfou to 12 months, and each to a fine of 
500 dirhams ($60). An appeals court reduced El Bachir's sentence to two 
months on February 8, and he was released the same day based on time 
served. The same appeals court reduced Boukfou's sentence to eight 
months, and he was released on August 4. On February 2, a Guelmim 
tribunal sentenced Al-Yadib and Salami to six months in prison and a 
500 dirhams ($60) fine; both were released after serving their full 
sentence.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--By law and in practice, the 
Government reserved the right to restrict presentations or discussions 
questioning the legitimacy of the monarchy, Islam, or the status of 
Western Sahara, and it did so on some occasions. The Government 
generally tolerated political and religious activism on university 
campuses. Islamist groups wielded considerable influence on campuses. 
In some cases they controlled student unions and acted to constrain 
academic freedom by intimidating or harassing students or professors. 
The Ministry of Interior approved the appointments of university 
rectors.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association within the limits 
provided by law. In practice the Government sometimes used 
administrative delays and other methods to suppress or discourage 
demonstrations. However, both authorized and unauthorized sit-ins, 
demonstrations, and protests occurred frequently throughout the country 
and were almost always tolerated, unless they turned violent. The 
Government also prohibited or failed to recognize associations it 
deemed unqualified for NGO status.

    Freedom of Assembly.--The law conditions the right to freedom of 
public assembly on acquiring Ministry of Interior permission. However, 
authorities frequently allowed those who did not receive permission to 
nevertheless hold an assembly. Some NGOs complained that the approval 
process was often inconsistent. During the year police forcibly 
disrupted some demonstrations and mass gatherings. However, the media 
and NGOs made few reports of violent police actions against 
demonstrators and of police disrupting peaceful demonstrations. In one 
case, the Ministry of Interior refused to grant the domestic NGO 
Transparency Maroc a permit to hold a public gathering to present an 
anticorruption prize. The ministry did so through administrative means 
and without resorting to violence.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law provide for 
freedom of association, although on some occasions the Government has 
declined to officially recognize NGOs. The establishment and 
functioning of associations are governed by a 1958 decree. According to 
the Government, approximately 100,000 NGOs and associations were 
registered.
    New NGOs are required to register with the Ministry of Interior. A 
proposed organization must submit its objective, bylaws, address, and 
photocopies of members' identification cards to the ministry. In 
practice the Government has denied official recognition to NGOs that 
advocate against the monarchy, against Islam as the state religion, or 
against territorial integrity. The ministry issues a receipt to the 
organization that signifies formal approval. If the organization does 
not receive a receipt within 60 days, it is not formally registered. 
Many organizations the Government chose not to recognize functioned 
without the receipts, and the Government tolerated their activities. 
Several organizations, including the ASVDH and the JCO, have won 
administrative court judgments confirming that their applications for 
registration conform to the law; however, administrative courts have no 
enforcement powers beyond ruling that authorities exceeded their powers 
and cannot force government officials to recognize NGOs.
    Organizations supporting self-determination for Western Sahara were 
not permitted to register, including the ASVDH and the Sahrawi 
Collective of Human Rights Defenders. Unregistered organizations cannot 
access government funds or legally accept contributions. The ASVDH 
remained unregistered despite a 2005 Agadir administrative court 
decision requiring authorities to register it.
    During the year authorities continued to monitor JCO activities 
and, on occasion, disrupted them (see section 1.c.).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation. These rights were generally respected in practice, 
although the Government restricted movement in areas regarded as 
militarily sensitive, including the demilitarized zone in Western 
Sahara.
    The Government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
    The Ministry of Interior restricted the freedom of civil servants 
to travel outside the country, including teachers and military 
personnel. Civil servants and soldiers must obtain written permission 
from their ministries to leave the country.
    The law provides for forced exile; however, there were no instances 
of forced exile in the country during the year.
    The Government encouraged the return of Sahrawi refugees if they 
acknowledged the Government's authority over Western Sahara. The 
Government continued to make travel documents available to Sahrawis, 
and there were fewer cases of Sahrawis being prevented from traveling 
(see the Western Sahara report).

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government has not yet established a 
national asylum procedure; it defers to the UNHCR as the sole agency in 
the country entitled to grant refugee status and verify asylum cases.
    In practice the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. Refugees recognized by the UNHCR are not returned under such 
circumstances, although the Government does not process or recognize 
their asylum claims. These refugees were therefore unable to obtain 
residence permits that would officially allow them access to the 
national health care system and the legal right to work; however, the 
Government generally permitted refugees to work upon presentation of a 
valid UNHCR refugee card. As of September the UNHCR reported 
approximately 750 refugees and 340 asylum seekers in the country.
    There were credible reports of government authorities expelling 
illegal migrants into the desert along the border with Algeria. NGOs 
reported that authorities left some migrants without food and water; 
however, unlike in previous years, there were no reports of migrant 
deaths as a result. The International Organization for Migration 
reported 1,119 cases of migrants' voluntary return to their country of 
origin during the year.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides for regular, free elections based on universal 
suffrage. Citizens directly elect municipal councils and the lower 
chamber of parliament, and they indirectly elect the upper chamber of 
parliament and the regional councils through representatives. Citizens 
did not have the right to change the country's monarchical form of 
government.
    The king may dissolve parliament at will and as head of state 
appoints or dismisses the prime minister, who is the titular head of 
government. The constitution authorizes the prime minister to nominate 
all government ministers, although the king also may nominate ministers 
and has the power to replace any minister. The king also appoints the 
constitutional council, which determines whether laws are 
constitutional.
    The constitution may not be changed without the king's approval. 
The constitution provides that neither the monarchical system nor 
measures related to the practice of Islam may be revised. Only the king 
has the power to put constitutional amendment proposals to a national 
referendum. The king or parliament may propose amendments, which must 
pass both houses with a two-thirds majority. Once a royal decree has 
been issued, the amendment may be sent to a national referendum; the 
king has the authority to bypass any national referendum.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Electoral law and 
regulations give the Ministry of Interior authority over elections, 
from drawing electoral districts to counting votes. Redistricting, 
which occurs before every nationwide election and addresses population 
changes, took place before the June 2009 local government elections. 
Districts contained significantly different numbers of voters, with 
rural districts having many fewer voters.
    In the 2007 legislative elections, the king mandated the royally 
chartered and appointed CCDH to supervise and facilitate the work of 
domestic and international observers. In the June 2009 communal 
elections, the CCDH again organized a wide range of domestic observers, 
and all political parties considered the elections free, fair, and 
transparent.
    International and domestic observers assessed the voting and noted 
the Government's effective administration of the 2007 election process. 
According to the Ministry of Interior, voter turnout was 52 percent. 
Independent media made numerous reports alleging preelection vote 
buying by political parties and some instances of official misconduct 
at the district level. The CCDH, the Government, and observers 
acknowledged that all parties likely engaged in such misconduct.
    Domestic observers and some political party leaders recommended the 
creation of an independent electoral commission rather than Interior 
Ministry administration.
    Political parties faced government-imposed restrictions. The 
Ministry of Interior must approve political parties, and legislation 
placed conditions on the establishment and functioning of political 
parties. The law requires parties to hold annual national congresses 
and to include women and youth in the leadership structures. Public 
funding is based on a party's total representation in parliament and 
the total number of votes it received nationally. Only registered 
members of a particular party may make private contributions. The 
Ministry of Interior can disband a party if it does not conform to the 
provisions stated in the law. To create a new party, organizers must 
submit to the ministry a declaration signed by at least 300 cofounding 
members from at least eight of the 16 regions of the country.
    Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi's 33-member cabinet included three 
female ministers and two female secretaries of state. There were 34 
female members of the 325-member lower house of parliament. There were 
no women on the Supreme Court.
    Women's representation in local government and political parties' 
decision-making structures increased dramatically in 2009 and continued 
to increase during the year. Before the June 2009 elections, women held 
fewer than 1 percent of elected positions at the local level, and only 
two women served as mayors. Following a 2008 agreement between the 
Government and political parties, a minimum of 12 percent of the local 
council seats (approximately 3,000 elected positions) were reserved for 
women. More than 20,000 female candidates ran for office, with 3,421 
winning seats (13 percent of the total). Twelve women were selected in 
subsequent indirect elections to head local councils as mayors or mayor 
equivalents, including the mayor of Marrakesh.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
the Government did not implement the law effectively, and officials 
often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. It was common 
knowledge that corruption was a serious problem in the executive, 
including the police, legislative, and judicial branches of government. 
There were reports of government corruption during the year, and the 
World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators indicated that corruption 
was a problem.
    The judiciary's lack of independence and susceptibility to 
influence were widely acknowledged, including by the king. In August 
2009 the king called for judicial system reform, including greater 
judicial independence and corruption prevention. Since 2007 the law has 
required judges, ministers, and members of parliament to submit 
financial disclosures.
    In 2008 the Government formed the Central Commission for the 
Prevention of Corruption (ICPC). In July 2009 the ICPC released its 
first report, stating that it had received 21 valid corruption 
complaints. At year's end the ICPC published investigations on 
corruption in the health and transport sector. The ICPC has initiated 
work on several draft anticorruption laws and in January instituted an 
ethics and corruption oversight body for the Customs Administration. On 
October 21, an interministerial government commission approved a two-
year anticorruption program. As a result of this plan, the ICPC, in 
coordination with the General Confederation of Enterprises of Morocco 
(the country's largest business association) and the National Agency 
for Small and Medium Enterprises developed an Internet portal for 
enterprises to submit complaints about corruption and other problems. 
Through this Internet site as well as other means, the ICPC collects 
complaints of corruption and submits them to the Ministry of Justice. 
However, the ICPC does not have the authority to require response from 
government institutions on anticorruption cases. Officials attributed 
the low number of complaints in part to the lack of legislation 
protecting plaintiffs and witnesses in corruption cases. Subsequently, 
the ICPC launched an Internet portal for the civil society to identify 
instances of corruption, organized a regional conference of 
anticorruption authorities with the participation of the Organization 
for Economic Cooperation and Development, created a corruption 
database, launched a nationwide awareness-raising campaign, and 
developed curriculum about ethics and civism for usage in schools 
across the country. In addition to the commission, the ministry and the 
Government accountability court had jurisdiction over corruption 
issues.
    The Government investigated the mayor of Meknes on charges of 
mismanaging funds, resulting in his removal from office in January 
2009.
    In January authorities arrested 100 officials throughout the 
country for corruption, malfeasance, or abuse of office. The arrests 
capped a year-long audit by the Ministry of Interior's inspector 
general and the Government Accountability Court. At year's end 117 
officials had been charged with corruption.
    In July 2009 the High Judiciary Council sanctioned 70 judges on 
corruption-related charges, according to NGOs. According to observers, 
there was widespread petty corruption in the police force, especially 
below senior levels. The Government claimed to investigate corruption 
and other instances of police malfeasance through an internal 
mechanism. In August 2009 the Royal Gendarmerie launched an internal 
anticorruption awareness campaign and established a unit to track down 
corrupt agents (see section 1.d.).
    There is no freedom of information law. In practice the Government 
did not grant access to official information to citizens and 
noncitizens, including foreign media.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government's attitude toward international human rights 
organizations varied, depending on the sensitivity of the issues. 
Domestic and international human rights groups generally operated in 
the country without government restriction, except those that advocated 
in favor of independence for Western Sahara, and these groups 
investigated and published findings on human rights cases. Government 
officials were generally cooperative and responsive to their views, 
except on Western Sahara.
    Domestic and independent human rights NGOs that the Government 
recognized included the OMDH and the Moroccan League for the Defense of 
Human Rights (LMDH). Since 2000 the Government has subsidized these two 
NGOs. However, the LMDH, which is a part of the Istiqlal party, was no 
longer active; the OMDH and AMDH were considered the main human rights 
NGOs. The AMDH did not cooperate officially with the Government but 
usually shared information informally with both the Government and 
government-affiliated organizations. The Government sometimes met with 
and responded to inquiries and recommendations from the OMDH and AMDH. 
Other groups that worked with the Government to try to improve human 
rights conditions or investigate alleged abuses included Friends of the 
Center for Reform and the Protection of Youth, more commonly known as 
Association Mama Assia, which focused on working with imprisoned youth. 
The Government also cooperated with the Forum for Truth and Justice, 
Transparency International, the OMP, and the local branch of AI.
    International NGOs such as HRW and AI cooperated with the 
Government on several human rights projects and generally reported 
unrestricted operation.
    The Government generally cooperated with international governmental 
organizations and permitted visits. For example, the Government hosted 
the third meeting of the Reflection Group on the Strengthening of the 
Human Rights Council in Rabat on May 27-28.
    The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances 
(UNWGEID) met for its 88th session in June 2009 in Rabat. During its 
session, the working group reviewed 200 cases of enforced 
disappearances around the world, as well as past cases from 35 
countries. The UNWGEID also analyzed the IER, to collect lessons 
learned for other countries.
    The last visit by any UN special rapporteur was the 2006 visit of 
the special rapporteur on the right to education.
    The CCDH advised the king on human rights issues. A nonjudicial 
ombudsman considered allegations of governmental injustices, but in 
practice the CCDH filled many of the roles of national social 
ombudsman. The UNWGEID criticized the CCDH's pace in implementing the 
institutional changes recommended by the IER, but human rights NGOs and 
the public generally viewed the organization as a credible and 
proactive government advocate for institutional protection of human 
rights and vehicle to seek redress in individual cases.
    A parliamentary human rights committee exists but takes action only 
to investigate significant events. During the year it created a special 
parliamentary commission composed of both majority and minority 
political party representatives to investigate the Agdim Izik camp 
dismantlement in November in Western Sahara (see the Western Sahara 
report). The commission's report had not been released by year's end.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status. In practice societal 
discrimination against women continued to be a problem, particularly in 
rural areas.

    Women.--The law punishes men convicted of rape with prison terms of 
five to 10 years; when the conviction involves a minor, the prison 
sentence ranges from 10 to 20 years. Sexual assault can result in a 
prison sentence of up to one year and a fine of 15,000 dirhams 
($1,797). Spousal rape is not a crime. However, the domestic advocacy 
group the Democratic League for Women's Rights (LDDF) reported that in 
eight out of 10 cases of violence against women, the perpetrator is the 
husband.
    Women's rights organizations pointed to numerous articles of the 
law on rape that they see as perpetuating unequal treatment for women 
and insufficient protection despite family law revisions. Defendants in 
rape prosecutions bear the burden of proving their innocence. Sexual 
assaults often were unreported. Victims' families may offer rapists 
marriage as an alternative to preserve family honor; a prosecution for 
statutory rape may be cancelled if the defendant agrees to marry the 
victim.
    The number of instances of rape in the country was not available at 
year's end; in 2008, the last year for which any rape statistics were 
available, the UN reported 1,130 instances of police-recorded rape in 
the country. Reports by women's shelters were limited in scope 
regarding the scale of violence against women and noted the 
Government's failure to implement existing legislation. According to 
women's rights organizations, the Government had failed to follow 
through on a campaign launched in 2006 to prevent violence against 
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 few 
women reported abuse to authorities. The law is lenient toward husbands 
who commit crimes against their wives. Police rarely became involved in 
domestic disputes. The penal code stipulates two types of domestic 
violence. High-level misdemeanors occur when the victim suffers 
injuries that result in 20 days of disability from work. Low-level 
misdemeanors occur for victims who suffer disability for less than 20 
days. However, NGOs reported that the courts rarely prosecuted 
perpetrators of low-level misdemeanors. A local NGO, the Global Women's 
Institute, reported that often laws are not implemented due to societal 
concerns regarding breaking up a family and due to the conservative 
mentality of some police and court officials.
    Observers criticize the lack of specific legislation protecting 
women and girls against violence. The UN Committee on the Elimination 
of Discrimination Against Women reiterated these concerns after the 
country's third and fourth periodic reports were submitted in 2008.
    The Government operated hotlines for victims of domestic violence 
in 20 centers nationwide. Three NGOs also operated counseling centers 
for legal and social services. The Anaruz Network operated 31 call-in 
listening centers, and the LDDF operated 12 centers. Counseling centers 
existed exclusively in urban areas. Services for victims of violence in 
rural areas were limited to local police. The Oxygen Association, a 
local NGO based in Ouarzazate Province, ran a confidential listening 
center, literacy program, and legal aid program. During the year the 
Oxygen Association conducted surveys that revealed that many battered 
women were between 15 and 18 years old and often did not report abuse. 
Data from the province indicated that half the province's population 
considered spousal violence a private matter.
    In February 2009 the Union for Women's Action (UAF), an NGO working 
against discrimination against women, and the Anaruz Network launched 
an awareness campaign for victims of violence in 16 municipal districts 
of Casablanca. During the summer, the UAF trained 1,200 of the 3,000 
women who were elected to municipal councils in 2009. Training focused 
on coalition-building and lobbying to help female politicians who face 
resistance from male colleagues.
    Many recognized NGOs worked to advance women's rights and promote 
women's issues. Among these were the Democratic Association of Moroccan 
Women (ADFM), Union for Women's Action, LDDF, and Moroccan Association 
for Women's Rights. All advocated enhanced political and civil rights 
for women. There were numerous NGOs that provided shelters for battered 
women, promoted literacy, and taught women basic hygiene, family 
planning, and child care.
    Sexual harassment in the workplace is a criminal offense, but only 
when committed by a superior, and it is defined as an abuse of 
authority. Authorities did not effectively enforce laws against sexual 
harassment. According to the Government, although the law allows 
victims to sue employers, only a few did so since most feared losing 
their job as a result or worried about the difficulty of proving the 
violation. On May 2, Casablanca police allegedly briefly detained 
journalist Zineb El Rhazoui and others in the Alternative Movement for 
Individual Liberties to prevent them from conducting a sit-in to raise 
awareness about sexual harassment.
    Contraception is legal, and most forms were widely available. 
Individuals and couples were able to decide freely and responsibly the 
number, spacing, and timing of their children and had the information 
and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. 
The Ministry of Health ran two programs: one with mobile clinics 
providing maternal and child health and family planning services in 
remote rural areas and the other involving systematic home visits to 
encourage the use of contraception and to provide family planning and 
primary health care services. Emergency contraception (EC) became 
available in late 2008. In practice NGOs report that women often faced 
obstacles in obtaining EC from pharmacies. Skilled attendance at 
delivery and in postpartum care was available for women who could 
afford it. According to statistics compiled by the World Health 
Organization, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), UN Population Fund, and 
World Bank, there were approximately 110 maternal deaths per 100,000 
live births in the country in 2008. Women and men had equal access to 
diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV/AIDS.
    Women's inheritances, which are determined by Sharia for Muslims, 
vary depending on circumstances, but are less than men's. Under Sharia, 
daughters receive half of what their brothers receive, and if a woman 
is the only child, she receives half and other relatives receive the 
other half. A sole male heir would receive the entire estate. 
Inheritance laws were not changed during the 2004 reform of the family 
code. Muslim women have the right to pass nationality to their 
children. Previously, nationality was passed only through the father. 
Citizenship can only be transferred to a child if both parents are 
Muslim and if their marriage is recognized by the law.
    The Ministry of Interior decreed in 1995 and 2004 that women are 
entitled to collective lands, which make up one-third of the country's 
territory. While ministry decrees carry the force of law, 
implementation has met considerable local resistance from men. Despite 
considerable lobbying by women's NGOs, implementation of these property 
laws remains poor and inconsistent. In July 2009, 900 women from tribes 
around the country protested male-dominated transfer and compensation 
practices for collectively used tribal lands. The ADFM reported that 
local authorities, in agreement with tribal representatives, secretly 
negotiated to provide compensation to men only and failed to publish 
the list of beneficiaries. In 2008 women of the Saknia tribe in Kenitra 
Province were excluded from collectively used lands benefits. In 
September 2009, on the eve of the celebration of the National Day of 
Moroccan Women, the courts and Ministry of Justice announced that the 
minister of interior had recognized that the tribal women had the same 
rights as men to benefit from the communal land cessions. In August, 
however, the ADFM reported that implementation stalled. According to 
the ADFM, if the legislation were to be implemented, up to 2.5 million 
women could benefit.
    The 2004 family code (Moudawana) changed the marriage age for women 
from 15 to 18 years, placed the family under the joint responsibility 
of both spouses, and rescinded the wife's duty of obedience to her 
husband. The Moudawana removed the requirement for woman to have a 
marital tutor as a condition of marriage, made divorce available by 
mutual consent, and placed legal limits on polygamy.
    Implementation of the controversial family law remained a concern 
because it is largely dependent on the judiciary's willingness to 
enforce it, and many judges did not agree with its intent. Corruption 
among working-level court clerks and a lack of knowledge about its 
provisions among lawyers were also obstacles to greater enforcement of 
the law.
    There were few legal obstacles to women's participation in business 
and other economic activities. Women were able to travel, receive 
loans, and start businesses without their husband's or father's 
permission. According to 2009 statistics provided by the Moroccan 
Association of Women Entrepreneurs, more than 5,000 female 
entrepreneurs operated businesses in the country's formal economic 
sectors; in addition nearly 2.7 million women worked outside the home, 
although 75 percent of these women worked in the informal sector. 
Studies showed that inadequate higher education for women was an 
impediment for female entrepreneurs in the country. The Government 
reported that between 2008 and 2009, approximately 656,000 citizens 
benefitted from government literacy programs, and statistics indicated 
that 80 percent of program beneficiaries were women. Only slightly more 
than 40 percent of urban women--and 25 percent of rural women--were 
literate, further hindering their opportunities for economic 
participation.

    Children.--Since 2007 the law has permitted female citizens to pass 
nationality to their children. Previously, nationality was passed only 
through the father.
    Girls continued to lag behind boys in literacy and school 
attendance beyond the primary level.
    Although NGOs, human rights groups, media outlets, and UNICEF 
claimed that child abuse was widespread, there were no conclusive 
government statistics on the extent of the problem. Anecdotal evidence 
also showed that abuse of child domestic servants was a problem.
    During the year the Ministry of Social Development, Family, and 
Solidarity operated child protection units in Casablanca and Marrakech. 
The units coordinated their work and shared statistics with other local 
agencies, monitored child abuse, offered counseling and legal guidance, 
and promoted children's rights.
    The legal age of marriage is 18 years, but parents may secure a 
waiver from a judge for underage marriage. The judiciary approved the 
vast majority of petitions for underage marriages, and approximately 
31,000 such marriages took place in 2008. An NGO reported that in many 
cases, a couple was already effectively in a marriage by consensus of 
their families when a request for underage marriage came before a judge 
for approval. In 2008 the LDDF issued a report criticizing the 
Government for the relative ease with which an underage marriage waiver 
can be obtained.
    Children were exploited through prostitution within the country and 
were victims of sex tourism.
    The Government maintained accords with Spain and Italy to 
repatriate unaccompanied minors, although this did not take place in 
practice. Repatriation remained slow due to the lack of agreement by 
local families to allow the minors to return home as well as the small 
number of spaces in reception centers for minors with no place to 
return.
    The country became a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction with an effective date 
of June 1. For information on international parental child abduction, 
please see the Department of State's annual report on compliance at 
http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/
congressreport--4308.html as well as country-specific information at 
http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Community leaders estimated that the size of the 
country's Jewish population was 4,000 members. Jews generally lived in 
safety, and the Government provided them appropriate security. There 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts, publications, or incitements to 
violence.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, and access to health care; 
however, the Government generally did not effectively enforce these 
provisions. The law provides for regulations and building codes that 
assure access for persons with disabilities, but the Government did not 
effectively implement the laws and programs. Although building codes 
require accessibility for all persons, the codes were rarely enforced. 
In many cases, builders and building inspectors were unaware of laws 
requiring accessibility. There is no legislation mandating public 
accessibility to information and communications. Persons with 
disabilities had equal access to information and communications; 
however, special communication devices for the blind and deaf were 
generally not widely available.
    The Ministry of Social Development, Family, and Solidarity has 
responsibility for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities 
and attempted to integrate persons with disabilities into society by 
implementing a quota of 7 percent for persons with disabilities in 
vocational training in the private and public sectors. In 2008 the 
Government created 217 integrated classes for children with 
disabilities. In practice integration was largely left to private 
charities. Typically, families supported persons with disabilities, 
although some survived by begging.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The official language is 
Arabic. Both French and Arabic are used in the news media and 
educational institutions. Educational reforms in the past decade 
emphasized the use of Arabic in secondary schools.
    Approximately 60 percent of the population claimed Amazigh 
heritage, including the royal family. Amazigh cultural groups contended 
that their traditions and language were being lost rapidly to 
Arabization. The Government provided television programs in the three 
Berber Amazigh dialects of Tarifit, Tashelhit, and Tamazight (the 
dialect spoken by the Amazigh Berbers). The Government also offered 
Berber Amazigh language classes in the curriculum of 3,470 schools; the 
language offered varied according to the main dialect spoken in each 
region. Programs in one of the three Berber Amazigh dialects were 
increasingly available on both radio and television. The Government 
also implemented compulsory Berber Amazigh instruction for students at 
the Ministry of Interior School for Administrators in Kenitra.
    Although the country is majority Amazigh, rural areas that are 
predominantly Amazigh are the poorest in the country. Illiteracy in 
some areas runs as high as 80 percent, and authorities often do not 
provide basic governmental services.
    During the year authorities began to register traditional Amazigh 
names of children; they had previously declined to register non-Arab 
names.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code criminalizes 
homosexual activity, but these provisions were infrequently enforced. 
Homosexual conduct was addressed in the media and in public with more 
openness than in previous years.
    Consequent to the illegality of homosexual activity, there were no 
reports of societal discrimination, physical violence, or harassment 
based on sexual orientation, nor were there reports of official 
discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, 
statelessness, or access to education or health care. Sexual 
orientation occasionally constituted the basis for societal violence, 
harassment, blackmail, or other actions, generally at a local level.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence against individuals living with HIV/AIDS, but 
there was a stigma attached to being tested for HIV/AIDS. Persons 
living with HIV/AIDS in the country faced discrimination and had 
limited treatment options.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution permits workers to 
form and join trade unions. In practice the laws were not implemented 
in some sectors as well as in some geographic areas. The law provides 
workers with the right to strike except for certain categories of 
government employees, including members of the armed forces, police, 
and judiciary. Domestic and agricultural workers are not covered by the 
labor code and do not have the right to form unions. Although most 
union federations were allied with political parties, unions were free 
from government interference. Approximately 5.5 percent of the 
country's workers were organized into unions. Any group of eight 
workers may organize a union, and a worker may change union affiliation 
easily.
    The law provides for government intervention in strikes when 
national security, domestic stability, or vital economic interests are 
threatened. Employers cannot initiate criminal prosecutions against 
workers for participating in strikes. Although the constitution 
provides for the right to strike, the trade unions complained that at 
times the Government has used article 288 of the penal code to 
prosecute workers for striking and to suppress strikes. Article 288 
provides for a criminal punishment for those who use fraud or violence 
to instigate a strike.
    The law concerning strikes requires compulsory arbitration of 
disputes, prohibits sit-ins, calls for a 10-day notice of a strike, and 
allows for hiring replacement workers. The Government can intervene in 
strikes, and a strike cannot take place around issues covered in a 
collective contract for one year after the contract comes into force. 
The Government has the authority to disperse demonstrations in public 
areas where strikes have not been authorized and to prevent the 
unauthorized occupancy of private space.
    Unions may not prevent nonstrikers from working and may not engage 
in sabotage. 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.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The right to 
organize and bargain collectively is protected by law, and the 
Government generally upheld this right. Less than 6 percent, or 
600,000, of the 11.3 million-strong workforce, belonged to a union. A 
worksite may contain several independent locals or locals affiliated 
with more than one labor federation. Only unions that have 35 percent 
of the workforce as members may be recognized as negotiating partners.
    Collective bargaining was prevalent in many sectors of the economy. 
According to the labor code, the wages and employment conditions of 
unionized workers should be agreed in discussions between employer and 
worker representatives; however, frequently employers unilaterally set 
wages for the majority of unionized and nonunionized workers. Labor 
disputes arose in some cases as the result of employers failing to 
implement collective bargaining agreements and withholding wages. The 
country's five largest unions negotiate with the Government about 
national level labor issues. At the sectoral level, any trade union may 
negotiate with private employers concerning minimum wage, compensation, 
and other concerns.
    Employers wishing to dismiss workers are legally required to notify 
the provincial governor through the labor inspector's office. When the 
employer plans to replace dismissed workers, a government labor 
inspector provides replacements and mediates the cases of workers who 
protest their dismissal.
    The law specifically prohibits antiunion discrimination and 
prohibits companies from dismissing workers for participating in 
legitimate union-organizing activities; the law was followed in 
practice. Family courts have the authority to reinstate arbitrarily 
dismissed workers and can enforce rulings that compel employers to pay 
damages and back pay. Unions may sue to ensure that the Government 
enforces labor laws, and employers may sue unions when they believe 
unions have overstepped their authority.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from standard labor laws in 
export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced, compulsory, and clandestine labor, but there were reports that 
such practices occurred. Girls from rural areas are forced to work as 
maids in urban areas, and boys experience forced labor as apprentices 
in the artisan and construction industries and in mechanic shops. In 
practice the Government did not inspect the small workshops and private 
homes where the majority of such employment occurred, given the low 
number of inspectors and the low level of resources inspectors had at 
their disposal to investigate. Also see the Department of State's 
annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 did not effectively 
implement these laws, except in organized labor markets, primarily as a 
result of limited resources.
    According to the labor law, the minimum age for employment in all 
sectors is 15 years. Children younger than 16 years of age are 
prohibited from working more than 10 hours per day, with a break of at 
least one hour. Children younger than 16 are not permitted to work 
between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in nonagricultural work or 
between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. in agriculture; however, seasonal agriculture 
work is excluded from the law. The law prohibits employment of children 
younger than 18 in stone quarries, mines, or any other positions the 
Government considers hazardous.
    Noncompliance with child labor laws was common, particularly in 
agriculture and in private urban residences where children worked as 
domestic employees. In 2006 domestic and international NGOs reported 
that as many as 87 percent of the country's underage workers worked on 
family farms. According to government statistics, during the first half 
of the year, labor inspectors issued 142 warnings and 45 fines to 
businesses for employing children between the ages of 15 and 18. In 
2009 15 businesses were fined for employing children under the age of 
15.
    In practice some children were apprenticed before the age of 12, 
particularly in small family-run workshops in the handicraft industry. 
Children also worked in the informal sector in textiles, carpets, and 
light manufacturing. Children's safety and health conditions and wages 
were often substandard. The labor code does not cover domestic labor 
and, therefore, does not prohibit the employment of child maids or 
domestics. The Government's statistical agency, the High Commission for 
Plans, published a report in 2009 estimating that approximately 170,000 
female children between the ages of seven and 15 worked illegally as 
child domestics.
    Credible reports of physical and psychological abuse of domestic 
servants were common. Some orphanages were accused of complicity in the 
practice. The public generally accepted the concept of adoptive 
servitude, and parents of children involved were frequently complicit 
and typically received compensation for their children's work. Most 
child domestics received food, lodging, and clothing instead of 
monetary payment. The Government put in place programs to combat and 
discourage these practices.
    According to reports, 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 likely 
to provide any direct benefit.
    The Government prosecuted some instances in which employers abused 
child domestics. In August a woman in Casablanca was sentenced to one 
year in prison after it was discovered that she repeatedly beat and 
abused her 12-year-old domestic. In 2009 an Oujda court sentenced the 
wife of a judge to three years in prison for the abuse of a child 
domestic.
    The Ministry of Employment is responsible for implementing and 
enforcing child labor laws and regulations. The law provides for legal 
sanctions against employers who recruit children under the age of 15, 
with fines ranging from 27,000 to 32,000 dirhams ($3,235 to $3,835). 
Legal remedies to enforce child labor laws include criminal penalties, 
civil fines, and withdrawal or suspension of one or more civil, 
national, or family rights, including denial of legal residence in the 
country for five to 10 years. In practice the Government did not 
systematically enforce these sanctions due to a lack of resources.
    The formal and informal sectors continued to flout the application 
of the legal minimum employment age. According to Justice Ministry 
officials, no one has been convicted for employing a child domestic. 
Labor inspectors responsible for enforcing the labor code do not have 
jurisdiction to inspect private residences. The informal sector, where 
the majority of children work, was not monitored by the Ministry of 
Labor's small cadre of labor inspectors. There were no labor inspectors 
dedicated solely to child labor issues, and there were no reports of 
trainings specific to child labor.
    Under the 2006-15 National Plan of Action for Children, the 
Government expanded coordination with local, national, and 
international NGOs on education and training programs during the year. 
The Ministry of Employment and Professional Training, led by the Office 
of the Director of Work, in conjunction with NGOs, oversaw programs to 
deal with the issue of child labor. The programs sought to decrease 
incidents of child labor through awareness raising, financial 
assistance to needy families, and lowering obstacles to school 
attendance.
    See also the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was 10 dirhams 
($1.20) per hour in the industrialized sector and 52.50 dirhams ($6.30) 
per day for agricultural workers. Informal businesses hired 
approximately 60 percent of the labor force and often ignored the 
minimum wage requirements. Neither minimum wage 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. Including traditional holiday-related 
bonuses, workers generally were paid the equivalent of 13 to 16 months' 
salary each year.
    The law provides for a 44 to 48 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. The labor code does not 
cover domestic workers, who are primarily citizens of the country.
    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 were too few in number 
and lacked sufficient resources. Although 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.

                               __________

                                  OMAN

    The Sultanate of Oman is a hereditary monarchy with a population of 
3.3 million, including approximately one million nonnationals. Sultan 
Qaboos al-Said has ruled since 1970. The sultan has the sole authority 
to amend the country's laws through royal decree, although ministries 
draft laws and citizens provide input through the 84-member Majlis al-
Shura (Consultative Council), an elected advisory institution. In 2007 
approximately 245,000 registered voters participated in generally free 
and fair elections for all of the council's seats. The Majlis al-Dawla 
(State Council), whose 71 members are appointed by the sultan, and the 
Majlis al-Shura review legislation, recommend policy, and conduct 
studies on public policy. The 32-member cabinet of ministers advises 
the sultan on government decisions. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    Citizens did not have the right to change their government; 
however, operating under the 1996 Basic Law, the Government generally 
respected the human rights of its citizens. The law and judiciary, 
including the establishment of a quasi-independent human rights 
commission, provided means of addressing individual instances of abuse. 
Principal human rights problems included the lack of consistent 
independent nongovernmental inspections of prisons and detention 
centers. Some restrictions on privacy and freedoms of speech, press, 
assembly, association, and religion remained, yet they were not 
universally applied. Women faced societal discrimination, and instances 
of domestic violence were reported. There were also isolated reports 
that some employers placed expatriate laborers in situations indicative 
of forced labor or 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 law prohibits such practices, and there were no 
reports that government officials employed them.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards, and the law 
permitted visits by independent human rights observers, although 
Freedom House reported in 2009 that access was irregular in practice. 
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Authorities allowed prisoners and 
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without 
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. The Government investigated and monitored prison 
and detention center conditions, and authorities in some cases 
investigated such claims, but the results of investigations were not 
documented in a publicly accessible manner. In response to 102 
submitted complaints, the quasi-independent national human rights 
commission met with prison officials in December.
    Ombudsman cannot serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Office, part 
of the cabinet, controls internal and external security and coordinates 
all intelligence and security policies. Under the Royal Office, the 
Internal Security Service investigates all matters related to domestic 
security, and the Sultan's Special Force has limited border security 
and antismuggling responsibilities. The Royal Oman Police (ROP), also 
part of the cabinet, performs regular police duties, provides security 
at points of entry, serves as the country's immigration and customs 
agency, and operates the coast guard. The Ministry of Defense, and in 
particular the army, is responsible for securing the borders and has 
limited domestic security responsibilities. The security forces 
performed their duties effectively.
    Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the Internal 
Security Service, the Sultan's Special Force, the Royal Army of Oman, 
and the ROP. There was no public information about ROP internal 
disciplinary action. Officers received human rights training as part of 
the police academy's standard training program.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law does 
not require police to obtain a warrant before making an arrest but 
provides that police must either release the person or refer the matter 
to the public prosecutor. Within 24 hours of referral, the public 
prosecutor must formally arrest or release the person. Court orders are 
necessary to hold suspects in pretrial detention. Judges may order 
detentions for 14 days to allow investigation and may grant extensions. 
Authorities respected these rights in practice. Authorities generally 
informed detainees promptly of the charges against them; however, there 
were isolated reports authorities detained without charge foreign 
workers suspected of being in the country illegally, pending 
confirmation of their immigration status. There was a functioning 
system of bail. Detainees generally had prompt access to a lawyer of 
their choice, and the state provided public attorneys to indigent 
detainees. Authorities generally allowed detainees prompt access to 
family members, but police sometimes failed to notify a detainee's 
family, or the detainee's sponsor in the case of an expatriate laborer, 
of the detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, the sultan may act as a court of final 
appeal and exercise his power of pardon as chairman of the Supreme 
Judicial Council, the country's highest legal body, which is empowered 
to review all judicial decisions. Principles of Sharia (Islamic law) 
inform the civil, commercial, and criminal codes.
    On September 22, the sultan abolished the State Security Court by 
royal decree. Previously, the court reviewed cases involving national 
security and criminal matters deemed to require expeditious or 
especially sensitive handling. Civilian and military criminal courts 
now try such cases. The military tribunal system, to which military and 
security personnel are subject, has limited outside visibility or 
access.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial 
and stipulates the presumption of innocence. Citizens and legally 
resident noncitizens have the right to a public trial, except when the 
court decides to hold a session in private in the interest of public 
order or morals. There is no trial by jury.
    Defendants have the right to be present, consult with an attorney 
in a timely manner, present evidence, and confront witnesses. Courts 
provide public attorneys to indigent detainees and offer legal defense 
for defendants facing prison terms of three years or more. The 
prosecution and defense counsel direct questions to witnesses through 
the judge. Defendants and their lawyers generally had access to 
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Those convicted in 
any court may appeal a jail sentence longer than three months and fines 
of over 480 rials (approximately $1,250). The right to appeal is 
universal for all cases and individuals. The judiciary generally 
enforced these rights for all citizens; however, in contravention to 
the law, some more traditional judges occasionally discriminated 
against female defendants by requesting they appear in court with their 
fathers or husbands. In such cases, women could seek redress for such 
treatment through the courts.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Applicable civil procedure 
codes govern civil cases. Citizens and nationals of other countries 
were able to file cases in the courts, including lawsuits seeking 
damages for human rights violations. The judiciary was generally 
independent and impartial. The Administrative Court, under the 
authority of the Diwan of the Royal Court, reviews complaints about the 
misuse of governmental authority. It has the power to reverse decisions 
by government bodies and to award compensation. Appointments to this 
court are subject to the approval of the Administrative Affairs 
Council. The court's president and deputy president are appointed by 
royal decree based on the council's nomination. Citizens and foreign 
workers may file complaints regarding working conditions with the 
Ministry of Manpower (MoM) for alternative dispute resolution. The 
ministry may refer cases to the courts if it is unable to negotiate a 
solution.
    Court orders were enforced effectively for all persons in the 
country. There were instances in which courts ruled in favor of foreign 
domestic workers against their sponsors, requiring sponsors to return 
the workers' passports and allow them to break the employment contract. 
In some instances, the court issued orders to apprehend the sponsor and 
force appearance before the court.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law provides for broad governmental discretion, 
which the Government exercised.
    The law does not require police to obtain search warrants before 
entering homes, but they often obtained warrants from the public 
prosecutor's office. The Government monitored private communications, 
including cell phones, e-mail, and Internet chat room exchanges.
    The Ministry of Interior required citizens to obtain permission to 
marry foreigners, except nationals of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) 
countries; permission was not granted automatically. Citizen marriage 
to a foreigner abroad without ministry approval may result in denial of 
entry for the foreign spouse at the border and preclude children from 
claiming citizenship rights.

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. The Government generally abridged 
these rights in practice. Journalists and writers exercised self-
censorship.
    The law prohibits criticism of the sultan in any form or medium; 
``material that leads to public discord, violates the security of the 
state, or abuses a person's dignity or his rights''; ``messages of any 
form that violate public order and morals or are harmful to a person's 
safety''; and ``defamation of character.'' Courts interpreted these 
laws to mean it is illegal to insult any public official, although 
media reports critical of government ministries occasionally occurred 
without repercussion.
    There are eight privately owned newspapers in the country, four in 
Arabic and four in English. Editorials generally were consistent with 
the Government's views, although authorities tolerated limited 
criticism regarding domestic and foreign affairs, including GCC 
policies. In addition there were two state-owned newspapers and more 
than 30 state-owned and privately owned magazines in circulation. The 
Government owned four radio stations and two television stations and 
licensed one privately owned satellite-based television station, none 
of which generally broadcast politically controversial material. There 
were three private radio stations broadcasting occasional news 
bulletins supplied by the state-owned Oman News Agency. Access to 
foreign broadcasts via satellite is permitted and was widespread. There 
was no permanent international media presence in the country. 
Occasional international reporting tended to focus on special events or 
human interest stories.
    Three authors remained barred from public and media appearances: 
Abdullah al-Riyami, a poet and human rights activist; Mohamed al-
Yahyai, a journalist and author; and Mohamed al-Harthy, an author and 
poet. The Government used libel laws and national security concerns as 
grounds to suppress criticism of government figures and politically 
objectionable views. Al-Riyami and al-Yahyai were accused and convicted 
in 2005 of establishing an illegal organization for the purpose of 
overthrowing the Government. Although they later received royal 
pardons, their freedom of expression remained restricted throughout the 
year.
    Law permits the Ministry of Information to review all media 
products and books produced within or imported into the country, but in 
practice it only occasionally prohibited or censored material viewed as 
politically, culturally, or sexually offensive from domestic and 
imported publications. There were no major publishing houses in the 
country, and publication of books remained limited. All content in both 
public and private media print outlets was subject to an official, 
nontransparent review and approval process before publication.
    In March the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and other 
organizations reported that authorities banned from sale a range of 
literature, poetry, and historical books prior to the Muscat 
International Book Fair. A local blog nevertheless published many of 
these works online in serial format.

    Internet Freedom.--The law restricts free speech via the Internet, 
and the Government enforced the restrictions. The Government's national 
telecommunications company and the one private telecommunications 
provider made Internet access available for a fee to citizens and 
foreign residents. Internet access was available via schools, 
workplaces, wide area networks at coffee shops, and other venues, 
especially in urban areas, and approximately 50 percent of the 
country's inhabitants used the Internet, according to a foreign 
government.
    The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority monitored the 
activities of telecommunications service providers, which then blocked 
access to numerous Web sites considered pornographic, culturally or 
politically sensitive, or competitive with local telecommunications 
services. The criteria for blocking access to Internet sites were not 
transparent or consistent, although Web logs were often blocked. 
Certain ministries blocked access to Web logs and chat rooms during 
working hours, including the country's most popular web forum, Sablah, 
purportedly to improve worker productivity. Authorities also blocked 
some Web sites used to circumvent censorship, such as virtual private 
networks.
    The Government placed warnings on other Web sites informing users 
that criticism of the sultan or personal criticism of government 
officials would be censored and could lead to police questioning, 
effectively increasing self-censorship.
    Web site administrators or moderators were cautious concerning 
content and were reportedly quick to delete potentially offensive 
material in chat rooms, on social networking fora, and on Web log 
postings, with at least one administrator removing material after the 
site was blocked whereupon the site became available.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government limited 
academic freedom, particularly the publication or discussion of 
controversial matters such as domestic politics, through the threat of 
dismissal. Academics largely practiced self-censorship. There were no 
reported cases during the year in which the Government dismissed an 
academic on these grounds.
    Lamhaa, a politically-sensitive Indian film about the Kashmir 
conflict was banned in July in all GCC countries. Citing inappropriate 
content, the Government also banned Sex and the City 2 in May. The 
appropriate government authority must approve all public cultural 
events. There were indications that organizations avoided controversial 
issues due to the belief authorities might not approve such events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for circumscribed freedom of assembly, and 
the Government restricted the exercise of this right in practice. Prior 
government approval was necessary for all public gatherings. 
Authorities enforced this requirement with rare exceptions. The 
Government rarely restricted freedom of assembly for private religious 
gatherings.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association ``for legitimate objectives and in a proper manner.'' The 
Council of Ministers approved the establishment of nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs)--officially recognized as associations--to work on 
issues relating to women, children, the elderly, persons with 
disabilities, the environment, and other topics 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. Associations must also register with the 
Ministry of Social Development, which approves association bylaws. The 
average time required to receive approval and register an association 
was approximately two years, although the process could be as short as 
two months. Approval time varied based on the level of preparedness of 
the applying organization and was often longer when a group required 
significant help from the ministry to formalize its structure. Formal 
registration of nationality-based associations was limited to one 
association for each nationality.
    No association may receive funding from an international group 
without government approval. Individuals convicted of doing so may 
receive up to six months in jail and a fine of 500 rials (approximately 
$1,310). Heads of domestic NGOs reported that the Government 
periodically asked to review their financial records to confirm sources 
of funding and required NGOs to inform the Government of any meetings 
with foreign organizations or diplomatic missions.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country and repatriation, and the Government 
generally respected these rights in practice. The law does not 
specifically provide for foreign travel or emigration. In November the 
Government removed the requirement that a married woman obtain her 
husband's consent before receiving a passport.
    The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) did not 
visit the country during the year, and it did not maintain an office or 
personnel in the country. Some humanitarian organizations were 
restricted in their ability to provide refugees with assistance. 
Specifically, authorities prohibited the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) 
from taking the role of UNHCR in its absence, although other entities 
had the ability to assist refugees.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reported cases 
during the year.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 UN 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. 
Nevertheless, the law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee 
status, and the Government has established a system for providing 
protection to refugees. The ROP is responsible for determining refugee 
status but did not grant asylum or accept refugees for resettlement 
during the year. The ROP's system for granting refugee status was not 
transparent, and the law does not specify a time frame in which the ROP 
must adjudicate an asylum application.
    In practice the Government did not provide protection against the 
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be 
threatened. Tight control over the entry of foreigners effectively 
limited access to protection for refugees and asylum seekers. 
Authorities apprehended and deported hundreds of Somalis, Yemenis, 
Ethiopians, and Eritreans who sought to enter the country illegally by 
land and sea in the South, and Afghans and Pakistanis who generally 
came to the country by boat via Iran in the North. Authorities 
generally detained these persons in centers in Salalah or the northern 
port city of Sohar, where they stayed an average of one month before 
deportation to their countries of origin.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law does not provide citizens with the right to change their 
government. The sultan retains ultimate authority on all foreign and 
domestic issues. With the exception of the military and security 
forces, all citizens 21 years old and older have the right to vote for 
the Consultative Council, which has no formal legislative powers, but 
provides a mechanism for citizen input into the establishment of laws.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2007 more than 60 
percent of almost 400,000 registered voters participated in elections 
for the Consultative Council. Electoral commissions reviewed potential 
candidates against a set of educational and character criteria before 
allowing candidates' names on the ballot. There were no notable or 
widespread allegations of fraud or improper government interference in 
the voting process. Although the Government did not permit independent 
monitoring of the elections, the Ministry of Information invited 
foreign journalists to cover the voting in several locations throughout 
the country. The next elections are scheduled for October 2011.
    The law does not provide for political parties. Civil society 
organizations, such as the Environmental Association of Oman and 
various women's associations, did not field political candidates, but 
provided input to the Consultative Council.
    There were 14 women in the 154-seat Council of Oman, which includes 
the Consultative Council and the State Council, whose members are 
appointed by the sultan. There were four appointed female ministers, 
three of whom served in the 32-member cabinet. The Council of Oman and 
the Cabinet of Ministers were composed of representatives from a 
variety of linguistic, religious, racial, and other backgrounds.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were 
isolated reports of government corruption during the year, including in 
the police and security apparatuses. Among other prosecutions, a widely 
publicized 1.3 million rials (approximately three million dollar) 
municipal embezzlement case resulted in public prosecution in August. 
In December a ministerial Deputy Director General was awarded a cash 
settlement, when a court found that he had been illegally transferred 
to prevent his promotion, in an abuse of ministerial authority.
    Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws.
    The law does not provide public access to government information. 
All royal decrees and ministerial decisions were published for public 
access.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    No registered domestic human rights NGOs or fully autonomous 
domestic human rights groups existed in the country. There were civil 
society groups, however, that advocated for persons protected under 
human rights conventions, particularly women and the disabled. In the 
absence of specific human rights groups, during the year the Government 
took an increasing role in human rights protection and establishing 
reporting mechanisms.
    The Government allowed several international organizations to work 
in the country without interference, including the UNICEF, the World 
Health Organization, and the International Labor Organization.
    The National Committee for Human Rights, a government-funded human 
rights commission made up of members from the public, private, and 
academic sectors, reported on human rights via the State Council to the 
sultan. The committee began investigating human rights conditions for 
the country's first national human rights report for submission to the 
UN Human Rights Council in 2011. By September approximately 72 cases of 
alleged human rights violations had been submitted to the committee for 
investigation, but no figures were available at year's end. The 
majority of complaints related to court rulings and labor issues, 
including mistreatment in the workplace and concerns over wages.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination against citizens on the basis of 
gender, ethnic origin, race, language, religion, place of residence, 
and social class. The Government generally enforced prohibitions on 
discrimination effectively, although gays faced discrimination under 
the law and in practice; there were reports of prosecution for 
homosexual conduct, although information was limited. Social norms also 
enforced actual discrimination against lesbian, bisexual, and 
transgender persons.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape with penalties up to 15 years in 
prison, but it does not criminalize spousal rape. The Government 
generally enforced the law when cases were reported, but cultural and 
societal influences may have prevented victims from reporting rape. As 
a result, there was no reliable estimate of the extent of the problem. 
Foreign nationals working as domestic employees occasionally reported 
they had been raped by their sponsors or by employees of labor 
recruitment agencies. According to officials in foreign missions, 
police investigations resulted in few rape convictions; sponsors 
repatriated most of the women who made the allegations.
    The law does not specifically address domestic violence. Assault, 
battery, and aggravated assault carry a maximum sentence of three years 
in prison. Allegations of spousal abuse in civil courts handling family 
law cases were reportedly common. Victims of domestic violence may file 
a complaint with police. Due to cultural and societal customs, women 
often sought private family intervention to protect them from violent 
domestic situations. Authorities generally enforced the law when they 
were aware such crimes had occurred.
    There is no law prohibiting female genital mutilation (FGM). 
According to a press report, the Ministry of Health conducted a study 
on the issue during the year and found that it was a broadly accepted 
practice by both men and women across all ages, especially in rural 
areas. The Ministry of Health maintains a prohibition on doctors from 
performing the procedure in hospitals or other health care facilities.
    The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment. In a 2009 
study, 11 percent of women surveyed said they had been sexually 
harassed.
    The Government recognized the basic right of couples and 
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and 
timing of their children. Health clinics were able to operate freely in 
disseminating information on family planning under the guidance of the 
Ministry of Health. There are no legal restrictions on the right to 
access contraceptives. The Government provided for free childbirth 
services to citizens within the framework of universal health care. 
Prenatal and postnatal care was readily available and used. World 
Health Organization statistics from 2008 indicated a maternal mortality 
rate of 20 per 100,000 live births. Men and women received equal access 
to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV. Social and cultural taboos may prevent individuals from 
seeking treatment.
    Despite legal and some social progress, including the appointment 
of women as ministers, ambassadors, and senior government officials, 
some social and legal institutions discriminated against women. The law 
prohibits gender-based discrimination against citizens; however, 
aspects of Islamic law and tradition as interpreted in the country 
discriminated against women. In some personal status cases, such as 
divorce, a women's testimony is equal to half of a man's. The law 
favors male heirs in adjudicating inheritance. Women married to 
noncitizens may not transmit citizenship to their children and cannot 
sponsor their noncitizen husband's presence in the country.
    On May 6, the sultan awarded women the right to appeal marriage 
prevention claims previously dismissed by lower courts, thereby 
granting women legal avenues to marry without parental consent. Many 
women were reluctant to take an inheritance or marriage dispute to 
court for fear of alienating the family. Illiteracy among women 45 
years-old and older hampered their ability to own property, participate 
in the workforce, or inform themselves about their rights.
    Women may own property; however, government officials and banks 
applied different standards to female applicants for housing loans, 
resulting in fewer approvals for women. Approximately 0.4 percent of 
landowners were women. The law equalizes the treatment of men and women 
in receiving free government land for housing, and in April 2009 the 
Government began allocating land to women to address concerns about 
inequality in access to land ownership.
    Government policy provided women with equal opportunities for 
education, and educated women held positions of authority in 
government, business, and the media, but women still faced some job 
discrimination based on cultural norms. The law entitles women to 
gender-related protections in the workplace, such as the right 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 for women's economic 
development through the Oman Women's Association and local community 
development centers. The Government also formed a committee to monitor 
the country's compliance with the UN Convention on the Elimination of 
All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
    On October 17, the country celebrated the first annual National 
Oman Women's Day, with various events and activities to mark the 
progress made under the current sultan.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived from the father. Women married to 
noncitizens may not transmit citizenship to their children, yet there 
were no reported cases of statelessness. Most births were registered 
promptly; however, authorities granted birth certificates and 
identification paperwork to children born with nontraditional Omani 
names only after an unclear and lengthy civil appeals process.
    Primary school education for children, including noncitizen 
children, was free and universal, but not compulsory.
    One media article reported a government study which examined the 
practice of FGM. According to the article, FGM is performed on some 
girls between the ages of one to nine years-old, although the practice 
remained prohibited in hospitals and other health centers. Some cases 
of life-threatening consequences were reported. One girl was brought to 
a health center because she was bleeding excessively three days after 
the procedure.
    Oman is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no Jewish population, and there were no 
reports of anti-Semitic acts or public statements by community or 
national leaders vilifying Jews. Anti-Semitism was present in the 
media. Anti-Semitic editorial cartoons depicting stereotypical and 
negative images of Jews, along with Jewish symbols, were published 
during the year, primarily in the privately owned daily newspaper al-
Watan. Unlike in 2009, no overtly anti-Semitic editorials or articles 
appeared in private or government-owned newspapers.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides persons with 
disabilities, including physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities the same rights prescribed for other citizens in 
employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of other 
state services or other areas. However, persons with disabilities 
continued to face some discrimination. The law mandates access to 
buildings for persons with disabilities, but many older buildings, 
including government buildings and schools, were not retrofitted to 
conform to the law. Law also requires private enterprises employing 
more than 50 persons to reserve at least 2 percent of positions for 
persons with disabilities. In practice this regulation was not widely 
enforced.
    There is no protective legislation to provide for equal educational 
opportunities for persons with disabilities.
    The Ministry of Social Development is responsible for protecting 
the rights of persons with disabilities.
    During the year the Government partnered with NGOs and the private 
sector to address the needs of persons with disabilities and combat 
cultural and societal discrimination against such persons through 
special seminars and vocational training. The Government provided 
alternative education opportunities for over 500 children with 
disabilities, including overseas schooling when appropriate; this was 
largely due to lack of capacity within the country. In addition the 
Ministry of Education in the past partnered with the International 
Council for Educational Reform and Development to create a curriculum 
for students with mental disabilities within the standard school 
system, which was in place throughout the year.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The penal code criminalizes 
homosexuality with a jail term of six months to three years. There were 
no reports of prosecutions for homosexual conduct during the year. Nine 
prosecutions for sodomy occurred in 2009.
    The discussion of sexual orientation in any context remained a 
social taboo, and authorities took steps to block lesbian, gay, 
bisexual or transgender (LGBT)- related Internet content. There was no 
official or overt societal discrimination based on sexual orientation 
in employment, housing, or access to education or health care.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of societal violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. The Government does 
not permit foreigners with HIV/AIDS to work in the country.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The Government recognizes workers' 
rights to form unions and a general federation to represent unions in 
regional and international fora. The law prohibits members of the armed 
forces, public security institutions, government employees, and 
domestic workers from forming or joining unions. At year's end, 
according to the MoM, there were nearly 100 unions at the enterprise 
level and one general federation of unions.
    The Government restricted union activities to some degree. The law 
prohibits unions from accepting grants or financial assistance from any 
source without the MoM's prior approval. Unions must notify the 
Government at least one month in advance of union meetings. The law 
permits only one general federation of unions.
    Workers have the right to strike, but strikes are subject to 
certain requirements. The law requires an absolute majority of an 
enterprise to approve the strike, and notice must be given to employers 
three weeks in advance of the strike. Strikes occurred and were 
generally resolved quickly, sometimes through government mediation.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
for collective bargaining, and regulations require employers to engage 
in collective bargaining on the terms and conditions of employment, 
including wages and hours of work. In cases where there is no trade 
union, collective bargaining may take place between the employer and 
five representatives selected by workers. The employer cannot object to 
any of the representatives selected. While negotiation is ongoing, the 
employer cannot act on decisions related to issues under discussion. 
The law prohibits employers from firing or imposing penalties for union 
activity.
    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 adult forced labor 
occurred. Some men and women from South and Southeast Asia, most of 
whom migrated voluntarily to the country as domestic servants or low-
skilled workers in the construction, agriculture, and service sectors, 
faced working conditions indicative of involuntary servitude. Reports 
included instances of passports being withheld, restrictions on 
movement, nonpayment of wages, long working hours without food or rest, 
threats, and physical or sexual abuse. Some employers of domestic 
workers, contrary to the law, continued to withhold documents releasing 
the workers from employment contracts or demanded release fees totaling 
as much as 600 rials (approximately $1,560) before allowing the workers 
to change employers.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits all child labor. The minimum age for employment is 15 
years- old, or 18 years-old for certain hazardous occupations. Children 
between the ages of 15 and 18 may only work between the hours of 6 a.m. 
and 6 p.m. and are prohibited from working for more than six hours per 
day, on weekends, or on holidays.
    No instances of child labor were reported in the formal sector, 
where the MoM generally enforced the law effectively. Minor violations 
resulted in warnings, and employers were given time to correct 
practices; however, significant violations may result in immediate 
arrests. In practice enforcement often did not extend to small family 
businesses that employed underage children, particularly in the 
agricultural and fishing sectors. As a cultural practice, Bedouin 
children sometimes participated in unofficial camel races for their 
families, despite the 18 year-old minimum age for camel jockeys. All 
official races use robot jockeys.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The private sector minimum wage 
for citizens of 140 rials (approximately $360) per month did not 
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Minimum 
wage regulations did not apply to a variety of occupations and 
businesses, including small businesses employing fewer than five 
persons, dependent family members working for a family firm, some 
categories of manual laborers, and foreign workers There were reports 
that migrant laborers in some firms and households worked more than 12 
hours a day for as little as 30 rials (approximately $78) per month. 
The MoM effectively enforced the minimum wage for citizens.
    The private sector workweek was 40 to 45 hours and included a rest 
period from Thursday afternoon through Friday. Government workers had a 
35-hour workweek. Although 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, especially for foreign workers. Employees who worked extra 
hours without compensation could file a complaint with the MoM's 
Directorate of Labor Care. The MoM processed complaints and acted as 
mediator. In a majority of cases, the plaintiff prevailed, gaining 
compensation, the opportunity to seek alternative employment, or return 
to their country of origin in the case of foreign laborers.
    The law states an employee may leave dangerous work without 
jeopardy to continued employment if the employer was aware of the 
danger and did not implement corrective measures. Employees covered 
under the labor law may receive compensation for job-related injury or 
illness through employer-provided medical insurance. Domestic workers 
are not covered under the labor law, but separate domestic employment 
regulations obligate the employer to provide domestic workers with free 
local medical treatment throughout the contract period. Penalties for 
noncompliance with health regulations are small, ranging from 
approximately 10 to 100 rials ($25 to $250), multiplying per occurrence 
per worker and doubled upon recurrence.
    Inspectors from the Department of Health and Safety of the Labor 
Care Directorate generally enforced the health and safety standard 
codes and made regular on-site inspections as required by law. These 
inspectors received additional training throughout the year in 
conjunction with the MoM's ``Decent Work'' program, developed in 
coordination with experts from the International Labor Organization to 
establish internationally accepted training mechanisms.

                               __________

                                 QATAR

    Qatar is a constitutional monarchy headed by Emir Sheikh Hamad bin 
Khalifa al-Thani. The population is approximately 1.7 million, of whom 
approximately 225,000 are citizens. The emir exercises full executive 
power. The 2005 constitution provides for hereditary rule by the emir's 
male branch of the al-Thani family. Sharia (Islamic law) is a primary 
source of legislation. The emir approves or rejects legislation after 
consultation with the appointed 35-member Advisory Council and cabinet. 
There are no elections for national leadership, and the law forbids 
political parties. In 2007 citizens elected the 29 members of the 
Central Municipal Council. Reports based on monitoring by the 
Government-appointed National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and 
informal observations by diplomatic missions noted no irregularities. 
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Citizens lacked the right to change the leadership of their 
government by election. There were prolonged detentions in crowded 
facilities, often ending with deportation. The Government placed 
restrictions on civil liberties, including freedoms of speech, press 
(including the Internet), assembly, association, and religion. Foreign 
laborers faced restrictions on travel abroad. Trafficking in persons, 
primarily in the labor and domestic worker sectors, was a problem. 
Legal, institutional, and cultural discrimination against women limited 
their participation in society. The unresolved legal status of 
``Bidoons'' (stateless persons with residency ties) resulted in 
discrimination against these noncitizens. Authorities severely 
restricted worker rights, especially for foreign laborers and domestic 
servants.

                        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 reports that government officials employed torture nor 
was there an underlying pattern of abuse or discrimination. The 2008 
NHRC report cited receipt of information in two cases of ``ill-
treatment'' and indicated that authorities took ``due and necessary 
action.'' Documentation of abuses was limited, in part due to hesitancy 
of alleged victims to make public claims of torture or abuse. The 
Government interprets Sharia as allowing corporal punishment for 
certain criminal offenses.
    Under the constitution, the terms of all international agreements 
ratified by the Government become domestic law, and the Government 
considers its definition of torture to be the one contained in the UN 
convention. In June the Government amended some articles of the 
criminal law to correspond with the country's commitments in the UN 
convention, including adoption of the UN's definition of torture and 
the imposition of sentencing guidelines for abuse and torture. During 
the year the Government conducted training for law enforcement and 
military personnel which focused on the prohibition of torture.
    In March the Doha Court of First Instance sentenced a police 
officer to one year in prison for mistreating an Indian citizen who 
alleged that police intentionally burned him with cigarettes during 
interrogation in 2006. However, in June the Upper Court suspended the 
penalty, stating that it was the first time he committed such a crime 
and that he was unlikely to repeat the abuse.
    Courts ordered corporal punishment (flogging) prescribed by 
interpretation of Sharia in cases of alcohol consumption and 
extramarital sex by Muslims. On appeal the court typically reduced this 
sentence to imprisonment or fine. Authorities did not carry out 
corporal punishment during the year.
    Sources allege that at least 18 persons, mostly foreign nationals, 
were sentenced to flogging for offences related to ``illicit sexual 
relations'' or alcohol consumption. It was not known if any of the 
sentences were implemented.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--In some prisons and 
detention centers, conditions did not meet international standards. The 
Capital Police Detention Center had improved conditions with beds and 
separation according to gender. In the state security prison, 
conditions were generally better than the central prison. The 
Deportation Detention Center (DDC) held some detainees awaiting civil 
trial together with persons awaiting deportation. The Ministry of 
Social Affairs had authority over juvenile detainees and held them 
separately under the supervision of a social worker.
    Prisoners and detainees generally had access to visitors, including 
their family members, embassy officials, and attorneys. Additionally 
they were able to observe their religions freely. Prison officials 
limited access to family and legal counsel at the state security 
prison. Authorities allowed prisoners and detainees to submit 
complaints to judicial and administrative authorities without 
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane treatment. The authorities investigated any allegations, but 
they did not document the results of these investigations in a publicly 
accessible manner.
    During the year there were no monitoring visits or requests to 
visit by independent human rights observers. The Government-appointed 
NHRC conducted regular visits to prisons, jails, detention centers, and 
the state security prison. Authorities informed the NHRC of the 
citizenship of prisoners and detainees, and the NHRC monitored the 
length of each person's detention. Ombudsmen cannot serve on behalf of 
prisoners and detainees.
    According to some embassies, the Government frequently delayed 
notification of arrest. In 2009 the NHRC reported that the DDC held an 
estimated 1,000 male and 300 female detainees during the year, although 
no updated statistics were available during the current year. The 
Government granted foreign embassy personnel regular access to the DDC, 
police detention centers, and the central prison. The Government did 
not approve requests to visit the state security prison but 
occasionally provided embassies access to state security prisoners at 
separate locations.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed 
these prohibitions. Authorities may detain individuals in the state 
security prison for indefinite periods under the Protection of Society 
and Combating Terrorism Law. Processing speed for deportations 
increased for most DDC detainees during the year with the period of 
detention ranging from two days to three months.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities 
maintained effective control over the police under the Ministry of 
Interior and the state security forces, and the Government employed 
effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse. There were no 
reports of impunity involving the security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Criminal law 
requires that persons be apprehended openly with warrants based on 
sufficient evidence and issued by a duly authorized official, be 
charged within 24 hours, and be brought before a court without undue 
delay. Authorities respected this in practice. The Protection of 
Society and Combating Terrorism Law provides an exception that permits 
detention without charge for as long as two years (in renewable six-
month periods) and allows detention for as long as six months without 
charge for investigation, extendable indefinitely by the prime minister 
based on the recommendation of the minister of interior or the head of 
the security services. Decisions under the law are subject to appeal by 
the prime minister only. The law empowers the minister of interior to 
detain a defendant for crimes related to national security, honor, or 
impudence. Although generally unused, a provision of the law permits 
the prime minister to adjudicate complaints against these detentions.
    In most cases, a judge may order a suspect released, remanded to 
custody to await trial, held in pretrial detention pending 
investigation, or released on bail. Although suspects are entitled to 
bail (except in cases of violent crimes), it is used infrequently in 
practice. Authorities were more likely to grant citizens bail than 
noncitizens. Noncitizens charged with minor crimes may be released to 
their citizen sponsor, although they cannot leave the country until the 
case is resolved.
    Judges may also extend pretrial detention for one month at a time 
to provide authorities additional time to conduct investigations. The 
accused is entitled to legal representation throughout the process and 
prompt access to family members in nonsecurity cases. There are 
provisions for state-funded legal counsel for indigent prisoners in 
criminal cases, and this requirement was generally honored in practice. 
Authorities generally afforded suspects detained under the Protection 
of Society and Combating Terrorism Law access to counsel but delayed 
access to family members. Once convicted of state security violations, 
prisoners were transferred to the central prison.
    The Permanent Committee on Examining the Conditions of Inmates at 
the DDC was charged with reviewing and acting on the cases of those in 
custody for two months or longer.

    Amnesty.--A committee within the Ministry of Interior (MOI) reviews 
individual cases for possible leniency and makes recommendations to the 
emir, who customarily grants amnesties on holy days and other special 
occasions. During Ramadan and on Qatar's National Day, the emir granted 
amnesty to 134 prisoners. Unlike in previous years, there were no 
reports that the emir pardoned prisoners on National Human Rights Day.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, but the emir, based on the recommendation of the 
Supreme Judicial Council, appoints all judges. They hold their 
positions at his discretion. Approximately 75 percent of the judges 
were foreign nationals dependent on residency permits granted by civil 
authorities. During the year there were no reports of political or 
governmental interference or corruption in the courts. Although the 
emir has the ability to remove judges, he has never exercised the 
power.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial 
for all citizens, and the judiciary generally enforced this right.
    The law provides defendants the presumption of innocence, and the 
public prosecution has the burden of proving the charges against the 
defendant at trial.
    Trials are by jury and open to the public, but the presiding judge 
can close the courtroom to the public if he deems the case to be 
sensitive. Due to a 2008 Court of Cassation (Supreme Court) ruling, the 
media has limited access to courts. The ruling followed from media 
coverage of cases that were still under trial that speculated on the 
expected verdict. Although journalists must obtain a judge's permission 
to attend, during the year this practice was suspended and journalists 
attended court sessions without any restrictions. All sentences are 
publicly announced.
    Lawyers prepare litigants and speak for them during the hearing, 
with interpreters provided for non-Arabic speakers. Defendants are 
entitled to legal representation throughout the pretrial and trial 
process. In matters involving religious issues, Shia and Sunni judges 
may apply their interpretations of Sharia for their groups. There were 
164 Sunni judges and one Shia judge, who independently represented the 
relatively small Shia population.
    The courts reached verdicts in criminal cases within one year of 
detention 81 percent of the time, according to yearly statistics from 
the Supreme Court. Normal felony cases generally took from four to six 
months to produce a verdict and misdemeanors took from two to four 
months.
    Defendants have the right to be present for trial and to consult 
with an attorney in a timely manner. Their attorneys have access to 
government-held evidence relevant to their cases, once the case has 
been filed in the court. Defendants have the right to confront and 
question witnesses against them and to present witnesses and evidence 
on their own behalf. Defendants have the right of appeal within 15 days 
of a decision, and use of the appellate process is common in practice.
    There are no separate Sharia courts, but the application of Sharia 
denied women equal status in certain civil proceedings such as 
marriage, divorce, and witness testimony. In such instances, a women's 
testimony was equal to half of a man's.
    The high fee for appealing to the Court of Cassation restricts the 
right to appeal. The appellant must deposit 20,000 riyals 
(approximately $5,500) for appeal in a case decided by the court of 
appeals and 5,000 riyals ($1,375) in a case decided by the court of 
first instance. Litigants must deposit 10,000 riyals ($2,750) for an 
appeal to the Constitutional Court. Deposits may be seized, in whole or 
in part, should the court decide to reject the appeal. In some cases, 
the courts waived the appellate fees if the appellant demonstrated 
financial hardship.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law and judiciary 
permit persons with civil grievances to seek redress in the court 
system, although the majority of administrative decisions by the 
executive authority are immune from judicial jurisdiction, according to 
the 2008 NHRC report. The judiciary is not completely impartial and 
independent in practice. There were reports that police officers tended 
to favor citizens over noncitizens when preparing reports of minor 
traffic accidents or disputes, but this favoritism did not occur in 
criminal or civil cases that reached the courts. For example, on 
October 14, the Court of Misdemeanors ruled against a prominent Qatari 
businessman who was withholding the passport of a noncitizen employee 
that he accused of embezzling money from him. The court mandated the 
return of the employee's passport, noting that the immigration law 
provides the right for workers to have access to their passports. The 
law specifies circumstances that necessitate a judge's removal from a 
case for conflict of interest, and these were observed in practice. 
There are civil and criminal remedies available for those seeking 
damages for, or cessation of, human rights violations, but there were 
no cases reported during the year.

    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 a warrant before police may search a residence 
or business, except in cases involving national security or 
emergencies, although none were reported during the year. Police and 
security forces reportedly monitored telephone calls and e-mails. The 
Government prohibits all political activity, including membership in 
political parties for citizens and noncitizens alike.
    Citizens must obtain government permission, which was generally 
granted, to marry foreigners. Male citizens may apply for residency 
permits and citizenship for their foreign wives, but female citizens 
cannot apply for either residency or citizenship for their foreign 
husbands. There were reports that the Government continued to deny 
Qatari nationality (and entry) to hundreds of persons, most of whom 
were members of the al-Murra tribe, which was partly blamed for a coup 
attempt in 1996.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press in accordance with the law, but the 
Government limited these rights in practice. Journalists and publishers 
continued to self-censor due to political and economic pressures when 
reporting on government policies or material deemed hostile to Islam, 
the ruling family, and relations with neighboring states. There were no 
reports that security authorities threatened individuals and 
organizations to keep them from publishing certain articles According 
to journalists, editors would not permit printing the names of 
companies involved in labor cases. The law provides the press the right 
to attend the court proceedings, but reporters must obtain permission 
from judges to publish trial accounts even after the proceedings are 
complete.
    The 1979 Press and Publications Law provides for restrictive 
procedures on the establishment of newspapers with criminal penalties 
and prison sentences for libel and slander, including injury to 
dignity, as well as for closure and confiscation of assets of the 
publication. All cases involving the media fall under the jurisdiction 
of the criminal courts.
    In 2007 the emir established the Doha Center for Media Freedom 
(DCMF) to protect threatened journalists and to promote the free flow 
of news and information around the world. In February the DCMF 
organized a symposium to support issuing a new Press and Publications 
Law. Participants of the symposium agreed unanimously to abolish the 
1979 Press and Publication Law because it does not reflect the changing 
political and media environment in the country. The center has been 
largely inactive and its Web site has been unavailable for over a year.
    Citizens discussed sensitive political and religious issues. 
Members of the much larger foreign population did not express 
themselves on sensitive topics. The Government did not prosecute anyone 
for expression of views. During the year the Government-supported Qatar 
Foundation continued to fund the ``Doha Debates,'' a series of public 
debates broadcast by the BBC featuring citizens and noncitizens 
speaking about internationally controversial topics such as whether 
democracy is more important than wealth and whether France is right to 
ban the face veil.
    Although the seven daily newspapers, three in English and four in 
Arabic, were not state-owned, the proprietors were members of the 
ruling family or enjoyed close ties to government officials. The 
Government reviewed and censored foreign newspapers and magazines for 
objectionable sexual, religious, and political content. Local news 
vendors reported that Egyptian newspapers, such as al-Ahram, ``were 
critical of Qatar and were occasionally censored or not allowed in the 
country.''
    The Qatar Radio and Television Corporation and customs officials 
censored material. There were no specific reports of political 
censorship of foreign broadcast news media or foreign programs during 
the year.
    State-owned television and radio reflected government views. 
Callers to the state-owned radio station's popular morning show 
frequently discussed topics such as government inefficiency and the 
lack of responsiveness to citizens' needs.
    The Doha-based, Arabic-language al-Jazeera satellite television 
network focused coverage and commentary on international news. Al-
Jazeera and the Government claimed that the channel was independent and 
free of government influence, but the Government exercised editorial 
and programmatic control of the channel through funding and selection 
of the station's management. Al-Jazeera covered local news when there 
was an international component. In May five Arab women presenters 
resigned from al-Jazeera after complaining that they were harassed by 
senior managers for not dressing modestly enough. An internal inquiry 
cleared the al-Jazeera official and asserted that the channel has the 
right to dictate how its presenters appear and that it held Arab and 
Qatari women broadcasters to much higher dress-standards.

    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. For example, the Government 
blocked access to the popular blog ``Ikhbareya'' which at times 
published articles critical of the Government. A user who believed a 
site was mistakenly censored could submit the Web address to have the 
site reviewed for suitability; there were no reports that any Web sites 
were unblocked based on this procedure. According to 2009 International 
Telecommunication Union data, there were an estimated 145,800 Internet 
subscribers, and 40 percent of the country's population used the 
Internet. There is no evidence that the Government attempted to 
collect, request, obtain, or disclose the personally identifiable 
information in connection with persons' peaceful expression of 
political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The constitution provides 
for freedom of expression and scientific research according to the 
conditions and circumstances stipulated by law. In practice instructors 
at Qatar University noted that they often exercised self-censorship. 
Instructors at foreign-based universities operating in the country 
reported enjoying academic freedom. There were no reported government 
restrictions on cultural events, although some groups organizing 
cultural events reported that they exercised self-censorship. Films are 
censored for political, religious, and sexual content, and for vulgar/
obscene language.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for, but regulates, freedom of 
assembly. Organizers must meet a number of restrictions and conditions 
to acquire a permit for a public meeting. For example, the director 
general of public security at the Ministry of Interior must give 
permission, a decision which is subject to appeal to the minister of 
interior who has the final decision. Demonstrations were rare, but 
there were reports of small demonstrations held at Qatar University and 
the Qatar Foundation in response to the Gaza flotilla incident in late 
May. Authorities did not intervene in the peaceful demonstrations.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right to 
form groups, defined by the Advisory Council as professional societies. 
A number of professional societies exist, but administrative obstacles, 
including the slow pace of procedures required to form such 
associations, limited this right in practice. The law imposes strict 
conditions on the establishment, management, and function of 
professional societies. They are prohibited from engaging in political 
matters and must obtain approval from the Ministry of Social Affairs, 
which can deny their establishment if it deems them a threat to the 
public interest. Professional societies must pay 50,000 riyals 
(approximately $13,740) in licensing fees and 10,000 riyals ($2,750) in 
annual fees. Registrations are valid for three years, after which an 
association must register again and pay new fees. An amendment to this 
law passed in June requires professional societies to have 10 million 
riyals (approximately $2.7 million) in capital funds to be registered. 
The law allows noncitizens to participate in private societies only in 
cases in which their participation is deemed necessary to the work of 
the society. The prime minister must approve their participation, and 
the number of noncitizens cannot exceed 20 percent of the total 
membership. Since 2004 the Government only approved 15 professional 
societies.
    No data was available on pending or rejected applications. Informal 
organizations, such as community support groups and activity clubs, 
operated without registration, but they may not engage in activities 
deemed political. The regulations prohibit international affiliation of 
associations.
    During the year the Government did not approve new nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs). A 2006 law regarding the establishment of 
``private establishments having public interest'' allows for relaxed 
requirements for the formation of independent local and international 
NGOs in the country. Although untested, the law allows the registration 
of independent NGOs without the administrative hurdles and monetary 
requirements of the previously enacted law governing the formation of 
professional societies.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, but the Government did not fully respect this right in 
practice. The Government severely restricted foreign travel for 
noncitizens. All noncitizens require an exit permit from their 
employers to leave the country, and access to exit permits is dependent 
on the employer.
    There were no reports that the Office of the UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR) asked the Government to assist internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern. The law does not 
explicitly provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, but in 
practice the Government occasionally accepts such individuals as 
``guests.''
    The only restrictions on in-country movement for citizens concerned 
sensitive military, oil, and industrial installations. Although there 
was less emphasis on setting and enforcing ``family times'' at 
entertainment areas in Doha, several local malls continued to restrict 
access to certain areas to foreign workers on weekends. There were also 
reports that South Asian laborers were prevented from entering Souq 
Waqif, one the city's main tourist sites.
    The Protection of Society and Combating Terrorism Law allows the 
Government to prevent some citizens from traveling abroad. Men may 
prevent adult female family members from leaving the country, but only 
by seeking and securing a court order. During the year there were no 
reports that women older than 18 years of age were prevented from 
traveling abroad.
    Official policy severely restricted foreign travel for expatriate 
workers. A 2009 Sponsorship Law outlawed the practice of employers 
withholding workers' passports but retained the provision requiring 
workers to obtain exit permits from their employers before leaving the 
country. In practice some employers continued to retain workers' 
passports. Although the law provides an administrative procedure for 
obtaining an exit permit without an employer's approval, the process 
was burdensome. Foreign embassies reported that the process was 
ineffective, and they continued to be requested to mediate disputes 
concerning exit permits between foreign workers and their sponsors.
    The constitution prohibits internal and external forced exile of 
citizens, and the Government respected this prohibition in practice.
    The constitution provides citizens who have left the country the 
right to return. Noncitizen women married to citizens received 
residence permits and could apply for citizenship, but they were 
required to relinquish their foreign citizenship. There were no 
restrictions on emigration from the country. Unlike in previous years, 
there were no reported cases of the revoking of citizenship.

    Protection of Refugees.--The constitution prohibits the extradition 
of political refugees. 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 or status to refugees. The constitution empowers the 
Government to enact laws on asylum and refugee status. However, as no 
laws providing for asylum were enacted, the small number of persons 
granted residence on humanitarian grounds were legally classified as 
immigrants, not as refugees or asylees. Individuals who were able to 
obtain local sponsorship or employment were allowed to enter and could 
remain as long as they were sponsored, but without asylum status.
    The Government provided protection against the expulsion or 
forcible return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom 
would be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, 
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

    Stateless Persons.--The Government provides a legal means for long-
term residents to apply for and acquire citizenship; in practice 
restrictions and uneven application of the law prevented stateless 
persons from acquiring citizenship. The Nationality Law allows a 
maximum of 50 noncitizen residents per year to apply for citizenship 
after residing in the country 25 consecutive years.
    Citizenship derives solely from the father. Women do not transmit 
citizenship to their children, even if the child is born into wedlock 
in the country. A woman must obtain permission from authorities before 
marrying a foreign national, but she does not lose nationality upon 
marriage. According to the UNHCR, there were approximately 1,500 
``Bidoon'' residents (stateless persons with residency ties) in the 
country. They suffered discrimination based upon their lack of 
nationality. The Bidoon were unable to register for services such as 
education and health care. There were no reports of summary deportation 
orders issued against long-term residents, including Bidoon persons. 
The Permanent Committee for Naturalization Affairs commissioned a study 
in 2008 to determine the extent of these practices, but the results of 
that study were never made public.

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 through elections. The constitution 
provides for hereditary rule by the emir's branch of the al-Thani 
family. The Advisory Council, whose members the emir appointed, plays 
an advisory role only and does not exercise significant influence over 
ministries. The constitutional provision for initiation of legislation 
by the Advisory Council remained unimplemented. The influence of family 
and tribal traditions was strong, and the Government did not permit 
political parties or opposition groups.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The emir exercises full 
executive powers, including appointment of cabinet members. In 2007 
citizens elected the 29 members of the third Central Municipal Council 
to four-year terms. The council advises the minister of municipal 
affairs and agriculture on local public services. Diplomatic missions 
noted no apparent irregularities in the elections. Nearly 50 percent of 
the fewer than 50,000 eligible voters participated.
    Approximately 75 percent of citizens could not vote in the 2007 
municipal elections, as this right was limited to families who were in 
the country prior to 1930. All citizens older than 21 years of age are 
eligible to run for seats on the council. The law limits political 
participation by persons whose citizenship was withdrawn but 
subsequently restored. These persons are denied the right to candidacy 
or nomination in any legislative body for 10 years from the date of 
restoration of their citizenship.
    In June the emir postponed national elections for the second time 
since 2008 and extended the tenure of the current Advisory Council 
until 2013.
    Although the influence of traditional attitudes and roles continued 
to limit women's participation in politics, women served in public 
office as chair of the Qatar Foundation, vice president of the Supreme 
Council for Family Affairs with ministerial rank, head of the General 
Authority for Museums, and president of Qatar University. One woman 
served on the Central Municipal Council and there was one woman serving 
as a judge on the Court of First Instance.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. There 
were no reported cases of corruption among police and security forces, 
and the Government maintained mechanisms to investigate and prosecute 
corruption cases. Public officials were not subject to financial 
disclosure laws.
    The National Committee for Accountability and Transparency is 
charged with implementing articles of the UN Convention for Combating 
Corruption, developing a national strategy to support transparency, 
implementing an awareness campaign, investigating complaints from the 
public, managing state properties, suggesting legislation, and training 
staff. The committee was considered effective in carrying out its 
mandate.
    In November the audit bureau reported it referred 13 cases 
throughout the year involving public sector corruption and misuse of 
public funds to the public prosecutor, six of which were referred to 
the appropriate courts.
    The Government published laws in the official gazette, and some 
information was available on the Internet. Although there is a 
mechanism for individuals and private institutions to request 
government information, access to information on the Government budget, 
expenditures, or draft laws was generally not available.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were few human rights organizations operating in the country, 
including the NHRC, Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking, 
Qatar Foundation for Protecting Women and Children, Qatar Society for 
Rehabilitation and Special Needs, which are all quasigovernmental human 
rights organizations. No international NGO or international 
organization focusing on human rights or humanitarian issues was 
resident in the country, with the exception the Solidarity Center, 
which has maintained a representative in Doha to work on labor rights 
issues since March 2009. During the year the Solidarity Center 
organized several training sessions for foreign communities in the 
country to explain their rights and obligations under the labor law and 
sponsorship law. Domestic associations or NGOs may not engage in 
political activity or be critical of the Government.
    The law provides the right to form private independent societies 
and associations, including NGOs but, since the law's enactment in 
2004, the Government approved only one application, which established 
the Qatar Society for Rehabilitation and Special Needs, an NGO 
supporting persons with disabilities.
    The Government-funded and appointed NHRC investigated local human 
rights conditions. In December the secretary-general of the NHRC stated 
that the committee handled 1,012 petitions for assistance during the 
preceding 12 months; 421 were submitted by citizens and 591 by 
expatriate workers. In October the Government reorganized the NHRC 
board and increased the number of members from 12 to 14, of whom four 
are from government ministries and 10 from civil society. Members from 
the Government ministries participated in the NHRC's deliberations, but 
their votes do not count when the NHRC board members vote on 
resolutions.
    During the year the NHRC issued a report on the status of human 
rights covering 2009.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on nationality, 
race, language, religion, and disability, but not gender or social 
status. In practice custom heavily influenced government enforcement of 
nondiscrimination laws and legal, cultural, and institutional 
discrimination existed against women, noncitizens, and foreign workers.

    Women.--The law criminalizes domestic violence and rape but does 
not address spousal rape. There were publicized cases of rape involving 
foreigners, but none were reported involving citizens. In December an 
Asian man was convicted of raping his daughter and was sentenced to 
life in prison. The penalty for rape is 10 years imprisonment, or 14 
years if the victim is younger than 16 years old. If the perpetrator is 
the teacher, guardian, or caregiver of the victim, the penalty is life 
imprisonment. The Government's ability to enforce the law against rape 
was limited due to underreporting by victims who feared social stigma.
    There is no law criminalizing domestic violence. According to the 
NHRC, domestic violence may be prosecuted under the criminal law that 
provides a general prohibition against violence. According to the 
quasigovernmental Qatari Foundation for the Protection of Women and 
Children (QFPWC), domestic violence against women continued to be a 
problem. There were neither arrests nor convictions for family domestic 
violence among citizens publicized in the press, although there were 
reports of cases involving noncitizens. During the year 109 cases of 
domestic abuse against women were reported to the foundation. The QFPWC 
reported 10 cases of rape, eight cases against women, and two cases 
against children. The embassy of an Asian country reported that it 
received four complaints of rape from its citizens serving as domestic 
workers in Qatar. Three of the cases were settled out of court with the 
sponsor to avoid criminal investigation.
    A 2007 Qatar University study found that 63 percent of 2,778 
surveyed citizen and noncitizen female students reported they had been 
victims of physical abuse, with 52 reporting cases of ``strong 
violence,'' such as rape, and 120 reporting sexual harassment. 
Approximately 50 women reported they had considered suicide because 
they were afraid of the repercussions if they notified authorities.
    In 2007 the Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA) established a 
shelter under the supervision of the QFPWC to accommodate abused women 
and children. During the year the shelter accommodated 14 women and 
five children. The shelter provided a variety of services, including 
financial assistance, legal aid, and psychological counseling.
    There were no reports of government interference in the right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and 
means to do so free from discrimination or coercion. There was no 
direct government support for access to means of contraception, but 
contraceptives were freely available without a prescription. Licensed 
medical professionals attended mothers at birth, and maternal care was 
readily available. The lifetime risk of maternal mortality in the 
country is one in every 2,700 women. Men and women were treated equally 
for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). All STDs were reported to the 
Ministry of Health.
    The legal system allows leniency for a man found guilty of 
committing a so-called ``honor'' crime against a woman for perceived 
immodesty or deviant behavior. There were no reports of honor crimes 
during the year. In July there was a report of a foreign resident 
convicted in the 2007 murder of his wife whose sentence was limited to 
10 years because he was motivated by his wife's alleged sexual affairs.
    In some cases, sponsors sexually harassed and mistreated foreign 
domestic servants. Most domestic servants did not press charges for 
fear of losing their jobs. Sexual harassment is illegal and carries 
penalties of imprisonment or fines. A foreign embassy reported 700 
cases of sexual harassment against domestic employees in 2008, the 
majority by citizen employers. There were no updates to these 
statistics at year's end. When the domestic employees brought 
harassment to the attention of authorities, the employees were often 
deported and no charges were filed against the employer. There were 
reports of increases in the number of complaints alleging physical 
abuse and sexual harassment.
    The constitution asserts the principle of equality between citizens 
in rights and responsibilities, and the Civil Service Law, the Housing 
Law, and others consolidate this principle of equality. However, 
traditions and interpretation of Sharia disadvantaged women in certain 
cases. For example, the Government adhered to an interpretation of 
Sharia that recognizes Muslims have the automatic right to inherit from 
their Muslim spouses. A non-Muslim spouse (invariably a wife, since 
Muslim women cannot legally marry non-Muslims) does not inherit unless 
her spouse wills her a portion (as much as one-third of the total) of 
his estate. A Muslim husband does not automatically inherit the 
property of a non-Muslim wife. The proportion that women inherit 
depends upon their relationship to the deceased; in the cases of 
siblings, sisters inherit only one-half as much as their brothers.
    Citizen women faced legal discrimination in obtaining citizenship 
for their noncitizen husbands and their children.
    In cases of divorce, young children usually remain with the mother, 
regardless of her religion, unless she is found to be unfit. Sons 
remain in the custody of the mother until the age of 13 and daughters 
until the age of 15. In certain conditions, the court may extend the 
age of maternal custody to 15 years for sons and to the time of 
marriage for daughters. In exceptional cases, the mother retains 
custody of children with disabilities with no age limit stipulated. 
Women who are granted guardianship over their children by law receive 
their financial rights and associated right of residence.
    The law allows a female citizen married to a noncitizen man 
residing in the country for the previous five years to benefit from the 
Government housing system. Widows and divorced women may also benefit 
if they have children and have not inherited a house from a deceased 
husband. Unmarried men or women can benefit if they support parents, 
brothers, and sisters or are older than 35 years. The law is generally 
applied fairly in practice.
    Women may attend court proceedings and may represent themselves, 
but a male relative generally represented them. In cases involving 
financial transactions, the testimony of two women equals that of one 
man, but courts routinely evaluated evidence according to the overall 
credibility of the witness and the testimony being offered and not on 
the basis of gender. In 2008 the Government equalized the law on 
compensation that had previously set the level of compensation to be 
paid for the loss of a woman's life at half that of a man.
    A non-Muslim woman is not required to convert to Islam upon 
marriage to a Muslim, but many make a personal decision to do so. 
Children born to a Muslim father are considered Muslims. Female family 
members can travel freely unless a male family member notifies customs 
and immigration officials that his permission is required. There were 
no reports that the travel of any woman had been restricted in this 
fashion during the year.
    According to the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, women 
constituted approximately 13 percent of business owners, mainly 
operating design companies, fashion establishments, training centers, 
and beauty centers. Women served in the workforce as university 
professors, public school teachers, and police. Women served as 
professionals in government service, education, health, and private 
business. Women received equal pay for equal work but often lacked 
access to some positions and did not receive equal allowances for 
transportation, housing, and subsistence.
    The SCFA continued its efforts 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, as well as the drafting 
of legislation affecting women and children.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived from one's father. The Government 
generally registered all births immediately, except for Bidoons. These 
services remained unavailable to stateless children since all persons 
must provide proof of nationality to access health care and education.
    The Government provides for the welfare of citizen children but not 
noncitizen children. The Government funds free public education 
(elementary through university) and health care for citizens. Education 
was compulsory for all children through the age of 18. In practice this 
requirement is not enforced for noncitizen children. Schooling is free 
through primary school (the equivalent of ninth grade) for noncitizen 
children whose parents work in the Government sector. There was 
generally no difference in attendance of girls and boys at the primary 
and secondary levels. Girls were the majority in postsecondary 
institutions.
    There was no societal pattern of child labor or abuse, although 
there were some cases of family violence and physical and sexual abuse. 
The QFPWC reported during the year it received 111 cases involving 
abuse of children. In July the country established a national 
multidisciplinary committee comprised of a medical team, forensic 
medical experts, and representatives from the MOI and Qatar Foundation 
to look into issues of child abuse or neglect in the country. Under 
section 280 of the criminal law, the penalty for having sexual 
relations with a person younger than 16 years old is life imprisonment. 
If the individual is the relative, guardian, caretaker, or servant of 
the victim, the penalty is death. There are laws prohibiting the 
marriage of children under the age of 16, but there were rare instances 
of child marriage within the Bidoon community.
    The Government-funded Qatar Orphan Foundation provided shelter, 
medical care, and education to orphans from birth to the age of 18. The 
children lived in a modern facility, segregated by age and gender, with 
adult supervision and medical care.
    The QFPWC conducted awareness campaigns on the rights of the child 
and maintained a special hotline that allowed both citizen and 
noncitizen children to call with questions and concerns ranging from 
school, health, and psychological problems to concerns about sexual 
harassment. This hotline operated in conjunction with the family abuse 
hotline; statistics on use were not available.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Qatar does not have an indigenous Jewish community; 
the few Jews in the country during the reporting period were foreigners 
with no restrictions on traveling to or working in the country. On 
occasion, in response to political events and developments in the 
region, some of the country's privately owned Arabic-language 
newspapers carried cartoons depicting offensive caricatures of Jews and 
Jewish symbols and editorial comparisons of Israeli leaders and Israel 
to Hitler and the Nazis. These occurred primarily in the daily 
newspapers al-Watan, al-Sharq, al-Arab, and al-Raya, and drew no 
government response. In a January 2009 sermon on al-Jazeera, Sheikh 
Yusuf al-Qaradawi called for killing Jews ``down to the very last 
one.''

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law requires the allocation of 
resources for persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services or other areas and prohibits 
discrimination against such persons. There was no underlying pattern of 
abuse of disabled persons at education facilities, mental health 
facilities, or prisons. The Government is charged with acting on 
complaints from individuals and the NHRC and enforcing compliance. The 
law requires that 2 percent of jobs in government agencies and public 
institutions are reserved for persons with disabilities. Private sector 
businesses employing a minimum of 25 persons were required to hire 
persons with disabilities. Employers who violated these employment 
provisions were subject to fines. There were no reports of any employer 
violating this law during the year.
    Private and independent schools in general provided most of the 
required services for students with disabilities, but government 
schools did not. Few public buildings met the required standards of 
accessibility for persons with disabilities, and new buildings 
generally did not comply with standards. The SCFA was charged with 
ensuring compliance with the rights and provisions mandated under the 
law, but compliance was not effectively enforced.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Government distinguished 
between citizens and noncitizens in employment, education, housing, and 
health services. Noncitizens were required to pay for health care, 
electricity, water, and education (services provided without charge to 
citizens). Noncitizens were eligible for medical coverage at a nominal 
fee. Noncitizens generally could not own property, but the law provides 
for property ownership in three designated areas.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits same-sex 
relations between men but is silent concerning same-sex relations 
between women. Under the criminal law, a man convicted of having sexual 
relations with another man or boy younger than 16 years old is subject 
to a sentence of life in prison. A man convicted of having sexual 
relations with another man older than 16 years old is subject to a 
sentence of seven years in prison under section 285 of the criminal 
law. There were an unknown number of cases before the courts during the 
year. There were no lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) 
organizations in the country. During the year no violence was reported 
against LGBT persons, but there was an underlying pattern of 
discrimination towards LGBT persons based on conservative cultural and 
religious values prevalent in the society.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was 
discrimination against HIV-infected patients. HIV-positive foreigners, 
whose condition was typically diagnosed during their medical 
examinations upon arrival in the country, were deported. HIV-positive 
citizens were quarantined and received treatment.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The labor law and regulations provide 
for worker organizations for citizens older than 18 years old in 
private enterprises that have more than 100 citizen workers. In 
practice the law makes union formation difficult. The country's labor 
code allows for only one trade union: the General Union of Workers of 
Qatar. Noncitizens were not eligible to form worker committees, and 
foreign workers could only be members of joint labor-management 
committees. Those working in the Government sector were prohibited from 
joining a union. The law and regulations permit only the General Union 
for the Workers of Qatar (composed of various general committees for 
the workers in a trade or industry, which are in turn made up of worker 
committees at individual firms) and forbid affiliation with groups 
outside the country. There were no reported attempts to form unions 
during the year.
    The law grants workers the right to strike, but restrictive 
conditions made the likelihood of a legal strike extremely remote. 
Civil servants and domestic workers cannot strike, and strikes are not 
allowed at public utilities or at health or security service 
facilities. The labor law requires that a strike be approved by three-
fourths of the company's workers committee. Such committees are 
composed of an equal number of representatives from management and 
labor, making it practically impossible for labor to gain a strike 
authorization. The Labor Department of the Ministry of Civil Service 
must rule on all industrial disputes before a strike can be called. 
During the year there were no strikes reported. Foreign embassies 
reported several cases in which they intervened to resolve labor 
disputes reported by their nationals working in the country. In the 
past, the Government responded to labor unrest by dispatching large 
numbers of police to the work sites or labor camps involved, and the 
strikes generally ended peacefully after these shows of force. In most 
cases, the Government summarily deported strike organizers. Government 
employees, domestic servants, and those in the public utility, health, 
and security services were prohibited from striking. These workers may 
legally seek permission to hold a public gathering, but there were no 
reports of such gatherings occurring during the year.
    On September 23, police arrested and deported approximately 90 
foreign laborers working for the al-Badar construction company after 
striking against the company, in violation of their contracts. Albadar 
refused to increase the workers' salaries by 10 percent as required by 
their contract and instead cut the workers' pay by 35 percent, from 
1,000 to 650 riyals per month (approximately $275 and $180, 
respectively). All of the workers were jailed for several days and then 
deported; those who had worked less than two years for the company had 
to pay for their return tickets home.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The labor law 
grants workers in private enterprises that have more than 100 citizen 
workers the right to bargain collectively and to sign joint agreements 
between employer and worker regarding a work-related issue. However, 
the vast majority of private sector employees are noncitizens and are 
therefore not allowed to participate in union activities. The 
Government circumscribed the right through 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.
    Private employers and workers set wages without government 
involvement. Local courts handled disputes between workers and 
employers. Foreign workers avoided drawing attention to problems with 
their employers for fear of retaliation and deportation. The Human 
Rights Office at the Ministry of Interior served as the point of 
contact for the complaints of foreign workers who are mostly from South 
and South East Asia. According to resident embassies of countries with 
foreign workers present and some individual migrant workers, the 
Ministry of Labor's Department of Labor Affairs was widely perceived to 
be objective within its narrow mandate when dealing with the nonpayment 
of wages. The department claimed that it resolved 80 percent of the 
4,046 complaints filed by workers. The ministry referred 282 cases to 
the labor courts for judgment. A limited number of labor complaints 
were referred to the criminal courts, but statistics were not publicly 
available.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor. However, there were reports 
that such practices occurred. Also see the Department of State's annual 
Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    Foreign workers from Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the 
Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Sudan, Thailand, 
Egypt, Jordan, and China voluntarily entered the country for work only 
and, in many cases, worked under circumstances that constituted forced 
labor such as withholding of passports and travel documents, refusal to 
grant exit permits, and working under conditions they did not accept 
originally. These conditions were found primarily in the construction 
and domestic labor sectors.
    The Sponsorship Law that took effect in March 2009 gives the 
Ministry of Interior the power to transfer temporarily a worker's 
sponsorship to another employer if there is a legal dispute between the 
worker and the original employer. According to government figures, more 
than 85 percent of the workforce was composed of foreign workers who, 
dependent on their employer for residency rights, were vulnerable to 
abuse. For example, employers must consent to and the ministry must 
approve granting an exit permit to any foreign employee. Some employers 
temporarily withheld this consent to force foreign employees to work 
for longer periods than they wished. Workers could report such cases to 
the Human Rights Office. Unskilled workers and domestic servants were 
particularly vulnerable to nonpayment or late payment of wages.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits forced and compulsory labor by children, and the 
Government, specifically the Ministry of Labor, generally enforced this 
prohibition through labor inspections. The labor law stipulates the 
minimum age for employment is 16 years old. The labor law provides that 
minors between the ages of 16 and 18 can work 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 judged dangerous to the health, safety, or morals of 
minors.
    Violators of the law banning child camel jockeys may receive six 
months' imprisonment or a fine of approximately 3,000 riyals 
(approximately $825). In other cases involving the employment of 
minors, the punishment is three years' imprisonment or a fine of 
approximately 10,000 riyals (approximately $2,748). During the year 
there were no reported cases, and there have been no prosecutions under 
this law.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no minimum wage. The 
median wage of noncitizen workers did not provide a decent standard of 
living for a worker and family. The law prescribes a 48-hour workweek 
with a 24-hour rest period, but most government offices followed a 36-
hour workweek. Employees who worked more than 48 hours per week or 36 
hours per week during the holy month of Ramadan were entitled to 
overtime pay of at least a 25 percent wage supplement. Government 
offices and major private sector companies adhered to this law; it was 
often not observed with respect to unskilled laborers, construction 
workers, and domestic and personal employees, the majority of whom were 
foreigners. Many such workers frequently worked seven days a week and 
more than 12 hours a day with few or no holidays, no overtime pay, and 
no effective means to redress grievances.
    The rights of noncitizen workers continued to be severely 
restricted. Some employers mistreated foreign domestic servants, 
predominantly those from South Asia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, by 
withholding wages or paying wages late, as well as withholding 
passports. Some cases involved rape and physical abuse. A number of 
foreign embassies provided temporary shelter to their nationals who 
left their employers because of abuse or disputes before transferring 
the cases to local government officials. According to these embassies, 
the majority of cases were resolved within 48 hours by their mediation 
efforts between employee and employer. 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.
    One foreign embassy reported that it received approximately 3,000 
complaints during the year; most related to nonpayment of salaries, 
failure to pay overtime, alteration in promised job and salary scale, 
alteration in contact terms after arrival, overload of work, compelling 
company's workers to work as domestic helpers, delayed stamping of 
resident permit, poor access to health care facilities, maltreatment, 
and physical abuse. Changes in the sponsorship law accounted for a 
steep drop in the number of complaints against sponsors for retaining 
employees' passports. The fine for withholding an employee passport is 
10,000 riyals (approximately $2,747). Another foreign embassy received 
between 50 and 60 complaints of abuse a day, including sexual 
harassment, delay and nonpayment of salaries, forced labor, contract 
switching, passport retention, poor accommodations, nonrepatriation, 
termination and deportation without cause, physical torture or torment, 
overwork, imprisonment, and mistreatment. Abused domestic servants 
usually did not press charges for fear of losing their jobs. Laborers 
and domestic workers can report cases of physical abuse directly to the 
police and make all other labor complaints to the Department of Labor.
    According to a foreign embassy, 191 of its reported 300,000 
citizens working in the country died during the year with heart attacks 
claiming 103; traffic accidents, 46; work-related accidents, 19; and 
suicides, 23. Police investigated the work-related deaths, but the 
results were not made public. Local support groups believed authorities 
reported the cause of death as heart attacks to hide workplace deaths. 
A foreign embassy reported a decrease in the overall number of 
complaints during the year.
    There were government regulations regarding worker safety and 
health, but enforcement, which is the combined responsibility of the 
Ministry of Energy and Industry, the Ministry of Health, and the Labor 
Department, was uneven due to insufficient training and lack of 
personnel. Diplomatic representatives visited labor camps and found 
most unskilled foreign laborers living in cramped, dirty, and hazardous 
conditions, often without running water, electricity, or adequate food. 
The Labor Inspection Department conducted random inspections of labor 
camps and, when it found them below minimum standards, the operators 
received a warning, and authorities ordered them to remedy the 
violations within a specified period of one month. If they did not 
remedy the violations, the Labor Department referred the matter to the 
public prosecutor for action. From January to October, 11,311 
inspections took place, observing work and labor housing sites out of 
which 9,543 were found acceptable, 790 unacceptable, and 963 still 
under investigation. Foreign labor officials reported that conditions 
at most labor camps in the country remained far below international 
standards. A foreign embassy reported acceptable conditions at the 
three camps that house its nationals, and embassy staff were permitted 
to visit on a regular basis.
    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 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. In order 
to convert a visitor's visa to a work visa, the individual must find a 
job and have his prospective employer submit paperwork to the Ministry 
of Interior requesting the transfer of visa status. These requests 
usually are rejected, forcing the individual to travel out of Qatar and 
return immediately under the work visa.

                               __________

                              SAUDI ARABIA

    The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a monarchy ruled by the Al Saud 
family. The population is approximately 28.5 million, including 5.8 
million foreigners. Since 2005 King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has 
ruled under the title Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a reference to 
his responsibility for Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina. 
The Government bases its legitimacy on its interpretation of Sharia 
(Islamic law) and the 1992 Basic Law. The Basic Law sets out the system 
of governance, rights of citizens, and powers and duties of the 
Government. The law also provides that the Qur'an and the Traditions 
(Sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad serve as the country's constitution. In 
2005 the country held male-only elections on a nonparty basis for half 
the members of municipal councils, the first elections for any 
government position since 1963. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    The following significant human rights problems were reported: no 
right to change the Government peacefully; torture and physical abuse; 
poor prison and detention center conditions; arbitrary arrest and 
incommunicado detention; denial of fair and public trials and lack of 
due process in the judicial system; political prisoners; restrictions 
on civil liberties such as freedoms of speech (including the Internet), 
assembly, association, movement, and severe restrictions on religious 
freedom; and corruption and lack of government transparency. Violence 
against women and a lack of equal rights for women, violations of the 
rights of children, trafficking in persons, and discrimination on the 
basis of gender, religion, sect, and ethnicity were common. The lack of 
workers' rights, including the employment sponsorship system, remained 
a severe problem.
    Increased efforts to protect women and children against domestic 
violence through the National Family Safety Program, as well as the 
Human Rights Commission, reflected a significant human rights 
achievement.

                        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 politically motivated 
killings during the year. However, closed court proceedings in capital 
cases made it impossible to determine whether the accused were allowed 
to present a defense or were granted basic due process, and there were 
reports that the Government killed civilians in conflict.
    The Government reportedly announced 26 executions during the year, 
all by beheading. Death sentences for two women and one man convicted 
of witchcraft and sorcery were reportedly vacated. On November 10, the 
Supreme Court overturned the death sentence for Lebanese national Ali 
Hussein Sibat convicted on charges of sorcery and requested that a new 
panel of judges reexamine the case and issue a less severe punishment, 
such as deportation. The Government executed 67 persons in 2009 and 102 
persons in 2008.
    There was no update on the reported June 2009 death in custody of 
Abdullah al-Rumian, a Saudi militant extradited from Iraq, in the state 
security detention center at Al-Ha'ir (security offenders are held in 
the detention center, criminal offenders in the prison).
    There were media reports that Saudi armed forces killed Yemeni 
civilians in cross-border air and artillery strikes against Houthi 
rebels from Yemen more than a week after a January 23 cease-fire. 
During the year the Houthis claimed there were 14 deaths through 
February 5, including some women and children. The Government claimed 
its attacks, which began in November 2009, were within Saudi territory 
and intended to eliminate armed groups of Houthi rebels who had killed 
three border guards and wounded 15 other members of the security forces 
in the border region of Jebel al-Dukhan. In December 2009, according to 
press reports, Saudi attacks killed 54 civilians in the town of Al-
Nadheer and injured an unknown number.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Article 2 of the Law of Criminal Procedure and other legal 
provisions prohibit torture and hold criminal investigation officers 
accountable for any abuse of authority. Sharia, as interpreted in the 
country, prohibits judges from accepting confessions obtained under 
duress. Government officials claimed that Ministry of Interior (MOI) 
rules prohibiting torture assured that such practices did not occur in 
the penal system, and the president of the Governmental Human Rights 
Commission (HRC) conducted prison visits in 2009 to ascertain that 
torture did not occur in prisons or detention centers. Nevertheless, 
during the year there continued to be reports that authorities 
sometimes subjected prisoners and detainees to torture and other 
physical abuse.
    On December 1, 32-year-old Yemeni Sultan Muhammad Abdo Doais 
reportedly died in the custody of Qassim prison after four years of 
incommunicado detention. His brother reported to the unlicensed 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) the Saudi Civil and Political Rights 
Association (ACPRA) that investigator Nawaf Ibrahim Duwaysh had 
tortured Sultan to the point that his health had deteriorated and he 
had become mentally ill. His family was permitted to see him every four 
months.
    There were no updates in the reported cases of torture by prison 
officials stemming from the June 2009 claims by the NGO Yemeni Network 
for Human Rights concerning Saleh Salim, three other defendants in the 
same case, and hundreds of allegedly similar cases in the prisons.
    During the year Suliman al-Reshoudi remained in prison on charges 
of financing and supporting terrorism and was ``in and out'' of 
solitary confinement, according to the ACPRA. The royal family-funded 
NGO National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) confirmed that al-Reshoudi 
had been indicted and tried. In October 2009 the ACPRA wrote an open 
letter to King Abdullah highlighting that the 73-year-old al-Reshoudi, 
a member of the ACPRA, was subjected to ``severe physical and 
psychological tortures,'' including tying his feet to a bed frame with 
two separate chains and being forced into a sitting position throughout 
the day and shackled at night. The prisoner has been in solitary 
confinement for three years because of his reform advocacy and 
activism, according to ACPRA.
    There were reports of government officials and employees physically 
abusing persons during the year; however, the number of reported abuses 
and corporal punishment declined.
    The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice 
(CPVPV), a semiautonomous agency commonly known as the religious 
police, has the authority to monitor social behavior and enforce 
morality. There were no reports of police, employees, or volunteers of 
the CPVPV harassing women and men for being alone in the company of an 
unrelated person of the opposite sex, although there were arrests for 
such activities.
    Judicially sanctioned corporal punishments were carried out. For 
example, on March 13, the Riyadh Court of Appeals endorsed a verdict 
sentencing a man accused of sorcery to eight years in prison and 800 
lashes after the CPVPV had arrested him for practicing magic and being 
involved in other activities allegedly contrary to the teachings of 
Islam.
    On July 10, the daily newspaper Arab News reported that a diabetic 
prisoner confined to a wheelchair lost his eyesight after being whipped 
in a prison in Mecca. The prisoner reportedly had been charged with 
fraud and sentenced to six months in prison and 150 lashes. The NSHR 
reportedly investigated the case with prison officials and facilitated 
the prisoner's release and the payment of his debts. There was no 
indication that responsible prison officials were prosecuted.
    Unlike in the previous year, there were no judicially sanctioned 
amputations reported.
    On September 28, the Saudi Gazette reported that a court in Qatif 
sentenced two third-grade students to six months in prison and 120 
lashes for stealing examination papers.
    There were reports that rape and other sexual abuses were 
widespread during confinement in both men's and women's detention 
centers and prisons. Although there were some female guards in women's 
prisons, their supervisors were men. In 2009 local human rights 
watchers reported that prisoners had been sexually abused in the 
Buraida Prison in Qassim but did not alert prison authorities due to 
the stigma and penalties associated with homosexual activities. Human 
rights activists stated that the MOI was not responsive to requests 
from independent activists to investigate this allegation.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions varied, and some did not meet international 
standards. No independent human rights observers visited prisons or 
detention centers during the year, but the Government permitted 
domestic organizations, such as the NSHR and the Governmental HRC, to 
perform some monitoring of prison conditions. In its 2009 annual 
report, the NSHR registered 682 cases involving prisoners who 
complained about conditions during the year. The NSHR reportedly 
monitored health care in prisons and brought deficiencies to the 
attention of the MOI, which administers prisons and detention centers.
    On October 20, the NSHR inspected the Taif Deportation and 
Detention Center. The Detention Center was dilapidated with inadequate 
air-conditioning and toilets, but the NSHR noted that living conditions 
in the Deportation Center were good, and there were no complaints about 
maltreatment.
    In its 2009 report, the HRC found prison conditions below 
acceptable levels, citing overcrowding and prolonged detention of 
prisoners and pretrial detainees who had served their sentence. Human 
rights observers stated that women's prisons were in especially poor 
condition. On January 29 and on September 22, riots took place at the 
Women's Correction Center in Mecca. In January the women had complained 
of poor conditions, including no access to medical care, no family 
visits, unhygienic food, and physical assaults. Both the 
nongovernmental NSHR and the MOI's Commission for Investigation and 
Public Prosecution (CIPP) investigated and verified the complaints, and 
the NSHR stated that it was monitoring the situation. The Ministry of 
Social Affairs (MOSA) issued a report recommending that the facility 
should not receive new prisoners for six months due to overcrowding, 
that it should employ additional female housekeeping staff, and that 
modern educational methods replace corporal punishment. The CIPP 
investigated the September incident; its findings were not reported by 
the end of the year.
    On August 25, the daily newspaper Al-Watan reported the deaths of 
five Ethiopians resulting from suffocation due to overcrowding in the 
Jizan Deportation Center. On August 30, the Arab News reported that the 
NSHR's supervisor general found the health conditions of many inmates 
in the deportation center to be poor. A governmental committee 
investigated the deaths; findings were not reported at the end of the 
year.
    There were approximately 29,000 prisoners and detainees, including 
juveniles and women, according to the UN 2007-08 Human Development 
Report. The maximum number of prisoners and detainees the facilities 
were meant to hold was not available.
    Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted prisoners. 
Persons suspected or convicted of terrorism offenses were separated 
from the general population, according to diplomatic sources, but held 
in similar facilities. Detainees and prisoners were permitted to 
perform religious observances. Security prisoners and some other 
prisoners did not have reasonable access to visitors. There was no 
information available whether prisoners were able to submit complaints 
to judicial authorities without censorship or whether credible 
allegations of inhumane conditions and treatment were investigated and 
made public. There was no ombudsman to act in behalf of prisoners and 
detainees.
    On July 18, local press reported that HRC President Bandar al-Aiban 
demanded that the shortcomings in the country's prisons be addressed 
and that prisoners be guaranteed their legal rights. The Ministry of 
Justice attempted to improve the pretrial detention process and insist 
on the prompt release of prisoners upon completion of their sentence. 
On July 10, the ministry directed courts to expedite prisoner releases 
so that prisoners were not held for longer than their sentence and 
stressed that the Penal Procedures Regulations gave prisoners a right 
to compensation in such cases. On October 5, the Saudi Gazette reported 
that the MOI's Expatriate Administration in Jeddah deported 1,000 
detainees who had been held in the Jeddah Deportation Center for 
violations of residency laws. Detentions can be prolonged due to delays 
in issuing required travel documents. Since 2008 the CIPP has reviewed 
cases of prisoners who served their sentence but remained imprisoned, 
although the results were not publicly available. According to the NSHR 
and the HRC, efforts to reduce the number of prisoners in prisons and 
detention centers included time away from prison and participation in 
work programs outside prison if warranted by a record of good behavior. 
In September 2009, in part to address the issue of overcrowding, the 
Council of Ministers authorized waivers of 15 percent of sentences for 
inmates with good behavior records who completed educational and 
vocational training programs in prison; this waiver program was in 
effect during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The Basic Law provides that a 
person's actions may not be restricted and a person may not be 
imprisoned, except under provisions of the law. Nonetheless, because of 
ambiguous implementation of the law and a lack of due process, the MOI, 
to which all forces with arrest power report, maintained broad powers 
to arrest and detain persons indefinitely without judicial oversight or 
effective access to legal counsel or family. In practice authorities 
held persons for weeks, months, and (sometimes) for years.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The king, minister of 
interior, minister of defense, and Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) 
commander all have responsibility in law and in practice for law 
enforcement and maintenance of order. On November 17, Prince Miteb bin 
Abdullah replaced his father, King Abdullah, in command of the SANG. 
Crown Prince Sultan, the minister of defense and aviation, was 
responsible for all of that ministry's armed forces. The minister of 
interior, Prince Naif, exercised control over all internal security and 
police forces, except the General Intelligence Presidency, the 
Government's primary external intelligence agency that reports directly 
to the king and maintains its own forces. The civil police and the 
internal security police are authorized to arrest and detain 
individuals. The semiautonomous CPVPV, which monitors public behavior 
to enforce strict adherence to Saudi official interpretation of Islamic 
norms, reports to the king via the Royal Diwan (royal court) and to the 
MOI.
    Security forces were generally effective at maintaining law and 
order. The Board of Grievances, an administrative judicial commission 
responsible directly to the king, is the only formal mechanism 
available to investigate claims of abuse, but its findings were not 
public. Citizens may report abuses by security forces at any police 
station, to the HRC, or to the NSHR. The HRC and the NSHR maintained 
records of complaints and outcomes, but privacy laws protected 
information about individual cases, and information was not publicly 
available. During the year there were no reported prosecutions of 
security forces for human rights violations, but there was at least one 
investigation into wrongdoing. On August 4, authorities in the Tabuk 
region investigated a complaint against the CPVPV where they forced a 
man to come in for questioning under false pretenses. At year's end the 
outcome of the investigation was unknown.
    The HRC in cooperation with the Ministry of Education provided 
materials and training to police, security forces, and the CPVPV on 
protecting human rights. On May 17-18, Naif Arab University held a 
seminar to train members of the Supreme Judicial Council and judges on 
skills needed to combat trafficking in persons and coordinate with 
international organizations on the problem. On July 10, 540 CPVPV 
senior field staff participated in training at the University of Taif 
to acquaint themselves with regulations relevant to their work. The 
program consisted of 18 courses administered over six consecutive 
training periods. On July 27, members of the CPVPV participated in a 
five-hour workshop with 20 specialists to discuss the organization's 
performance, learn how to address its audience, and present a positive 
and professional image.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--According to 
the Law of Criminal Procedure, ``no person shall be arrested, searched, 
detained, or imprisoned except in cases provided by law, and any 
accused person shall have the right to seek the assistance of a lawyer 
or a representative to defend him during the investigation and trial 
stages.'' Authorities may summon any person for investigation, and an 
arrest warrant may be issued based on evidence, but warrants sometimes 
were not used, and they are not required in cases of probable cause. 
There was a functioning bail system for less serious criminal charges. 
The law does not specify a timeframe for access to a lawyer, although 
the law provides the accused the right to seek legal assistance; the 
practice is for the state to provide a lawyer for indigents. There were 
no established procedures providing detainees the right to contact 
family members following arrest. The law specifies a timeframe for 
judicial determination of the legality of detention by a 72-hour limit 
on the period of arrest without charges being filed and requiring trial 
of the detained within six months. Reportedly, authorities frequently 
failed to observe these legal protections.
    Incommunicado detention was sometimes a problem. According to an 
Amnesty International (AI) report during the year, thousands of 
individuals detained on security grounds were held in virtual secrecy, 
although the definition of virtual secrecy was unclear. There were 
reports of at least one incident involving torture or abuse of persons 
in such detention.
    There were reports of arbitrary arrest and detention. Although the 
law prohibits detention without charge, authorities detained without 
charge security suspects, persons who publicly criticized the 
Government, Shia religious leaders, and others who violated religious 
standards.
    On March 3, according to the ACPRA, the MOI's security arm, the 
Department of General Investigation, reportedly arrested human rights 
activist and student Thamer Abdulkareem al-Kather without charge in 
Qassim and transferred him to a prison in Riyadh. Al-Kather advocated 
for prisoners' rights and constitutional reform.
    On June 15, the Abu Dhabi newspaper, The National, reported that 
authorities in Jubail in the Eastern Province arrested and imprisoned 
human rights activist Mekhlef bin Daham al-Shammary without a formal 
charge. According to the NGO Human Rights First Society, which holds a 
power of attorney from al-Shammary, the charge in the prison file was 
``annoying others'' (see section 2.a., Internet Freedom). Government 
sources stated that al-Shammary held unlicensed political meetings, an 
illegal activity.
    According to the ACPRA, the following activists were also among 
those detained without official indictment or court ruling at year's 
end: Abdulrahman al-Shomairi, Ali Khosifan al-Qarni, Mousa al-Qarni, 
Saud al-Hashemi, Abdulrahman bin Sadiq, Saifaldeen Faisal al-Sherif, 
Mansour al-Otha, Abdulrahman Khan, Muhammad al-Otaibi, and Khalid al-
Omair. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), most of these activists 
had been detained since 2007. The media reported allegations that the 
activists financed terrorism outside the country. The ACPRA claimed in 
an open letter to the king that the Government uses religion and the 
counterterror campaign to criminalize, incarcerate, and discredit 
advocates of reform. In 2008 the ACPRA and outside supporters organized 
a two-day hunger strike to protest these activists' ongoing detention. 
On August 28, authorities charged one of the activists, Suleiman al-
Reshoudi, with financing and supporting terrorism after his lawyer 
filed a lawsuit based on the legal requirement that a detainee be 
released if court procedures have not begun within six months of his 
detention.
    Arbitrarily lengthy pretrial detention was a problem. According to 
the NSHR's 2009 report, the MOI did not respect the Punitive Procedures 
Law in arresting and detaining suspected terrorists. Suspects remained 
in detention in regions far from their families and for years without 
trial.
    In 2009, following its 2007 report claiming that some police 
officers detained individuals without justification or threatened them 
into making confessions or giving information relevant to an 
investigation, the NSHR called for a neutral party to evaluate 
defendants' claims of torture to obtain confessions by force.
    The CPVPV are required to have a police officer accompany them at 
the time of an arrest, although conformity to the regulation was 
sporadic. Particularly in the more conservative Nejd region, the CPVPV 
accosted, abused, and detained citizens and noncitizens, especially 
women, for allegedly violating dress and behavior standards.

    Amnesty.--During the year the king continued the tradition of 
tempering judicial punishments. The details of the cases varied, but 
the demonstration of royal mercy sometimes included reducing or 
eliminating corporal punishment, for example, rather than wiping the 
slate clean. However, the remaining sentence could be added to a new 
sentence if the pardoned prisoner committed a crime subsequent to his 
release. There were pardons or grants of amnesty on special occasions. 
On August 12, the Saudi Gazette reported that the king pardoned 60 
inmates from prisons in the Al-Baha region. On September 2, the king 
reportedly pardoned 60 prisoners in Al-Ahsa Prison as part of his 
traditional Ramadan pardon.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The 2007 Law of the Judiciary 
provides that judges are independent and are subject to no authority 
other than the provisions of Sharia and laws in force. In practice the 
judiciary was not independent as it was required to cooperate with the 
executive and legislative authorities with the king as arbiter. 
Although allegations of interference with judicial independence were 
uncommon, the judiciary was subject to influence. The courts did not 
attempt to exercise jurisdiction over senior members of the royal 
family. There were problems enforcing court orders.
    Rather than a penal code, Sharia as interpreted in the country is 
the basis of the penal system. The Council of Senior Religious Scholars 
(Ulema), an autonomous advisory body, has the authority to determine 
how judges should interpret Sharia. The council consists of 21 senior 
religious jurists, including the minister of justice.
    Sharia is not based on precedent and rulings can diverge widely. 
Judges may base their decisions on any of the four Sunni schools of 
jurisprudence. In practice judges usually follow the Hanbali School of 
jurisprudence. Shia citizens use their own legal traditions, namely the 
Jaafari School, to adjudicate intra-Shia cases involving domestic 
problems, inheritance, and Islamic endowments and are subject to Sunni 
jurisprudence in all other disputes.
    The military justice system has jurisdiction over uniformed 
personnel and civil servants charged with violations of military 
regulations. The defense minister and the king review the decisions of 
military tribunals. Information on the existence of military tribunals 
separate from the military court system was not available.
    In 2008 the Government established a Specialized Criminal Court 
(SCC) within the existing court system to handle terrorist cases. In a 
decision to promote judicial efficiency and consistency, the Supreme 
Judicial Council was given jurisdiction to establish, abolish, and 
merge courts and specify a court's jurisdiction. The SCC follows the 
2007 Law of Criminal Procedure.
    In July 2009, without publicizing names or charges, the Ministry of 
Justice announced that the SCC had tried 330 persons since its 
creation; almost all were judged in closed trials, the first publicly 
reported trials since 2003 for terrorism offenses. Seven of the 
individuals were acquitted; sentences for the others ranged from fines 
to the death penalty.

    Trial Procedures.--Laws and regulations state that defendants 
should be treated equally in accordance with Sharia. The Law of 
Criminal Procedure states that court hearings shall be public; courts 
may be closed at the judge's discretion, and many trials during the 
year were closed. According to the Ministry of Justice, a trial may be 
closed depending on the sensitivity of the case to national security, 
the reputation of the defendant, or the safety of witnesses.
    According to the Law of Criminal Procedure, there is neither 
presumption of innocence nor trial by jury. The law provides defendants 
the right to be present at trial and to consult with a lawyer during 
the investigation and trial who may present arguments in criminal 
courts. According to the HRC, at the Government's discretion, an 
attorney may be provided to indigents at public expense. Defendants 
also have the right to confront or question witnesses against them and 
present witnesses in their behalf. However, the court presents the 
witnesses. The Law of Criminal Procedure provides that a CIPP-appointed 
investigator questions the witnesses called by the litigants before the 
initiation of a trial and may hear testimony of additional witnesses he 
deems necessary to determine the facts. There is no right to access to 
government-held evidence. Defendants may request to review evidence, 
and the court decides whether to grant the request. The court must 
inform convicted persons of their right to appeal rulings.
    Sharia as interpreted by the Government extends these provisions 
above to all citizens and noncitizens; however, the law and practice 
discriminate against women (see section 6), nonpracticing Sunni, Shia, 
and persons of other religions. For example, judges may discount the 
testimony of nonpracticing Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, or persons of 
other religions; sources reported that judges sometimes completely 
ignored testimony by Shia.
    On October 25, the Arab News reported and government sources 
confirmed that the High Court on September 25 rejected an appeal in 
Rizana Nafeek's death sentence case. In 2007 a court convicted Nafeek, 
a Sri Lankan domestic worker, of killing an infant in her care; she had 
no legal representation, and an initial appeal hearing revealed that 
her interpreter may not have been qualified.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--National security interests 
made it impossible to ascertain the legal basis for detention and 
whether it complied with international human rights norms and 
standards. Accordingly, the number of political prisoners or detainees 
who reportedly remained in prolonged detention without charge could not 
be ascertained during the year. The Government asserted that secret 
detentions were in conjunction with its efforts to combat terrorism. 
International NGOs, AI in particular, criticized the Government for 
abusing its antiterrorism prerogatives to arrest some members of the 
political opposition. Security detainees were not given the same 
protections as other prisoners or detainees. Security suspects arrested 
by the internal security police remained incommunicado in special 
prisons during the initial phase of investigations, which could last 
indefinitely. Authorities restricted family and legal access to 
detainees; no international humanitarian organizations had access to 
them.
    According to a March 23 HRW report, in November 2009 the domestic 
intelligence service arrested Munir Jassas, a Shia government critic 
who operated the ``Tahera'' Internet forum and allegedly commented 
publicly on articles critical of the royal family. He told his wife he 
had been arrested and held in solitary confinement for four months 
because of his Internet writings. He remained detained without charge 
at year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Rather than Sharia courts, 
specialized tribunals in the executive branch decide civil disputes 
relying on regulatory and legislative precepts and provide 
administrative remedies. These tribunals hear claims against the 
Government and enforce foreign judgments.
    On December 19, the Saudi Gazette reported that a family had lodged 
an appeal for the reinstatement of their citizenship with the Riyadh 
governorate. A tribal elder had stripped them of their citizenship by 
claiming to government authorities that the head of the family was not 
a Saudi citizen, reportedly in retaliation for a dispute over a bride. 
The case was pending at year's end. Contacts reported that the 
enforcement of civil court orders was problematic in the country.
    Claims for damages or an end to human rights violations can also be 
brought to the Higher Administrative Court, which specializes in cases 
against government departments and reports directly to the king. There 
were no reports of any such cases during the year or in the previous 
year. Instead, complainants generally referred their cases to the HRC, 
which either advocated on their behalf or provided courts with opinions 
on their cases. The HRC was generally responsive to complaints; 
domestic violence cases were the most common. During the year the HRC's 
caseload included 36 cases involving women seeking nationality for 
their children, 32 cases of women desiring to work or seeking a safe 
work environment, and 30 domestic abuse cases. The HRC took up the case 
of Hadi al-Muti, sentenced to an additional five years' imprisonment 
for criticizing the country's judicial system and human rights record 
(see section 2.a.).

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The Basic Law and royal decrees provide that 
residences are inviolable and may not be entered or searched without 
their owner's permission, except in cases set forth in the law. Laws 
and regulations prohibit officials from intercepting mail and 
electronic communications, except when deemed necessary during internal 
security and criminal investigations; in such cases police must 
demonstrate reasonable cause and obtain permission from a provincial 
governor. The Basic Law provides for the privacy of correspondence. The 
Criminal Procedure Law requires authorities to obtain a warrant before 
searching a residence or a court order before perusing personal 
correspondence and documents.
    In practice the Government used the considerable latitude provided 
by the law to monitor situations legally and interfere where security, 
religion, or other national interests were deemed to be involved.
    For example, the Government strictly monitored all political 
activity and took punitive actions, including arrest and detention, 
against persons who appeared to oppose the Government. There were 
reports from human rights activists of government efforts to monitor or 
block mobile telephone or Internet usage ahead of planned 
demonstrations. The Government did not respect the privacy of 
correspondence or communications. Customs officials routinely opened 
mail and shipments to search for contraband. In some areas MOI 
informants reported ``seditious ideas,'' ``antigovernment activity,'' 
or ``behavior contrary to Islam'' in their neighborhoods.
    On August 2, according to the NGO Arabic Network for Human Rights, 
members of the MOI's investigation service raided the farm of prominent 
Shia preacher Muhammad Muhammad Ali al-Emary in Medina, confiscating 
materials with Shia slogans and arresting al-Emary and his son, Kazim. 
Al-Emary's ranch includes a mosque and is considered a prominent Shia 
religious center in Medina.
    The CPVPV enforced strict standards of behavior; however, since 
there are no clear standards for what constitutes improper attire or 
prohibited gender mixing, enforcement of these rules was arbitrary. On 
March 17, the Saudi Gazette reported that the CPVPV allegedly assaulted 
a man in Medina and held him inside a restaurant because his trousers 
were regarded as ``immoral.'' Police took him into custody, held him at 
the police station for four hours, and then released him on bail. The 
CIPP was investigating the case.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The Government actively impeded 
criticism and monitored citizens' political activity. The law forbids 
apostasy. 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.''
    During the year authorities released university professor Sa'id Bin 
Zu'air from prison, according to the NSHR. According to AI, he was 
arrested in 2007 on charges of financially aiding terrorists; other 
sources claimed he was arrested to prevent him from appearing on Al 
Jazeera television and criticizing the Government.
    In September 2009 Hadi al-Mutif, a Shia imprisoned since 1994 for 
apostasy, received a further five-year sentence for statements on a 
smuggled video tape criticizing the judicial system and the 
Government's human rights record. He reportedly remained incarcerated 
in solitary confinement at year's end.
    The Government owned most print and broadcast media and book 
publication facilities in the country, and members of the royal family 
owned or influenced those that were privately owned and nominally 
independent, including various media outlets and widely circulated pan-
Arab newspapers, such as Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat and Al-Hayat. The 
Government owned, operated, and censored most domestic television and 
radio outlets. Privately owned satellite television networks 
headquartered outside the country maintained local offices and operated 
under a system of self-censorship. Many other foreign satellite 
stations broadcast a wide range of programs into the country. Foreign 
media are subject to licensing requirements from the MOI and cannot 
operate freely.
    The legal structure permitted the Government broad leeway in 
controlling the media through lawful controls on newsprint, printing 
presses, licensing, and media content. The Ministry of Culture and 
Information must approve the appointment of all senior editors and has 
the authority to remove them. The Government provides guidelines to 
newspapers regarding controversial issues. A 1982 media policy 
statement urges journalists to uphold Islam, oppose atheism, promote 
Arab interests, and preserve cultural heritage. The Governmental Saudi 
Press Agency reports official government news.
    All newspapers in the country must be licensed by the Government. 
Media outlets can legally be banned or publication temporarily halted 
if the Government assesses that they promote ``mischief and discord, 
compromise the security of the state and its public image,'' or 
``offend a man's dignity and rights''; these formulations provide the 
Government with latitude in using the law to define public discourse. 
The Government continued to restrict freedom of speech and press by 
interrupting publication and dissemination of news sources critical of 
the royal family or of Islam.
    Journalists occasionally faced harassment and intimidation through 
phone calls or e-mails. The Government could ban writers critical of 
the religious establishment, the Government's activities, or the royal 
family from publishing. On February 14, the Government banned 
journalist Muhammad al-Retyan from writing for Al-Watan after he wrote 
an article that negatively reflected on the visa issuance process in 
the country and indirectly criticized the system of privileges for 
relatives of the royal family.
    The Government directly or indirectly censored or restricted media 
content through laws or other mechanisms. The Law of Printed Materials 
and Publication governs printed materials; printing presses; 
bookstores; import, rent, and sale of films; television and radio; and 
foreign media offices and their correspondents. All media activities 
are subject to the MOI's prior censorship and licensing requirements. 
On January 27, according to the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists 
(CPJ), the Government-run satellite operator Arabsat cut the Iranian-
owned Arabic-language satellite channel Al-Alam off the air without 
prior notice. Al-Alam had criticized the Government's involvement in 
the insurgency in Yemen, an Al-Alam spokesman told CPJ. Censorship 
resulted in situations such as the Al-Watan editor in chief Jamal 
Khashoggi's alleged forced resignation on May 17 after the newspaper 
published an opinion column questioning the country's adherence to a 
literal interpretation of the Qur'an (Wahhabism); Khashoggi said that 
the newspaper ``should not have allowed an article to question the 
essence of our faith.''
    The Consultative Council (Majlis as-Shura), a 150-member appointed 
body advising the king, frequently allowed print and broadcast media to 
observe its proceedings and meetings, but the council closed certain 
high-profile or controversial sessions to the media.
    Foreign and domestic journalists practiced self-censorship. In some 
cases individuals were able to criticize specific government bodies or 
actions publicly without repercussions. On January 3, the ACPRA wrote 
an open letter to the king calling the MOI an ``oppressive authority'' 
that had blatantly and unlawfully arrested two peaceful activists. In 
the aftermath of the November 2009 Jeddah flood, government bodies 
followed the example of the king who demanded accountability from 
government bodies that seemed to have poorly handled the flood and its 
effects. On May 25, the Saudi Gazette printed a letter to the minister 
of education criticizing the lack of vision and clear strategic plan 
for the country's education. The letter called for greater investment 
in the latest scientific technologies and in teaching staff.
    On October 26, the general court in Qubba sentenced Fahd al-
Jukhaidib to two months in prison and 50 lashes for instigating 
protests against and leading residents to the Government electricity 
company to demand action. Jukhaidib had written a front-page article in 
Al-Jazirah, a daily national newspaper, about public anger over 
electricity cuts. The case was treated as a security infraction, and 
the Ministry of Culture and Information was not involved in the 
prosecution.
    On December 5, the MOI arrested Muhammad Abdullah al-Abdulkareem, a 
professor of law at Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University, for 
posting an article describing political factions in the royal family on 
his Facebook page. He remained in detention at year's end.
    Authorities prevented or delayed the distribution of foreign print 
media, effectively censoring these publications.
    Restrictions, including censorship, limited the operation of 
publishing houses. Under the Law of Printed Materials and Publication, 
every author must provide two copies of a prepublication manuscript to 
the MOI for approval or rejection.
    Although satellite dishes were technically illegal, the Government 
did not enforce restrictions on several million dishes that provided 
foreign television programming. Access to outside sources of 
information, such as Arabic and Western satellite television channels 
and the Internet, was widespread.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted access to the 
Internet. According to 2009 International Telecommunications Union 
statistics, approximately 38 percent of the country's inhabitants used 
the Internet.
    The official Communications and Information Technology Commission 
(CITC) monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms and blocked sites 
deemed incompatible with Sharia and national regulations. In addition 
to designating unacceptable sites, the CITC accepted requests from 
citizens to block or unblock sites. According to CITC's general 
manager, authorities received an average of 1,800 requests daily to 
block and unblock sites. According to the NGO Reporters Without 
Borders, authorities claimed to have blocked approximately 400,000 Web 
sites. The Government blocked access to and criminalized the 
publication or downloading of Web sites that it deemed offensive (such 
as sites involving sex or pornography); contrary to the principles of 
Islam and social norms, including radical religious sites or sites with 
controversial religious content (including pages about Hinduism, 
Judaism, Christianity, and radical Islam); politically sensitive 
(including human rights); or offensive to the Government or members of 
the royal family. All Web sites registered and hosted in the country 
must be authorized by agencies of the Ministry of Culture and 
Information.
    On August 23, the CITC reportedly blocked access to Internet sites 
that were interpreting fatwas in violation of the August 12 royal 
decree restricting the ability to issue fatwas to the Council of Senior 
Ulema. Clerics offering fatwas via text messages were also blocked.
    The CITC blocked the Web site of ACPRA and previous iterations 
since ACPRA's inception in late 2009. The Web site of the NGO Human 
Rights First Society (HRFS) was also blocked throughout the year. ACPRA 
reported that the sites of Human Rights Monitor in Saudi Arabia and The 
Platform of Dialogue and Creativity were also blocked.
    Social networking Web sites, including Orkut and Hi5, were often 
blocked; PostSecret and MySpace were blocked intermittently; but 
Facebook, with approximately three million users in the country, was 
blocked only once--on November 13.
    Access to the Internet was legally available only through 
government-controlled Internet service providers. Although the 
authorities blocked Web sites offering proxies, persistent Internet 
users could work around the blocked sites and continue to access the 
Internet via other proxy servers.
    Individuals and groups were increasingly able to engage in the 
peaceful exchange of views via the Internet, including e-mail. 
Throughout the year the Government used online media outlets and blogs 
to float ideas to the public on a range of issues previously not 
discussed in the country. Readers were allowed to post online opinions 
on issues ranging from child brides to women cashiers to trafficking in 
persons, and a wide range of respectfully written opinion was 
represented.
    On June 15, Saudi authorities rearrested Sunni activist and writer 
Mekhlef bin Daham al-Shammary, allegedly for writing articles critical 
of anti-Shia policy and clerics attacking Shia, according to HRW. 
Authorities had previously detained him on May 15 for writing Web site 
articles such as a January 1 article disagreeing with a Sunni 
preacher's description of Iraqi Shia leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani as 
an ``obscene, irreligious atheist'' and an April 23 article concerning 
religious leaders' insistence on focusing on the morality of mixing 
genders rather than on pressing problems such as unemployment and 
poverty. He was subsequently released on bail before he was arrested 
again on June 15. Government officials stated that al-Shammary was 
arrested for repeatedly holding political meetings with minority 
groups, which the Government viewed as holding gatherings without a 
permit. He remained in prison at year's end.
    The NSHR confirmed that Raafat al-Ghanem, a popular blogger and 
founder of a proreform Web site was released from prison during the 
year. In July 2009 security forces arrested and detained him, 
presumably for articles criticizing the CPVPV and for signing an appeal 
for the release of blogger Muhammad al-Otaibi and writer Khaled al-
Omair.
    The 2007 Law to Fight Cyber Crime imposes up to 10 years' 
imprisonment and a 4.7 million riyal ($1.3 million) fine for anyone who 
creates or disseminates a Web site for a terrorist organization to 
facilitate communication with leaders of such organizations or promote 
the organization's radical views. Other laws criminalize defamation on 
the Internet, hacking, unauthorized access to government Web sites, and 
stealing information related to national security. By year's end no 
prosecutions had been reported under these laws despite at least two 
widely reported instances of hacking; Al-Watan's Web site was hacked in 
November 2009 and September 2010.
    The Government was able to collect personally identifiable 
information concerning the identity of persons peacefully expressing 
political, religious, or ideological opinion or beliefs. The Government 
regularly monitored personal conversations via the telephone, the 
Internet, or other communication devices.
    On August 6, the NGO Reporters Without Borders reported that the 
country threatened to suspend instant messaging and other Blackberry 
services because the manufacturer did not provide the country access to 
the user data, allegedly violating wiretapping laws and threatening 
national security. At year's end these services had not been blocked.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government revised 
elementary and middle school curricula across the board to include more 
English, science, history, and social studies and to reduce the amount 
of religious studies. Informants reportedly monitored classroom 
discussions and reported to government and religious authorities, in 
part to curb the development of extremist thought at schools and 
universities. Academics practiced self-censorship.
    Despite self-censorship by organizers, authorities monitored, 
censored, and closed some cultural events. The Government censored 
public artistic expression and prohibited cinemas and public musical or 
theatrical performances apart from those considered folkloric and part 
of a government approved special event. On April 6, the Ministry of 
Culture and Information permitted a public ``blues'' music concert at 
the King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh. Approximately 1,000 men and 
women attended the mixed-gender event.
    On April 23, the Saudi Gazette reported that from February 18 
through March 1, the country participated in Jeddah's Asian Film 
Festival by screening local films to reflect traditions and culture. 
However, the events were open by invitation only. In July 2009 the 
Government canceled the widely advertised fourth annual Jeddah Film 
Festival, after temporarily lifting a restriction on the public showing 
of films with the screening of a movie in Jeddah and Taif in 2008. 
Local authorities continued to force closings of social forums in the 
majority-Shia region of Al-Ahsa.
    The ultra-conservative Al-Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University 
in Riyadh, the principal training institution for judges and imams, 
hosted a week-long art exhibition entitled ``Picturing America.''

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The Basic Law does not provide for freedom of assembly, 
which the Government strictly limited in practice.
    Public meetings were usually segregated by gender. Meetings of the 
Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and some other commercial and 
medical events included both men and women. Authorities monitored large 
nonfamily gatherings, particularly if women were present. The CPVPV 
dispersed any large nonfamily groups in public places, such as 
restaurants. Men and women could mix in restaurants of Western luxury 
hotels that catered primarily to noncitizens and in the family sections 
of an increasing number of restaurants, which generally ceased the 
practice of checking identification cards for relationship status.
    Security forces usually denied demonstration requests and disrupted 
and dispersed demonstrators or would-be demonstrators during the year. 
There were no government-permitted, peaceful political demonstrations 
during the year. It was a crime to participate in unauthorized public 
assemblies. On June 14 and on December 22, according to the ACPRA, the 
MOI prevented a public sit-in in Riyadh demanding that Israel lift the 
Gaza blockade and protesting prolonged detentions of human rights 
activists. On December 21, the MOI summoned the sit-in organizers for 
questioning but released them. The Saudi Gazette reported on August 30 
that 200 unemployed university graduates staged a protest outside the 
Ministry of Higher Education in Riyadh demanding jobs.
    In January 2009 police arrested Khaled al-Omair, Muhammad al-
Otaibi, and at least 21 others in Riyadh and detained them in unknown 
locations after the men attempted to protest Israel's military action 
in Gaza through a public sit-in. Their whereabouts were later revealed, 
and in late June 2009 the Government charged al-Omair and al-Otaibi 
with participating in a protest. The charges subsequently were dropped, 
although 10 of the men (including al-Omair and al-Otaibi) remained in 
detention at year's end without publicly known charges (see section 
1.c.).
    In late February and early March 2009, security officers arrested 
more than 50 Shia citizens, including children, in the Eastern Province 
for engaging in a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with Shia 
arrested in the Medina clashes. Authorities held more than 24 
individuals until July 2009, when the king granted a pardon.

    Freedom of Association.--The Basic Law does not provide for freedom 
of association, and the Government strictly limited this right in 
practice. The Government prohibited the establishment of political 
parties or any group it considered as opposing or challenging the 
regime. All associations must be licensed by the MOI and comply with 
its regulations. Groups that hoped to change some element of the social 
or political order reported that their licensing requests went 
unanswered. The MOI reportedly used arbitrary means, such as requiring 
unreasonable types and quantities of information, effectively to deny 
associations licenses.
    At year's end the Government had not licensed the HRFS, whose 
founder, Ibrahim al-Mugaiteeb, applied for a license in 2002. The 
Government continued to permit its informal operation, but since the 
group was formally ``unlicensed,'' it remained unclear which activities 
were permitted and which could draw government criticism or punishment. 
Without a license the group was unable to raise operating funds, which 
severely limited its activities.
    In October 2009 the newly founded ACPRA wrote an open letter to the 
king to announce its purpose to promote human rights awareness in 
society and educate citizens on basic freedoms as elaborated in the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The ACPRA reportedly did not 
apply for a license, given the presumed unlikelihood of one being 
issued, according to one of the group's founders. The 11 founding 
members of the organization were academics and human rights activists. 
The group had previously been operating as the Human Rights Civic 
Society Saudi Arabia organization, which was also unlicensed.
    Government-chartered associations observe citizen-only limitations. 
For example, the Saudi Journalists Association, which operates under a 
government charter, did not give voting rights in the organization to 
noncitizen members and prohibited them from attending the association's 
general assembly.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The Basic Law does not contain 
provisions for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, 
or emigration and repatriation. The Government cooperated with the 
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other 
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to 
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum 
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern. The UNHCR's 
regional office in Riyadh managed operations in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, 
Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The regional office focused on 
public awareness, fundraising, refugee status determination, and 
durable solutions for refugees.
    Generally the Government did not restrict the free movement of male 
citizens within the country or the right of citizens to change 
residence or workplace, provided they held a national identification 
card (NIC). The law requires all male citizens 15 years of age or older 
to hold an NIC. For women the NIC was optional, reflecting the 
different status of female citizens, and could be issued only if a 
woman's male guardian (grandfather, father, uncle, brother, husband, 
son, or nephew) consented in writing to its issuance or if she already 
held a valid passport, also issued only with a guardian's consent. Any 
transaction with a government agency or public institution required 
presentation of the NIC. During the year the Government continued to 
issue NICs to women, despite opposition from religious conservatives. 
The Government imposed restrictions on women's freedom of movement by 
prohibiting them from driving motor vehicles. The guardianship system 
requires a woman to have the permission of her male guardian to work or 
move freely in the country (see section 6).
    There are restrictions on foreign travel, including for women and 
members of minority groups. No one may leave the country without an 
exit visa and a passport. Women and minors (younger than 21 years old) 
require a male guardian's consent to have a passport and to travel 
abroad. A noncitizen wife needs permission from her husband to travel 
unless both partners sign a prenuptial agreement permitting the 
noncitizen wife to travel without the husband's permission. Government 
entities and male family members can ``blacklist'' women and minor 
children, prohibiting their travel. In cases involving custody 
disputes, the male guardian is legally able to prevent even adult 
children from leaving the country.
    According to a May 11 Arab News report, noncitizen Nazia Qazi 
succeeded in leaving the country. She had reportedly entered the 
country in 2007 on a three-month visitor visa to visit her father, who, 
without her knowledge, asserted his guardianship over her during the 
visit by submitting sponsorship documents, confiscated her Indian and 
Canadian passports, and refused to apply for her exit visa, without 
which she had not been allowed to leave the country.
    On July 21, the Arab News reported that a woman urged the MOI 
Passport Directorate to issue her a new passport because her husband 
had taken her passport, withdrawn his written permission allowing her 
to travel, and had absconded to another Arab country along with their 
children, leaving her unable to follow. At year's end no further 
information was available.
    The Government continued to impose travel bans on some social or 
political reform advocates. During the year the Government revoked the 
rights of some citizens to travel outside the country for political 
reasons but did not provide them with notification or opportunity to 
contest the restriction.
    During the year the Government reinstated the right to travel for 
human rights activist and lawyer Abdulrahman al-Lahem. His travel ban 
had been in effect since 2004. In 2008 the Government had prevented al-
Lahem from traveling outside the country to receive two human rights 
awards.
    On February 12, authorities reportedly prohibited Fahad al-Orani, 
one of the cofounders of ACPRA, from leaving the country due to an 
ongoing travel ban. Authorities also imposed travel bans on Abdullah 
al-Hamed, a former professor and cofounder of ACPRA, and Matrouk al-
Faleh, released in February 2009 after 235 days in arbitrary solitary 
detention.
    On March 2, according to the international human rights NGO 
FrontLine Defenders, Riyadh airport authorities confiscated human 
rights Internet activist Muhammad Saleh el-Beady's passport and 
informed him of a travel ban from July 2009 that he thought had been 
lifted.
    On November 3, the ACPRA announced its intent to file a lawsuit 
against the MOI for ``imposing unjust and arbitrary travel bans'' 
without a judicial ruling in violation of the Basic Law.
    Movement and travel of foreign workers remained under the complete 
control of their employers or sponsors, who held their passports and 
were responsible for processing residence permits on their behalf.
    The Government did not use forced exile, but it has previously 
revoked the citizenship of opponents of the Government who resided 
outside the country.
    There are no prohibitions on the return of citizens who have left 
the country. The Government sometimes confiscated passports of 
suspected opposition members and their families, thereby restricting 
their freedom to travel.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol 
relating to the Status of Refugees. The Basic Law provides that the 
``state will grant political asylum if public interest so dictates.'' 
The country has no legislation implementing this provision, and 
therefore the UNHCR is mandated to manage refugee and asylum matters. A 
temporary stay by UNHCR-recognized refugees is permitted pending 
identification of a durable solution. The Government generally does not 
grant asylum or accept refugees for settlement from third countries. 
Government policy is not to grant refugee status to persons who are in 
the country illegally or who have overstayed a pilgrimage visa. The 
Government strongly encourages persons who do not have residency to 
leave, and it threatens or imposes deportation. Access to 
naturalization is difficult for refugees. During the year the UNHCR 
registered more than 580 refugees in the country.
    In law and practice, the Government provided some protection 
against the expulsion or involuntary return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened because of race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion. Refugees with no residence permit are subject to 
payment of a fine at the time of departure.
    Access to basic services, including health care and social 
services, is reserved for citizens. Refugees' only access to basic 
services is through the UNHCR. The Government did not allow the 
enrollment of refugee children in public elementary schools. Refugees 
and asylum seekers are unable to work legally. The UNHCR office in 
Riyadh provided subsistence allowance to vulnerable families based on a 
needs assessment. Refugees did not have access to courts. There were no 
reports of mistreatment of refugees and asylum seekers.
    According to a UNHCR representative, since 1991 the UNHCR has 
facilitated the safe and voluntary refugee resettlement to third 
countries of more than 25,000 Iraqis and an estimated 300 Eritreans.

    Stateless Persons.--The country has a significant number of 
habitual residents who are legally stateless; data on the stateless 
population are scarce, and the Government was not open to discussing 
the matter. The UNHCR unofficially estimated that there were 70,000 to 
100,000 stateless persons in the country, almost all of whom were 
native-born Arab residents known as Bidoon; there were also some Baloch 
and West Africans.
    Bidoon are persons whose ancestors failed to obtain nationality, 
such as descendants of nomadic tribes not counted among the native 
tribes during the reign of the country's founder, King Abdulaziz; 
descendants of foreign-born fathers who arrived before there were laws 
regulating citizenship; and rural migrants whose parents failed to 
register their births. Since they were noncitizens, Bidoon were unable 
to obtain passports and had no ability to travel abroad. Their lack of 
citizenship denied them employment and educational opportunities, and 
their marginalized status made them among the poorest residents of the 
country. In recent years the Ministry of Education took steps to admit 
Bidoon children to school. The Government issued Bidoon five-year 
residency permits to facilitate their social integration in government-
provided health care and other services, putting them on similar 
footing with sponsored foreign workers.
    The Government enforces an Arab League directive against 
naturalizing the estimated 500,000 Palestinian residents, so they will 
not ``lose their Palestinian identity'' and will ``preserve their right 
of return.''
    Several scenarios lead to statelessness of children under the 
Nationality Law: (1) A child born before his parents are married is not 
affiliated with his father legally, even if the father has recognized 
the child, and therefore is stateless; (2) When identification 
documents are withdrawn from a parent, the child also loses his or her 
identification and accompanying rights (this could happen when a 
naturalized parent denaturalizes voluntarily or loses citizenship 
through other acts); (3) Children of a citizen mother and a noncitizen 
father are without nationality, unless the father transfers his foreign 
nationality to the child; and (4) Children of a citizen father and a 
noncitizen mother are noncitizens, unless the Government has authorized 
the marriage of the parents in advance. In addition when government 
authorities seize a citizen's NIC, his or her children also lose their 
legal status and become stateless.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Citizens did not have the right to change their government 
peacefully. The Basic Law states that the Government is established on 
the principle of consultation (shura) and requires the king and crown 
prince to hold meetings (majlis), open-door events where in theory any 
male citizen or noncitizen may express an opinion or a grievance. A 
prince or other important national or local official can also hold a 
majlis.
    The Basic Law provides citizens the right to communicate with 
public authorities on any matter. The Government interpreted this 
provision as a right to be exercised within traditional nonpublic 
means, not by the use of mass media.
    In May 2009 a group of 77 human rights civil society activists, 
including members of the ACPRA, sent a petition to the king condemning 
secret tribunals, seeking permission for human rights activists to 
monitor prisons, and demanding political and judicial reforms, 
including a constitutional monarchy and the limiting of the terms of 
appointed royal family members in government posts. The petition was 
copied to the Royal Diwan and 20 senior officials.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The Basic Law establishes 
monarchy as the political system. According to the family monarchy 
system enshrined in the Basic Law, only a few members of the ruling 
family have a voice in the choice of leaders, the composition of the 
Government, or changes to the political system. The Allegiance 
Commission, composed of 34 senior princes appointed by the king, is 
responsible for selecting a king and crown prince upon the death or 
incapacitation of either. 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. The Consultative Council (Majlis as-Shura), a royally 
appointed 150-member body, advises the king and can propose legislation 
for further study.
    In May 2009 the state news agency reported that the Government 
postponed municipal advisory council (the only elected government 
office) elections scheduled for later that year to provide more time to 
study ``expanding the participation of citizens in running local 
affairs.'' In the 2005 elections, the first since 1963, only male, 
nonmilitary citizens at least 21 years old were eligible to vote. There 
were no independent election observers. Unofficial estimates were that 
between 10 and 15 percent of eligible voters actually voted. The king 
completed the formation of the councils in 2005 by appointing the other 
half of the council seats.
    Laws and traditional and cultural practices requiring strict 
segregation of genders encompassed every aspect of life; however, women 
increasingly participated in political life, albeit with significantly 
less status than men. During the year the number of female advisors on 
the Consultative Council increased from 10 to 13, according to local 
sources. There were no women on the High Court (women's ability to 
practice law is limited) or on the Supreme Judicial Council. There was 
one woman in a cabinet-level position, as deputy minister for women's 
education. On September 7, the Saudi Gazette reported that two women 
were appointed to the board of the Eastern Chamber of Commerce in the 
Eastern Province after three female candidates running for the election 
gathered an insufficient number of votes. In October 2009 the Jeddah 
Chamber of Commerce and Industry reelected one woman to its board of 
directors; she was chosen as vice chairman of the board. Two more women 
were appointed for a four-year term.
    There are no laws that prevent minorities from participating in 
political life on the same basis as other citizens, but the dominant 
societal norms marginalize the Shia population. The Consultative 
Council included only five Shia members. There were no religious 
minorities in the cabinet. At year's end there were some Shia judges, 
all in the Eastern Province.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption by 
government employees. The Government did not implement the law 
effectively, and officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with 
impunity. There were reports of government corruption during the year, 
and the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that 
corruption was a problem. There was widespread public perception of 
corruption by some members of the royal family and the executive branch 
of the Government. During the year the Government did not make publicly 
available information concerning specific instances of corruption, 
allegations regarding corruption, or government actions against 
corruption. However, on November 27, the Saudi Gazette reported that 
the Board of Grievances overturned 30 percent of all decisions rendered 
by government bodies during the year for overstepping their authority 
and other irregularities. Decisions from the Ministries of Health, 
Municipal and Rural Affairs, Transportation, Hajj, Education, and the 
Passports Department were affected. In 2008 the Consultative Council 
asked ministers to appear for questioning in exercise of its oversight 
responsibility, although some, notably the minister of finance, did not 
appear. There was no similar exercise in 2009. In 2008 the Court of 
Grievances delivered 2,695 verdicts on 1,368 criminal cases and 1,327 
disciplinary cases against public officials and agencies.
    On April 18, Al-Watan reported that the Board of Grievances in 
Riyadh began trials for 14 staff members of the Ministry of Justice in 
Jeddah on charges related to the abuse of power. They were allegedly 
involved in counterfeiting official documents concerning land belonging 
to King Abdullah University for Science and Technology. There was no 
further information available at year's end.
    On September 21, the Saudi Gazette reported that a Medina Control 
and Investigation Board report revealed financial and administrative 
corruption and abuse of power by senior officials at the Medina branch 
office of the Ministry of Hajj. Violations identified included 
appointment of unqualified employees to high-ranking positions, 
nepotism, and abuse of government property.
    Throughout the year the media reported investigations of municipal 
offices and government officials concerning the extensive damages of 
the 2009 Jeddah flood. Articles reported on the Court of Grievances' 
trials and on the court order to close the office of Jeddah's assistant 
mayor in the high-profile probe. In December 2009 the Saudi Gazette 
reported interim results of the king's order for an investigation into 
the reasons for the extensive harm caused by the flood, which was 
reportedly more destructive because bribe taking and corruption in 
construction, contracting, and land deals led to improper building and 
engineering. The Government detained and investigated 30 officials and 
contractors for their involvement in facilitating land ownership and 
approving government projects in flood zones. On November 25, the files 
of 20 government employees and contractors were referred to the Board 
of Grievances on charges of bribery, forgery, illegally profiting from 
a public position, abuse of power, deception, and breach of trust in 
connection with the 2009 Jeddah floods. Another group of suspects was 
under investigation and pending referral to the court.
    As of August 2009, the Jeddah Administrative Court had postponed 
the issuance of a verdict three times in a Taif municipality corruption 
and bribe-taking scandal totaling 1.4 million riyals ($373,000). In 
2008 the court had convicted 16 Taif municipality employees. Sentences 
included prison, dismissal from employment, and fines. Seven others 
accused were absolved of all charges, and two private businessmen were 
fined 150,000 riyals ($40,000) each. Appeals continued at year's end.
    In 2008 the Arab News requested an investigation into corruption 
involving contracts for the construction of roads, highlighting a 
project for which the Government paid 698 million riyals (approximately 
$186.1 million) and ultimately performed for only 18.2 million riyals 
($4.9 million). There was no investigation.
    The MOI nominates the members of and administratively houses the 
Prosecution and Investigation Commission, a nominally independent body 
reporting to the Council of Ministers, that investigates cases of 
corruption against public service officials. During the first half of 
2008, the commission considered 12,466 cases involving public service 
officials and agencies. The commission identified instances of forgery, 
bribery, and public mistreatment, among other forms of misconduct. 
There was no new data from the commission concerning additional cases 
of corruption at year's end.
    Government employees who accept bribes face 10 years in prison or 
fines up to one million riyals (approximately $267,000). Public 
officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information, including precision in sources of state revenue and 
expenditures, such as ministerial budgets or allocations to members of 
the royal family.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Basic Law provides that ``the State shall protect human rights 
in accordance with the Islamic Sharia''; however, there were government 
restrictions on, and the Government sometimes did not cooperate with, 
domestic and international human rights organizations in investigations 
of alleged violations of human rights.
    The MOI licensed one domestic human rights organization, the NSHR, 
funded through a trust fund from a member of the royal family. The NSHR 
received requests for assistance and complaints about government 
actions affecting human rights. The Government accepted the group's 
advice and opinion and sometimes accepted its recommendations.
    There were at least two unlicensed, active human rights groups, the 
HRFS and the ACPRA. The Government viewed these groups with suspicion 
and as illegitimately meddling in government affairs. A third, less 
active group, the National Saudi Committee of Human Rights, has tried 
unsuccessfully to register since 2003, according to HRW.
    On August 11, Okaz reported that the NSHR and Majid Garoub's law 
firm jointly organized a 10-day human rights training course for 22 law 
graduates. The training included information on institutions of 
litigation, the Consultative Council, human rights campaigns, the 
judiciary, work and rights of women in Islam, the Law of Criminal 
Procedure, and other topics.
    The Government viewed international human rights NGOs with 
suspicion. The HRC stated that the Government welcomed the visits of 
legitimate, unbiased human rights groups but added that the Government 
could not act on the ``hundreds of requests,'' in part because it was 
cumbersome to decide which domestic agency would be their interlocutor.
    In 2009 the Government privately invited some HRW staff members to 
visit the country, but the Government reportedly did not permit them to 
conduct research or visit any institutions. HRW's 2008 formal request 
to visit the country to observe trials of terrorism suspects remained 
pending at year's end. A 2008 HRW visit, facilitated by the HRC, 
focused on the review of four HRW reports with 11 ministries but did 
not permit independent research.
    From April 17 to 19, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 
Navanethem Pillay visited the country as part of a tour of the Gulf 
region. During her visit she remarked on the ``growing effectiveness'' 
of the national human rights organizations, including the HRC, the 
NSHR, and the National Family Safety Program (NFSP), in the country. At 
the same time, she noted the importance of freedom of association, 
assembly, and expression; the continuation of discriminatory barriers 
hampering women's rights to shape their lives and fully participate in 
public life; and the need to protect the rights of vulnerable migrant 
workers, including replacement of the sponsorship system. On December 
27, a delegation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human 
Rights visited the country to consult with the HRC, the Ministry of 
Justice, the Consultative Council, and other government institutions on 
human rights issues. In 2008 the Government permitted the visit of UN 
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women Yakin Ertuerk.
    The Government-funded HRC acts as the Government's voice on human 
rights; its president has ministerial status and reports to the king. 
According to the NSHR's 2009 report, the HRC ``met with weak 
collaboration on the part of some governmental bodies in spite of the 
issuance of royal directives.'' The adequately resourced HRC was 
considered effective in highlighting problems but had limited capacity 
to effect change. The HRC worked directly with the king, with a 
committee composed of representatives of the Ministry of Labor, 
Consultative Council, MOSA, MOI, and with the Consultative Council's 
Committee for the Judiciary, Islamic Affairs, and Human Rights.
    The HRC launched a four-year human rights awareness campaign in 
January that includes extensive outreach at popular festivals, schools, 
and universities, and liaison work with embassies and through its 
offices in various parts of the country. On July 27, the HRC provided a 
two-day training course on human rights issues, regional and 
international agreements, and their reference to the rights of women 
and children. On October 13, the HRC held a workshop for several 
government ministries and NGOs to establish a long-term human rights 
strategy for the country and promote partnerships to eliminate 
discrimination and human trafficking. On October 26, the HRC president 
visited the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva to discuss 
cooperation on trafficking in persons and labor issues. On December 7, 
the HRC's women's section hosted a workshop at Prince Sultan 
University's School of Law to promote human rights concepts, explain 
international human rights laws to which the country is a signatory, 
and address legal means available to abused women and the need for more 
shelters. On December 21, the HRC hosted a first-of-its-kind human 
rights symposium bringing together government ministries, the HRC, the 
NSHR, and delegates from labor-sending and Western diplomatic missions 
to collaborate on building human rights awareness and cooperation to 
combat human trafficking.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, and Sharia 
traditions emphasize human dignity regardless of gender, color, or 
race. The Government generally effectively enforced prohibitions on 
disability, language, or social status but did not effectively enforce 
laws prohibiting discrimination based on race.

    Women.--Rape is a punishable criminal offense under Sharia with a 
wide range of penalties from flogging to execution. Generally the 
Government enforced the law based on its interpretation of Sharia, and 
courts punished both the victim and the perpetrator. The Government 
views marital relations between spouses as contractual and did not 
recognize spousal rape. By law a female rape victim is at fault for 
illegal ``mixing of genders'' and is punished along with the 
perpetrator. Statistics on incidents of rape were not available, but 
press reports and observers indicated rape against women and boys was a 
serious problem. The Government did not maintain public records on 
prosecutions, convictions, or punishments. Most rape cases were 
unreported because victims faced societal reprisal, diminished marriage 
opportunities, possible imprisonment, or accusations of adultery. For 
example, on January 20, the NGO Migrant Rights reported that 
authorities arrested a Filipina who claimed to have been raped by a 
Bangladeshi coworker and detained her at Hafer Al Baten Central Jail 
for having an illicit affair. Her employer contacted the Government to 
have her repatriated, and her pregnancy was discovered during the 
mandatory repatriation physical exam. On November 22, Arab News 
reported that police arrested two accomplices and were seeking the 
perpetrator of a gang rape. The perpetrator had established an online 
relationship with a woman and set up a meeting at an apartment where he 
and his friends raped her and then dropped her at a hospital. The 
victim was also considered a perpetrator and punished.
    There were no laws criminalizing violence against women. Officials 
stated that the Government did not clearly define domestic violence and 
that procedures concerning cases, and accordingly enforcement, varied 
from one government body to another. In the NSHR's 2009 annual report, 
in which it investigated 257 cases of domestic violence and violations 
of women's rights, violence was reported against both men and women and 
included a broad spectrum of abuse. The Government made efforts to 
combat domestic violence, and the HRC conducted outreach activities at 
the March Al-Janadriya Cultural Heritage Festival and at the November 
Children's Festival to educate the public on domestic violence issues 
as part of its four-year campaign to raise awareness of human rights 
issues.
    The Government supported family protection shelters, although 
societal criticism for helping women ``flee'' without properly 
investigating cases reduced the shelters' effectiveness, according to a 
July 2009 Arab News report. For example, on October 25, 29-year-old 
divorced Samar al-Badawi was released from Jeddah's Briman Prison after 
being held for seven months, ostensibly for disobeying her father 
regarding her choice of marriage partner. She was released after 
winning a countersuit to her father's disobedience suit, asking the 
court to terminate her father's guardianship based on physical and 
verbal abuse. In 2008 she had fled her father's home to reside in a 
shelter, was returned to the father's home, and fled to live with 
another relative. Badawi's father appealed the court's decision, and on 
October 18, the Supreme Judicial Council stated that it would 
investigate the lawfulness of the court proceedings. No further 
information was available at year's end.
    During the year the HRC fielded complaints of domestic abuse and 
referred them to other government offices. The HRC's women and 
children's branch in Riyadh received 233 complaints during the year, 13 
percent of which were domestic violence cases. On August 12, HRW 
requested the HRC intervene on behalf of Aisha Ali, a divorced mother 
of three whose guardian brothers reportedly forcibly confined her, beat 
her, and forced her into five subsequent marriages to which she did not 
consent. Authorities placed her in a temporary shelter for three months 
but allegedly returned her to her brothers.
    The media carried infrequent reports of sexual harassment as a 
social phenomenon. The extent of sexual harassment was difficult to 
measure. The Government's interpretation of Sharia guides courts on 
cases of sexual harassment. Workplaces maintained separate male and 
female workspaces where feasible. On January 25, a court in Rass 
sentenced Sawsan Salim to 300 lashes and one-and-one-half years in 
prison for filing ``spurious'' harassment complaints against government 
officials in court and for ``visiting government offices without a male 
guardian,'' according to HRW. One of the two judges deciding the case 
was one of the officials against whom she complained of harassment.
    The women's branch of the HRC in Riyadh, according to a December 14 
report in the daily newspaper Okaz, dealt with 233 cases, in the 
previous 12 months advising complainants and offering legal assistance 
to some women litigants. The organization provided facilities for their 
children distributed publications supporting women's rights in 
education, health care, development, work opportunities, and the rights 
of those with special needs.
    There were no reports of government interference in the right to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of 
children. However, decisions regarding access to contraceptives, family 
size, and procedures involving reproductive and fertility treatments 
require by law the consent of both husband and wife. The information 
and means to make those decisions, as well as skilled attendance during 
childbirth, were freely available. Women had ready access to essential 
prenatal, obstetric, and postpartum care. According to statistics 
compiled by international organizations, there were approximately 24 
maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the country in 2008. 
Information was not available regarding equal diagnosis and treatment 
of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    Discrimination against women was a significant problem. After her 
2008 visit, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women, while 
acknowledging progress in the status of women and particularly women's 
access to education, noted the lack of women's autonomy, freedom of 
movement, and economic independence; discriminatory practices 
surrounding divorce and child custody; the absence of a law 
criminalizing violence against women; and difficulties preventing women 
from escaping abusive environments.
    Women continued to face discrimination under the law and remained 
uninformed about their rights. Although they may legally own property 
and are entitled to financial support from their guardian, women have 
few political or social rights, and society does not treat them as 
equal members. The law prohibits women from marrying non-Muslims, but 
men may marry Christians and Jews. Women may not marry noncitizens 
without government permission; men must obtain government permission 
only if they intend to marry noncitizens from outside Bahrain, Kuwait, 
Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
    The guardianship system requires that every woman have a close male 
relative as her ``guardian'' with the authority to approve her travel 
(see section 1.d.). A guardian also has authority to approve some types 
of business licenses and study at a university or college. Women can 
make their own determinations concerning hospital care. A husband who 
``verbally'' divorces his wife or refuses to sign final divorce papers 
continues to be her legal guardian.
    Cultural norms restricted women in their use of public facilities. 
When unrelated men are present, women must sit in separate, specially 
designated family sections. They are not allowed to consume food in 
restaurants that do not have such sections. Women risk arrest for 
riding in a vehicle driven by a male who is not an employee or a close 
male relative. On September 13, Okaz reported that women were allowed 
to attend Eid-al-Fitr celebrations at a football stadium in Hail. 
Football stadiums previously were completely off-limits to women.
    During the year extremists targeted one cultural establishment that 
sought to integrate women in its cultural activities. On February 28, 
according to press reports, the Al-Jouf Culture Club, whose president 
also received a cell phone text message death threat, was burned for 
the second time in two years. The club had cancelled a February 23 
event entitled ``Criticism of women in the Kingdom: Reality and 
Aspirations.'' Unknown persons previously set the building on fire in 
January 2009 after the club hosted poetess Halima Muzafar.
    On June 5-11, the Al-Baysalan Art Center in al-Khobar in the 
Eastern Province featured a photography show entitled ``Through Her 
Eyes,'' which was open to men and women.
    Cultural norms require women to wear an abaya (a loose-fitting, 
full-length black cloak covering the entire body) in public and to 
conceal their hair. The CPVPV generally expected Muslim women to cover 
their faces and non-Muslim women from other Asian and African countries 
to comply more fully with local customs of dress than non-Muslim 
Western women. In rural areas and smaller cities, women adhered to the 
traditional dress code of covering the entire body, hands, feet, hair, 
and face.
    Women also faced discrimination in courts, where the testimony of 
one man equals that of two women. Female parties in court proceedings 
such as divorce and family law cases normally deputized male relatives 
to speak on their behalf. However, they have the option to speak for 
themselves. In divorce proceedings women must demonstrate legally 
specified grounds for divorce, but men can divorce without giving 
cause. In doing so men are required to pay immediately an amount of 
money agreed upon at the time of the marriage that serves as a one-time 
alimony payment. Women who demonstrate legal grounds for divorce also 
are entitled to alimony.
    Women faced discrimination under family law and under Sharia 
inheritance law. Courts awarded custody of children when they attained 
a specified age (seven years old for boys and nine years old for girls) 
to the divorced husband or the deceased husband's family. In numerous 
cases former husbands prevented divorced noncitizen women from visiting 
their children. Under Sharia inheritance laws, daughters receive half 
the inheritance awarded to their brothers.
    Women had access to free, but generally segregated, education 
through university level and constituted more than 58 percent of 
university students. The exception to segregation in higher education 
was the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, a 
coeducational graduate-level research university that opened in 
September 2009, with women permitted to work jointly with men, forgo 
the veil in coeducational classes, and drive cars on campus.
    Employment opportunities for women were limited, confined mainly to 
the education and health-care sectors, although increases were 
occurring in business and finance, social services, and government 
ministries. Women cannot work as judges or prosecutors.
    The law requires a woman to obtain the permission of a male 
guardian to work if the type of business is not ``deemed appropriate 
for a woman.'' A woman cannot accept a job in a rural area unless she 
lodges with an adult male relative who agrees to act as her guardian. 
The cultural requirement to separate the genders led to discrimination 
in employment. On August 26, Sheikh Yousef al-Ahmed called on shoppers 
to boycott the Panda supermarket chain that employed women cashiers 
because such employment contradicted Islamic principles and facilitated 
gender mixing. In response the grand mufti summoned al-Ahmed and 
ordered him to refrain from issuing unauthorized fatwas.
    Despite gender segregation, the law grants women the right to 
obtain business licenses for work in fields that might require them to 
supervise foreign workers, interact with male clients, or deal 
frequently with government officials. In medical settings and in the 
energy industry, women and men worked together, and in some instances 
women supervised male employees. Women who work in establishments with 
50 or more female employees have the right to maternity leave and 
childcare.
    On September 20, the Arab News reported that women investors urged 
the minister of education to investigate discriminatory conditions for 
women wishing to invest in the women's education sector. Reportedly, 
women investors needed to obtain a clearance certificate from their 
legal guardian before they could apply for a license and were required 
to meet 11 conditions, while men needed to meet only five. On July 21, 
a local woman reported that she was able to obtain a business license 
to conduct a translation business without needing the consent of a 
guardian.
    In June 2009 the Saudi Gazette cited a report by the Riyadh Chamber 
of Commerce and Industry stating that nearly 250,000 women worked in 
government departments and 45,000 others in private firms. By mid-2009 
the Government had established 120 special computer-training centers 
accredited by the Ministry of Civil Service to help women integrate 
into the work force.

    Children.--Citizenship derives from the father, and only the father 
can register a birth. There were cases of citizen children denied 
public services, including education and health care, because the 
Government failed to register the birth entirely or immediately. On 
November 1, the Saudi Gazette reported the HRC worked to provide legal 
documentation to children unable to receive government assistance due 
to lack of documentation. The number of unregistered births was 
unknown.
    The Government provided all citizen children with free education 
and medical care, but these benefits did not extend to noncitizen 
children. Gender segregation usually began in public and government-
sponsored schools at the age of seven, but treatment and attendance at 
all educational levels was identical.
    Abuse of children was common. In 2009 the NSHR registered 72 
instances of violence against children, according to its annual report. 
The NGO Committee for Social Protection initiated a campaign to train 
health workers to identify signs of abuse. At least three NGOs--one in 
Riyadh, one in Qassim, and one in Jeddah--operated shelters for women 
and children.
    On April 1, the NSHR and the NGO NFSP launched a campaign against 
child abuse to increase awareness of human rights and child abuse. The 
NFSP works to counter violence against women and children. A NFSP 
national child abuse and child neglect registry at King Faisal Hospital 
in Riyadh tracks and assists abused children with treatment and follow-
on counseling. On November 27, the NFSP trained doctors and nurses on 
diagnosing child abuse and neglect. The course addressed roots of 
violence, social risk factors, assessment, intervention, and child 
protection legislation. From October 24 to 27, the NFSP trained 
physicians in Jeddah and Dammam on advanced detection skills for 
physical and sexual abuse and neglect of children to promote child 
protection in the country. On July 9, Arab News ran an editorial on 
existing social barriers to addressing child sexual abuse in the 
country.
    The women's branch in Mecca of the HRC, according to a report in 
the daily newspaper Okaz, handled 536 cases during the year, including 
domestic violence cases, and conducted visits to orphanages and foster 
homes for girls, as well as the Family Protection Society, the women's 
Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center, and the women's division at Briman 
Prison.
    Sharia does not specify a minimum age for marriage but suggests 
girls may marry after reaching puberty. According to the Grand Mufti of 
the Kingdom, Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, girls as young as 10 years old may 
be married. Families sometimes arranged such marriages, principally in 
rural areas or often to settle family debts, without the consent of the 
girl. The HRC and the NSHR reported that child marriages rarely took 
place. On May 3, the Ministry of Justice issued a regulation requiring 
marriage registrars to record the bride's age at the time the family 
applies for the marriage license, allowing for the possibility of 
review where the ages are vastly different.
    All marriages are required to be registered prior to the 
consummation of the marriage. In 2009 the NSHR president said the 
Government had instructed marriage registrars not to register marriages 
involving children.
    The press reported marriages between children and of girls as young 
as nine years old being married to men older than 60 years old. On 
October 6, Al-Watan reported that a man in his 50s registered his 
marriage to a 13-year-old girl in Najran. According to the article, the 
girl consented to the marriage, which had been arranged by her father.
    On April 29, the Arab News reported that the August 2009 marriage 
of a nine-year-old girl to a 69-year-old man had been annulled with the 
assistance of the governor of Qassim after the return of the 30,000 
riyal ($8,000) dowry. The same article reported that the Buraida court 
granted a divorce in the August 2009 marriage of a 12-year-old girl to 
an 80-year-old man; the girl had fled to her aunt's house but was 
returned to her husband. Reform-minded activists, media, and local 
human rights organizations continued to call for an end to child 
marriage.
    There is no specific law providing penalties relating to child 
prostitution, no statutory rape law, and no minimum age for consensual 
sex. The law prohibits pornography, including child pornography.
    Children may not receive social services or attend schools or 
universities unless they hold NICs or valid residency permits and are 
properly registered in the family register, requirements that displaced 
children cannot meet.
    The kingdom is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html. as well 
as country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no known Jewish Saudi citizens and no 
available statistics concerning the religious denominations of 
foreigners.
    Some vendors at the annual government-sponsored book fair in Riyadh 
in March offered anti-Semitic publications, including the Protocols of 
the Elders of Zion. Editorial cartoons occasionally exhibited anti-
Semitism characterized by stereotypical images of Jews along with 
Jewish symbols and comparisons of Israeli government actions to those 
of Nazis, particularly at times of heightened political tensions with 
Israel. On June 2, daily newspaper Al-Iqtisadiyya featured a cartoon of 
an Israeli flag with a swastika replacing the Star of David flying over 
a collection of bones, including skull and crossbones, spread across a 
Star of David. Anti-Semitic editorial comments appeared in government 
and private print and electronic media in response to regional 
political events. On September 15, daily newspaper Al-Madina showed a 
caricatured Jew whipping an Arab toward ``concessions'' in a new round 
of peace talks.
    There continued to be reports that Sunni imams, who receive 
government stipends, used anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, and anti-Shia 
language in their sermons. There were reports of imams in the Eastern 
Province who included calls for divine punishment of Jews as part of 
special prayers. There were reports that the Ministry of Islamic 
Affairs dismissed some imams for espousing intolerant ideas. During the 
year the ministry issued periodic circulars to clerics and imams in 
mosques directing them to include messages on the principles of 
justice, equality, and tolerance and encourage rejection of bigotry and 
all forms of racial discrimination in their sermons. Unlike in the 
previous year, there were no reports that prayers were projected over 
mosque speakers for the death of Jews and Christians.
    The Government's multiyear project to revise textbooks, curricula, 
and teaching methods to promote tolerance and remove content 
disparaging religions other than Islam began in 2007, but it had not 
been fully implemented by year's end. While more than 83 school 
districts in 13 provinces participated in the project, there continued 
to be anti-Semitic passages in textbooks used throughout the country. 
The Government mandated the removal of controversial terms from school 
textbooks and the substitution of such terms with the phrase ``there is 
no compulsion in religion.'' In September the Government introduced 
revised and newly written textbooks across the curriculum for most 
school grades. Nonetheless, for example, a 2010-11 seventh-grade text 
contained anti-Semitic language, such as, ``The nature of the Jews is 
duplicity, oath-breaking, and back-stabbing.'' Anti-Semitic material in 
Saudi textbooks was used in some schools abroad, some of which may not 
be funded by the Saudi government. Although textbook reviews and 
revisions continued at year's end, the revisions were insufficiently 
extensive to remove all language defaming non-Muslims and pronounced 
anti-Semitic perspectives.
    In May the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue launched a 
massive public awareness campaign with 10 different public service 
announcements to promote dialogue, tolerance, and moderation. The 
announcements were broadcast during primetime television and major 
soccer matches and addressed a variety of themes, including promoting 
respect for others to address formal and informal discrimination and 
for laws and systems, revising teachers' conduct to encourage rather 
than disparage students, and handling conflicts cooperatively rather 
than aggressively. Throughout the year 1,555 certified trainers 
conducted 66 training programs and workshops on ``the culture and 
importance of open dialogue and communication skills'' for more than 
500 men and women. The workshops addressed all forms of prejudice and 
tolerance to nonmainstream groups. In 2008 the UN endorsed the king's 
Interfaith Dialogue Initiative, which brought together prominent 
officials and religious and academic scholars to discuss interfaith 
issues. A mix of high-level government and religious officials openly 
supported this campaign against religious extremism and intolerant 
language, especially in mosques and schools.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law does not prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical, intellectual, sensory, 
intellectual, and mental disabilities in employment, education, access 
to health care, or the provision of other state services or other 
areas. There is no legislation mandating public accessibility to 
buildings, information, and communications. Newer commercial buildings 
often included such access, as did some newer government buildings. 
Persons with disabilities had equal access to information and 
communications; however, special communication devices for persons with 
sensory disabilities were generally not publicly available.
    There was NGO and government activity during the year to improve 
sign language literacy. During the year the Deaf Club of Jeddah 
concluded sign-language training of 40 media women and social workers 
and signed an agreement with the Government's Human Resources 
Development Fund to train 1,500 public and private sector employees in 
sign language. On September 5, the Saudi Gazette reported that the NGO 
Saudi Society for Hearing Disability launched a campaign to eradicate 
sign language illiteracy.
    Information about patterns of abuse of persons with disabilities in 
prisons and educational and mental health institutions was not 
available. The MOSA is responsible for protecting the rights of persons 
with disabilities. Vocational rehabilitation projects and social care 
programs increasingly brought persons with disabilities into the 
mainstream. The Government sponsored institutions for the care of 
paralyzed children in Riyadh and Taif. There were also five houses for 
vocational rehabilitation, two of which were for girls; three centers 
for social rehabilitation for those who have severe disabilities; and 
nine centers for total rehabilitation. The MOSA assisted families who 
care for relatives with disabilities. The labor law provides that 
employers of 25 or more employees allocate 4 percent of positions to 
persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although racial discrimination 
is illegal, societal discrimination against members of national, racial 
and ethnic, or tribal minorities was a problem. Foreign workers from 
Africa and Asia were subject to formal and informal discrimination. The 
tolerance campaign of the King Abdulaziz enter for National Dialogue 
sought to address some of these issues (see section 2.c.).
    There were numerous cases of assault against foreign workers and 
reports of widespread worker abuse. There were reports of racial 
discrimination against persons of non-Arab descent, especially persons 
of African descent. The Shia minority continued to suffer social, 
legal, economic, and political discrimination. In an effort to address 
the problem, the ministries of defense and interior and the National 
Guard held training courses in recent years for police and law 
enforcement officers to combat discrimination. There were no reports of 
training during the year or of the success rate of these programs.
    Unlike in 2008 there were no reports in 2009 or during the year of 
married couples forced to divorce because one spouse was from 
``inappropriate lineage,'' that is, a nontribal family or an 
``inferior'' tribe. On January 30, pursuant to a royal order, the High 
Court in Riyadh reconsidered and overturned the 2007 appeals court 
decision upholding the forced divorce of Fatima al-Timani and her 
husband. Al-Timani's half-brothers had successfully filed for her 
divorce because her husband had lied about his tribal lineage.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Under Sharia as interpreted in 
the country, sexual activity between two persons of the same gender is 
punishable by death or flogging. It is illegal for men ``to behave like 
women'' or to wear women's clothes and vice versa. Consequent to the 
illegality and severe punishment applicable, there were few reports of 
societal discrimination, physical violence, or harassment based on 
sexual orientation, and there was no official discrimination based on 
sexual orientation in employment, housing, statelessness, or access to 
education or health care. Sexual orientation could constitute the basis 
for harassment, blackmail, or other actions. No such cases were 
reported.
    On June 2, a Philippine news Web site reported that the Government 
banned the recruitment of gay and lesbian workers. According to the 
report, the Saudi Arabian embassy in the Philippines had issued a 
memorandum to recruitment agencies to screen applicants ``so that those 
belonging to the third sex are excluded.''
    On July 29, the daily newspaper Al-Riyadh reported the arrest of a 
man dressed in women's clothing near Qatif. He was sentenced to five 
months' imprisonment and 60 lashes for ``imitating women.''
    On November 8, Okaz reported that a Jeddah court sentenced a man, 
already imprisoned, to 500 lashes, five additional years in jail, and a 
fine of 50,000 riyals ($13,000) for ``committing homosexual acts,'' 
imitating women, possessing pornographic video clips of himself, and 
publishing obscene photos of himself on the Internet.
    In June 2009 Riyadh police arrested and later released 67 men from 
the Philippines for drinking alcohol and dressing in women's clothing 
at a private party. Charges pressed were not publicized.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no reported 
violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. On June 12, the Arab News 
reported that the Ministry of Health (MOH) recorded 1,287 new cases of 
HIV/AIDS, 481 of which were citizens. By law the Government deported 
foreign workers who tested positive for HIV/AIDS upon arrival or when 
hospitalized for other reasons. There was no indication that HIV-
positive foreigners failed to receive antiretroviral treatment or that 
authorities isolated them during the year.
    On July 14, the MOH appointed a woman physician as the general 
manager of the HIV/AIDS program. On September 19, the Arab News 
reported that the MOH added four specialized centers for treating HIV/
AIDS in Asir, Medina, Jouf, and Al-Ahsa and 20 clinics for confidential 
AIDS testing. The Society to Aid AIDS Patients, established in March 
2009, was the first NGO of its kind. It worked in collaboration with 
the MOH's national HIV/AIDS program in Mecca, providing HIV education, 
voluntary counseling, testing through mobile testing teams, and 
psychological help; fighting stigma and discrimination against persons 
with HIV/AIDS; and helping families with HIV-positive relatives to 
acquire medicine; however, it faced resource limitations.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The labor law does not address the 
right of workers to form and join independent unions, and there are no 
labor unions in the country. The Government allowed citizen-only labor 
committees with limitations on the right of association in workplaces 
with more than 100 employees. The Government was heavily involved in 
the formation and activities of these committees. Workers chose and the 
Ministry of Labor (MOL) approved committee members. Ministry 
representatives could attend committee meetings. Committees could make 
recommendations to company management to improve work conditions, 
increase productivity, improve health and safety, and recommend 
training programs. The labor law makes no provision for workers to 
strike legally and does not prohibit retaliation against strikers.
    The Government does not allow workers to strike, however some 
strikes occurred.
    For example, on March 23, the Saudi Gazette reported that 80 
maintenance workers at Habona General Hospital in Najran went on strike 
to protest a four-month delay in pay and benefits. The hospital was 
contracting with a new company for maintenance work at the time of the 
strike and promised that the replaced workers would be paid.
    On August 12, the Arab News reported that 150 workers went on 
strike for nine days because they had not been paid in more than six 
months. The workers lodged a complaint with the ministry, which 
reportedly resulted in the back payment of two months' wages.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does 
not protect collective bargaining, and it did not take place. However, 
on October 23, the HRC president visited the ILO in Geneva to discuss 
labor law and labor issues, including trafficking in persons, in the 
country.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The labor law sets 
forth working conditions and pay, including for children, and thus 
implicitly prohibits forced labor of all forms. Nonetheless, there were 
reports that forced or compulsory labor occurred, especially among 
children and migrant workers. Also see the Department of State's annual 
Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The Government engaged in a news campaign highlighting the plight 
of abused workers, trained law enforcement and other officials on 
combating trafficking in persons, and worked with labor sending 
missions on getting information about labor rights to foreign workers. 
Reports of migrant workers who were subjected to forced labor 
conditions continued during the year.
    The sponsorship system inherently blocks freedom of movement, the 
right to choice, and the ability to change employers. Many incidents of 
abuse were reported, including the withholding of passports, 
restrictions of movement and communication, and nonpayment of wages. 
According to HRW there were approximately 1.5 million foreign domestic 
workers in the country during the year, most of them women.
    Noncitizens may reside or work in the country only under the 
sponsorship of a citizen or business. The law does not permit 
noncitizens to change their workplace without their sponsor's 
permission, thus forcing the worker to remain with the sponsor until 
the satisfaction of the contractual terms or to seek the assistance of 
the embassy to return home. Foreign workers were under the complete 
control of their sponsoring employers, who held their passports and 
were responsible for processing residence permits on their behalf, 
although the country has a law prohibiting the withholding of 
passports. Sponsors involved in a commercial or labor dispute with 
foreign employees could ask authorities to prohibit the employees from 
departing the country until the dispute is resolved. Workers can hire a 
lawyer or represent themselves in the arbitration or court proceedings 
to settle the contractual dispute.
    The labor law implicitly prohibits forced labor with fines and bans 
on future hiring on the sponsor violating labor law provisions, but the 
law does not apply to domestic employees, the largest group of workers 
susceptible to forced labor conditions. Domestic employees can contact 
the labor offices of their embassies for assistance as well as the NSHR 
and the MOL's Migrant Workers' Welfare Department, a department dealing 
with the welfare of foreign workers. According to the HRC, the Migrant 
Workers' Welfare Department provides services to safeguard migrant 
workers' rights and to protect them from abuse. Workers may also apply 
to the offices of regional governors and may lodge an appeal with the 
Board of Grievances against decisions from those authorities.
    The Government did not make public criminal investigations, 
prosecutions, convictions, or sentences for forced labor offenses under 
the labor law.
    In December 2009 a Web site reported that 40,000 Bangladeshis were 
deported during the previous nine months because they had overstayed 
their pilgrimage visas. The country does not permit work or the search 
for work on pilgrimage visas. According to sources in Bangladesh's 
Overseas Employment Ministry, the deportations were for provoking labor 
unrest, strikes, and protesting low wages and poor labor conditions. 
However, it was unclear if the Bangladeshis had work sponsors and 
resident status.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor occurred in the country, most commonly in the form of 
begging. Saudi children from poor families and foreign children 
trafficked into the country specifically for this purpose worked as 
beggars. During the year there were a reported 9,520 child beggars in 
the country. Children from other countries, primarily Yemen and 
Ethiopia, were forced into child begging rings, street vending, and 
family businesses. Also see the Department of State's annual 
Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip. There were 
reports of foreign domestic workers younger than 18 years old, some of 
whom traveled to the country with forged documents. The MOSA provides 
services designed to provide every citizen a decent standard of living. 
Such services are not available for noncitizens, who were likely to be 
deported.
    The labor law states no person younger than 15 years old may 
legally work unless that person is the only family worker. There is no 
minimum age for workers employed in family-owned businesses or in other 
areas considered extensions of the household, such as farming, herding, 
and domestic service. Children younger than 18 years old may not work 
in hazardous or harmful industries, such as mining, or industries with 
power-operated machinery.
    A 2008 study commissioned by the King Abdulaziz City for Science 
and Technology, an independent scientific organization reporting to the 
prime minister, found that child labor was a growing phenomenon. 
According to the study, 1.54 percent of children worked, including 2.3 
percent in the Eastern Province. In 2008 more than 83,000 children were 
working on the streets, according to a study by the King Abdullah 
Institute for Research and Studies reported in Okaz. In September 2009 
the Arab News reported that nine-year-old children were working long 
hours at the al-Atiqa fruit market south of Riyadh and sometimes moving 
goods three times their weight. The MOSA did not provide services to 
noncitizen children. There were orphanages and charities, but 
assistance was very limited.
    The Ministry of Justice has jurisdiction and has acted as plaintiff 
in the few cases that have arisen against alleged child labor 
violators. The MOSA maintained special offices in Mecca and Medina to 
combat the growing problem of child beggars.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum 
wage. The unofficial private sector minimum wage for citizens was 1,500 
riyals ($400) per month, which appeared to provide a decent standard of 
living for a citizen worker and family (who also receive various 
government allowances). The country's estimated 6.3 million foreign 
noncitizen workers made up approximately 88 percent of the private 
sector workforce. Their work, wages, living quarters, and working 
conditions were negotiated and agreed prior to their arrival in the 
country, except for those who were already in the country and changing 
sponsors.
    Many of these workers, however, arrived to work but found 
themselves subjected to conditions to which they had not agreed. The 
MOL reportedly maintained a database of abusive employers who are 
prohibited from recruiting new foreign workers, but reports indicated 
that the Government did not effectively implement the blacklisting 
system. The ministry's Migrant Worker's Welfare Department addressed 
cases of abuse and exploitation. Noncitizen workers were able to submit 
complaints and to seek help from the 37 offices throughout the country, 
although the Government was not generally responsive. The ministry 
occasionally banned individuals and companies who mistreated noncitizen 
workers from sponsoring such workers for five years, although there 
were no publicly available statistics. The ministry may ban 
indefinitely employers who have repeated violations. Bilateral labor 
agreements stipulate conditions on minimum wages, housing, benefits, 
including leave, medical care, and other topics. Conditions vary 
depending on the country's relative bargaining leverage. Enforcement 
was problematic for workers from some countries.
    Labor regulations provided for a 48-hour standard workweek at 
regular pay; a weekly 24-hour rest period (normally on Fridays, 
although the employer may grant it on another day) based on hours 
worked; premium pay for overtime at time-and-a-half pay with a maximum 
of 12 additional hours of overtime; and the labor minister's 
determination on the maximum number of hours of compulsory overtime. 
While these standards were enforced for most workers, they did not 
apply to domestic workers. There were credible reports that female 
domestic employees were sometimes forced to work 16 to 20 hours per 
day, seven days per week, with little or no pay. The MOL's Migrant 
Worker's Welfare Department might assist workers with their claims of 
nonpayment of wages, as might the sending country's embassy. In some 
contract disputes, a sponsor held the employee in country until the 
dispute was resolved to force the employee to accept a disadvantageous 
settlement or risk deportation without any settlement.
    The labor law provides for safety inspections and enables MOL-
appointed inspectors to examine materials used or handled in industrial 
and other operations and to submit samples of suspected hazardous 
materials or substances to government laboratories. The MOH's 
Occupational Health Service Directorate works with the MOL on health 
and safety matters. Regulations require employers to protect some 
workers from job-related hazards and disease, although violations 
occurred. These regulations did not cover farmers, herdsmen, domestic 
servants, or workers in family-operated businesses. Foreign nationals 
privately reported frequent failures to enforce health and safety 
standards.
    Embassy representatives from labor exporting countries stated that 
the number of cases of abused foreign domestic workers was increasing. 
During the year hundreds of domestic workers sought shelter at their 
embassies fleeing sexual abuse or other violence, and embassies 
received many reports of abuse. Some embassies from countries with 
large domestic employee populations maintained safe houses for citizens 
fleeing situations that amounted to bondage. According to embassy 
representatives, victims usually sought legal help from police and from 
embassies to obtain end-of-service benefits and exit visas. Criminal 
charges against abusive employers were rarely filed.
    Many noncitizen workers, particularly domestic employees, were not 
able to exercise their right to remove themselves from dangerous 
situations, and employers occasionally left them locked inside the home 
or threatened them with nonpayment if they left.
    On May 30, a Nepalese Web site called for the ministry to 
investigate labor violations at a large company in Dhahran and Riyadh, 
claiming that workers had not been paid for months. According to the 
report, many of the affected workers were in the country illegally, 
making it difficult for them to leave the company.
    On July 10, the Arab News reported that Mecca police arrested and 
questioned a number of demonstrators protesting poor living conditions 
at the approximately 3,000-man al-Shukiya labor housing compound. 
Reportedly, police arrested and questioned the compound manager to 
investigate the veracity of the workers' claims.
    In February 2009 the Arab News reported the problems of four 
Pakistani mechanics who were owed six years' wages, end-of-service 
benefits, return tickets to Pakistan, and medical treatment costs. 
Although the Preliminary Commission for Settlement of Labor Disputes in 
Mecca issued a decision in favor of the employees in 2006, at year's 
end there were no reports that the workers had received their 
compensation.

                               __________

                                 SYRIA

    Syria, with a population of approximately 21 million, is a republic 
under the authoritarian regime of President Bashar al-Asad. The 
president makes key decisions with counsel from a small circle of 
security advisors, ministers, and senior members of the ruling Ba'ath 
(Arab Socialist Renaissance) Party. The constitution mandates the 
primacy of Ba'ath Party leaders in state institutions and society. 
President Asad and party leaders dominate all three branches of 
government. In 2007 Asad was confirmed president for his second seven-
year term in a ``yes or no'' referendum that was neither free nor fair 
in the eyes of local and international human rights advocates. Security 
forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The Government systematically repressed citizens' ability to change 
their government. The security forces committed arbitrary or unlawful 
killings, caused politically motivated disappearances, and tortured and 
physically abused prisoners and detainees with impunity. Security 
forces arrested and detained individuals under poor conditions without 
due process. Lengthy pretrial and incommunicado detention remained a 
serious problem. The judiciary was not independent. There were 
political prisoners and detainees, and during the year the Government 
sentenced to prison several high-profile members of the human rights 
and civil society communities. The Government violated citizens' 
privacy rights. The Government imposed severe restrictions on civil 
liberties: freedoms of speech and press, including Internet and 
academic freedom; freedoms of assembly and of association, including 
severe restrictions on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); and 
freedoms of religion and movement. An atmosphere of corruption pervaded 
the Government. Violence and societal discrimination against women 
continued, as did sexual exploitation, increasingly of Iraqi refugees, 
including minors. The Government discriminated against minorities, 
particularly 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.
    For example, on January 1, military security officers arrested 
Yusuf Jabouli, who reportedly taught Islamic studies at public schools 
in Aleppo and founded an e-mail group called al-Mishkaat (``The 
Lamp''). Jabouli died in custody and officers delivered his body to his 
family on January 7, according to human rights observers. Jabouli's 
family reportedly was not allowed inspect his body, and military 
security officials were present at the burial. The international NGO 
Amnesty International (AI) reported that unofficial sources alleged 
Jabouli was tortured to death. The authorities did not provide 
information about the case, and reasons for the arrest and death of 
Yusuf Jabouli remained unknown at year's end.
    On May 27, local police arrested Jalal al-Kubaisi, a vendor at the 
Souq Al-Hamadeya in Damascus and reportedly tortured him. On May 31, 
the police informed his family that Kubaisi had died while in custody, 
prompting the Government to launch a formal investigation into his 
death. At year's end, the reasons for the arrest remained unknown, and 
no details of the investigation were made public.
    On July 19, Wadee' Sha'booq, an engineer from Aleppo, died six days 
after he was assaulted by a criminal security unit. Human rights 
observers believe security forces attacked Sha'booq when he confronted 
them over his son's compulsory military service.
    On August 28, the body of Riyadh Ahmed Khalil, a 42-year-old Kurd, 
was handed to his family after he died of internal bleeding in an 
interrogation center. The security forces arrested Khalil and his sons, 
Ahmed and Dihmat, two months before his death. Khalil was buried on 
August 28 in Safita under tight security, without opportunity for 
examination of his body, and his sons remained in custody at year's 
end. It was rumored that Ahmad Khalil was a former member of the 
terrorist organization Kongra-Gel, (formerly the Kurdistan Workers 
Party-PKK) who had returned to the country and voluntarily turned 
himself in.
    Suspicious Kurdish conscript deaths continued throughout the year. 
Human rights observers reported that 11 Kurdish conscripts died during 
the year, purportedly by suicide or accident. Six of the 11 conscripts, 
Isa Khalaf, Osman Mustafa Bozan, Xebat Hesen Eliko, Hesen Mihemed Dero, 
Najm al-Din Hassan Daallo, and Shiar Osman Osman, reportedly committed 
suicide while in military service. Mustafa Abdo was reportedly killed 
on August 12 by a bullet from his own weapon while on duty; Mahmoud 
Sheikho allegedly committed suicide on October 9 but he is said to have 
suffered 14 bullet wounds. Joseph Farhan Qasim died on December 21 
reportedly from a landmine, but observers noted that his wounds did not 
match the reported cause of death. Some Kurdish leaders estimated that 
there have been nearly 40 mysterious conscript deaths in the last three 
years.
    At year's end there were no official or expected investigations or 
developments in the 2009 Kurdish conscript deaths of Barkhadan Kaled 
Hamo, Mahmud Hanan Khalil, Ahmad Saadun, Ahmad Abdulrahim Moustafa, 
Malek Shabo, Arif Abdul Aziz Said Osan, Mahmud Muhammad Halli, Ahmad 
Arif Omar, Mohamed Omer Khider, Hogir Rasol Haso, Ahmad Mustafa 
Ibrahim, Suleiman Faruq Diko, Firas Badri Ibrahim, Rezan Abdul Kareem 
Mirana, Sadiq Hussein Musa, Khalil Bosan, and Ez al-Din Morrow.
    There were no developments or investigations in the 2008 deaths of 
Muhammad Yahya Khalil, Muhammad Zaki, Muhammad Mahmoud Hussein, 
Zakariyya Affash, Muhammad Mahareesh, Mahmoud Abu Rashid, Abdul-Baqi 
Khattab, Ahmed Shalaq, Khaled Bilal, Mo'ayad al-Ali, Muhanad al-Omar, 
and Khidr Alloush; or any of 75 to 100 other inmates allegedly killed 
in the 2008 Sednaya Prison riots; or of Ahmed Musa al-Shukaifi, whom 
authorities allegedly tortured to death in 2008.

    b. Disappearance.--There were reports of enforced disappearances 
during the year, some of which were politically motivated.
    On July 4, AI issued a report, Your Son is Not Here: Disappearances 
from Syria's Saydnaya Military Prison, marking the second anniversary 
of the many reported disappearances from Sednaya. The report concluded 
that 18 out of the 52 missing were victims of enforced disappearance.
    On July 7, according to AI, political security forces arrested Shia 
cleric, and former member of the terrorist organization Hizballah, 
Sheikh Hassan Mchaymech at a border crossing while he was driving to 
Saudi Arabia with his mother and wife. The authorities failed to 
disclose the reason for his arrest or if he has been charged with a 
crime, despite repeated requests from the Lebanese government and 
Mchaymech's family. Mchaymech's whereabouts were not known at year's 
end.
    On August 23, attorney and human rights activist Ismail Abdi was 
arrested in Aleppo and ordered to appear before the intelligence 
service. The naturalized German citizen and his family were leaving 
after vacationing in the country. Abdi was arrested when he appeared 
before the intelligence service and has not been seen or heard from 
since. Human rights observers believe the arrest is related to his 
critiques of the regime and activities as chairman of the German branch 
of the Committee for the Defense of Democratic Freedoms and Human 
Rights in Syria.
    The Government continued to withhold information on the welfare and 
whereabouts of persons who disappeared in previous years; little was 
known other than the approximate date of their disappearance. For 
example, in May 2009, according to Kurdish human rights activists, 
General Intelligence Directorate (GID) forces arrested 24-year-old Kurd 
Hozan Nawaf Rashed, and his whereabouts and the reason for his arrest 
remained unknown at year's end. The Government had a long record of 
allegedly causing individuals to ``disappear,'' some of whom were 
believed to have died, whereas others were likely in long-term 
detention, and it did not investigate or punish any security force 
members for a role in disappearances.
    The Government continued to deny reports that security forces 
``disappeared'' an estimated 17,000 persons in the late 1970s and early 
1980s. According to the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), the 
disappeared persons were mostly detained Muslim Brotherhood members and 
other Syrian activists, as well as hundreds of Lebanese and 
Palestinians who were detained in Syria or abducted from Lebanon by 
Syrian forces or Lebanese and Palestinian militias.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and the penal code 
provides punishment of a maximum imprisonment of three years for 
abusers. Under article 28 of the constitution, ``no one may be tortured 
physically or mentally or treated in a humiliating manner.'' 
Nevertheless, security forces reportedly continued to use torture 
frequently. Local human rights organizations continued to cite numerous 
credible cases of security forces allegedly abusing and torturing 
prisoners and detainees and claimed that many instances of abuse went 
unreported. Individuals who suffered torture or beatings while detained 
refused to allow their names or details of their cases to be reported 
for fear of government reprisal.
    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; beatings while the victim is suspended from the 
ceiling and on the soles of the feet; alternately dousing victims with 
freezing water and beating them in extremely cold rooms; hyperextending 
the spine; bending the body into the frame of a wheel and whipping 
exposed body parts; using a backward-bending chair to asphyxiate the 
victim or fracture the spine; and stripping prisoners naked for public 
view. In previous years AI documented 38 types of torture and 
mistreatment used against detainees in the country. AI reported that 
torture was most likely to occur while detainees were held at one of 
the many detention centers operated by the various security services in 
the country, particularly while authorities attempted to extract a 
confession or information. Courts systematically used ``confessions'' 
extracted under duress as evidence, and defendants' claims of torture 
were almost never investigated.
    On May 25, the UN Committee Against Torture voiced its concern that 
the Government operates secret detention facilities where those 
detained are held incommunicado and routinely tortured, according to 
``numerous, ongoing, and consistent allegations.'' The committee also 
highlighted its concern regarding treatment of Kurdish political 
activists and military courts' convictions on Kurdish detainees on 
vague charges of ``weakening national sentiment'' or ``spreading false 
or exaggerated information.''
    The report also asserted that abuses were ``intentionally and 
frequently inflicted on Kurds in Syria with the consent or 
acquiescence'' of officials and encouraged by the Government.
    On March 14, Berzani Karro was sentenced to five years' 
imprisonment--commuted to two and a half years--on charges of 
``attempting to sever part of the Syrian territory and annex it to a 
foreign state,'' a charge commonly used against Kurds, according to AI. 
Political Security Directorate (PSD) agents arrested the 20-year-old 
Kurd at Damascus International Airport in June 2009 and held him 
incommunicado for three months, during which time human rights 
observers reported Karro was ``reportedly subjected to prolonged 
beatings'' and, according to a Kurdish rights Web site, subjected to 
electric shocks.
    At year's end no new information has been produced in the reported 
2009 security forces torture of several Kurdish youths--including 
Abdulazez Jamal, Shayar Masud, Serdar Abdulrahem, Ali Fawaz, Shahen 
Ibrahim, Dal Muhammad, and Khalid Jomaa--all of whom had participated 
in a demonstration organized by the Democratic Youth Movement in 
Hasaka.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
generally poor and did not meet international standards for health and 
sanitation. Facilities lacked proper ventilation, lighting, access to 
potable water, and sufficient sleeping quarters. It was also common for 
released prisoners to complain about sickness and injury due to the 
inadequate conditions. The Government did not permit visits by 
independent human rights observers.
    The Government did not give statistics on number of inmates or 
people detained in the country. Human rights observers estimate between 
2,500--3,000 political prisoners are currently detained, of whom 
approximately 1,400 are in Sednaya Prison. According to the 2010 Annual 
Prison Assessment, co-authored by the Syrian Association for Human 
Rights and the Arab Organization for Penal Reform, prisons suffered 
from severe overcrowding. The report states that cells made for 20 
inmates held 80 persons, and prisoners were forced to sleep on the 
floor and in corridors. The analysis also claimed that Adra Prison held 
9,000 inmates, although it was made to jail 2,000. According to the 
report, bribes were sometimes necessary to get access to visits, food, 
and other basic needs of prisoners.
    According to human rights observers, prisoners have the right to 
complain about treatment and prison center conditions; however, 
authorities rarely investigated these allegations or provided 
documentation of such to the public. Observers and activists claimed 
there is no ombudsman available to serve on behalf of the prisoners and 
detainees.
    Prison authorities denied all visits to inmates during the 2008 
Sednaya Prison riots and for the first six months of 2009. Severe 
overcrowding at several prisons forced inmates to sleep on the floor. 
Activists and former inmates reported that prison officials withheld 
food to punish inmates.
    According to local and international human rights organizations, 
the Government held prisoners and detainees without adequate basic and 
emergency medical care. Throughout the year local and international 
human rights organizations highlighted the case of political prisoner 
and prominent human rights lawyer Haitham al-Maleh, whom the court 
sentenced on July 4 to three years in prison. According to human rights 
observers, the 80-year-old suffered from diabetes and declining health.
    There was at least one instance during the year when the 
authorities failed to protect those in its custody. Prominent human 
rights activist and lawyer Mohannad al-Hasani was brutally attacked on 
October 28 by a violent cellmate whom the authorities left in the same 
cell for several days after the attack. There were reports in prior 
years of prisoners beating other prisoners while guards stood by and 
watched.
    There were separate detention facilities for men, women, and 
juveniles. The Government reportedly sometimes held minors in adult 
facilities. Pretrial detainees, particularly those held for political 
or security reasons, were usually held separately from convicted 
prisoners. 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. Political prisoners also reported that they often slept on the 
ground due to lack of beds, were subject to frequent searches, and 
faced solitary confinement if authorities found impermissible items. 
Guards regularly eavesdropped on prisoners' conversations with their 
lawyers and visiting family members. Some former detainees and human 
rights observers reported that the Government denied political 
prisoners access to reading materials, including the Qur'an. Facilities 
for political or national security prisoners, especially accused 
Islamists, were generally much worse than those for common criminals. 
Each branch of the four security services operated its own detention 
centers. Most cases of reported torture or mistreatment occurred in 
these facilities, according to local human rights organizations.
    The Government prohibited independent monitoring of prison or 
detention center conditions and publishing of any materials on prison 
or detention center conditions, but diplomatic and consular officials 
were granted limited access in some cases during the year. Nuns from 
the Good Shepherd convent in Damascus were granted access to the 
women's prison in Duma to conduct vocational training and provide 
preschool services for inmates' children who lived in the prison when 
no other family member was available to care for them.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; in practice these activities persisted 
and remained significant problems.
    For example, on January 2, security forces detained journalist Ali 
Taha and photographer Ali Ahmad in the Sayyida Zaynab neighborhood of 
Damascus. Observers stated that Taha was released on February 7 and 
Ahmad a few days afterwards. They were not charged, and the reason for 
their arrest remained unknown at year's end.
    On December 4, human rights activists reported that Juan Yusuf 
Muhammad was arrested by members of the PSD for an unknown reason after 
he responded to a summons. The status of his case remained unknown at 
year's end.
    Abdel Hafez Abdel Rahman, board member of the unlicensed Kurdish 
human rights group MAF (``Right'' in Kurdish), was released on 
September 1. Military intelligence officers detained Rahman and his 
colleague Nadera Abdo on March 2 and continued to hold Rahman after 
releasing Abdo four days later.
    On September 21, Hasan al-Atrash, leading member of the Druze 
community and grandson of the leader of the Syrian revolution, was 
jailed for eight days. The cause for his detention was unknown; 
however, human rights observers believed his detention was politically 
motivated.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The role of the 
security services extends far beyond strictly security matters under a 
continuing state of emergency originally declared by the Government in 
1963. The Emergency Law was justified on the basis of the conflict with 
Israel and threats from terrorist groups. There are four major branches 
of security forces, including Military Intelligence and Air Force 
Intelligence; the PSD, under the Ministry of Interior (MOI); and the 
GID, which is a stand-alone institution. The four branches operate 
independently and generally outside the control of the legal system, 
and all four repress internal dissent and monitor individual citizens. 
The MOI controls the four separate divisions of police forces: 
emergency police, traffic police, neighborhood police, and riot police.
    Impunity was a serious problem. In 2008 President Asad issued a law 
that mandates that only the General Command of the Army and Armed 
Forces may issue an arrest warrant in the case of a crime committed by 
a military officer, member of the internal security forces, or customs 
police officer in the pursuit of his normal duties, and that such cases 
must be tried in military courts. During the year there were no known 
prosecutions or convictions of police and security force personnel for 
human rights abuses. No mechanisms for investigations of security force 
abuse existed.
    A human rights police training program funded by the Swiss and 
Norwegian governments continued throughout the year. The Geneva 
Institute for Human Rights, with support from the MOI and the Office of 
the High Commissioner for Human Rights, began a third training course 
in October.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Upon arrest, 
the individual is brought to a police station for processing and 
detained until a trial date is set. At the initial court hearing, which 
can be months or years after the arrest, the accused may retain an 
attorney at personal expense or be assigned a court-appointed attorney, 
although lawyers are not ensured access to their clients before trial. 
The individual is then tried in court, where a judge renders a verdict. 
Although the prison code provides for prompt access to family members, 
human rights organizations and families reported inconsistent 
application of the code, with some families waiting as long as a year 
to see relatives. Civil and criminal defendants had the right to bail 
hearings and possible release from detention on their own recognizance. 
This right was not applied consistently throughout the legal system and 
was rarely available to detainees under the 1963 Emergency Law.
    The 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 seemingly 
arbitrary manner to military, security, or criminal courts. Suspects 
were detained incommunicado for prolonged periods without charge or 
trial and denied the right to a judicial determination regarding 
pretrial detention. Unlike defendants in regular criminal and civil 
cases, security detainees did not have access to lawyers before or 
during questioning, or throughout the preparation and presentation of 
their defense. In most cases detainees were not informed of charges 
against them until their arraignment, which was often months after 
their arrest. Those suspected of political or national security 
offenses were arrested and prosecuted under ambiguous and broad 
articles of the penal code and were subsequently tried in either 
criminal or security courts.
    The Government often failed to notify foreign governments when 
their citizens were arrested or detained or did so only after the 
person was released or deported, especially when the person was 
detained on politically related charges.
    House arrest is available under judicial authority but observers 
claim it is rarely used and there were no significant cases of house 
arrest by year's end.
    Arbitrary and false arrests were problems, and detainees had no 
legal redress. The authorities used the Emergency Law to detain persons 
critical of the Government and charge them with a wide range of 
political crimes, including treason. Incommunicado detention was a 
severe problem. Many persons who disappeared were believed to be either 
in long-term detention without charge or possibly to have died while 
detained. Many detainees brought to trial were held incommunicado for 
years, and their trials were often marked by irregularities and lack of 
due process. A shortage of available courts and lack of legal 
provisions for a speedy trial or plea bargaining led to lengthy 
pretrial detentions.
    The Government arbitrarily arrested alleged Islamists, Muslim 
Brotherhood members, and civil society and human rights activists 
during the year. Under the authority of laws that criminalize 
membership and activity in organizations the Government deems illegal, 
observers estimated that security forces arrested hundreds of persons 
linked to local human rights groups and pro-democracy student groups, 
as well as minorities, particularly Kurds (see section 1.e.).
    On November 30, the Supreme State Security Court (SSSC) 
indefinitely postponed the hearing of Hasan Ibrahim Salih, Maruf Ahmad 
Mula Ahmad, and Mohamed Ahmad Mustafa, members of the Kurdish Yekiti 
Party. According to Kurdish observers, the three have been detained 
since their arrest in December 2009, including five months in 
incommunicado detention. Their hearing dates were continually postponed 
and rescheduled throughout the year.
    Ziad Ramadan remained on trial at the SSSC, after five years of 
detention without charge. Ramadan is a former work colleague of a man 
who confessed to participating in the 2005 killing of former Lebanese 
prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri and 22 other individuals. Authorities 
responded to a UN request by stating Ramadan was detained for his own 
protection as a key witness in the Hariri investigations.
    On March 17 a military judge dismissed charges against Bahjat 
Ibrahim, a 51-year-old Kurd, of membership in a banned political 
association, the Al-Wehda Party, an accusation he denied. Human rights 
observers believe he had been arbitrarily arrested without warrant on 
October 2009 by the Political Security branch.
    On July 1, Ayat Ahmed, a female university student, was released 
after 10 months' detention. Human rights observers believed that the 
security service arrested her in October 2009 for her religious beliefs 
and alleged involvement with Salafi ideology. She attended the Islamic 
institute of the late Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro, and according to her 
parents, she had no links to any Islamist parties.
    Sheikh Salah Kuftaro, a prominent religious figure, who was tried 
in June 2009, was released from prison on August 26 after charges were 
dropped for lack of evidence.
    There were numerous reports from human rights organizations that 
security services arrested citizens who were not apparently involved in 
political activities. Security services provided no information on the 
reasons for the arrests, and in many cases family and friends had not 
obtained information on the whereabouts of the detained at year's end.

    Amnesty.--The president has the power to issue private and general 
pardons. On February 23, President Asad issued amnesty decree 22 
pardoning all misdemeanor offenders in the legal system, both in jail 
and on trial, with a few exceptions. All sick and elderly prisoners 
over the age of 70 were released, with the notable exception of well-
known human rights lawyer Haitham al-Maleh.
    On February 16, President Asad gave a private amnesty to religious 
leader Abdul Rahman al-Kouki, who was arrested in 2009 and charged with 
provoking sectarian discord because of a comment he made on an Al-
Jazeera television show criticizing Egyptian Grand Sheikh Tantawi for 
banning the niqab at a Cairo university.
    On April 6, the Government released Hasan Zahra, leader of the 
banned Communist Party, under decree 22 after a year's detention.
    On April 11, Youssef Najiyeh and Omar Darwish, two members of the 
Muslim Brotherhood, were released from prison pursuant to decree 22, 
after imprisonment for membership in the banned organization.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, but courts were regularly subject to political 
influence. According to observers, approximately 95 percent of judges 
were Ba'athists or closely aligned to the Ba'ath Party.
    The judicial system is composed of civil and criminal courts, under 
the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), and religious courts, which adjudicate 
matters of personal status such as divorce and inheritance.
    Military courts have authority over cases involving 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 military court. A military prosecutor decides 
the venue for a civilian defendant. In contrast to previous years, 
there were no reports during the year that the Government operated 
military field courts, which in the past observed fewer formal 
procedures than regular military courts, in locations outside 
established courtrooms.
    The SSSC tries political and national security cases and operates 
under the provisions of the 1963 Emergency Law, which authorizes the 
prosecution of anyone ``opposing the goals of the revolution'' and 
creating ``sectarian strife.''

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants before civil and criminal courts are 
entitled to legal representation of their choice; the courts appoint 
lawyers for indigents. Defendants are presumed innocent and are allowed 
to present evidence and to confront their accusers. Trials are public, 
except for those involving juveniles or sex offenses. Defendants can 
appeal verdicts to a provincial appeals court and ultimately to the 
Court of Cassation. Appeals are often difficult to win because the 
lower courts do not provide verbatim transcripts of cases, and only 
summaries prepared by the presiding judges are made available. There 
are no juries. Defendants and their attorneys have access to 
government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Human rights lawyers 
noted that in some politically charged cases, the prosecution case 
files that defense lawyers were allowed to see did not include any 
evidence.
    Some groups are denied some of these rights because parts of family 
and criminal law are based on Sharia, and do not treat men and women 
equally. Some personal status laws use Sharia regardless of the 
religion of those involved.
    The SSSC does not observe constitutional provisions safeguarding 
defendants' rights. Its verdicts are not subject to judicial appeal, 
but the minister of interior may ratify, nullify, or alter an SSSC 
ruling, and the president must approve the verdict or may ask for a 
retrial. Charges against defendants before the SSSC were usually vague, 
and authorities sometimes prevented defendants' access to their lawyers 
before trial. Under SSSC procedures, defendants and their lawyers are 
not present during the preliminary or investigative phase of the trial 
during which the prosecutor presents evidence. Lawyers submit written 
defense pleas rather than making oral presentations. Trials take place 
before one to three judges and usually remained closed to the public as 
well as to the defendants' families. Authorities did not permit human 
rights NGOs to visit the SSSC, but local lawyers affiliated with local 
NGOs acted as defense counsel in some cases. Diplomatic observers had 
limited access to the SSSC during the year.
    Human rights organizations estimated that the SSSC tried hundreds 
of cases annually. Most cases during the year involved charges relating 
to membership in banned political groups, including religious parties 
such as the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic Liberation Party, and 
Syrian Kurdish parties. During the year the SSSC sentenced more than 
100 citizens to punishments ranging from three years' imprisonment to 
execution (all sentences for execution were commuted to 12-15 years' 
imprisonment during the year). The SSSC is not required to keep a 
regular schedule. Following the Sednaya Prison riots, the SSSC 
suspended operations for approximately eight months. Even when the SSSC 
scheduled a case on a given day, the court sometimes failed to convene, 
offering no reason.
    In an example of the SSSC trial procedures, Hassan Shaqi, Muhammad 
Sai'da, Mohammad Jadid, Ahmed Mousa, Yassir Dawri, Hussam Mahmoud, and 
Hassan al-Sham appeared in the SSSC on September 26, after almost four 
years in pretrial detention. All seven were convicted of ``membership 
in an association created to change the economic or social structure of 
the state through terrorist means,'' and sentenced from six to 10 
years.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The number of political 
prisoners and detainees--both citizens and foreigners--remained 
difficult to determine due to the lack of official government 
information and because different branches of the security services, 
each of which maintained its own incarceration facilities, held 
significant numbers of such detainees. Authorities refused to divulge 
information regarding numbers or names of persons in detention on 
political or security-related charges. Local human rights observers 
estimated that 1,500 to 3,000 political prisoners, including accused 
Islamists, were in detention. The Government frequently held political 
detainees for extended periods without trial and without information 
provided to their families.
    The Government continued to try some political detainees in 
criminal court; once convicted on political or security-related 
charges, they were treated like common criminals. During the year 
police and security agents arrested individuals based on race, 
religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular 
group. The Government was especially harsh toward individuals allegedly 
involved in Kurdish political or civil society activism.
    On April 18, a security court sentenced four Kurdish activists to 
five years for their membership in Yekiti, a banned Kurdish political 
party. The NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Nazami 
Mohammad, Ahmed Darwish, Dalkash Mamo, and Yasha Kader were originally 
arrested in 2007 and held until their April sentencing.
    On April 19, arrested Yekiti leaders Hassan Saleh, Maaruf Mala 
Ahmed, and Muhammad Mustafa and Kurdish activist Anwar Nasso were all 
brought before a military prosecutor. On April 22, Anwar Nasso was 
released without charge while the other three prisoners remained in 
detention. The four men were arrested in December 2009 in Qamishli for 
participating in a Yekiti Party meeting. According to several activists 
and NGOs, the arrests were linked to a resolution passed at the meeting 
calling for autonomy for Syria's Kurdistan. On May 18 an AI press 
release claimed that Nasso was badly tortured. At year's end no 
additional details were available.
    In June, Salah Mohammad Said Younis and Mohammad Bashar al-Mahmud 
were released after serving a one-year sentence. According to civil 
society activists, the men were imprisoned for ``having engaged in a 
political or social organization of an international character'' and 
for ``inciting religious and ethnic sectarian strife.''
    On June 18, Akram Al-Bunni, Ahmad Tohme, and Jabr Al Shoufi were 
released from prison after serving prison sentences of two and a half 
years for ``weakening national morale.'' The three Damascus Declaration 
National Council members were the first of 12 to be released; all other 
members (Riad Seif, Walid al-Buni, Fayez Sarah, Muhammed Haji Darwish, 
Marwan al-Esh, Talal Abu Dan, Muhammad Yasser al-Eitti and Fidaa 
Horani) were subsequently released with the exception of Ali Abdullah 
(see below).
    On June 23, the Second Criminal Court of Damascus sentenced human 
rights lawyer Muhannad al-Hasani to three years in prison on charges of 
``spreading false information that undermined national sentiment'' and 
``spreading false information that demeaned the dignity of the state.'' 
Hasani was arrested in July 2009 by GID agents; human rights observers 
reported that he was forced to sleep on the floor of an overcrowded 
cell and that guards searched his possessions daily for evidence of 
reading and writing materials. On October 28, Hasani was attacked by 
his new cellmate two weeks after receiving the Martin Ennals Award for 
Human Rights Defenders. The authorities kept Hasani's attacker in the 
same cell for five days after the attack. At year's end Hasani remained 
in prison.
    On August 31, the SSSC questioned Abbas Abbas, Tawfiq Omran, Ahmad 
Nihawi, and Ghassan on charges of belonging to a secret organization. 
The four men were arrested in May 2009 together with Hasan Zahra, who 
alone was released, due to an incurable illness in accordance with 
decree 22 (see section 1.d.). According to human rights activists, the 
men had gathered for illegal political activities associated with their 
membership in the Communist Labor Party. The trial resumed on October 
31 and there were no updates at year's end.
    At year's end Ali Abdullah faced the charge of ``doing acts that 
disturb the relations with a foreign country.'' Abdullah is the only 
Damascus Declaration National Council (DDNC) member still imprisoned 
from a 2007 campaign against DDNC. Abdullah was scheduled to be 
released on July 16, but authorities rearrested him for an article he 
authored in prison criticizing the Iranian elections.
    On November 25, Damascus Declaration National Council member Khalaf 
al-Jarbou was sentenced to two years in prison for committing ``damage 
to the dignity of the state.'' He was initially also charged with 
participating in an ``association aiming at changing the economic or 
social system of the State.'' The police arrested Jarbou in October 
2009 at the Lebanese border and transferred him to PSD custody.
    At year's end no new information was available regarding Hamad 
Ahmad al-Khuder. In July 2009, Khuder completed a five-year prison 
sentence, according to the Arabic Organization for Human Rights in 
Syria, but authorities reportedly failed to release Khuder and instead 
transferred him to Sednaya Prison.
    At year's end there was no new information in the case of 
Nassriddin Barhec, a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria 
('' al-Party'') arrested by PSD agents in January 2009, according to a 
Kurdish human rights group.
    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. At year's end the Government has yet to release any 
additional information regarding the whereabouts of prisoner of 
conscience Nizar Rastanawi. April 18, 2008, marked the end of 
Rastanawi's jail term, but authorities did not release him, allow 
family visitation, or provide information regarding his whereabouts. In 
2006 the SSSC sentenced Rastanawi to four years in prison for his 
political activism and sent him to Sednaya Prison, where riots occurred 
in 2008. Rastanawi's family told local human rights activists that a 
Sednaya prisoner reported Rastanawi had been killed during the riots; 
human rights observers concurred.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an 
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters; in practice the 
courts were neither independent nor impartial.

    Property Restitution.--Security forces routinely seized detainees' 
property and personal items, such as computers and cellular telephones. 
According to local human rights contacts, the phenomenon was too common 
to track or record specific cases. Security forces did not appropriate, 
confiscate, or catalogue these materials in accordance with the law, 
and although detained individuals theoretically had the right to 
retrieve the items after release, authorities did not return many 
former detainees' property.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, but the Emergency Law 
authorizes security services to enter homes and conduct searches 
without warrants if broadly defined security matters are involved. 
Police bypassed the normal search warrant requirement in many instances 
by citing security reasons or emergency grounds for entry. 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 or monitored access to 
some Web sites.
    The Government and the Ba'ath Party monitored and attempted to 
restrict some citizens' visits to foreign embassies and participation 
in cultural activities. There were reports during the year that persons 
invited to meet with diplomats or to attend diplomatic functions 
received telephone calls from the security services instructing them 
not to attend.
    The Government barred membership in some political organizations 
and did not permit the formation of new political parties or license 
politically based NGOs. In practice the Government tolerated some 
illegal political parties, such as the Communist Union Movement. In 
some cases authorities harassed illegal parties, such as the Communist 
Action Party, the People's Party, and the Arab Social Union, but did 
not arrest individuals for membership. The Government forbids 
membership in Islamist parties, and authorities arrested, and in some 
cases prior to the reporting year, executed these members.
    The Government detained relatives of detainees and fugitives to 
obtain a confession or surrender, respectively, and harassed and 
intimidated the families of activists and political prisoners. There 
were unconfirmed reports that security personnel forced prisoners to 
watch relatives being tortured to extract confessions.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and the press. 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. Authorities detained and abused journalists, writers, 
and other individuals for expressions of opinion that violated these 
restrictions, leading them to practice self-censorship. Individuals 
could not criticize the Government publicly or privately without fear 
of reprisal. The Government also attempted to impede criticism through 
monitoring of political meetings and informer networks.
    Emergency Law and penal code articles dealing with crimes against 
state security allow 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.'' 
Penal code articles prohibit acts or speech inciting sectarianism.
    The Government heavily influenced the media, and the Government or 
the Ba'ath Party owned most newspaper publishing houses. A number of 
quasi-independent periodicals, usually owned and produced by figures 
with government connections, were published during the year.
    The Government prohibited all Kurdish-language publications, 
although there were credible reports that such publications were 
available in the country. The Ministry of Information continued to deny 
permission to publish Al-Ousboua Al-Iqtissadi, a business weekly, and 
Al-Riyada wa Al-Shabab, a magazine for young sports fans. In May 2009 
Prime Minister Mohamad Naji al-Utri decreed that public-sector entities 
(e.g., businesses and education facilities) could not work with any 
media outlet except the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency. Civil 
society activists' concern the private media's access to social and 
economic information could be marginalized proved unfounded as public 
sector entities routinely worked with private media with little or no 
response from 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, such as corruption in the energy and 
communications sectors.
    The Government or the Ba'ath Party owned and operated some radio 
and most television companies, and the Ministry of Information closely 
monitored radio and television news and entertainment programs to 
ensure adherence to government policies. The Government did not 
interfere with broadcasts from abroad. Satellite dishes were widely 
used and available.
    As in previous years, government forces detained, arrested, and 
harassed journalists and other writers for works deemed critical of the 
state. Harassment included banning from the country, firing for 
association with international organizations, and failing to respond to 
requests for journalists' accreditation. The Government also arrested 
journalists and others who wrote in Kurdish or in favor of greater 
Kurdish rights.
    At year's end the trial of Raghda Hassan on charges of weakening 
national morale and spreading false information continued in a military 
court in the city of Homs. According to human rights observers, 
security forces arrested the 38-year-old writer on February 10 at her 
home in Tartous, confiscated her laptop and manuscripts, and held her 
in incommunicado detention, where she remained at year's end. AI 
believed she was arrested because of her intent to write a novel about 
sensitive political issues, in addition to suspicion that she belongs 
to an opposition party.
    In November 2009, human rights activists believed Maan Akel, 
journalist for Al-Thawra, a government owned newspaper, was arrested 
for his writings exposing corruption. Akel was held for three months 
without charge then released. After his release, Akel was demoted and 
barred from substantive writing.
    The Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Culture continued 
to censor domestic and foreign publications prior to circulation or 
importation and stopped circulation when content was judged to be 
critical or sensitive. Publication or distribution of any material 
security officials deemed threatening or embarrassing to the Government 
was prohibited. Censorship was usually greater for materials in Arabic. 
Journalists also practiced self-censorship.
    When in doubt, local journalists often shied away from criticism, 
but it was clearly understood that certain subjects were off-limits, 
such as writing about the Kurds or criticisms of the president and his 
family, the security services, or the Alawites. Foreign journalists who 
did not observe these guidelines were barred from the country, and some 
Syrian journalists lived outside the country and wrote for Internet 
publications.
    The law prohibits 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 500,000 to one million Syrian 
pounds (SYP) or ($10,000 to $20,000). The Government used these laws 
during the year to suppress criticism. The law also imposes strict 
punishments for reporters who do not reveal their government sources in 
response to government requests.

    Internet Freedom.--The Internet was widely available in both dial-
up and high-speed wireless connections, and Internet cafes continued to 
proliferate throughout major cities. According to 2010 International 
Telecommunication Union statistics, approximately 18 percent of the 
country's inhabitants used the Internet. The Government relied on its 
press and publications laws, the penal code, and the Emergency Law to 
censor access to the Internet. The Government also monitored Internet 
usage and in some instances blocked access to Internet sites or Web-
based e-mail that contained or transmitted information deemed 
politically sensitive.
    Human rights activists believed the Government often attempted to 
collect personally identifiable information of activists in connection 
with that person's ideology. Human rights activists also claimed that 
collected personal information was used in retaliation or to coerce 
activists.
    According to various human rights groups, all three of the 
country's Internet service providers regularly blocked access to a 
variety of Web sites; observers estimated approximately 180 sites were 
blocked. The Government blocked access to Web sites associated with 
Kurdish opposition groups, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Syrian 
Muslim Brotherhood. The Government also restricted access to social 
networking Web site Facebook, video-sharing Web site YouTube, online 
pan-Arabic newspapers such as Asharq al-Awsat, the online telephone 
service Skype, and online news services such as LevantNews.com. The 
pro-reform Web site All4syria.org remained blocked within the country, 
as it has been since 2004. Cyberdissidents.org reported that at year's 
end, 12 cyber dissidents were either imprisoned or exiled.
    In December, 19-year-old Abdul-Rahman al-Shalabi was released after 
his May arrest by Air Force Intelligence in Homs, where he served in 
the Air Defense Unit. According to human rights groups, Shalabi was 
arrested after frequenting Internet cafes; observers believed that he 
was interrogated and tortured while detained incommunicado in Damascus 
and Homs.
    On June 23, Kamal Shieko was arrested for traveling with improper 
documentation. The 32-year-old is a member of the Committees for the 
Defense of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria and a known 
blogger. Many activists believed his human rights and blogging 
activities were the cause for his continued detention. Shieko's 
whereabouts remained unknown at year's end.
    The trial of detained 20-year-old female blogger Tal al-Mallouhi 
continued at year's end. The GID summoned Mallouhi to the state 
security bureau in Homs for questioning in December 2009 and held her 
incommunicado most of the year. Mallouhi's case garnered international 
attention, most notably after a September 19 demonstration outside the 
Syrian embassy in Cairo. Observers believed that international 
attention prompted authorities to release information about her case. 
In October, news reports in Syrian media outlets claimed that Mallouhi 
was being charged for espionage.
    In late February 2009 according to human rights contacts, the 
Government blocked the Syrian Organization for Human Rights (SWASIAH) 
Web site. Authorities also demanded that SWASIAH chairperson and human 
rights lawyer Muhanad al-Hasani, arrested later in the year (see 
section 1.e.), turn over all archived material to them.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted 
academic freedom and cultural events. Teachers generally were not 
permitted to express ideas contrary to government policy. Authorities 
permitted slightly more freedom of expression at the university level, 
but the Government imposed restrictions on the ability of public 
universities to associate with foreign cultural centers.
    The Ministry of Culture censored films and exercised the right of 
approval over films shown at cultural centers operated by foreign 
embassies. Observers claimed that films made by specific directors such 
as Steven Spielberg were banned due to perceived connections to the 
Israeli government.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right of assembly, but 
Emergency Law provisions superseded this right, and the Government did 
not respect it in practice. MOI permission is required for 
demonstrations or any public gathering of more than three persons. The 
Government required political forums and discussion groups to obtain 
prior approval for lectures and seminars and to submit lists of all 
attendees. Several domestic human rights and civil society groups held 
meetings without registering with the Government or obtaining prior 
approval because they assumed permission would be denied, as has 
regularly been the case. In many instances the Government took steps to 
disrupt such gatherings or prevent them from occurring. Either the 
Government or the Ba'ath Party authorized and organized most public 
demonstrations.
    However, in the penal code there are a variety of laws under which 
freedom of assembly is restricted or prevented such as article 308 
(``membership in an organization that was created to incite sectarian, 
racial or religious strife''); article 355 (``attending a meeting that 
is not of a private nature ... where an individual issues calls for 
rioting or displays signs that perturb the general safety, or 
undertakes any form of rioting''); article 336 (``gathering or convoy 
in a public space is considered a riot if ... (b) there are at least 
seven people gathered to protest a decision or measure taken by the 
public authorities or (c) if they are more than 20 people and they 
appear in a way that can threaten general quiet'');and most notably 
article 288 (``political or social organization or an international 
group without the permission of the Government'').
    On January 10, the court of cassation sentenced three members of 
the illegal Kurdish Azadi Party, Mustafa Jumaa Bakr, Mohamad Saeed 
Hussein al Omar, and Saadoun Sheikho, to three years in prison. They 
were arrested in November 2009 and convicted of weakening national 
sentiment and undermining state security and were all high-ranking 
members of the Azadi Party, with Jumaa Bakr as the chairperson. Human 
rights observers believed these arrests were part of a larger effort to 
detain and charge Kurdish political activists.
    On June 20, a military judge in Qamishli sentenced Mohammed Safo, a 
leading member of the Kurdish Left Party, to one year in prison, 
according to human rights observers. Safo was summoned by security 
services and arrested on March 28, after which he was charged with 
inciting racial and sectarian hatred and leading a secret unlicensed 
association.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution permits private 
associations but also grants the Government the right to limit their 
activities. In practice the Government restricted freedom of 
association, requiring prior registration and approval for private 
associations. The Government often denied requests for registration or 
failed to act on them, presumably on political grounds. None of the 
approximately 14 local human rights organizations operated with a 
license during the year. The Government continued to block the multi-
year effort by journalists to form an association of journalists 
reporting for regional Arab media.
    The Government did not permit the legal establishment of 
independent political parties.
    The Government granted registration to some groups not engaged in 
political or other activities deemed sensitive. The Government 
restricted the activities of associations and their members, and the 
executive boards of professional associations were not independent.
    On July 15, state security services in Idleb arrested Mahmoud 
Barish, an opposition activist, for his dealings with the Damascus 
Declaration. Human rights observers stated that Barish will be charged 
with spreading false news that insults the general sentiment of the 
state. His trial at a military court was ongoing at year's end.
    On August 24, Mohammed Saadoun, a member of the Political Committee 
of the Azadi Party, appeared before a judge in Qamishli. According to 
human rights observers, Saadoun was charged with offenses related to 
freedom of speech and freedom of association. The trial was initially 
adjourned until September 5 but had not resumed by year's end.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement ``within the territories of the state unless restricted by 
a judicial decision or by the implementation of laws.'' Although 
citizens are ostensibly free to travel internationally, in practice the 
Government limited freedom of movement for foreign travel and 
emigration by requiring citizens to apply for exit visas. In addition, 
the Government often imposed travel bans on oppositionist, human 
rights, and civil society activists. Diplomats are not permitted to 
travel in parts of the country, in particular the northeast.
    Human rights observers believed the actual number of activists 
affected by a travel ban was in the tens of thousands and increased 
throughout the reporting year, partly because many citizens learned of 
the ban against their travel only after they were prevented from 
departing the country. The Government also prohibits specific types of 
individuals from foreign travel based on their work. For example, in 
2008 the prime minister issued a foreign travel ban on all petroleum 
engineers, geologists, and geophysicists working in public oil 
companies, according to private Web site SyriaSteps.com. These experts 
were reportedly eligible to travel for training only with prior written 
permission from the prime minister or the minister of petroleum. The 
Government usually applied travel bans without explanation for their 
basis or duration, including cases when individuals needed to travel 
for health reasons.
    Individuals the Government banned from traveling internationally 
during the year included many of the Damascus Declaration National 
Council members, political activists and bloggers. Damascus Declaration 
National Council member Khalaf al-Jarbou was arrested in October 2009, 
trying to enter Lebanon while under a travel ban. Jarbou was not 
charged and tried until late 2010.
    The Government 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 
Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. The presence of stateless Kurds in the 
country remained an issue; there were no reports of government aid for 
the stateless population.
    The Government maintained security checkpoints, primarily in 
military and other restricted areas. Security services used checkpoints 
to conduct searches without warrants for smuggled goods, weapons, 
narcotics, and subversive literature.
    Travel to Israel is illegal, and the Government restricted travel 
near the Golan Heights.
    Women older than 18 have the legal right to travel without the 
permission of male relatives, but a husband or a father may file a 
request with the MOI to prohibit the departure of his wife or minor 
dependents from the country.
    Emigrants who did not complete mandatory military service could pay 
a fee to avoid conscription while visiting the country. Persons of 
Syrian origin who were born in a foreign country but were able to 
demonstrate service in the army of the country of birth were exempt 
from military service without payment.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports 
of forced exile during the year.
    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 the country. The Government routinely arrested 
dissidents and former citizens with no known political affiliation who 
tried to return to the country after years or even decades in exile.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--Observers estimated that 
there were approximately 300,000 IDPs in the country with numerous 
media reports on the increasing numbers of internally displaced 
persons. According to the 2009 UN Syria Drought Response Plan, ``1.3 
million inhabitants were affected and 800,000 severely affected, more 
than 95 percent of whom lived in the three governorates of Al-Hassake, 
Dayr az Zawr, and Ar-Raqqa.'' The UN estimated that 29,000 to 30,000 
families migrated in 2009 from the region due to the drought and the 
search for employment. The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) stated that 
60,000 families migrated from the northeast due to the drought in 2010. 
Outmigration from the al-Jazeera region to urban areas strained already 
limited resources in cities, increased urban unemployment, and led to 
the erection of tent communities on cities' fringes.
    It is unclear if there are laws and policies in place in accordance 
with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. The Government 
provided limited food relief through the SARC. In cooperation with the 
SARC, international NGOs like the World Food Program and Danish Red 
Cross provided additional food and medical assistance. There were no 
government resettlement efforts for internally displaced persons.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government is not a party to either 
the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 
Protocol. Laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status and 
the Government has established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. The Government respected the UNHCR's eligibility 
determinations regarding asylum seekers.
    Several laws regulate the legal status of Palestinian refugees in 
the country, including one that stipulates Palestinian refugees have 
the same rights as citizens except for those rights dependent on 
nationality. The law allows for the issuance of identity cards and the 
same government protections due to citizens. A 1963 law regulates the 
issuance of travel documents to Palestinian refugees residing in the 
country, on condition that they registered with the General 
Administration for Palestine Arab Refugees and hold Syrian provisional 
identity cards.
    In practice the Government provided some protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. During the year the Government returned some Iraqi female 
refugees whom authorities had arrested on charges of prostitution, 
depositing them across the border in Iraq, where traffickers often 
subsequently brought them back into the country. There were also 
reports that the Government deported Iraqi refugees operating illegal 
Internet cafes. UN agencies reported that security services continued 
the practice of detaining Iraqi refugees for working without a permit.
    There were no reports of Ahvazis forcibly repatriated to Iran at 
year's end. The situation of Ahvazi refugees in the country reportedly 
remained precarious. The Government reportedly continued to deny 
departures for resettlement in other countries. As a result of these 
denials, Ahvazi refugees sometimes attempted illegal border crossings, 
usually to Turkey, Lebanon, or Jordan. Authorities apprehended and 
detained some of the refugees for illegal border crossing or use of 
forged documents. International NGOs knew of at least two Ahvazi 
refugees the Government accepted for resettlement, but both remained in 
detention at year's end.
    The UNRWA reported there were approximately 460,000 registered 
Palestinian refugees in the country during the year, approximately 
153,000 of whom resided in UNRWA-administered camps. The General 
Authority of Palestinian Arab Refugees in Syria, 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.
    At year's end there were approximately 444 Iraqi Palestinian 
refugees registered at al-Hol camp after moving there when al-Tanf camp 
on the Syrian-Iraqi border closed on February 1. Approximately 2,450 
Iraqi Palestinians lived in Damascus and its outlying areas at year's 
end, with the majority living in Al-Yarmouk camp. The refugees were 
registered with UNRWA and had access to its services. However, the 
Government does not consider their UNRWA registration legal and did not 
grant them the right to work.
    Approximately 13,250 Iraqi refugees registered for assistance with 
the UNHCR during the year, bringing the total number of registered 
refugees to 151,907. Most received legal and material assistance from 
the UNHCR and other international and nongovernmental humanitarian 
organizations. The UNHCR continued to estimate that between 200,000 to 
300,000 displaced Iraqis lived in the country but the estimate from the 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs was much higher. The total number of Iraqis 
in the country without visas is unknown. The Government generally 
continued to honor the UNHCR's request that states maintain temporary 
protection for all Iraqi asylum seekers and persons whose applications 
were rejected, and it recognized refugees whose cases resettlement 
countries had suspended during the year. Since 2007 the Government 
required all Iraqis to obtain a visa before entry; citizens of other 
Arab League countries were able to enter the country without a visa for 
a renewable period of as long as three months. The extent to which 
authorities enforced the policy at the border remained unclear. The 
Government rarely granted refugees a work permit and many refugees 
resorted to daily labor in the informal sector as guards, construction 
workers, street vendors, and in other manual jobs.
    Generally, Palestinians living in the country are divided into four 
groups, according to the year in which they arrived. According to the 
requirement criteria many Palestinians are excluded from legal work 
opportunities and paid illegally.
    There are no direct provisions in the law giving refugees the right 
to work. According to the UNRWA, the rules for employment of citizens 
are applicable to Palestinian refugees provided that they have been 
living in the country for at least 10 years.
    The Government allowed Iraqi children to attend schools, and 
according to a UNHCR estimate, 24,594 Iraqi children were enrolled in 
public schools in the 2009-10 academic year, compared with 
approximately 33,000 during 2008-09. Most public schools had difficulty 
accommodating the large number of children of Iraqi refugees. Many 
Iraqi children did not attend school for such reasons as overcrowding, 
difficulties with the curriculum, and previous psychological trauma of 
parents and children. However, the year-on-year decrease of student 
enrollment received international attention. Many observers believed it 
could be attributed to increased financial difficulties for Iraqi 
families, as they do not have the legal right to work in Syria, causing 
children to leave school for any paying job, legal or illegal.

    Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived solely from the father, 
living or deceased. Following the 1962 census, approximately 120,000 
Syrian Kurds lost their citizenship. As a result, those individuals and 
their descendants remained severely disadvantaged in terms of social 
and economic opportunities and in receiving government services 
including health and education, as well as employment open only to 
citizens. Stateless Kurds had limited access to university education, 
and lack of citizenship or identity documents restricted their travel 
to and from the country. In September, the UN special rapporteur on 
right to food stated that between 250,000 and 300,000 stateless Kurds 
remained in the country.
    Despite the president's repeated promises to resolve the matter of 
stateless Kurds, there was no progress during the year.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    Although the constitution provides the right for citizens to 
peacefully change their government through elections, in practice they 
did not have that right because elections were neither free nor fair. 
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. The presidential candidate is 
then approved by a majority of votes in a popular referendum. The 
president and his senior aides, particularly those in the military and 
security services, made most political and economic decisions with a 
limited degree of public accountability.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The most recent 
presidential, parliamentary, and local elections took place in 2007. 
The Government barred international election monitors from entering the 
country to observe the elections. Local and international human rights 
advocates judged all three elections as neither free nor fair and 
stated that they served to reassert the primacy and political monopoly 
of power Asad and the Ba'ath Party apparatus wielded. Although some 
opposition groups estimated voter turnout in the presidential election 
at significantly less than 50 percent, the Government's official 
statistics reported voter turnout to be 96 percent, and President Asad 
reportedly won 98 percent of the vote. Outside observers uniformly 
dismissed the voter statistics as fraudulent and not representative of 
observed participation.
    The president and the Ba'ath Party suppressed political opposition. 
The constitution provides that the Ba'ath Party is the ruling party and 
ensures that it has a majority in all government and popular 
associations, such as workers' and women's groups. The Ba'ath Party and 
nine other smaller satellite political parties constitute the National 
Progressive Front (NPF), a coalition of parties that accept the leading 
role of the Ba'ath Party. Originally established in 1971, the Ba'ath-
dominated NPF represented the only framework for legal political party 
participation for citizens. The Ba'ath Party dominated the 250-member 
parliament, or People's Council. During the 2007 parliamentary and 
local elections, NPF candidates won an overwhelming majority of 
offices. Some independent candidates the Government had vetted were 
permitted to run and win seats at parliamentary and local levels.
    The Government did not permit the establishment of independent 
political parties. In recent years citizens sought to establish 
political parties but did not receive licenses from the Government. In 
practice the Government tolerated some political parties, such as the 
Communist Union Movement, and it subjected members of other parties, 
such as the Communist Action Party, the People's Party, and the Arab 
Social Union, to harassment but not automatic arrest for membership. 
Members of Islamist parties were subject to immediate arrest and, in 
previous years, execution. Including the Muslim Brotherhood and 12 
Syrian Kurdish parties, there were an estimated 30 illegal opposition 
political parties of varying sizes and influence operating in the 
country.
    Women and minorities generally participated in the political system 
without formal restriction. During the year a female vice president and 
three female cabinet ministers were in office. Thirty of the 250 
ministers of parliament were women. In addition, the president had two 
high-ranking female advisors.
    There was one Druze and one Kurdish minister in the parliament. 
Alawites, the ruling religious minority, held a large percentage of 
cabinet and parliamentary seats. According to human rights observers, 
ethnic and religious minorities outside the Alawite and Christian 
communities claimed they had no genuine representation in the 
Government and that minority representatives were often more responsive 
to the ruling party than to their minority constituencies.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively. There 
were reports of government corruption during the year, and the World 
Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a 
problem. Notwithstanding the investigation and dismissal of scores of 
mid- and low-level officials for corruption during the second half of 
2010, many other officials continued to engage in corrupt practices 
with impunity.
    Corruption continued to be a pervasive problem in the police forces 
and security services. During the year there were reports of prison 
guards demanding bribes from prisoners and their visitors. Visiting 
family members who paid higher bribes enjoyed visits to detainees 
without police surveillance. Bribes reportedly ranged from 200 to 3,300 
Syrian pounds ($4 to $75). Human rights lawyers and family members of 
detainees also 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, and child laborers reported 
bribing police to avoid arrest.
    There are no public financial disclosure laws for public officials. 
The prime minister's Central Commission for Control and Inspection is 
the main administrative body responsible for coordinating and 
monitoring public sector corruption. Each government body, including 
the ministries, has a Control and Inspection Department that reports 
directly to the Central Commission. There is no government body charged 
with monitoring private-sector corruption.
    In August the Government announced that the volume of official 
corruption during the past 19 months amounted to five billion Syrian 
pounds ($104 million). However, independent observers claimed the 
number was much higher. According to Transparency International, 
corruption worsened relative to the prior reporting year.
    There are no laws providing for public access to government 
information, and the Government granted no access in practice.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no legal domestic human rights groups, but approximately 
14 human rights groups operated illegally in the country. During the 
year there were reports that the Government harassed domestic human 
rights activists by subjecting them to regular surveillance and 
imposing travel bans as activists sought to attend workshops and 
conferences outside the country.
    NGOs reported that they rarely received responses from the Ministry 
of Social Affairs and Labor. The Government normally responded to 
queries from human rights organizations and foreign embassies regarding 
specific cases by claiming that the case was still under investigation; 
that the prisoner in question had violated national security laws; or, 
if the case was in criminal court, that the executive could not 
interfere with the country's independent judiciary.
    In general, the Government remained highly suspicious of 
international human rights NGOs and typically did not allow them into 
the country. As a matter of policy, the Government denied to 
international human rights groups that it commits human rights abuses. 
The Government did not agree to a request from HRW to visit the country 
during the year.
    At year's end the Government had signed memoranda of understanding 
with at least 14 international humanitarian NGOs--including Premiere 
Urgence, the Danish Refugee Council, the Danish Red Cross, 
International Medical Corps, the Qatari Red Crescent, the Institut 
Europeen de Cooperation et de Developpement, the Turkish Blue Crescent, 
Enfants du Monde-Droits de l'Homme, HELP, International Rescue 
Committee, Mercy Corps, and the Islamic Relief France--primarily for 
projects related to assisting Iraqi refugees. The Government monitored 
this work closely and restricted outreach efforts.
    On June 20, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres 
visited the country, to commemorate World Refugee Day. On February 19-
20, UNRWA Deputy Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi visited to discuss 
the situation in Gaza.
    There were two significant criticisms of the Government by UN 
bodies during the year. On May 3, the UN Committee Against Torture 
released a review highlighting the concern that ``[t]he state of 
emergency remained in force in Syria and that, under the applicable 
legal regime, the concept of a threat to national security was so broad 
that apparently almost anything could be covered by it.''
    On September 7, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, 
Olivier De Schutter, acting on a mandate from the UN Human Rights 
Council, issued a report on the right to food, in regards to human 
rights and humanitarian situations in the country. The report 
highlighted the drought in the northeast and the severe effects that 
the Kurds faced in that region.

Section 6. 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. The Government did not 
enforce the law effectively. For example, membership in the Ba'ath 
Party or close familial relations with a prominent party member or 
powerful government official assisted in economic, social, or 
educational advancement. Party or government connections made it easier 
to gain admission into better elementary and secondary schools, to 
access lucrative employment, and to achieve greater power within the 
Government, the military, and the security services. The Government 
reserved certain prominent positions, such as provincial governorships, 
solely for Ba'ath Party members.

    Women.--A number of sections of family and criminal law are based 
on Sharia and do not treat men and women equally. Some personal status 
laws use Sharia regardless of the religion of those involved in the 
case. Rape is a felony, and the Government effectively enforced 
existing rape laws. There are no laws against spousal rape. According 
to article 439 of the penal code, ``rape is considered to occur when a 
man forces a woman who is not his wife to have intercourse,'' subject 
to punishment of at least 15 years in prison. Article 508 of the penal 
code stipulates: ``If there is a contracted marriage between the man 
who commits rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping, sexual harassment and the 
victim, then there is no charge or the punishment is stopped.'' 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 stigma attached to rape. If the victim is too young 
for marriage, the rapist receives a longer prison sentence. While 
statistics on the matter are rare, observers claimed that there were a 
minimum of 1,300 cases of rape in 2009. Statistics on spousal rape were 
not available. Activists asserted that rape was a serious problem in 
the country; and the police and judiciary have shown a willingness to 
prosecute rapists.
    The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, and 
violence against women occurred during the year. The majority of 
domestic violence and sexual assault cases went unreported; victims 
have traditionally been reluctant to seek assistance outside the family 
for fear of social stigmatization. Observers reported that when some 
abused women tried to file a police report, the police did not respond 
to their claims aggressively, if at all. 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 Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Damascus continued to run a 24-
hour emergency shelter and telephone hotline for female victims of 
domestic violence. The hotline was staffed by more than 40 people on 
rotating shifts. Shelter workers said police had been increasingly 
helpful in referring women to the shelter. The Association for Women's 
Role Development, Oasis of Hope, and the Syrian Family Planning 
Association also provided family and psychological counseling. There 
were at least four private shelters open to battered women in Damascus.
    Gender-based violence was a continuing concern among the Iraqi 
refugee population, with 461 known cases of sexual and gender-based 
violence as of June. Updated figures were not available at year's end. 
The UNHCR reportedly supported several ``safe houses'' in Damascus that 
provided accommodation, food, social counseling, vocational training, 
and legal and medical services for women and children who suffered any 
form of violence in Iraq or Syria.
    The Government kept no official statistics on honor crimes, and 
when cases were reported, full names were rarely given. Advocacy groups 
did not release full names to protect victims. There were numerous 
press and anecdotal reports of honor crimes throughout the year. 
According to the most recent MOI estimate, 38 honor crimes took place 
between June 2008 and June 2009. Women's rights observers estimated 
there were between 300 and 400 such killings during the year. Other 
women's rights activists also stated that the actual numbers were 
higher than reported. Further, families or friends willing to discuss 
the cases refused to divulge names for reasons of privacy or fear of 
retribution. Most honor criminals, human rights activists claimed, were 
convicted under article 192, which permits judges to reduce legal 
penalties in cases when an individual's motive for murder is a sense of 
honor.
    On May 19, Hasso Abdal, a resident of Hassakeh, murdered his 21-
year-old daughter by shooting her in the head. Observers report that 
the daughter was married at age 16 and then divorced. A second marriage 
also resulted in divorce. The victim then ran away with a local 
policeman who promised to marry her. Soon after, the policeman was 
arrested and the woman was placed in the custody of her family, after 
which her father shot her.
    In September, according to observers, a man killed his 15-year-old 
daughter in a village near the city of Ifreen, in the Aleppo 
Governorate; the father surrendered to the police, claiming that he 
killed his daughter for a ``decent motive.''
    The UNHCR observed that there was a growing practice of muta'a, a 
temporary ``pleasure marriage'' conducted by some Shiite clerics. These 
marriages are of predetermined duration and become null and void once 
the agreed-upon term has passed. They can last as little as one day and 
primarily serve individuals seeking to legitimize patronizing 
prostitutes. Most Shiite clerics viewed the practice as suspect and did 
not conduct such marriages.
    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.
    Couples and individuals generally have the right to decide freely 
and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and 
the means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. 
Although the supply of modern contraceptives was available to less than 
half of the public, most of the demand for family planning was 
satisfied in the country, according to the NGO Population Reference 
Bureau (PRB). In Damascus, grocery stores openly sold condoms. Skilled 
personnel attended approximately 98 percent of all births, and more 
than 80 percent of women who gave birth had access to postnatal care, 
according to the PRB. According to statistics compiled by international 
organizations, there were approximately 46 maternal deaths per 100,000 
live births in the country in 2008. Information was not available 
regarding diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections. 
According to the latest data, the rate of prevalence of HIV/AIDS was 
0.01 percent in 2001.
    The constitution provides for equality between men and women and 
for the ``right of every citizen to earn his wage according to the 
nature and yield of the work.'' The Government sought to overcome 
traditional discriminatory attitudes toward women and encouraged 
women's education by ensuring equal access to educational institutions, 
including universities. The Commission for Family Affairs, the MOJ, and 
the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MoSAL) shared responsibility 
for attempting to provide for equal legal rights of women.
    Personal status, retirement, or social security laws discriminate 
against women. Under criminal law, if a man and woman separately commit 
the same criminal act of adultery, the woman's punishment is double 
that of the man's. For Muslims, personal status law is based on the 
Government's interpretation and application of Sharia, which treats men 
and women differently.
    A divorced woman is not entitled to alimony in some cases, such as 
if she gave up her right to alimony to persuade her husband to agree to 
the divorce. In addition, under the law a divorced mother loses the 
right to 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 goes to the paternal side of 
the family after the age of 13 and 15, respectively.
    Inheritance for all citizens except Catholics is based on the 
Government's interpretation of Sharia. Accordingly, Muslim women 
usually were granted half of the inheritance share of male heirs. In 
all communities, male heirs must provide financial support to the 
female relatives who inherit less. If they do not, females have the 
right to sue. During the year there were reports that in some regions 
custom prevailed over the law, and women were denied any inheritance.
    A woman's husband or any other male relative may request that his 
wife's and his minor dependents' travel abroad be prohibited. Although 
official statistics were not available, foreign embassies reported a 
number of such incidents during the year.
    Women participated actively in public life and were represented in 
most professions, including the armed forces. Women were not impeded 
from owning or managing land or other real property. Various sources 
observed that women constituted an appreciable minority of lawyers, 
university professors and other professions. According to the World 
Bank, 60 percent of secondary school teachers in 2008 were women. 
Additionally, women were represented in the judiciary, parliament, and 
high levels of government, including three cabinet ministers and one 
vice president.

    Children.--Citizenship is only passed through the father. There 
were reports of rare cases of persons granted Syrian citizenship after 
years in the country.
    The Government provided free public education to citizen children 
from primary school through university. Education is compulsory for all 
children between the ages of six and 12. Noncitizen children could also 
attend public schools free but required prior permission from the 
Ministry of Education. 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.
    In general, Palestinians and other noncitizens, including stateless 
Kurds, can send their children to school and universities. Stateless 
Kurds are ineligible to receive a degree documenting their academic 
achievement.
    The legal age for marriage is 18 for males and 17 for females. 
However, a male 15 years or older and a female 13 years or older may be 
married if a judge deems both to be willing parties to the marriage, 
both are ``physically mature,'' and the father or grandfather consent. 
Although underage marriage has declined considerably in the past 
decades, it remained common and occurred in all communities, albeit in 
greater numbers in rural and less developed regions.
    The country lacked a formal law protecting children from abuse. 
There were reports of children under the age of 18 engaging in 
prostitution, but the country was not considered a destination for 
child sex tourism. The penal code stipulates penalties for those found 
guilty of certain forms of child abuse associated with trafficking 
crimes--namely kidnapping and forced prostitution--both of which carry 
a penalty of up to three years in prison. Rape of a child under the age 
of 15 is punishable by up to 21 years in prison. Pre-marital sex is 
technically illegal, but observers claim the law is never enforced. 
Child pornography is a very serious offense: Article 5 of Decree 3, the 
country's first anti-trafficking law, stipulates that any form of child 
pornography is a trafficking crime.
    Violent schoolteacher behavior was reportedly not unusual, a 
perception strengthened by a video posted on September 14 on Facebook 
of teachers using a wooden stick strongly beating a boy on the soles of 
his feet and a girl on her hands. The perpetrators of the beating were 
subsequently identified and dismissed.
    Human rights organizations reported multiple cases in which 
security services detained minors and placed them in adult prisons.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were an estimated 100 to 200 Jews living in 
the country. Jewish leaders reported no acts of physical violence or 
specific instances of anti-Semitism against, or harassment of, Jewish 
persons. However, the media contained anti-Semitic material, such as a 
cartoon in the February 22 newspaper Abidh Wassoud titled ``Resistance 
Prevents Jews From Swallowing the World,'' which portrayed a Jewish man 
about to eat the world. Similarly, on November 25, a cartoon appeared 
in the English-language newspaper Syria News showing Uncle Sam's body 
with a stereotypical Jewish hat and head with the title ``Who's In 
Charge?'' On December 29, the newspaper Al-Thawra pictured Uncle Sam 
and an old Jewish man standing beside the hospital bed of a sick 
African child with the heading ``Jew, U.S. Fear for Darfur's Health-Due 
to Darfur Oil.''
    On June 9, a Syrian delegate in speaking to the UN Human Rights 
Council claimed that Jewish authorities taught hatred of Arabs to small 
children. Alluding to the blood libel, she alleged that children on 
buses in Israel were taught to sing a song as they went to school 
containing the words, ``With my teeth I will rip your flesh. With my 
mouth I will suck your blood.''

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities and seeks to integrate them into the 
public sector workforce; but the Government did not effectively enforce 
these provisions. The law protects persons with disabilities from 
discrimination in education, access to health, or provision of other 
state services. Article 7 of Law 50 reserves 4 percent of government 
jobs for persons with disabilities. Article 136 of Law 17 reserves 2 
percent of private business jobs for persons with disabilities. Private 
businesses are eligible for tax exemptions after hiring persons with 
disabilities. The MoSAL is responsible for assisting persons with 
disabilities and worked through dedicated charities and organizations 
to provide assistance, often to promote self-sufficiency through 
vocational training. There were no reports of abuse patterns in mental 
health facilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Government generally 
permitted national and ethnic minorities to conduct traditional, 
religious, and cultural activities but the Government's actions toward 
the Kurdish minority remained a significant exception. Security 
services arrested hundreds of Kurdish citizens during the year, and the 
SSSC prosecuted them, in some cases on charges of seeking to annex part 
of Syria to another country. These efforts were widely documented, 
including in a November 2009 Human Rights Watch report Repression of 
Kurdish Culture and Rights in Syria.
    For example, on March 21, security forces fired on a crowd of Kurds 
in Raqqah, a town in the northeast, during their annual Nowruz 
celebrations. According to HRW, Kurds congregated on the outskirts of 
Raqqah at about 9 a.m. at a gathering organized by the PYD (Hezb al-
Ittihad al-Dimocrati), an unlicensed party in the country. Kurdish 
flags and pictures of Abdallah Ocalan, jailed leader of the terrorist 
organization Kongra-Gel, the former PKK, were displayed at the 
gathering. After a short time, uniformed and plainclothes security 
forces attempted to disperse the crowds by force. Kurdish human rights 
groups stated that two people were killed during the demonstrations, 
although only one death, that of Muhammad Omar Haydar, was confirmed by 
observers and human rights activists. Security forces arrested dozens 
of Kurds during and after the festival. At year's end no formal 
investigations had been undertaken. Nowruz festivals have had a history 
of being interrupted, sometimes violently, throughout the country.
    On September 7, UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier 
De Schutter, acting on a mandate from the UN Human Rights Council, 
issued a report on the right to food, in regards to human rights and 
humanitarian situations in the country. One of the main recommendations 
of the detailed examination called on the Government to stop its 
discrimination against the 250,000 to 300,000 stateless Kurds, who 
among other handicaps, lacked access to the public distribution of 
subsidized food. The report concluded that ``nothing short of 
attribution of full citizenship rights is required'' for stateless 
Kurds to realize the full range of their human rights, particularly 
economic, social, and cultural rights.
    According to a Kurdish news Web site, on November 7, Kurdish lawyer 
and writer Mustafa Ismail was convicted of ``working to withhold part 
of Syrian territory and annex it to the foreign State'' and sentenced 
to seven years in prison. He was tried before a military judge in 
Aleppo when he pled not guilty to all charges against him.
    A Kurdish-run human rights watchdog, Kurdwatch.org, estimated that 
as of October 11, there had been 59 arrests and 38 convictions of 
Kurds. In addition, the Web site recounted that 26 of the 38 
convictions were for having connections to a political party.
    In December 2009 human rights observers reported that writer and 
activist Bir Rustom was arrested as a result of his travel to Iraqi 
Kurdistan. Rustom was summoned for questioning by security officials, 
and then detained. In response to his family's inquiries, security 
officials said they knew nothing about his status. At year's end 
Burstom had not been sentenced, and his whereabouts remained unknown.
    Many human rights observers believed that the Government 
deliberately attempted to stop any public display of ``Kurdishness.''
    Although the Government contended there was no discrimination 
against the Kurdish population, it placed limits on the use and 
teaching of the Kurdish language. It also restricted the publication of 
books and other materials in Kurdish, Kurdish cultural expression, and 
at times the celebration of Kurdish festivals. After beginning in 2009, 
authorities continued enforcement of an old ruling requiring that at 
least 60 percent of the words on signs in shops and restaurants be in 
Arabic. Officials reportedly sent patrols into commercial districts to 
threaten shop owners with closure if they refused to change the names 
of their stores into Arabic. Minority groups--especially Kurds, whom 
the Government appeared to target specifically--regarded the step as a 
further attempt to undermine their cultural identity.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizing 
homosexual conduct states that each sexual act ``contrary to nature'' 
is punishable by as long as three years in prison. Because homosexual 
conduct was both unlawful and considered shameful, the law made gays, 
lesbians, and transgendered individuals vulnerable to honor crime 
retaliation. Penal code Article 192 permits judges to reduce legal 
penalties in cases when an individual's motive for murder is a sense of 
honor.
    There were no reports of prosecutions under laws criminalizing 
homosexual conduct during the year nor evidence of honor crimes against 
gays and lesbians; however, reports indicated that dozens of gays and 
lesbians have been imprisoned over the past several years after being 
arrested on vague charges such as abusing social values, selling, 
buying or consuming illegal drugs, and organizing and promoting 
``obscene'' parties. There were no reports of punishment for female 
homosexual behavior.
    The size of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
community was unclear, as many individuals feared identifying 
themselves as such or forming LGBT associations due to societal 
discrimination and the potential for criminal charges. There were no 
NGOs focused on LGBT matters. There were several online networking 
communities, including Facebook pages, that served the local LGBT 
community. However, increasing Internet connectivity in the country, 
albeit under the Government's watchful eye, helped network the 
community.
    Human rights activists believed there was overt societal 
discrimination based on sexual orientation in all aspects of society. 
There are no official discriminatory laws based on sexual orientation 
in employment, as homosexuality is a crime in the country. There were 
no reports during the year of specific employment or government service 
discrimination based on sexual orientation.

    Other Societal Violence and Discrimination.--There were no reports 
of violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. Human 
rights activists believed that the extent of the problem was widely 
underreported.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--Although 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. 
Foreign workers may join the union representing their profession but 
may not run for election to union office, with the exception of 
Palestinians who can serve as elected officials in unions. While the 
law does not prohibit labor strikes, they are severely restricted by 
threat of punishment and fines. All unions belonged to the General 
Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), which was dominated by the Ba'ath 
Party; it controlled most aspects of union activity, including which 
sectors or areas of activity can have a union.
    The GFTU advised the Government on legislation, organized workers, 
and formulated rules for member unions, effectively controlling nearly 
all aspects of union activity, and has the power to disband union 
governing bodies. Union elections were generally free of direct, overt 
GFTU interference, but successful campaigns usually required membership 
in the Ba'ath Party. The GFTU president was a senior member of the 
Ba'ath Party, and he and his deputy could attend cabinet meetings on 
economic affairs.
    Foreign workers can join unions according to sector but are 
prohibited from serving as elected officials, with the exception of 
Palestinians who can serve as elected officials in unions. And 
collective bargaining was not practiced in any meaningful way. By the 
end of the year, there were no reports that any individual union, the 
GFTU, or any cooperatives had exercised their right to collective 
bargaining. There were reports of a strike at a port in Tartous by more 
than 2,500 workers demanding better working conditions and pay raises, 
which they received. Observers claim that strikes are rare for fear of 
repercussions.
    The law does not prohibit strikes. However, strikes with more than 
20 workers in certain sectors including transportation and 
telecommunication are punishable by fines and prison sentences. Workers 
who strike in public places are subjected to fines and prison 
sentences. Previous government punishment, including fines and prison 
sentences, deterred workers from striking. Forced labor was imposed on 
individuals who caused ``prejudice to the general production plan.'' 
There are no legal protections for self-employed workers even though 
they comprise more than 55 percent of the total workforce.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right to bargain collectively; this right did not 
exist in practice, as the unions were 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, but foreign workers were excluded from 
this right.
    The law provides for collective bargaining in the private sector, 
although past government repression dissuaded most workers from 
exercising this right.
    Unions have the right to litigate disputes over work contracts and 
other workers' interests with employers and may ask for binding 
arbitration. In practice labor and management representatives settled 
most disputes without resorting to legal remedies or arbitration. 
Management has the right to request arbitration, but that right seldom 
was exercised. Arbitration authority is vested in the MOJ's 
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 often.
    There were no reports of antiunion discrimination and a mechanism 
to report this practice does not exist. Unions are part of the 
Government's bureaucratic structure and the law protects union members 
from discrimination.
    According to labor law all public-sector workers are members of a 
union. Firms in the free trade zones (FTZs) 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. The Ministry of Economy and Trade governs the FTZs and makes 
unannounced inspections.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law does not 
prohibit all forms of forced or compulsory labor, and the forced or 
compulsory labor existed in the country. Domestic workers such as 
housekeepers, cooks, and servants were subjected to excessive work 
hours, inadequate living quarters, restrictions on movement and 
communication, and emotional and physical abuse from employers.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor law provides for the protection of children from exploitation in 
the workplace. Independent information and audits regarding government 
enforcement were not available. The Ministry of Social Affairs and 
Labor is the primary institution overseeing child labor but the exact 
monitoring mechanisms are unknown. The ministry is also responsible for 
tracking enrollment of children in schools up to age 15. Child labor is 
the main source of income for some Iraqi families in refugee camps as 
they are not allowed to legally work.
    The private-sector minimum age for employment is 15 years for most 
types of nonagricultural labor and 17 years for heavy work. Children of 
legal age may work only six hours a day and may not work during night 
shifts, weekends, or on official holidays. In all cases parental 
permission is required for children younger than 16 to work. Most 
children younger than 16 who worked did so for their parents in the 
agricultural sector without remuneration. Although the law prohibits 
children from working at night, it 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. The law prohibits children younger than 15 from working in 
mines, at petroleum sites, or in other dangerous areas. Children are 
not allowed to lift, carry, or drag heavy objects.
    During the year increasing numbers of children were compelled to 
work, according to human rights advocates. The MoSAL reportedly 
asserted that 500 children were involved in child labor. The 
International Labor Organization (ILO) and the UN Children's Fund 
estimated the number to be 650,000.
    The MoSAL, with the ILO, launched a national program to eradicate 
child labor in Syria. On August 10, the World Health Organization 
sponsored a workshop on eliminating child labor, and the seminar 
focused on strengthening the national capacity to eliminate child 
labor.
    There was evidence that children engaged in some of the worst forms 
of child labor during the year, including forced labor and 
prostitution. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    In August, according to local media, the Ministry announced new 
provisions to prevent child begging and solicitation. The provisions 
include fines ranging from SYP 23,000 to SYP 46,000 ($500 to $1,000), 
but monitoring and enforcement measures are unclear. Many observers 
were not aware of this law and details were not available at year's 
end.
    The MoSAL monitored employment conditions for persons younger than 
18, but there were too few inspectors to ensure compliance with the 
laws. The Labor Inspection Department performed unannounced spot checks 
of employers daily to enforce the law, but the scope of these checks 
was unknown. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The public sector minimum wage 
is divided into five categories based on job type and/or level of 
education. The minimum monthly wage for an individual with four to five 
years of university education was SYP 9,645 to 9,965 ($211 to $218), 
plus benefits; with a high school diploma up to two years of university 
education, SYP 7,750 to 8,465 ($169 to $185); with a junior high school 
diploma, SYP 6,765 ($148); for drivers, SYP 6,200 ($136); and laborers 
or janitors, SYP 6,010 ($132). Benefits included compensation for 
meals, uniforms, and transportation. The minimum wage did not provide a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family. Private-sector 
companies usually paid much higher wages. Many workers in both the 
public and private sectors took additional manual jobs or were 
supported by their extended families. Observers claimed that second 
jobs provided an extra SYP 4,500 to SYP 9,000 ($100 to $200) per month. 
The labor and social affairs minister was responsible for enforcing the 
minimum wage. The ministry has special inspectors who are tasked with 
unannounced inspections to ensure compliance with minimum wage, 
employee benefits, and child labor laws.
    The public-sector workweek was 35 hours; the private sector's was 
48 hours. Workers were guaranteed one 30-minute lunch break per day at 
minimum. Premium pay exists for overtime worked, and a prohibition on 
excessive compulsory overtime exists in several sectors.
    Officials from the Ministries of Health and Labor were designated 
to inspect work sites for compliance with health and safety standards; 
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 more inspectors. Workers may lodge complaints about health and 
safety conditions with special committees established to adjudicate 
such cases. Workers have the right to remove themselves from hazardous 
conditions without risking loss of employment. Migrant workers are not 
covered under these laws and are vulnerable to abuse.
    On March 29, the president issued Labor Law 17, which prohibits 
discrimination against workers based on race, skin color, sex, marital 
status, religion, political viewpoints, nationality, social background, 
or dress. The law further states that any worker can seek damages 
against any employer who is in violation of this law. Among other 
provisions it also increases employment-violation fines from SYP 200 to 
SYP 500,000 ($4.50 to $11,000); establishes a special court in each 
governorate to oversee employment disputes; and sets up a national 
committee on the minimum wage.

                               __________

                                TUNISIA

    Tunisia is a constitutional republic with a population of 
approximately 10 million, which during the year was dominated by a 
single political party, the Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD). As 
of December 31, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country's president since 
1987, was still in office. In October 2009 President Ben Ali ran for 
reelection against three opposition candidates and was declared the 
winner with 89.6 percent of the popular vote to serve a fifth five-year 
term. In concurrent elections for the Chamber of Deputies, the RCD won 
161 of 214 seats. Restrictions imposed upon candidates and various 
procedural aspects of the elections raised doubts about whether either 
the presidential or legislative elections were free and fair. In 2008 
indirect elections for some seats in the Chamber of Advisors, the upper 
house of parliament, resulted in a heavily pro-RCD body. Security 
forces reported to civilian authorities.
    During the year there were significant limitations on citizens' 
right to change their government. There were reports of at least one 
arbitrary or unlawful killing. Local and international nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) reported that security forces tortured and 
physically abused prisoners and detainees and arbitrarily arrested and 
detained individuals. Security forces acted with impunity, sanctioned 
by high-ranking officials. There were also reports of lengthy pretrial 
and incommunicado detention. Severe government-imposed restrictions on 
freedoms of speech, press, and association worsened in the period 
leading to and following the October 2009 elections. The Government 
remained intolerant of public criticism, and there were widespread 
reports it used intimidation, criminal investigations, the judicial 
system, arbitrary arrests, residential restrictions, and travel 
controls to discourage criticism. Corruption among government officials 
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.--During popular riots 
against President Ben Ali's rule that started on December 18, security 
forces in the town of Menzel Bouzaiene, in the central Sidi Bouzid 
region, used live ammunition on protesters and shot and killed Mohammed 
Ammari on December 24. Security forces claimed that Ammari was shot in 
self-defense after shots fired into the air failed to disperse scores 
of protesters who were setting police cars and buildings ablaze.
    There were no developments or reports of a government investigation 
in the 2008 death by electrocution of protester Hichem Alaimi at a 
power station in Redeyef, or the 2008 shootings of Hafnaoui Al-
Maghzaoui and Abdelkhalak Amaidi by security forces during the 2008 
Gafsa protests. There were no reports of court cases opened into either 
case.

    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 
several reports by independent domestic and international human rights 
organizations, security forces tortured detainees to elicit confessions 
and discourage resistance and engaged in beatings and other cruel 
treatments and punishments.
    Reported methods of torture included sexual abuse; sleep 
deprivation; electric shock; death threats; 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 international human 
rights groups, on occasion police and prison officials used threats of 
sexual assault against prisoners' wives and daughters to extract 
information, intimidate, and punish.
    Charges of torture in specific cases were difficult to prove, and 
authorities generally did not take steps to investigate allegations or 
punish perpetrators. There were several allegations that authorities 
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 alleged victims sometimes accused police of torture 
without filing a complaint, which is a prerequisite for an 
investigation. However, according to defense attorneys and local and 
international human rights groups, police routinely refused to register 
complaints. Judges sometimes dismissed complaints without investigation 
and accepted as evidence confessions allegedly extracted through 
torture. The Government can open an administrative investigation of 
allegations of torture or mistreatment of prisoners without a formal 
complaint; however, in such cases the results were not made public or 
available to the lawyers representing affected prisoners.
    Reports of torture were most frequently associated with the initial 
phases of interrogation and investigation and more often in pretrial 
detention centers than prisons. Human rights activists, citing prisoner 
accounts, identified facilities at the Ministry of Interior and Local 
Development 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, including reports of torture, solitary confinement, and 
cancellation of family visitation rights. Government forces also abused 
individuals outside custody, most commonly human rights or opposition 
activists, allegedly for purposes of intimidation or retaliation for 
unauthorized activities.
    On April 24, plainclothes police arrested human rights activist and 
independent journalist Zouheir Makhlouf at his home. Makhlouf stated 
that when he asked them for an arrest warrant, officers beat him in 
front of his wife and children and took him to the Borj Louzir police 
station in Tunis, where they interrogated him for seven hours. Makhlouf 
suffered from a broken nose and a black eye and reported his physician 
put him on bed rest for 21 days to recover from his injuries.
    On July 9, two police officers attacked and detained Ismail Debara, 
a journalist with the Democratic Progressive Party (PDP)'s Arabic 
biweekly, Al-Mowqif, in downtown Tunis. The officers seized his 
briefcase, confiscated his private papers, and took him to a police 
station in downtown Tunis, where they allegedly further threatened and 
verbally assaulted him. The police asked Debara to sign a statement 
stipulating that he was caught putting stickers and invitations to a 
PDP conference on the hoods of parked vehicles. Debara allegedly 
refused to sign and was subsequently released.
    On September 5, according to local human rights monitors, Mornaguia 
prison guards led by Ali Ouergli violently beat Ramzi Romdhani, causing 
him grievous bodily harm and perforating his right eardrum. Romdhani 
was then chained and placed in solitary confinement until September 9. 
Romdhani, who was serving a 29-year sentence on terrorism-related 
charges at Mornaguia Prison in Tunis, previously reported that guards 
tortured him in April 2009. The guards reportedly kicked him, causing 
him to lose several teeth, burned him with cigarettes, and submerged 
his head in a bucket of water until he fainted.
    On December 28, plainclothes police arrested human rights activist 
and lawyer Abderraouf Ayadi without an arrest warrant at his home. 
Ayadi was taken to an undisclosed location where he was detained for a 
day, interrogated, and severely beaten, resulting in numerous cuts and 
bruises to his back. He reported that he was arrested for a speech he 
made during demonstrations led by lawyers in Tunis on December 27.
    There were no developments in the March 2009 case of Abdelmottaleb 
Ben Marzoug, who alleged he was suspended in a ``roasted chicken'' 
position by state security forces at an Interior Ministry detention 
center in an attempt to extract a confession of his alleged 
participation in a physical altercation at a bar. At year's end Marzoug 
remained in prison on terrorism charges, and the investigating judge 
had not ordered an investigation into Marzoug's allegations of torture.
    Wahid Brahmi dropped all claims of torture and rape against the 
Government. In September 2009 Brahmi published a letter in Al-Mowqif 
alleging that Gafsa prison officials had tortured and raped him in 
custody beginning in 2008. At year's end he was reported to be employed 
by the Government in his hometown of Sidi Bouzid.
    There were no developments in the May 2009 case of human rights 
activist Ammar Amroussia, allegedly assaulted by six police officers, 
including Gafsa police chief Sami Yahyaoui; the state security forces' 
June 2009 assault on human rights attorneys Abdel-Raouf Ayadi, Radia 
Nasraoui, and Abdelwahed Maatar; the June 2009 armed attack on the PDP 
secretary general Maya Jribi and other party members that police and 
security forces failed to stop; the alleged September 2009 assault on 
Radia Nasraoui and her husband and official spokesperson of the banned 
Communist Party of State Workers, Hamma Hammami, by plainclothes 
police; or the abduction of prominent independent journalist Slim 
Boukdhir, allegedly orchestrated by several plainclothes police 
officers.
    There were no developments in the 2008 cases of 68 protesters 
arrested and allegedly tortured during unemployment protests in Gafsa; 
the alleged rape in prison of opposition member Zakia Dhifaoui; the 
alleged assault by security forces on Fatma Ksila, secretary general of 
the Committee for the Respect of Freedom and Human Rights in Tunisia, 
and on Samia Abbou, a member of the Tunisian Association for Combating 
Terrorism, which prevented the two from meeting with torture victims' 
families; the assault on a PDP member who was selling copies of Al-
Mowqif; or the assault on Hamma Hammami.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally did not meet international standards. Overcrowding and 
limited medical care posed significant threats to prisoners' health. 
There were credible reports from former political prisoners, human 
rights activists, and family members of detainees that authorities 
sometimes denied injured or sick prisoners prompt access to medical 
care. The Government permitted the International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC) access to prisons but did not grant access to other 
independent human rights observers.
    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 as many as 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 the lack of basic facilities forced inmates 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. According to prisoners' families, the Government imposed 
arbitrary restrictions, such as limiting family visits, when prisoners 
sought redress for grievances about treatment and conditions.
    There were reports that prison officials arbitrarily decided when 
to grant or deny prisoners access to medication. According to the 
International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners 
(AISPP), the administration at Mornaguia Prison in Tunis on January 6 
denied prisoner Mohamed El-Lafi medication he needed for his high blood 
pressure and skin ailments. It did not report whether El-Lafi 
subsequently received medication.
    On January 15, according to local human rights monitors, Mornaguia 
prison authorities deprived Ramzi Romdhani of medical treatment and a 
surgical operation recommended by the prison physician. Human rights 
attorneys believed that Romdhani was denied treatment in retaliation 
for reporting to his family and attorney he had been tortured at an 
Interior Ministry facility (see section 1.c.).
    From July 21 to 27, Hatem Harmi reportedly went on a hunger strike 
in Mornaguia Prison to protest prison conditions; he alleged 100 
prisoners were confined in the same room and three prisoners had to 
share a single bed.
    There were no reports of an investigation into the January 2009 
death of Anouar Ferjani who, according to AISPP, died in custody in 
Mornaguia Prison as a result of deliberate neglect and denial of 
medical care. Ferjani had been sentenced to two years in prison in 2008 
on terrorism-related charges.
    Most political prisoners were separated from the general prison 
population and were under the authority of security forces working for 
the Department of State Security in the Ministry of Interior instead of 
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights officials. Prison administrators 
and guards allegedly instructed other inmates to stay away from 
political prisoners and punished the other inmates severely for making 
contact with the political prisoners. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported 
in early 2008 the Government was keeping some political prisoners, most 
of whom were outlawed Islamist party An-Nahdha leaders, in small-group 
isolation (see section 1.e.). According to prisoner and detainee 
testimony, prison conditions for women were generally better than those 
for men. The law requires that pretrial detainees be held separately 
from convicted prisoners, but in practice they were not always 
separated.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Prisoners and detainees reported 
inhumane detention conditions to their lawyers and family members, but 
there were no reports of government investigations into these 
allegations of inhumane detention conditions. Civil society activists 
and lawyers reported prisoners on death row were denied access to 
visitors.
    The Governmental Higher Committee for Human Rights and Civil 
Liberties continued to make unannounced prison visits and inspections 
of Ministry of Justice facilities during the year; however, the 
committee's reports were not made public.
    The ICRC continued to visit detainees in prisons and detention 
facilities. The ICRC did not report the Government impeded its visits. 
Per its standard modalities, the ICRC shared its observations and 
recommendations with government authorities on a confidential and 
bilateral basis. According to its most recent annual report in 2009, 
the ICRC conducted 56 visits to 37 detention centers. These centers 
held a total of 23,319 detainees; the ICRC held individual interviews 
with 546 detainees. No updated figures were available at year's end. 
The Government did not permit media or independent local or 
international human rights groups to inspect or monitor prison 
conditions. Although the Government pledged to the UN Human Rights 
Committee in 2008 it would allow HRW to visit prisons, negotiations 
between the Government and HRW remained stagnant due to the 
Government's refusal to permit HRW to meet with specific prisoners.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but the Government did not observe these 
prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of 
Interior controls several law enforcement organizations including 
police, who have primary responsibility for law enforcement in the 
major cities; the National Guard, which has responsibility for border 
security and policing smaller cities and the countryside; and state 
security forces, which monitor groups and individuals that the 
Government viewed as posing 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, and police brutality took place. Law enforcement 
organizations sometimes operated with impunity, sanctioned by high-
ranking officials. 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 and the authority to investigate 
security force abuses. The organization's stated mission is to 
reinforce human rights and improve law enforcement; however, no 
information was available about its operations or any punishment of 
police or prison guards.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides that police must have a warrant to arrest a suspect, unless 
the crime committed is a felony or is in progress; however, arbitrary 
arrests and detentions occurred. The penal code permits detention for 
as long as six days before arraignment, during which time the 
Government may hold suspects incommunicado. This time limit was not 
always observed. Arresting officers must inform detainees of their 
rights, immediately inform detainees' families of the arrest, and make 
a complete record of the times and dates of such notifications, but 
police sometimes ignored those rules. Detainees not being held 
incommunicado were allowed access to family members, 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. The Government did 
not regularly uphold these rights. Detainees do not have a right to 
legal representation during prearraignment detention. Attorneys, human 
rights monitors, and former detainees maintained authorities illegally 
extended detention by falsifying arrest dates. Police reportedly 
extorted money from families of detainees in exchange for dropping 
charges against them. The law permits the release of accused persons on 
bail, and detainees have the right to representation by counsel during 
arraignment. The Government provides legal representation for 
indigents. At arraignment the examining magistrate may decide to 
release the accused or remand the prisoner to pretrial detention.
    In cases involving crimes for which the sentence may exceed five 
years or that involve national security, pretrial detention may last an 
initial period of six months and may be extended by court order for two 
additional four-month periods. For crimes in which the sentence may not 
exceed five years, the court may extend the initial six-month pretrial 
detention only by an additional three months. During this pretrial 
stage, the court conducts an investigation, hears arguments, and 
accepts evidence and motions from both parties. Complaints of prolonged 
pretrial detention were common.
    On January 18, eight state security officers entered Walid 
Romdhani's home and arrested him in the presence of his family. Six of 
the officers searched the family home and confiscated documents, 
compact discs, and a computer. His family reported that the officers 
had no warrant for the arrest. Romdhani's arrest was believed to be 
linked to his efforts to expose the torture and prison conditions of 
his brother, Ramzi Romdhani (see section 1.c.). Walid Romdhani was held 
incommunicado until his release on January 20.
    On June 9, human rights lawyers reported officers of the National 
Guard in Chebba, in the governorate of Mahdia, arrested Jamel Ben 
Mohammed Ben Hassine without a warrant on allegations of involvement in 
illegal immigration activities. He was detained for three days, and 
authorities failed to inform his family of his whereabouts. Following 
his release Ben Hassine alleged he had been tortured, had not been 
brought before a judge, and no official charges against him had been 
filed.
    On September 15, police arrested student activist Khaled Gafsaoui 
at his home without a warrant and detained him for eight hours, during 
which they reportedly physically assaulted and verbally abused him. 
Following his release Gafsaoui reported that authorities had 
interrogated him about his activities with the independent General 
Union of Tunisian Students (UGET) and about his signature on a petition 
criticizing a campaign calling for President Ben Ali to present his 
candidacy in the 2014 presidential elections.
    On January 1, the student leader of the UGET, Mohamed Soudani, was 
conditionally released from prison. Authorities arrested Soudani in 
October 2009 after he met with two French journalists covering the 2009 
national and legislative elections. A court sentenced him to four 
months in prison for drunkenness and disorderly and immoral conduct.
    On May 26, the Court of First Instance in Tunis sentenced 11 men 
arrested in 2009 to prison terms ranging from four to 12 years on 
charges of funding an unnamed terrorist cell and recruiting new 
members. The total number remaining in pretrial detention was unknown 
at year's end.
    There were no developments in the 2008 arrest of Zied Fakraoui. 
Police failed to notify Zied's family of his whereabouts until local 
government officials told Fakraoui's lawyers he had been brought before 
an investigating magistrate without the presence of counsel. At year's 
end, Fakraoui was still believed to be in custody.
    According to international and domestic human rights organizations, 
police continued to arrest individuals suspected of membership in an 
armed cell that was reportedly plotting terrorist attacks. Families 
made inquiries about the individuals, but authorities provided no 
information. Local and international groups expressed concern that 
authorities held arrested persons in incommunicado detention at the 
Interior Ministry's State Security Department, where they would be at 
risk of torture and other mistreatment.

    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 cases 
involving political dissidents and oppositionists. The executive branch 
exercised indirect authority over the judiciary through the 
appointment, assignment, tenure, and transfer of judges, rendering the 
system susceptible to pressure. Defendants may request a different 
judge if they believe the one assigned is not impartial; however, 
judges are not required to recuse themselves. The president headed the 
Supreme Council of Judges, composed primarily of presidential 
appointees. There were reports of lack of judicial independence and 
impartiality.
    Military courts fall under the Ministry of Defense. Military 
tribunals have the authority to try cases involving military personnel 
and civilians accused of national security crimes. A defendant may 
appeal a military tribunal's verdict to the civilian Supreme Court. 
Some civilians accused of national security crimes were sentenced in 
military tribunals.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides all citizens the right to a 
fair trial; however, according to international and domestic NGOs, this 
often did not occur in practice.
    The law provides that defendants are presumed innocent until proven 
guilty; however, that presumption was sometimes ignored in practice, 
especially in politically sensitive cases. Trials in the regular courts 
of first instance and in the courts of appeal are open to the public. 
Trials before military tribunals are not open to the public. The 
Government permitted observers from diplomatic missions and foreign 
journalists to monitor trials. Observers may be allowed to attend 
sessions of military tribunals at the court's discretion. There are no 
jury trials. By law, accused persons have the right to be present at 
trial, be represented by counsel (provided at public expense for the 
indigent), question witnesses against them, and present witnesses or 
evidence on their behalf; however, judges did not always observe these 
rights in practice. The law permits a trial in the absence of fugitives 
from the law. Both the accused and the prosecutor may appeal decisions 
of the lower courts.
    Lengthy trial delays remained a problem. Defendants do not have the 
right to a speedy trial, nor is there any time limit on cases. Defense 
lawyers claimed judges sometimes refused to let them call witnesses on 
their clients' behalf, to question key government witnesses, or to have 
adequate notice of trial dates to allow time to prepare their cases. 
Defense lawyers also reported judges restricted access to court records 
and evidence, especially to government-held records and evidence, 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 courts routinely 
failed to investigate allegations of torture and mistreatment and 
accepted as evidence confessions extracted through torture. These 
groups also reported the summary nature of court sessions sometimes 
prevented reasoned deliberation and erratic court schedules and 
procedures deterred would-be observers from attending politically 
motivated trials.
    Although family and inheritance law is codified, civil law judges 
were known to apply Sharia (Islamic law) in family cases if the two 
systems conflicted (see section 6).
    The number of political prisoners remained unknown. Human rights 
organizations alleged that the Government had arrested and imprisoned 
more than 2,000 persons under the terrorism law since 2005 without 
sufficient evidence they had committed or planned to commit terrorist 
acts. Human rights activists and lawyers alleged that many of these 
detainees were tortured in Interior Ministry facilities and forced to 
sign confessions under duress. In May 2009 then minister of justice and 
human rights Bechir Tekkari reportedly said the Government had 
sentenced only 300 individuals under the antiterrorism law.
    In 2008 the Government conditionally released the An-Nahdha leaders 
remaining in prison; however, shortly thereafter the Government 
rearrested former An-Nahda president Sadok Chorou after he gave an 
interview to the London-based satellite television station Al-Hiwar and 
sentenced him to one year in prison for membership in an unauthorized 
organization. In August 2009, according to local NGO Freedom and 
Equity, Chorou's wife visited him in prison. She subsequently alleged 
that prison officials had restricted Chorou to a diet of bread and 
olive oil for the previous 40 days and condoned inmates harassing him. 
At year's end Chorou was free but reportedly under constant police 
surveillance.
    Family members of political prisoners claimed that authorities 
treated prisoners poorly, limited visitation rights, insulted their 
religious beliefs, and arbitrarily subjected them to solitary 
confinement. Former political prisoners stated that upon their release, 
officials failed to return their identification cards, marked their 
identification cards in a specific way, or denied them certificates 
attesting that they had served their sentences and were permitted to 
work. They also reported that both uniformed and plainclothes police 
closely monitored them.
    The ICRC had access to political prisoners in Justice Ministry-
controlled prisons and detention facilities but generally not to those 
in Interior Ministry facilities. The Government did not permit any 
other international humanitarian organizations access to such 
prisoners.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although a court system 
existed through which citizens could make human rights complaints, 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 or the 
Administrative Court. These institutions' decisions were not binding, 
and other government departments and agencies often ignored them.

    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 
cited state security considerations. Domestic NGOs and civil society 
activists reported that members of the security forces entered their 
offices and homes when they were not present and searched without a 
warrant (see section 1.d.).
    Authorities may invoke state security considerations to justify 
telephone surveillance. According to numerous reports by NGOs and the 
news media, the Government intercepted faxes and e-mails. The law does 
not explicitly authorize these activities, but state prosecutors, 
investigating magistrates, and Justice Ministry officials regularly 
claimed that the code of criminal procedure implicitly gives 
investigating magistrates such authority. 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 and undefined prohibition against mail that threatens the 
public order, to interfere with their correspondence and interrupt the 
delivery of foreign publications. Authorities reportedly opened and 
read letters, many of which never reached their recipients. Security 
forces routinely monitored the activities, telephones, and Internet 
exchanges of opposition, Islamist, and human rights activists, as well 
as journalists, and placed some individuals under surveillance.
    Throughout the year plainclothes police maintained a limited but 
visible presence around the home of married activists Hamma Hammami and 
Radia Nasraoui. On February 12, following the release from prison of 
journalist Zouheir Makhlouf, a colleague and client of Nasraoui, 
plainclothes police surrounded Nasraoui's office in downtown Tunis and 
denied her all access to her clients for two days. Security forces 
assaulted the couple in June and September 2009.
    On September 15, according to the domestic NGO Freedom and Equity, 
approximately 25 uniformed and plainclothes policemen forcibly entered 
the farm of human rights activist and lawyer Mohamed Nouri. The 
officers allegedly destroyed the doors on the barn and stole 1,400 
frozen partridges. Human rights activists believed the forcible entry 
was a government reprisal against Nouri for publishing a statement 
against the campaign calling for President Ben Ali to present his 
candidacy in the 2014 elections. Nouri filed a complaint with the 
public prosecutor following the unlawful entry.
    Human rights activists claimed the Government punished family 
members of Islamist activists by denying them jobs, educational 
opportunities, business licenses, and travel, due to their relatives' 
activism. Police also kept under surveillance, detained, and questioned 
relatives of individuals affiliated with Islamist activists (see 
section 1.c.).
    Human rights activists reported that the Government made it 
difficult for suspected An-Nahda members who had been released from 
prison to find employment. Other released political prisoners, who had 
been detained but not convicted, found it hard to obtain Interior 
Ministry statements that they had no criminal records. Even when 
political activists and Islamists had not been imprisoned, security 
forces confiscated their identification cards, which negatively 
affected their ability to receive health care, sign a lease, buy or 
drive a car, and access bank accounts and pensions. Police may demand 
identification cards at any time and may detain those unable to produce 
their cards until police establish their identity. Authorities took 
AISPP member Lasaad Johri's identification card in 1999, and he 
remained without identification at year' end.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
limited freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government 
generally did not respect these rights in practice. The Government 
restricted media freedom and severely intimidated journalists, editors, 
and publishers into practicing self-censorship. Security forces closely 
monitored both foreign and domestic media activity.
    Individuals were not free to criticize the Government without fear 
of reprisal, and the Government restricted some types of speech. The 
law prohibits individuals from discussing national politics on foreign 
radio or television channels during the two weeks prior to national 
elections, with a fine of up to 25,000 dinar ($20,833) per offense. 
Security forces often questioned citizens seen talking with foreign 
visitors or residents, particularly with visiting international human 
rights monitors and journalists. The Government also attempted to 
prevent private meetings of citizens with foreign diplomats and to 
influence public meetings by surrounding meeting places with scores of 
plainclothes police.
    On June 15, parliament amended article 61 of the penal code, which 
criminalizes any acts intended to damage the country's military and 
diplomatic interests and any contact ``with foreign parties that incite 
prejudice against vital economic interests,'' with penalties of five to 
12 years' imprisonment. The amendment defines ``vital interests'' as 
anything linked to the country's economic security, which would include 
deterring foreigners from investing in the country, influencing 
national loan acquisitions, affecting trade negotiations, incitement to 
boycott tourism, and obstructing the country's efforts to gain 
preferential cooperative arrangements with a foreign state.
    The Government does not require licensing of print media; however, 
it rigidly controls print media through a publishing permit process. 
Print media must request a copyright registration from the Ministry of 
Interior, which issues a receipt that constitutes an official permit to 
publish for one year. The press code requires that the receipt be 
issued before printing, effectively prohibiting any unlicensed 
publications. The code also requires the publisher to inform the 
ministry of any change of printer. Printers and publishers who violate 
these rules are subject to substantial, per copy, personal fines under 
the press code.
    The National Council for Liberties (CNLT) that operated the 
independent Internet radio station, Radio Kalima, also produced the 
online newsmagazine Kalima without a license, and accessible only from 
outside the country. In 2008 the CNLT made its fifth attempt to 
register Kalima, but government officials refused to acknowledge they 
had received their application. International human rights NGOs alleged 
that the Government refused to register Kalima due to its criticism of 
the Government. Also in 2008, according to Kalima staff, the Kalima Web 
site was hacked and its archives destroyed.
    The Government stated that 90 percent of domestic newspapers were 
``privately owned and editorially independent.'' However, two of the 
eight mainstream dailies were government owned; the ruling party owned 
two, and two others, although nominally private, reportedly took 
editorial direction from senior government officials. All media were 
subject to significant governmental pressure regarding subject matter. 
There were seven opposition party newspapers with small circulations. 
Five received government subsidies under a law that provides government 
financing to papers representing opposition parties that have seats in 
parliament.
    Broadcast media must receive a grant of a frequency from the 
Tunisian Frequencies Agency, a part of the Ministry of Communications 
Technologies. Grants to these licenses are tightly restricted.
    In mid-August the Ministry of Communications Technologies granted a 
license for the creation of a new radio station, Shams FM, to the 
president's daughter, Cyrine Ben Ali Mabrouk. The station was scheduled 
to begin broadcasting in September.
    There were no developments in the January 2009 case of Radio 
Kalima, an independent Internet radio station that was critical of the 
Government. At year's end the Government continued to block access to 
the Radio Kalima office.
    There were no developments in the October 2009 Radio 6 shutdown; at 
year's end the station remained sealed, with all equipment in 
government custody.
    Government regulations required foreign correspondents to obtain 
written approval before recording video in public. The Government 
controlled the satellite transmissions of local correspondents 
reporting for foreign television stations by refusing to license 
correspondents and insisting that all correspondents use government-
owned facilities for satellite connection.
    In May 2009 pro-government journalists initiated an open campaign 
against the executive board of the National Syndicate of Tunisian 
Journalists (SNJT) following the union's announcement of its second 
annual press freedom report. Progovernment members of the board 
resigned and began circulating a petition to the union membership 
calling for an extraordinary congress to conduct new elections. Some 
journalists were reportedly threatened with dismissal if they did not 
sign. After holding the congress in August 2009, the progovernment 
faction sued for control of the SNJT. In September 2009 plainclothes 
police surrounded the SNJT offices, and approximately 20 police 
officers beat SNJT president Neji B'ghouri as he attempted to access 
the offices. On the same day, a Tunis court ruled in favor of the 
progovernment faction. Police enforced the court order immediately and 
evicted the independent SNJT board from the offices. In August 2009 
B'ghouri's independent group filed a legal challenge to the 
progovernment takeover. At year's end the case remained pending.
    There were widespread reports during the year that the Government 
blocked most criticism of authorities in the mainstream press and that 
it harassed, arrested, and abused journalists, especially those active 
in opposition activities. The Government cited the need to preserve 
public order as grounds to suppress criticism and used defamation laws 
to prosecute journalists. Journalists most often faced charges of 
unrelated offenses (such as counterfeiting), frequently by private 
parties. The law authorizes prison sentences as long as five years for 
offensive written or spoken statements against the president and as 
long as three years for defamation of constitutional bodies including 
the Chamber of Deputies, Chamber of Advisors, constitutional councils, 
the administration, government members, or deputies.
    On April 27, authorities released independent journalist Taoufik 
Ben Brik after a six-month sentence. Civil society, independent 
journalists, and Ben Brik's lawyer described his October 2009 arrest on 
charges of public indecency, assault, defamation, destruction of 
private property, and blasphemy as a government attempt to silence 
legitimate and free journalism. The incident occurred after Ben Brik 
published opinion articles critical of the Government in French press 
sources in September 2009.
    On July 6, the Gafsa Court of Appeal affirmed the four-year 
sentence against independent journalist Fahem Boukadous, originally 
sentenced in 2008 on charges of ``belonging to a criminal association'' 
and spreading materials ``likely to harm public order.'' Boukadous was 
taken into custody on July 15, one day after his discharge from a 
hospital at which he received treatment for respiratory ailments. The 
charges against Boukadous stemmed from his 2008 coverage of a series of 
unemployment protests that ended bloodshed in the impoverished Gafsa 
region. Boukadous was sentenced in his absence to six years in prison, 
but his conviction was vacated when he emerged from hiding, hoping to 
benefit from the conditional pardon granted by President Ben Ali in 
November 2009 that allowed for the release of the remaining prisoners 
arrested following the 2008 Gafsa protests. However, his case was 
reopened and Boukadous was convicted and sentenced to four years in 
prison on January 10.
    The law prohibits censorship of domestic newspapers, magazines, and 
books; however, the Government continued to censor international as 
well as domestic media. For example, the Government reportedly banned 
distribution of the July 29 issue of the The Economist and blocked its 
Web site for an article criticizing the country's human rights record 
and the lack of rule of law and political pluralism.
    The Government routinely seized and prevented distribution of 
domestic newspapers when it found articles or photographs contrary to 
government policies. For example, authorities reportedly suppressed and 
confiscated the March and July issues of the opposition weekly Al-
Mowqif, which carried an article on a HRW report on abuses in the 
country, a call for President Ben Ali to respect the constitutional bar 
against presenting his candidacy in the 2014 elections, and a poem in 
solidarity with imprisoned journalist Fahem Boukadous, authored by 
Taoufik Ben Brik.
    According to journalists and other 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 Government also often 
pressured newspapers to carry the Government wire service's version of 
an event, even when the newspapers' journalists were present. The 
Tunisian Agency for External Communications enforced these informal 
censorship mechanisms by favoring certain publications for placement of 
government advertising. Private companies that wanted to avoid 
association with publications the Government viewed unfavorably 
withdrew their advertisements from those publications.
    Directors and owners of existing private media, as well as 
journalists working for government- and ruling-party-owned media, 
practiced a high degree of self-censorship. Journalists in the 
mainstream media regularly refrained from investigative reporting on 
national issues. Only the small opposition media reported regularly on 
controversial national issues, and it was subject to regular and 
frequent government harassment.
    The law stipulates that the Government may restrict the 
publication, introduction, and circulation of foreign works. The 
Ministry of Culture required book fair publishing representatives to 
deposit publication titles in advance; it reportedly rejected 15 
publishing houses from participating in the country's international 
book fair, which opened on April 23, because the publishing houses 
allegedly presented books that contradicted the values of modernity, 
enlightenment, and innovation. Authorities also restricted the 
importation or sale of foreign publications that included articles 
deemed critical of the country or that the Government determined could 
prompt a security threat.

    Internet Freedom.--Widespread use and interest in the Internet 
remained the driving force behind the country's rapidly and 
continuously developing telecommunications infrastructure. According to 
this year's International Telecommunication Union statistics, 
approximately 34 percent of the country's inhabitants used the 
Internet. The Government monitored and restricted Internet usage and 
communications. In 2009 Reporters without Borders (RSF) named the 
country an ``Internet Enemy'' due to its harsh filtering and 
surveillance of the Internet.
    The law allows the Government to block or censor Internet content 
deemed obscene or content threatening public order, defined as 
``incitement to hate, violence, terrorism, and all forms of 
discrimination and bigoted behavior that violate the integrity and 
dignity of the human person, or are prejudicial to children and 
adolescents.'' During the year the Government also blocked access to a 
wide variety of Internet sites that did not fit this definition. The 
quasi-governmental Tunisian Internet Agency controlled and censored 
Internet-based information. The Government blocked nearly all sites 
belonging to domestic human rights, opposition, and Islamist groups, 
including discussion sites. The Government also periodically blocked 
opposition news sites and Internet discussion sites throughout the 
year. Some foreign Web sites remained blocked at year's end, including 
RSF's site and YouTube. According to OpenNet Initiative, whose Web site 
was also blocked in the country, the Government used a commercial 
software filtering program in government-controlled servers to 
consistently block sites on the servers of the country's 11 Internet 
service providers (ISPs).
    On July 18, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information 
reported that the Government blocked the Web site-based chat room Fadaa 
Jadal Democraty (A Space for Democratic Debate), although the site had 
not been officially launched and was in its testing phase.
    In addition to filtering software, the Government reportedly used 
regulatory means and surveillance to monitor and control Internet 
usage, and it prosecuted and punished individuals for expressing their 
views via the Internet. The law requires all ISPs to submit a monthly 
list of their subscribers to the Tunisian Internet Agency. Human rights 
attorneys and local human rights monitors reported that authorities 
sometimes arrested individuals for visiting Web sites that the 
Government associated with terrorism and detained them without proper 
legal procedures or sufficient evidence of commission of a crime.
    During the year human rights activist and independent journalist 
Zouheir Makhlouf reported that he continued to be subject to harassment 
and abuse by government forces (see section 1.c.). On February 12, 
authorities conditionally released Makhlouf from prison after he had 
served almost four months on charges of ``harming others on the 
Internet'' for having posted footage documenting environmental damage 
and dangerous working conditions in an industrial district of the town 
of Nabeul. The Government also targeted Makhlouf for contributing to an 
independent news Web site with antigovernment material and for posting 
material critical of the Government on Facebook and YouTube.
    On June 23, according to domestic NGO Freedom and Equity, 
plainclothes police arrested Heithem Mahjoubi and took him to an 
unknown police location, allegedly for posting on Facebook that he was 
facing extreme pressure and harassment from authorities in the 
governorate of Sfax for his decision to rent office space to the PDP. 
Mahjoubi also stated on Facebook that authorities had harassed his 
father and brother and threatened to close his brother's car wash 
business. He was released on the same day as his arrest. At year's end 
Mahjoubi had cancelled his lease agreement with the PDP.
    In December 2009 the Tunis Court of Appeals gave university 
professor Khedija Arfaoui an eight-month suspended sentence for posting 
a message on her Facebook page about rumored child kidnappings in the 
country. The message Arfaoui posted related to rumors that had already 
circulated within the country and had been discussed in local media.

    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 political activity. Both uniformed 
and plainclothes police maintained a significant presence on university 
campuses and discouraged students from openly expressing dissent.
    Authorities subjected academic publications to the Ministry of 
Culture's approval before publication, and university libraries did not 
purchase foreign books or subscribe to foreign magazines the ministry 
deemed critical of the Government. Close government control over 
academic research funds prevented university administrators from 
authorizing or applying for grants on research topics they believed the 
Government would find objectionable. Professors avoided teaching 
classes on subjects considered sensitive, such as legal courses on 
political systems, comparative politics, and 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. 
Faculty members had to request Ministry of Higher Education approval to 
hold conferences and were required to submit conference topics and 
invitee lists.
    In July 2009 the Government adopted a law requiring all foreign 
theatrical and artistic productions not sponsored by the Government to 
obtain Ministry of Culture clearance prior to public performance or 
release.

    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 at least three days prior to the proposed event and to submit 
a list of participants. Authorities routinely approved permits for 
groups supporting the Government and generally refused permission for 
dissenting groups. As in previous years, NGO leaders reported 
difficulty in renting space to hold large meetings, maintaining that 
police pressured venue managers not to rent to certain groups. Hotel 
managers and businesses denied any specific ban on renting space to 
opposition groups; however, they acknowledged cooperating with the 
ministry and accommodating its requests when possible. The Government 
blocked meetings of the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH) at the 
organization's Tunis headquarters and at its regional offices (see 
section 5).
    On March 24, the Government prevented HRW from holding a public 
press conference to announce the release of a report documenting the 
Government's treatment of former political prisoners. Several hotels in 
the country had previously offered venues for HRW to hold its press 
conference but subsequently withdrew their offers. A hotel suite that 
HRW staff had reserved to hold the conference on March 23 was flooded 
three hours prior to the press conference. HRW held the conference at 
the office of a civil society activist. Police allowed only one foreign 
diplomat and three other individuals to attend.
    In early May independent Web log writer Zied El-Heni and head of 
the ``Arab Free Radio Group'' Salah Forti announced plans for a 
peaceful demonstration in front of the Ministry of Communications 
Technologies on May 3. On May 2, police officers surrounded El-Heni's 
home and maintained surveillance until May 3. On May3, El-Heni reported 
that police followed him as he accompanied his children to school. The 
planned demonstration was not held.
    On July 26, several hours prior to a PDP public conference on the 
origins of the country's democratic movement, a large number of 
plainclothes police blocked all streets and access points to the PDP's 
headquarters in downtown Tunis. Police turned away members of civil 
society, journalists, and other invitees, as well as scheduled 
conference speakers, including independent journalist Lotfi Hajji and 
Tunisian historian Ali Marzouki.
    The Government used police and other state security forces to 
monitor, control, and sometimes disperse demonstrations. In general 
demonstrators and security forces did not resort to violence; however, 
there were some exceptions, such as scuffles ensuing from protesters' 
attempts to cross police lines barring access to a demonstration site 
or protesters refusing to disperse when police ordered them to do so.
    On December 18, protests erupted in the city of Sidi Bouzid 
expressing solidarity with Mohammed Bouazizi, a young university 
graduate who set himself on fire on December 17 to protest the 
Government's refusal to allow him to sell vegetables without a license. 
Security forces initially responded to the protests by using tear gas 
and arrested approximately 80 persons. The protests spread to 
neighboring cities. On December 24, in the city of Menzel Bouzaiane, 
security forces used live ammunition on the protesters. One protester, 
Mohamed Ammari, was killed by a bullet in the chest, and 10 protesters 
were reportedly wounded. The Government press stated that security 
forces acted to protect themselves after protesters attacked the 
National Guard office, a train, and several shops. The Government press 
also reported that two National Guardsmen were in comas after 
sustaining injuries during the protest.
    In protest against the shooting of Mohamed Ammari, further 
skirmishes erupted between security forces and protesters on December 
25 in the towns of Al-Ragab and Maknasi in central Tunisia. Several 
protesters were reportedly injured, and security forces arrested many 
others. Hundreds of protesters also rallied in front of the Tunisian 
General Labor Union (UGTT) headquarters in Tunis on December 26, 
calling for more equitable employment opportunities and a cessation of 
the security siege of the city of Sidi Bouzid.
    There were no further developments in the legal cases stemming from 
the unrest in the aftermath of the 2008 Gafsa protests; however, human 
rights lawyers reported that on April 3, a Gafsa court sentenced Adel 
Amaidia, Amine Khaldia, Aymen Amaied, and Fethi Amaied, all of whom had 
been arrested on March 12, to up to six months in prison for protesting 
the new recruitment process adopted by the Gafsa phosphate company in 
the aftermath of the protests. In 2008 authorities arrested dozens of 
demonstrators, fatally shot one demonstrator, and wounded 18 others. 
There were no developments in the investigation into the fatal 
shooting. The Government maintained that the protests were violent 
while domestic NGOs claimed they were peaceful.

    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 for 
registration with the Government. 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 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 the Government could close these NGOs, seize 
their property, and prosecute their members for ``membership in an 
illegal organization.'' Authorities arrested and prosecuted several 
individuals on this charge after they participated in the 2008 Gafsa 
protests.
    There were reports that significant numbers of RCD members 
attempted to join independent NGOs or labor unions with the apparent 
intent of limiting the organizations' independence by gaining control 
through elections or disrupting operations. For example, on September 
8, a progovernment faction took over leadership of the journalists' 
union.
    Despite the introduction, at the Government's recommendation, of 
three prominent civil society figures to serve as neutral mediators to 
resolve the LTDH's leadership crisis, at year's end the LTDH had failed 
to regularize relations with the Government or hold a sixth congress. 
In June 2009 the Court of Cassation affirmed a 2001 ruling annulling 
all decisions and organs resulting from the LTDH's fifth congress, 
including its newly elected steering committee, and tasked the LTDH 
with holding a new congress. According to LTDH leadership, the only way 
for the LTDH to continue its human rights work was to ensure that 
progovernment members were elected to the NGO's steering committee.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; however, the Government did not always respect these 
rights in practice. The Government restricted the in-country and 
foreign travel of some dissidents, Islamists, and their relatives. The 
law allows the Government to impose five years of ``administrative 
control'' at sentencing on certain former prisoners that constitutes a 
type of internal exile, limiting their ability to travel within and 
outside of the country.
    The Government generally cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in assisting refugees, asylum seekers, and other persons of concern; 
however, the Government did not provide protection for such persons, 
nor did it permit the UNHCR access to detention centers. In the absence 
of specific legislation on refugee matters, refugees were treated like 
foreigners, and there was no official government restriction on their 
movement.
    The law authorizes the courts to cancel passports and contains 
broad provisions that permit courts and the Ministry of Interior to 
seize passports on national security grounds and deny citizens the 
right to present their cases against seizure or to appeal the judges' 
decision. The ministry is required to submit to the courts, through the 
public prosecutor, requests to seize or withhold a citizen's passport; 
however, it routinely bypassed the public prosecutor with impunity. 
Many citizens, particularly journalists, reported difficulty applying 
for or renewing their passports and accused the Government of blocking 
their applications solely on the basis of political opposition.
    The Government reportedly continued to ignore passport requests by 
Mohamed Nejib Krifi, a former political prisoner. Krifi, deprived of 
his passport since 1998, has sent seven requests to both the ministries 
of justice and interior since 2003, with no response.
    On April 3, police informed Al-Mowqif journalist Mohamed Hamrouni, 
who applied for a passport in May 2009, that the Ministry of Interior 
had rejected his application. Hamrouni alleged the rejection was due to 
his work as an opposition journalist.
    Journalist and former prisoner Slim Boukdhir remained without a 
passport at year's end. Boukdhir, who filed his original application in 
2003, was arrested in 2007 and spent nine months in prison on charges 
of insulting a public official, public indecency, and refusal to 
present his identity card to a security official.
    Former An-Nahdha leader Mohamed Sedki Labidi has been deprived of 
his passport for the last 14 years without a court decision.
    According to the constitution, no citizen can be exiled from the 
country nor prevented from returning; however, the Government used 
administrative control as a type of punitive internal exile. 
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 these individuals to stay ``in the 
area of their residence,'' which the Government determines and may be 
anywhere in the country. They also may be required to report to a 
police station frequently, 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 requirements.
    By law administrative control measures may only be imposed at 
sentencing; however, a former high school teacher and An-Nahdha member, 
Nouri Chniti, claimed he has been subject to extrajudicial 
administrative control measures since 1991, when he received a 
suspended sentence that did not include such measures.
    The Government prevented some political opponents in self-imposed 
exile abroad from obtaining or renewing their passports to return to 
the country.
    The country's laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee 
status, but the Government has not established a system for providing 
protection to refugees or other persons of concern. In practice the 
Government did not protect against the expulsion or return of persons 
to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on 
account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion.
    In the absence of official and specific refugee laws and 
administrative measures to govern refugee and asylum matters, the UNHCR 
conducted all refugee status-determination procedures. The UNHCR 
maintained a liaison with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 
particular the consular service, in connection with all refugee 
determinations. Refugees requested residence permits from the Ministry 
of Foreign Affairs upon their proper determination as refugees by the 
UNHCR. Issuance and renewal of a residence permit was subject to the 
approval of the Government and was not automatic. In several cases the 
Government arbitrarily denied residence permits to certain refugees 
despite their classification as refugees by the UNHCR. Although the 
UNHCR under its mandate sought resettlement for refugees under specific 
protection needs, the Government did not approve any resettlement 
requests, and at year's end there were numerous cases pending of 
persons seeking naturalization.
    Refugees were subject to the foreign labor policies within the 
national labor code prior to qualifying for work permits. A large 
majority of refugees worked in the informal sector with risk of 
exploitation.

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; however, there were significant limitations on 
citizens' right to do so. The law provides that citizens shall directly 
elect the president and members of the Chamber of Deputies for five-
year terms, but irregularities routinely called into question the 
legitimacy of elections. The president appoints the prime minister, the 
cabinet, and the 24 governors. The ruling party has maintained power 
continuously since the country's independence in 1956, dominating the 
cabinet, the legislature, and regional and local governments.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the October 2009 
national elections, President Ben Ali, who became president in 1987, 
faced three candidates and was reelected for a fifth five-year term. 
The Government reported electoral participation was at 89 percent of 
the 4.9 million eligible voters. Anecdotal observation suggested that 
the Government inflated this figure. The Government rejected 15 of the 
26 legislative candidate slates the PDP proposed and 12 of the 26 
proposed by the Ettajdid Movement. In some cases the Government 
rejected candidate slates without explanation. By contrast five 
``opposition'' parties viewed as friendly to the Government had no more 
than five of their 26 candidate slates rejected.
    Irregularities and imbalances characterized the period prior to the 
elections. A coalition of three local independent NGOs--the LTDH, CNLT, 
and Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD)--cited as serious 
problems the opposition's lack of media access during the campaign and 
media bias in favor of the ruling party. Opposition candidates and 
other observers also cited voter intimidation as well as restrictions 
on disseminating campaign materials and organizing campaign events.
    Political parties other than the ruling RCD faced restrictions. By 
law the establishment of political parties based on religion, language, 
race, or gender is prohibited. The law also requires any presidential 
candidate to be an elected head of a political party and to have had 
held that position for at least two years. At least two opposition 
parties did not have candidates who met those criteria.
    The Government and the RCD are closely integrated; current and 
former senior government officials constitute the top ranks of the 
party. The president of the country is also the president of the RCD, 
and the party's vice president and secretary general 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 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 25 percent of seats in the Chamber of Deputies for the 
seven officially recognized opposition parties and distributes them on 
a proportional basis to parties that won at least one directly elected 
district seat. In the October 2009 elections, five of the opposition 
parties gained seats under that provision. The RCD holds the remaining 
161 seats.
    The Government continued to refuse to recognize an environmental 
political party, the Green Tunisia Party; it first applied for 
recognition in 2004.
    There was one member of the Jewish community in the legislature. 
There was no set allocation of political party positions or 
parliamentary seats for members of a minority group.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption. 
Anecdotal evidence suggested that the incidence of corruption was on 
the rise; however, corruption allegations were difficult to prove. 
Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws. The 
Higher Institute of Security Forces and Customs is tasked with 
reinforcing human rights, improving law enforcement, and reducing 
corruption. There were no public reports of the organization's 
activities during the year.
    On July 7, according to Kalima, government authorities interrogated 
more than 20 judges on bribery and corruption allegations leveled by 
the Ministry of Justice. At year's end there was no reported outcome 
from these alleged interrogations.
    There is no law that requires public access to government documents 
upon request. The Government did not grant access to government 
documents, including to foreign media.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government actively hindered investigations of human rights 
abuses by domestic and international NGOs, who had difficulty 
investigating and publishing their findings, and the Government sought 
to monitor and control the activities of some foreign NGOs within the 
country.
    There were approximately 12 domestic human rights NGOs, although 
only six 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 individuals associated 
with registered and nonregistered NGOs.
    The LTDH traditionally was one of the most active independent 
advocacy organizations, with 41 branches throughout the country, 
although the Government's blockage of LTDH activities limited the 
organization's operational effectiveness (see section 2.b.). The 
organization received and investigated complaints and protested abuses, 
yet the Government rarely responded to LTDH communiques. The Government 
continued to block an EU grant to the LTDH, citing a law on NGO 
financing that includes broad prohibitions on the funding of NGOs 
without government approval.
    On February 8, unknown persons reportedly burglarized the 
organization's headquarters, despite the permanent assignment of 
plainclothes police to guard the building. According to the LTDH, the 
burglars stole specific items, such as organization files and the main 
computer server, but left behind many financially valuable goods, 
including televisions, paintings, and furniture.
    On May 22, the Government stationed plainclothes police on all 
access roads to the LTDH's headquarters, preventing guests from 
attending its 33rd anniversary celebration. Only LTDH steering 
committee members were allowed into the organization's headquarters, 
and all other guests, including foreign diplomats, were turned away.
    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 formalized submission 
requirements by publishing communiques without prior government 
approval.
    The Government sought to monitor and control the activities of some 
foreign NGOs within the country. The Government arbitrarily denied 
entry to some international NGO human rights observers and reportedly 
monitored the activities of those who were allowed into the country. 
For example, the Government refused to grant HRW permission to hold a 
press conference announcing the release of its report on former 
political prisoners (see section 2.b.).
    Although the Government generally maintained good working 
relationships with UN agencies and other international bodies operating 
in the country, it monitored and controlled their activities.
    The Government allowed Martin Scheinin, the UN special rapporteur 
on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering 
terrorism, to visit the country January 22-26, the first such visit 
since 1999. During the four-day visit, he met with various ministers 
and members of the diplomatic community and visited several detainees 
including Ramzi Romdhani (see section 1.c.). At year's end a report of 
his findings had not been publicly released.
    There were credible reports police prevented some family members of 
prisoners from visiting ICRC offices and that they monitored and 
occasionally harassed others.
    The Ministry of Justice has the lead on government policy regarding 
human rights, although other ministries also had human rights offices. 
The ministry did not release any public reports of cases or 
investigations. The Committee for Human Rights and Civil Liberties, a 
government-appointed and -funded body, received, addressed, and 
occasionally resolved human rights complaints about prison conditions, 
amnesty requests by families of prisoners, and other matters. The 
committee published two reports annually: one confidential, submitted 
directly to the president and not available to the public, and a second 
for public distribution. The public report detailed the committee's 
efforts in facilitating prison visits for families and improvements in 
some detention conditions.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides that all citizens are equal before the 
law, and the Government generally respected this provision in practice; 
however, inheritance and family law, as well as biased gender-based 
provisions in the civil code, adversely affected women. Generally, the 
Government did not classify or interact with any group as a racial, 
ethnic, religious, or indigenous minority.

    Women.--The penal code specifically prohibits rape, including 
spousal rape, and the Government enforced the laws vigorously, giving 
significant press coverage to rape cases. 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. Cultural factors likely contributed 
to underreporting of rape, including spousal rape. No statistics 
regarding the pervasiveness of rape were available.
    Laws against domestic violence provide penalties for assault 
committed by a spouse or family member that are double those for the 
same crimes committed by an unrelated individual, but enforcement was 
rare. Domestic violence was considered a serious problem. According to 
the Government-sponsored National Union of Tunisian Women (UNFT), which 
operated a center to assist women and children in difficulty and 
sponsored national educational campaigns for women, the women's shelter 
in Tunis received new cases of domestic violence during the year, 218 
of which involved physical violence. In addition the shelter had more 
than 500 ongoing cases from earlier years.
    Sexual harassment was a problem, although there were no 
comprehensive data to measure its extent. Civil society groups 
criticized the law on harassment as too vague and susceptible to abuse. 
Victims of sexual harassment are required to file a complaint in 
criminal court where the allegations are then legally investigated. 
According to the criminal code, the penalty for sexual harassment is 
one year in prison and a 3,000 dinar ($2,307) fine.
    There were no reports of government interference in the right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and 
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Women 
had free access to contraception. In collaboration with NGOs, the 
Government maintained its national policy of keeping the national birth 
rate low through public awareness campaigns. The Government also 
provided essential healthcare for women, including skilled attendance 
during childbirth and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV. Several registered domestic NGOs also care for HIV-
infected individuals. In 2008 the UN Population Fund estimated the 
maternal mortality ratio to be 60 per 100,000 live births.
    Women faced discrimination under the law. Codified civil law is 
based on the Napoleonic code, although judges often used Sharia 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 they sign marriage 
contracts. Customary law based on Sharia prohibits women from marrying 
outside their religion. Application of Sharia inheritance law continued 
to discriminate against women, although some families avoided the 
application of Sharia by executing sales contracts between parents and 
children to ensure that daughters received shares of property equal to 
those of sons. There was a double standard in Sharia inheritance law 
based on gender and religion: non-Muslim women and 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 transmit 
citizenship to children regardless of the father's citizenship. On 
November 23, the Government amended the national citizenship code 
granting women married to noncitizens the right to transmit their 
citizenship to their children without official consent from the 
noncitizen fathers.
    The law explicitly requires equal pay for equal work; however, it 
also allows some female employees in the public sector to engage in 
part-time work and receive two-thirds of their original full-time 
salary. The Government defended the law as allowing women to balance 
family and professional life, but some women's rights advocates, 
including the ATFD, believed treating women and men differently under 
the law was a major setback to women's rights.
    The Government continued to support and fund the UNFT, women's 
professional associations, and the Center for Research, Documentation, 
and Information on Women.

    Children.--Citizenship may be derived from a Tunisian father, a 
Tunisian mother and an unknown father, a Tunisian mother and a father 
who has no nationality, or birth in Tunisia to a Tunisian mother and a 
foreign father.
    The Government provided free education up to the university level, 
with mandatory attendance for children up to the age of 16 years old.
    Convictions for abandoning or assaulting minors carry severe 
penalties; however, there were no reported specific incidents of child 
abuse during the year. On July 26, the Government amended the penal 
code to criminalize corporal punishment of minors by their parents. Law 
No. 2010-40 amended article 319 of the penal code, making it a criminal 
offense to assault a child even slightly. Public media generally did 
not report on violence and abuse of children. Government social workers 
provided direct assistance to abused women and children in two shelters 
operated by the UNFT. The Ministry of Women's Affairs, Family, 
Children, and Elderly Persons employed a child protection delegate in 
each of the country's 24 districts to intervene in cases of sexual, 
economic, or criminal exploitation of children.
    There were no public reports of cases of children involved in 
prostitution for survival without third-party involvement. The law 
mandates a three- to five-year prison sentence for any party who forces 
a minor into prostitution and a three-year prison sentence for 
incitement of a minor to vice. The law sets the minimum age for 
consensual sex at 20 years old for both sexes. Consent must be given 
without material remuneration or it is considered ``clandestine 
prostitution.'' Parties under the age of 13 are not considered to have 
the legal capacity to consent. Sex with a party between 13 and 15 years 
old is punishable by six years in prison. If the party is older than 15 
but less than 20, it is punishable by five years in prison. The law 
prohibits and punishes with up to six years in prison and a monetary 
fine anyone who incites a minor to vice. Child pornography is covered 
under this law. The law also provides that marriage of the perpetrator 
and the victim suspends all criminal proceedings against the 
perpetrator. The perpetrator may still be criminally liable in the 
event of a divorce and an official request is made to the authorities 
to pursue criminal proceedings no later than two years following the 
divorce.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For more information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Government cooperated closely with and 
protected the 1,600-person Jewish population. Jews faced some 
defamation in the media, particularly in reaction to the Gaza flotilla 
incident in March.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical or mental disabilities and mandates that 
at least 1 percent of public and private sector jobs be reserved for 
persons who have disabilities; however, NGOs reported that this law was 
not widely enforced, and many employers were unaware of its existence. 
There was some discrimination against persons with disabilities in 
employment, education, access to health care, and the provision of 
other state services. The Government increased vocational training 
programs in handicrafts geared toward persons who have disabilities, 
with the goal of future employment. As of 1991 all new public buildings 
must be accessible to persons who have physical disabilities, and this 
was enforced, but persons with disabilities did not have access to most 
buildings built before 1991. The Government issued 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 it 
strongly supported NGOs working on behalf of persons with disabilities. 
The Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity, and Tunisians Abroad was 
charged with protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
    There continued to be some social stigma associated with mental 
disabilities; however, several active NGOs provided educational, 
vocational, and recreational assistance to children and young adults 
with such disabilities, and the Government and international 
organizations funded several programs.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexuality is illegal and 
the penal code (article 230) criminalizes homosexuality with sentences 
up to three years in prison. There was anecdotal evidence that gays 
faced discrimination, including allegations that police officers 
sometimes brutalized openly gay persons and accused them of being the 
source of AIDS. There were no reports of persons arrested for 
homosexual activity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was anecdotal 
evidence that persons with HIV/AIDS faced some forms of discrimination, 
including in the quality of, and access to, medical care.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to 
organize and form unions, but this right was not always respected in 
practice. The UGTT was the country's only labor federation and claimed 
approximately 14 percent of the workforce as members, including civil 
servants and employees of state-owned enterprises. Union contracts 
covered a considerably larger proportion of the workforce than union 
membership.
    The UGTT and its member unions were legally independent of the 
Government and the ruling party and had the right to decide union 
leadership; however, they operated under regulations that limited their 
freedom of action, and union leaders who worked in government-owned 
companies were often harassed, threatened, and punished. During the 
year the UGTT again 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.
    On July 16, according to the UGTT, authorities prevented two 
members of the French labor union Force Ouvrisre from entering the 
country for a planned labor conference in the city of Bizerte.
    Unions, including those representing civil servants, have the right 
to strike, provided they give 10 days' advance notice to the UGTT and 
it grants approval. The decision to approve or deny is on a case-by-
case basis. The International Trade Union Conference characterized the 
requirement for prior UGTT approval of strikes as a violation of worker 
rights, but unions rarely sought advance approval in practice. The law 
prohibited retribution against strikers, and the Government generally 
respected this provision. Conciliation panels, in which labor and 
management were represented equally, settle labor disputes. Tripartite 
regional arbitration commissions settle industrial disputes when 
conciliation fails. Members from the Ministry of Social Affairs, UGTT, 
and Tunisian Association for Industry, Commerce, and Handicraft 
composed the commissions.

    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. The Government reported 
that in 2009 collective bargaining agreements covered more than 45 
percent, or 1.5 million, of the 3.3 million-person workforce. UGTT 
member unions, the Government, and employers set wages and working 
conditions in triennial negotiations, while the Government and 
employers represent the interests of workers not affiliated with the 
UGTT. Numerous collective bargaining agreements set standards for 
industries in the private sector and covered 80 percent of the private 
sector.
    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 temporary workers 
to avoid unionization. In certain industries, such as textiles, hotels, 
and construction, temporary workers accounted for a strong majority of 
the workforce. 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 was 
composed of representatives from the Ministry of Social Affairs, UGTT, 
and company dismissing the worker. Legally workers have the right to 
reinstatement, but in practice this was not enforced.
    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 and compulsory labor with penalties of up to 10 years' 
imprisonment for capturing, detaining, or sequestering a person for 
forced labor. Some girls were subjected to domestic servitude within 
the country, although the Government did not report that such practices 
occurred (see section 7.d.). A 2008 survey of 130 domestic workers in 
the greater Tunis region, conducted by a professor at the University of 
Tunis, found some indicators of possible forced labor: 52 percent of 
the workers were younger than 16 years old, 23 percent claimed to be 
victims of physical violence, 11 percent claimed to be victims of 
sexual violence, the majority received salaries below the minimum wage, 
and 99 percent indicated they had no work contracts. (For more 
information, please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip).

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law generally prohibits the employment of children younger than 16 
years old, the age for completing educational requirements, and 
inspectors from the Ministry of Social Affairs examined the records of 
employees to verify that employers complied with the minimum-age law. 
There were no reports of sanctions, including convictions or fines, 
against offending employers. The law prohibits the employment of 
children younger than 18 years old in jobs that present serious threats 
to their health, security, and morality, and the UGTT and the National 
Social Security Fund conducted inspection tours of factories and 
industrial sites to ensure compliance.
    The minimum age for light work in the nonindustrial and 
agricultural sectors during nonschool hours was 13 years old. Workers 
between the ages of 14 and 18 must have 12 hours of rest per day, which 
must include the hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. In nonagricultural 
sectors, children between the ages of 14 and 16 may work no more than 
two hours per day. The total time that children spend at school and 
work may not exceed seven hours per day. Nonetheless, young children 
sometimes performed agricultural work in rural areas and worked as 
vendors in towns, primarily during the summer school vacation. Child 
labor also existed in the informal sector as apprenticeship, 
particularly in the handicraft industry. Older girls worked as domestic 
servants. A 2008 survey of 130 Tunis area workers found that 52 percent 
were younger than 16 years old. The penal code prescribes 10 years' 
imprisonment for capturing, detaining, or sequestering a person for 
forced labor and up to two years' imprisonment for forced child 
begging.
    The Department of Labor's 2009 findings on the Worst Forms of Child 
Labor reported children working in domestic service, in the 
agricultural sector, and as mechanics in small shops or street vendors 
of flowers, cigarettes, and other small items. (For more information, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip).

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The labor code provides for a 
range of administratively determined minimum wages. On July 10, the 
Government raised the industrial minimum wage to 274 dinars 
(approximately $188) per month for a 48-hour workweek and to 225 dinars 
($173) per month for a 40-hour workweek. The agricultural daily minimum 
wage was eight dinars (six dollars) per day. 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 enough to cover only essential costs. Regional labor inspectors 
enforced standards related to hourly wage regulations. The country's 
cadre of 380 inspectors inspected most firms approximately once every 
two years. The Government often had difficulty enforcing the minimum 
wage law, particularly in nonunionized sectors of the economy. More 
than 500,000 workers were employed in the informal sector, which labor 
laws did not cover.
    The labor code sets a standard 48-hour workweek for most sectors; 
requires one 24-hour rest period per week and 125 percent premium pay 
for overtime; and prohibits excessive compulsory overtime, although 
this prohibition is not always enforced. Although there is no standard 
practice for reporting labor code violations, workers have the right to 
report violations to regional labor inspectors.
    Special government regulations control employment in hazardous 
occupations such as mining, petroleum engineering, and construction. 
The Ministry of Social Affairs has responsibility for enforcing health 
and safety standards in the workplace. Working conditions and standards 
generally were better in export-oriented firms, which were mostly 
foreign owned, than in those firms producing exclusively for the 
domestic market. 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. There were no reported cases of employees taking 
such action against their employers.

                               __________

                          UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven 
semiautonomous emirates with a resident population of approximately six 
million, of whom approximately 20 percent (one million) are citizens. 
The rulers of the seven emirates constitute the Federal Supreme 
Council, the country's highest legislative and executive body. The 
council selects a president and a vice president from its membership, 
and the president appoints the prime minister and cabinet. In 2004 the 
council selected Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi 
Emirate, as head of state for a five-year term. In November 2009 the 
council reselected Sheikh Khalifa to a second term as president. The 
emirates are under patriarchal rule with political allegiance defined 
by loyalty to tribal leaders, to leaders of the individual emirates, 
and to leaders of the federation. There are no democratically elected 
legislative institutions or political parties. There are no general 
elections. Citizens can express their concerns directly to their 
leaders through traditional, consultative mechanisms such as the open 
``majlis'' (forum). The Federal National Council (FNC), a consultative 
body, consists of 40 representatives, 20 elected by an appointed 
electorate in 2006. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Citizens did not have the right to change their government. There 
were unverified reports of torture during the year, and security forces 
sometimes employed flogging as judicially sanctioned punishment. 
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention remained a problem. The judiciary 
lacked independence. The Government interfered with privacy and 
restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of speech, press 
(including the Internet), assembly, association, and religion. There 
were limited reports of corruption, and the Government lacked 
transparency. Domestic abuse of women remained a problem, and there 
were allegations that police sometimes enabled domestic abuse. Legal 
and societal discrimination against women and noncitizens was 
pervasive. Trafficking in persons continued, the Government severely 
restricted the rights of foreign workers, and abuse of foreign domestic 
servants remained problematic.

                        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; however, there 
were reports that government officials employed them, especially 
towards foreigners in detention. In January a court acquitted a member 
of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, implicated by videotape for the 2004 
torture of a foreign national, allegedly over a business dispute. Human 
rights groups decried the acquittal as a sign of the lack of judicial 
independence.
    Sharia (Islamic law) courts occasionally imposed flogging as 
punishment for adultery, prostitution, consensual premarital sex, 
pregnancy outside marriage, defamation of character, and drug or 
alcohol abuse. Authorities used canes to administer floggings, 
resulting in substantial bruising, welts, and open wounds on those 
flogged.
    There were also reports of prison guard brutality during the year. 
On September 1, local media reported that 17 Indian nationals convicted 
of murder in March claimed in their appeal hearing that their 
confessions were obtained after a severe beating from police in Dubai. 
Their convictions were overturned on appeal in December.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions varied 
widely between emirates. Some prisons were overcrowded, particularly in 
Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Conditions for female prisoners were equal to or 
slightly better than those for men. Prisoners convicted on national 
security grounds were held separately from the general population in 
special state security facilities. Conditions in these special sections 
were not different from other parts of the prisons. Prisoners had 
access to visitors, but it was unclear if they were permitted religious 
observance. Prisoners have a right to submit complaints to judicial 
authorities; however, details about investigations into complaints were 
not publicly available.
    There were credible reports that government officials discriminated 
against prisoners with HIV by separating them from the general prison 
population and by not granting commuted sentences or parole that other 
prisoners with similar records received. Others did not have access to 
appropriate health care in detention.
    On September 2, local media reported the suicide of an Emirati 
prisoner in a Dubai jail. The prisoner reportedly was mentally ill and 
held in solitary confinement, where he committed suicide.
    Police in Dubai and Abu Dhabi stated that nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) and the International Committee of the Red Cross 
had access to observe prison conditions if requested. The Government 
stated that it inspected and monitored prison and detention center 
conditions. However, in 2008 when members of the NGO Emirates Human 
Rights Association (EHRA) visited female inmates at Dubai's al-Aweer 
Detention Facility, prison authorities denied the monitors access ``to 
protect the prisoners' social and psychological rights.'' Charitable 
NGOs visited prisons during the year and were permitted to provide 
material support. They were unable to determine the welfare of the 
prisoners.
    Ombudsmen cannot serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, there were reports that the 
Government held persons in official custody without charge or a 
preliminary judicial hearing. The Ministry of Interior detained foreign 
residents arbitrarily at times. The law permits indefinite, routine, 
incommunicado detention without appeal. Under this procedure, the 
detainee may contact only an attorney but is not permitted to see 
friends and family.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The federal Ministry of 
Interior (Ministry of Interior) oversees police general directorates in 
all of the seven emirates; each emirate, under its corresponding police 
general directorate, maintains its own police force and supervises 
police stations. All emirate police forces are officially branches of 
the ministry; in practice they operated with considerable autonomy. The 
police forces are responsible for internal security, and the federal 
armed forces are responsible for external security.
    Local police are semiautonomous, and the Ministry of Interior has 
broad authority to investigate abuses.
    On August 25, courts in Dubai convicted two Emirati police officers 
of kidnapping, unlawful arrest, abuse of authority, and theft. The 
officers reportedly detained street vendors, locked them in police 
vehicles, and stole the vendors' money.
    On August 26, a Dubai court heard testimony from a British woman 
who alleged an Emirati soldier raped her. The victim claimed she was 
beaten and raped twice, once in the soldier's car and once in her Dubai 
apartment. The case continued at year's end.
    No information was available on the outcome of the 2009 case of a 
Sharjah police officer charged with kidnap and rape in Dubai.
    Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the local 
police forces, and the Government had effective mechanisms to 
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of 
impunity involving security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
prohibits arrest or search of citizens without probable cause; however, 
incidents occurred in practice. There were reports that security forces 
failed to obtain warrants in some cases.
    Police stations received complaints from the public, made arrests, 
and forwarded cases to the public prosecutor. The public prosecutor 
then transferred cases to the courts. In cases involving foreign 
defendants, especially for crimes of moral turpitude, authorities often 
summarily deported the defendants upon completion of their jail terms. 
Police must report an arrest within 48 hours to the public prosecutor, 
who then must determine within 24 hours whether to charge, release, or 
further detain the suspect. In practice the public prosecutor did not 
always meet the 24-hour time limit, although police usually adhered to 
their 48-hour deadline. Public prosecutors may order detainees held as 
long as 21 days without charge or longer, in some cases, with a court 
order. Courts may not grant an extension of more than 30 days of 
detention without charge; however, judges may renew 30-day extensions 
indefinitely. Public prosecutors may hold suspects in terrorism-related 
cases without charge for six months. Once a suspect is charged, the 
Supreme Court handles terrorism cases, which may extend the detention 
period indefinitely.
    There is no formal system of bail; however, authorities temporarily 
can release detainees who deposit money, a passport, or an unsecured 
personal guarantee statement signed by a third party. Defendants in 
cases involving loss of life, including involuntary manslaughter, may 
be denied release in accordance with the law. Some prisoners, detained 
on charges related to a person's death, were released after making a 
monetary payment to the victim's family, called a ``diya'' (or ``blood 
money'').
    A defendant is entitled to an attorney after police have completed 
their investigation. Police sometimes questioned the accused for weeks 
without access to an attorney. Generally authorities granted family 
members prompt access to those arrested on charges unrelated to state 
security. The Government may provide counsel, at its discretion, to 
indigent defendants charged with felonies that are punishable by 
imprisonment of three to 15 years.

    Amnesty.--On religious and national holidays, rulers of each 
emirate regularly pardon, and pay the debts of many prisoners. 
According to press reports, rulers pardoned at least 2,090 prisoners 
and paid their debts during the year. In October the new ruler of Ras 
Al Khaimah pardoned 140 individuals in honor of his late father. The 
Government deported most of the pardoned foreign nationals.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, in practice court decisions remained 
subject to review by the political leadership and suffered greatly from 
nepotism. There were reports that the federal intelligence service, the 
Directorate of State Security, intervened in judicial affairs. The 
judiciary was composed largely of contracted foreign nationals subject 
to potential deportation. There was no functional separation between 
the executive and judicial branches.
    By tradition the local rulers' offices, or ``diwans,'' maintained 
the practice of reviewing some criminal and civil offenses before they 
referred cases to prosecutors. They also reviewed sentences judges 
passed, returned cases to the court on appeal if they did not approve 
of the verdict, and approved the release of every prisoner who had 
completed a sentence. The diwans' involvement--usually in cases between 
two citizens or between a citizen and noncitizen--led to lengthy delays 
prior to and following the judicial process and lengthened the time 
defendants served in prison. The diwan's decision in any court case is 
considered final and, when a judge and diwan disagree, the diwan's 
decision prevails.
    There is a dual court system. Sharia courts adjudicate criminal and 
family law matters based on each emirate's interpretation of Sharia. 
Civil courts adjudicate civil law matters and, except in the emirates 
of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ras al-Khaimah, 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. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ras 
al-Khaimah emirates are not subject to routine review by the Federal 
Supreme court, although they can refer individual cases to the court.
    The military has its own court system and military tribunals try 
only military personnel. Only the Federal Supreme Court hears national 
security cases.

    Trial Procedures.--According to the law, defendants are presumed 
innocent until proven guilty. The constitution provides the right to a 
public trial, except in national security cases or cases the judge 
deems harmful to public morality. There are no jury trials. Defendants 
have the right to be present at their trial and a limited right to 
legal counsel in court. While awaiting a decision on official charges 
at the police station or the prosecutor's office, a defendant is not 
entitled to legal counsel. In all cases involving a capital crime or 
possible life imprisonment, the defendant has a right to government-
provided counsel. The Government may also provide counsel, at its 
discretion, to indigent defendants charged with felonies punishable by 
imprisonment of three to 15 years. The law provides prosecutors 
discretion to bar defense counsel from any investigation. Defendants 
and their attorneys can present witnesses and question witnesses 
against them. Defense counsel has access to relevant government-held 
evidence. By law all court proceedings are conducted in Arabic. Despite 
the defendant's procedural right to a translator, in some cases 
involving deportation of illegal residents, the court provided 
translation only at sentencing. The defense counsel often used a 
translator to communicate with the defendant.
    Each court system has an appeals process. Death sentences may be 
appealed to the ruler of the emirate in which the offense is committed 
or to the president of the federation. In murder cases, only the 
victim's family may commute a death sentence. The Government normally 
negotiates with victims' families for the defendant to offer diya in 
exchange for forgiveness and a commuted death sentence.
    In cases that end in acquittals, the prosecutor may appeal and 
provide new or additional evidence to a higher court. An appellate 
court must reach unanimous agreement to overturn an acquittal.
    In the ongoing case of an American citizen charged with financial 
crimes, the Courts and Prosecutor's office demonstrated preferential 
treatment to the Emirati codefendant. The court also used procedures 
that extended his incarceration. Police and prosecutor appeared to work 
to circumvent court orders that offered bail by holding cases in 
``investigative'' status and raising additional cases against the 
defendant that require new rulings from the judge. These practices kept 
the accused incarcerated throughout the year, while other non-foreign 
and Emirati defendants in similar cases were allowed to defend their 
cases outside incarceration, in bail status.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees; however, there were persons 
reportedly held incommunicado and without charge for unknown reasons.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens and noncitizens 
had access to the courts to seek damages for, or cessation of, human 
rights violations. The civil courts, like all courts in the country, 
lacked independence. Administrative remedies were available for labor 
complaints and were particularly common in cases regarding physical 
abuse of domestic workers.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits entry into a home without 
the owner's permission, except when police present a warrant in 
accordance with the law, but there were credible reports that security 
forces occasionally failed to obtain warrants. Officers' actions in 
searching premises were subject to review by the Ministry of Interior, 
and officers were liable to disciplinary action if their actions were 
judged irresponsible. Unlike in the previous year, there were no 
reports of censorship of incoming international mail.
    The constitution provides for freedom and confidentiality of 
correspondence by mail, telegram, and all other means of communication. 
However, in July 2009 the primary telecommunications provider offered a 
BlackBerry user update that included surveillance and interception 
software. Citing a technical problem, later that month the firm 
provided customers instructions on how to remove the program. All 
electronic communication remained secure and private during the year.
    Local interpretation of Sharia prohibits Muslim women from marrying 
non-Muslims and Muslim men from marrying women not ``of the book,'' 
meaning adherents of religions other than Islam, Christianity, and 
Judaism.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press; however, the Government restricted 
these rights in practice. The law prohibits criticism of rulers and 
speech that may create or encourage social unrest. Journalists and 
editors practiced extensive self-censorship for fear of government 
retribution, particularly since most journalists were foreign nationals 
and could be deported.
    Public criticism of the Government and ministers was permissible in 
a limited context, but criticism of ruling families, particularly 
sheikhs, was not permitted. Some books perceived as critical of the 
Government were not available for sale.
    In January authorities dismissed a government employee and advisor 
to the Ras al Khaimah crown prince after the employee criticized the 
lack of press freedom in the country in a television interview. The 
employee's passport was withheld, and no information on its return was 
available at year's end.
    The Government owned three of the country's newspapers and heavily 
influenced the privately owned media, particularly through government 
subsidies. A free trade zone in Dubai dedicated to media-related 
business is administered separately and operates under separate bylaws. 
Except for media located in this free zone and foreign language media 
targeted to foreign residents, most television and radio stations were 
government-owned and conformed to unpublished government reporting 
guidelines. Foreign journalists and news organizations operating from 
the Dubai Media Free Zone reported no restrictions on the content of 
print and broadcast material produced for use outside the country. 
Satellite-receiving dishes were widespread and provided access to 
international broadcasts without apparent censorship.
    By law the National Media Council (NMC), appointed by the 
president, licenses and censors all publications, including private 
association publications. Media outlets must inform the NMC of the 
appointment of editors, and the NMC is responsible for issuing press 
credentials. The law authorizes censorship of domestic and foreign 
publications to remove criticism of the Government, ruling families, or 
friendly governments, as well as other statements that ``threaten 
social stability.'' According to the council and Dubai police 
officials, journalists were not given specific publishing instructions; 
however, government officials reportedly warned journalists when they 
published material deemed politically or culturally sensitive. 
Journalists practiced extensive self-censorship regarding the issues 
they chose to cover.
    The Government used libel laws to suppress criticism of its 
leaders. No journalists have received prison sentences for defamation 
since 2007. Other punishments for violations of libel laws remained in 
force, including suspension of publishing for a specified period of 
time and penalties of five million dirhams (approximately $1.4 million) 
for disparaging senior officials or royal family members and 500,000 
dirhams (approximately $140,000) for misleading the public and harming 
the country's reputation, foreign relations, or economy. On September 
28, the international NGO the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a 
statement to the press calling for the fair treatment of a Dubai-based 
reporter, Mark Townsend, charged with defamation in August for 
allegedly criticizing his employer, Khaleej Times, in a series of 
online posts. Information on the trial was not available at year's end.
    The NMC censors reviewed all imported media and prohibited or 
censored before distribution any 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. The authorities treated 
the publication of books in the same manner.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted access to some Web 
sites and monitored chat rooms, instant messaging services, and blogs. 
There were few reports of government prosecution or punishment, 
although self-censorship was apparent in many chat rooms and blogs. The 
UN Human Development Report estimated there were more than 300 Internet 
users per 1,000 persons in 2009. Local media reported that the Ministry 
of Interior monitored Internet use in cybercafes.
    The country's only two service providers, used a proxy server to 
block material deemed inconsistent with the country's values, as 
defined by the Ministry of Interior. Blocked material included dating 
and matrimonial sites; gay and lesbian sites; sites concerning the 
Bahai faith; some sites originating in Israel; and sites explaining how 
to circumvent the proxy server. The proxy servers occasionally blocked 
broad categories of sites. Service providers populated their list of 
blocked sites primarily from lists purchased from private companies, 
although individuals also could report offensive sites. A social Web 
site and the politically oriented Web sites remained blocked during the 
year. Some sites that contained content critical of ruling families 
were blocked. The NMC was responsible for creating lists of blocked 
sites. Service providers do not have the authority to remove Web sites 
from block lists without government approval.
    The law explicitly criminalizes the use of the Internet to commit a 
wide variety of offenses and provides fines and prison terms for 
Internet users who violate political, social, and religious norms. The 
law also criminalizes acts commonly associated with ``cyber crimes,'' 
such as hacking, ``phishing,'' and other forms of financial fraud. The 
law provides penalties for using the Internet to oppose Islam, 
proselytize Muslims to join other religions, ``abuse'' a holy shrine or 
ritual of any religion, insult any religion, incite someone to commit 
sin, or transcend ``family values'' by publishing news or photos 
pertaining to a person's private life or family.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted 
academic freedom and censored academic materials for schools. The 
Government prohibited students from reading texts featuring sexuality 
or pictures of the human body including in health and biology classes. 
The Government also restricted participation in certain cultural 
events, primarily events it deemed un-Islamic.
    Official permission was required for conferences that discussed 
political issues. In May the minister of social affairs ordered the 
cancellation of a meeting in Dubai of the Gulf Cooperation Council 
Association of Sociologists relating to social security, objecting to 
the topic of ``terrorism'' being addressed in conference white papers. 
The minister stated that the conference organizers had failed to obtain 
security clearance.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedoms of assembly and association; however, in practice 
the Government did not respect these rights.

    Freedom of Assembly.--The law requires a government-issued permit 
for organized public gatherings. In practice the Government did not 
interfere regularly with informal nonpolitical gatherings held without 
a government permit in public places unless there were complaints.
    In contrast to 2009, when there were at least two reports of 
unauthorized public gatherings dispersed by the police, none were 
reported during the year; however, in July there were credible reports 
that authorities arrested two citizens after they attempted to organize 
a protest over fuel price increases. The Government reportedly fired 
one of the organizers who worked for the Dubai police department in an 
administrative capacity.

    Freedom of Association.--Political organizations, political 
parties, and trade unions are illegal. All associations and NGOs were 
required to register with the Ministry of Social Affairs, and many 
received government subsidies. Approximately 100 domestic NGOs were 
registered with the ministry, mostly citizens' associations for 
economic, religious, social, cultural, athletic, and other purposes. 
More than 20 unregistered local NGOs that focused on nonpolitical 
topics operated with little to no government interference. Associations 
must follow the Government's censorship guidelines and receive prior 
government approval before publishing any material.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, emigration, and repatriation, and the 
Government generally respected these rights in practice; however, the 
Government imposed legal restrictions on foreign travel. The Government 
cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations on a humanitarian basis, 
but it did not grant refugee status or asylum.
    Male citizens involved in legal disputes under adjudication were 
not permitted to travel overseas. Custom dictates that a husband can 
prevent his wife, minor children, and adult unmarried daughters from 
leaving the country by taking custody of their passports. The 
Government may revoke naturalized citizens' passports and citizenship 
status for criminal or politically provocative actions. Such 
revocations are rare, and there were no such reports during the year.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and there were no reported 
cases during the year.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's laws do not provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugees. The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol 
relating to the Status of Refugees. There is no system for providing 
protection to refugees, and the Government did not provide protection 
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their 
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion.
    The Government continued to detain some persons seeking refugee 
status, particularly Palestinians and non-Arabs, while they awaited 
resettlement in third countries. As access to employment, education, 
and other public services is based on an individual's status as a legal 
resident, a refugee is not eligible for such benefits.

    Stateless Persons.--Estimates suggested that an unverified range of 
20,000 to 100,000 persons without any citizenship or proof of 
citizenship (known as ``Bidoon'') resided in the country. Although the 
Government improved the naturalization process in 2009, granting 
citizenship to 70 persons that year compared to 51 persons in 2008, no 
stateless person received citizenship during the year.
    The Government registered Bidoon births but did not grant 
citizenship to the children. Most Bidoon lacked citizenship because 
they did not have the preferred tribal affiliation used to determine 
citizenship when the country was established. Others had entered the 
country, legally or illegally, in search of employment. The Bidoon 
faced discrimination in employment and had restricted access to medical 
care and education. Without passports or other identity documents, 
their movement was restricted, both within the country and 
internationally. Local charities, some funded with government money, 
provided limited medical and educational services to Bidoon.
    Citizenship is derived generally from one's parents. Children of 
female citizens married to noncitizens do not acquire citizenship 
automatically at birth, but their mothers can obtain citizenship for 
the children after submitting an application, which the Government 
generally accepts. A foreign woman may receive citizenship through 
marriage to a citizen after 10 years of marriage, and anyone may 
receive a passport by presidential fiat.

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. There were no democratic general elections or 
institutions, and citizens did not have the right to form political 
parties.
    Federal executive and legislative power is in the hands of the 
Federal Supreme Council, a body composed of the hereditary rulers of 
the seven emirates. It elects from its members the country's president 
and vice president. Decisions at the federal level generally 
represented consensus among the rulers, their families, and other 
leading families. The ruling families, in consultation with other 
prominent tribal figures, also choose new emirate rulers.
    Although the FNC has no legislative authority, it generally 
reviewed all federal draft laws and decrees before the Federal Supreme 
Council officially adopted them, and it could send legislation back for 
amendment. The FNC also has the authority to question any government 
minister, but it requires cabinet approval in order to raise a topic 
for discussion, and it lacks any enforcement mechanism.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 a 6,689-member-
appointed electorate elected half of the 40-seat FNC; each emirate 
appoints a portion of the other 20 members. In 2008 the Federal Supreme 
Council announced a constitutional amendment that extended the term of 
FNC members from two to four years.
    Some traditional practices discouraged women from engaging in 
political participation. However, there were four women in the cabinet; 
nine women, one of whom was elected, served in the FNC; and several 
women served as public prosecutors or judges. In Sharjah seven women 
served on the 40-seat Consultative Council, and two women served as 
directors of local departments. A few women held nonfederal senior 
government positions in the other emirates. Women were only 17 percent 
of the approximately 7,000-person electorate handpicked by the 
emirates' rulers to vote in FNC elections.
    Except in the judiciary, minorities, including Shia, did not serve 
in senior federal positions. Many judges were contracted foreign 
nationals.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented the law effectively. Government 
corruption reportedly occurred at the administrative level. There were 
no financial disclosure laws for public officials.
    Due to the lack of the independence of the courts, those in power 
or connected to the ruling families rarely were punished for 
corruption. Nepotism and corrupt financial and legal practices existed.
    In 2008 the Department of Accountability returned to the Ministry 
of Finance approximately 300 million dirhams (approximately $82 
million) that employees had embezzled. At year's end, there was no 
information regarding what had happened to the employees.
    The law provides for public access to government information, but 
the Government followed this provision selectively. Requests for access 
usually went unanswered.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government generally did not permit organizations to focus on 
political issues. Two recognized local human rights organizations 
existed: the quasi-independent EHRA, which focused on human rights 
issues and complaints such as labor rights, stateless persons' rights, 
and prisoners' well-being and humane treatment; and the Government-
subsidized Jurists' Association Human Rights Committee, which focused 
on human rights education and conducted seminars and symposia subject 
to government approval. Although a government prosecutor headed the 
EHRA, it generally operated without government interference, apart from 
the requirements that apply to all associations in the country. EHRA 
members met with Ministry of Interior officials and prisoners during 
visits to several detention facilities.
    The Government directed and subsidized participation by NGO members 
in events outside the country, such as for a human rights conference in 
Europe for members of EHRA. However, all participants must obtain 
government permission before attending such events, even if they are 
not speakers.
    In 2009 the Ministry of Social Affairs rejected applications by the 
Jurists' Association to join the Arab Coalition for Development, 
Democracy, and Human Rights and the International Bar Association, and 
the Government prevented Jurists' Association Human Rights Committee 
members from traveling to meetings outside the country, including 
meetings of the Arab Jurists Union and the Gulf Jurists Union.
    The Government did not allow international human rights NGOs to be 
based in the country but allowed representatives to visit on a limited 
basis. There were no transparent standards governing visits from 
international NGO representatives. On January 24, the international NGO 
Human Rights Watch held a press conference in Dubai where it released 
its annual report on human rights violations.
    The Government generally cooperated with other international 
organizations, including the UN Children's Fund and the UNHCR. The UN 
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs maintained an 
office in the country, and in October the Government hosted the UN 
special rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution, and 
child pornography.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equality for citizens without regard 
to race, nationality, or social status, and the law prohibits 
discrimination based on disability; however, legal and cultural 
discrimination existed and went unpunished. The constitution does not 
provide for equality for noncitizens.

    Women.--Rape is punishable by death under the penal code, but in 
Sharia courts the extremely high burden of proof often meant that there 
were few convictions. The penal code does not address spousal rape. 
There were widespread and frequent reports that foreign domestic 
workers were raped and sexually assaulted by their employers.
    Domestic abuse against women, including spousal abuse, was a common 
problem. The penal code allows men to use physical means, including 
violence, at their discretion against female and minor family members. 
Nevertheless, some domestic abuse cases may be filed as assault without 
intent to kill, punishable by 10 years in prison if death results, 
seven years for permanent disability, and one year for temporary 
injury. Such cases were rare. Victims of domestic abuse may file 
complaints with police units stationed in major public hospitals. There 
were several reports that police refused to protect women if they made 
such complaints; instead, police reportedly encouraged women to return 
home. In some cases, authorities contacted the allegedly abusive 
husbands to transport their wives home.
    On October 5, the Federal Supreme Court upheld a husband's right to 
``chastise'' his wife and children with physical force, so long as the 
``chastisement'' did not result in bruising. On October 8, the director 
of the Judicial Inspection Department at the Ministry of Justice, 
Humaid al Muhairi, released a statement clarifying the Government's 
position on domestic abuse, saying that the ``full force of the law 
will continue to be brought against those who may exercise chastisement 
of any kind, verbal or otherwise, beyond acceptable bounds.''
    Social workers and counselors, usually female, also maintained 
offices in public hospitals and police stations. Women often were 
reluctant to file formal charges of abuse for social, cultural, and 
economic reasons.
    The Government could prosecute harassment via the penal code 
prohibition on ``disgracing or dishonoring'' a person in public, 
punishable by a minimum of one year in prison and as long as 15 years 
if the victim is younger than 14-years-old; an ``infamous'' act against 
the rules of decency, which carries a penalty of six months in prison; 
or ``dishonoring a woman by word or deed on a public roadway,'' which 
could result in up to one year in prison and a 10,000 dirham 
(approximately $2,700) fine. However, such prosecutions rarely occurred 
in practice.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and to 
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination, 
coercion, and violence. According to the most recent UN estimates, the 
maternal mortality rate in the country was 10 deaths per 100,000 live 
births in 2008. A study released by the UAE Women's Federation in 
November noted that skilled medical personnel attended 99 percent of 
births. There was no information on prenatal and postnatal care. 
Statistics on the use of modern contraceptive methods accessible to 
both married and single women were unavailable; however, various 
contraceptives were widely available. There was no information on 
whether men and women are treated and diagnosed equally treatment for 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    Women faced legal and economic discrimination. The Government's 
interpretation of Sharia applied in personal status cases and family 
law. Muslim women were forbidden to marry non-Muslims. Unlike men, 
female citizens married to noncitizens did not automatically pass 
citizenship to their children. The law permits a man to have as many as 
four wives. Women normally inherited less than men under the 
Government's interpretation of Sharia. For example, a son may inherit 
double what a daughter inherits when their parent dies.
    In order for a woman to obtain a divorce with a financial 
settlement, she must prove that her husband has inflicted physical or 
moral harm upon her, has abandoned her for at least three months, or 
has not maintained her upkeep or that of their children. Alternatively 
women may divorce by paying compensation or surrendering their dowry to 
their husbands. The law gives divorced fathers custody of female 
children above the age of 13 and male children above the age of 10.
    On August 23, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that, in decisions on 
child custody, the interests of the child come first. In the ruling, 
the court granted a divorced woman custody of her seven sons, despite 
the eldest being older than 10 years old. The court established a 
precedent essentially limiting the application of Sharia to custody 
cases.
    Fornication outside of marriage is a crime, and the Government may 
imprison and deport noncitizen women if they bear children out of 
wedlock. Paternity denial was an emerging problem in the courts. 
Despite DNA tests proving paternity, the courts could not force a man 
to accept paternal responsibility. In the absence of an acknowledged 
father, the mothers of these children faced potential legal charges of 
adultery, for which the punishment can be lashing, according to media 
reports.
    No law prohibits women from working or owning businesses, and a man 
has no right under the Government's interpretation of Sharia to ban his 
wife from working if she was employed at the time of their marriage; 
however, some husbands reportedly did so. Women who worked outside the 
home regularly did not receive equal benefits, and women also 
reportedly faced discrimination in promotions and earning equal wages.
    Women constituted approximately 75 percent of university students. 
Coeducation is prohibited in public schools and universities except in 
the United Arab Emirate University's Executive MBA program. Several 
private schools, private universities, and institutions were 
coeducational.

    Children.--The Government registered Bidoon births, but it did not 
grant citizenship to the children.
    Education is compulsory through the ninth grade; however, 
compulsory education was not enforced, and some children did not attend 
school, especially children of noncitizens. Noncitizen children could 
enroll in public schools only if they scored at least 90 percent on 
entrance examinations, which were given only in Arabic. The Government 
provided primary education free to citizens but not to noncitizens. 
Public schools were not coeducational after kindergarten. 
Statistically, girls and women in every age group were more 
academically successful and continued to higher levels of education 
than their male peers.
    Child abuse was limited, and there was some evidence that societal 
influences prevented cases from being reported. The law protects 
children from abuse and trafficking, and the Government provides some 
shelter and help for victims. The law does not address female genital 
mutilation (FGM), which some Somali, Omani, and Sudanese foreign 
residents practiced. The Ministry of Health prohibits hospitals and 
clinics from performing FGM.
    The United Arab Emirates is not a party to the 1980 Hague 
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For 
information on international parental child abduction, please see the 
Department of State's annual report on compliance at http://
travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--
4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no synagogues for the small foreign 
Jewish population in residence. Anti-Semitism was apparent in news 
articles and editorials. These expressions occurred primarily in daily 
newspapers without government response.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons who have physical and mental disabilities; however, 
such discrimination occurred in practice. Most public buildings 
provided some form of access for persons with disabilities in 
accordance with the law. Health care provided in the Ministry of 
Labor's five federal rehabilitation centers, as well as those in 
private centers, reportedly was inadequate.
    Various departments within the ministries of labor and education 
were responsible for protecting the rights of persons with 
disabilities, and the Government effectively enforced these rights. The 
Government reserved 1 percent of all federal government jobs and 2 
percent of government jobs in Abu Dhabi for persons with disabilities. 
On October 25, the Community Development Authority (CDA) in Dubai held 
a meeting with government and private sector human resource managers in 
an effort to promote employment opportunities for persons with 
disabilities. The CDA offers public and private corporations assistance 
in hiring persons with disabilities through a program called 
``Elkayt.''

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Approximately 80 percent of the 
country's residents were noncitizens originating primarily from the 
Indian subcontinent. Societal discrimination against noncitizens was 
prevalent and occurred in most areas of daily life, including 
employment, education, housing, social interaction, and health care.
    In March the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, 
racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance released a 
report on his October 2009 visit. The report noted the country's unique 
situation, where non-nationals represent the vast majority of the 
population, and that the influx of foreign workers created tremendous 
challenges for society. The report concluded that the country should 
enact legislation, improve policies, and implement them effectively.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Both civil law and Sharia 
criminalize homosexual activity. Under Sharia the death penalty is the 
punishment for individuals who engage in consensual homosexual 
activity. There were no prosecutions for homosexual activity during the 
year. In 2009 there were reports that the Government deported and 
sentenced individuals to prison for openly homosexual activity.
    Under the law, cross-dressing is a punishable offense. The 
Government deported cross-dressing foreign residents and referred 
citizens to public prosecutors. At times the Government subjected 
persons to psychological treatment and counseling for homosexual 
activity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
and other diseases faced discrimination. There were credible reports 
that government officials discriminated against prisoners with HIV by 
not granting commuted sentences or parole that other prisoners with 
similar records had received. Noncitizen residents infected with HIV, 
hepatitis types B and C, and tuberculosis were denied all health 
benefits, quarantined, and deported.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law does not permit workers to 
form or join unions, and no unions existed. Professional organizations, 
such as lawyers' associations, existed; however, they had to receive 
government approval for international affiliations to exist and had to 
receive government approval for international affiliation.
    The law does not prohibit strikes by private sector workers, but it 
allows an employer to suspend an employee for striking. In addition the 
Government may cancel the work permit of and deport for up to one year 
any foreign worker who is absent from work for more than seven days 
without a valid reason.
    The Government forbids strikes by public sector employees, citing 
national security. A public sector employee may file an administrative 
grievance or a case in the civil courts to address a labor-related 
dispute or complaint; however, there was no evidence of any such 
grievances or cases.
    The Government generally did not punish workers for nonviolent 
protests in response to nonpayment of wages by employers, but it 
dispersed such protests during the year. Most grievances were related 
to unpaid wages and hazardous or abusive working conditions. The 
Ministry of Labor generally contacted the business owner, which usually 
prompted a settlement privately.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Employees 
covered by the labor law--which excludes domestic, agricultural, and 
government workers--may file collective employment dispute complaints 
with the Ministry of Labor in person or via telephone, which serves as 
mediator between the parties. Employees may file unresolved disputes 
with the labor court system, which are in turn forwarded to the 
conciliation council. In practice most cases were resolved through 
direct negotiation. The Government granted some professional 
associations with a majority citizen membership a limited ability to 
raise work-related issues, to petition the Government for redress, and 
to file grievances with the Government. Foreign workers may belong to 
these professional associations as well; however, they do not have 
voting rights and cannot serve on the organizations' boards.
    Businesses in free trade zones (FTZs) are not subject to labor 
statutes. The Ministry of Labor does not regulate the FTZs; instead, 
each FTZ maintained its own labor department. Unions and strikes are 
not allowed in any FTZs.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, such 
practices occurred, predominantly involving migrant workers from South 
and East Asia who work as construction workers or as domestic 
employees.
    Many migrant workers were subjected to forced labor conditions such 
as restrictions on movement and communication, nonpayment of wages, and 
physical and sexual abuse. Reports of worker suicides continued. There 
were reports that some female migrant workers were forced into 
prostitution. Upon arrival to the country, some foreign workers signed 
contracts that had lower salaries or involved a different type of work 
than what was stated in contracts signed in their country of origin. 
This practice was known as ``contract switching.''
    Foreign workers frequently did not receive their wages, sometimes 
for extended periods. In 2008, to reduce the problem of unpaid wages, 
the Ministry of Labor and the Central Bank signed a memorandum of 
understanding that facilitated direct deposits of laborers' salaries, 
creating the Wage Protection System. On August 26, the Government 
announced that 500,000 laborers were receiving their wages in this 
manner and set a May 31 deadline for all employers to adopt the system, 
which would cover more than four million workers. In contrast to 2009 
when 500,000 workers received their salaries electronically, during the 
year 1.8 million workers enrolled in the Wage Protection System, 
according to the Ministry of Labor, which the Government claimed 
represents 100 percent of workers.
    Some domestic and agricultural workers were subjected to unpaid 
labor to repay their employers for hiring expenses. In most cases, the 
workers paid recruitment fees to the recruiter in their country of 
origin and were responsible for repaying them once beginning work. 
Employers routinely held employees' passports, severely restricting 
their freedom of movement. There were increasing incidents of employees 
prevented from changing jobs because their contracts stipulated that 
they were prohibited from working for a ``competitor'' for six months 
after their original employment ended. The only way to overcome the 
six-month restriction was to seek a letter of ``no objection'' from the 
original employer; some employers, as retribution for losing the 
employee to another employer, refused to sign such letters. Employees 
lack any recourse if this happens; they must leave the country and 
reenter. In December authorities announced a change in labor laws, 
effective in 2011, removing the requirement for employees to obtain a 
no objection certificate.
    The Ministry of Labor made exceptions during the year by not 
requiring ``no objection'' letters if the employee had completed three 
years in the original position or if the employer had withheld salary.
    In May local media reported that more than 1,000 workers in a labor 
camp outside Sharjah were stranded without work, wages, or legal 
residency documentation after their employer went bankrupt. On August 
31, 700 foreign workers outside Sharjah, abandoned by their employer, 
were without access to food or water. In both cases, local charities 
provided food for the workers, who were seeking redress from the 
courts. The Ministry of Labor worked to repatriate the individuals 
eventually.
    In another case in Ajman, workers were abandoned by their employer. 
Since these individuals were under contract to the Ministry of 
Education, the Ministry of Labor worked to repatriate the workers or 
find them new employers in the country.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits employment of persons younger than the age of 15 and has 
special provisions for employing persons between 15 and 18 years of 
age, including foreign resident children 16-years-old or older. The 
Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing these regulations and 
generally enforced them effectively. However, there were reports of 
foreign children who came to the country under their parents' work 
permits and subsequently were pressured to work. Additionally the 
traditional practice of using children as camel jockeys resumed in some 
privately held races.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no established minimum 
wage, leaving much of the workforce without sufficient compensation for 
more than minimal subsistence. The average daily wage did provide a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family. Salaries, which 
depend on the occupation and employer, were estimated to be at least 
400 dirhams (approximately $110) per month for domestic or agricultural 
workers and 600 dirhams (approximately $164) per month for construction 
workers. Highly skilled and white-collar employees generally received 
much higher salaries.
    According to the labor law, the workday is eight hours and the 
workweek six days; however, these standards were not monitored or 
enforced. There were laws regulating minimum rest periods and hours 
worked, which varied depending on the nature of the work. There was no 
legal provision requiring overtime pay, nor was there a prohibition on 
excessive compulsory overtime. Domestic workers are under the 
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior, which has a special office 
for assisting domestic laborers; labor laws do not apply to domestic 
workers. The unregulated conditions of domestic workers left them 
vulnerable to long hours and underpayment.
    The Ministry of Labor extended the required summer midday work 
break from two months to three months for most outdoor laborers. This 
requirement begins in June and lasts until September. However, during 
July and August, the hottest months of the year, the Government 
exempted oil, asphalt, and cement companies from following the law. The 
Government routinely fined employers for violating the midday break 
rule and published compliance statistics. For the first offense, an 
employer is fined 10,000 dirhams (approximately $2,725) and is 
prohibited from issuing obtaining new labor permits for three months. A 
second offense results in a 20,000 dirham fine (approximately $5,450) 
and a six-month prohibition. A third offense carries a 30,000 dirham 
fine (approximately $8,175) and a one-year prohibition on new permits.
    The Ministry of Labor operated a toll-free hotline through which 
workers were able to report companies that violated break rules or 
delayed wage payments.
    The law requires employers to provide employees with a safe work 
and living environment; however, despite recent increases in the number 
of labor inspectors, the Government did not uniformly enforce health 
and safety standards. The ministry hired additional safety and health 
inspectors, bringing the total to more than 450. Inspections of 
workplaces--primarily construction sites--took place throughout the 
year, resulting in fines for employers who violated workplace safety or 
midday break rules. The ministry also employed language interpreters to 
assist foreign workers in understanding employment guidelines.
    Despite efforts to improve housing facilities, some low-skilled and 
foreign employees continued to face substandard living conditions, 
including overcrowded apartments or lodging in unsafe and unhygienic 
``labor camps,'' which sometimes lacked electricity, potable water, and 
adequate cooking and bathing facilities. Construction of newer worker 
accommodations was ongoing. Individual emirates enforced their own 
standards for minimum conditions for labor accommodations.
    During the year the press reported a number of cases where workers 
were injured or killed on job sites due to inadequate safety measures. 
Although the law requires the Government to monitor job-related 
injuries and deaths, in practice the Government registered the cases 
but did not consistently follow up on them.
    Domestic workers routinely were subject to physical, sexual, and 
emotional abuse. There were reports that employers withheld the 
passports of their domestic workers; in some cases, they prevented 
workers from leaving the country. In August 2009 police in Ajman 
arrested a woman accused of beating her maid with an electrical cord, 
breaking her ribs, and burning her feet with an iron. Updated 
information on the court case was unavailable during the year.
    Workers' jobs were not protected if they removed themselves from 
what they considered to be unsafe working conditions; however, all 
workers have the right to lodge labor-related grievances to the 
Ministry of Labor. If ministry arbitration could not resolve the issue, 
it was referred to the judiciary.

                               __________

                             WESTERN SAHARA

    Morocco claims the Western Sahara territory and administers 
Moroccan law through Moroccan institutions in the estimated 85 percent 
of the territory it controls. However, the Popular Front for the 
Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario), an 
organization that has sought independence for the formerly Spanish 
territory since 1973, disputes Morocco's claim to sovereignty over the 
territory. The population of the territory was approximately 491,000, 
an estimated 100,000 of whom were attributable to Moroccan in-
migration. The majority of Western Sahara's population is Sahrawi 
(literally ``people of the desert'' in Arabic) Sahrawis also live in 
the south of internationally recognized Morocco, in Algeria, and in 
Mauritania.
    The Moroccan government sent troops and settlers into the northern 
two provinces after Spain withdrew in 1975, and extended its 
administration to the third province after Mauritania renounced its 
claim in 1979. Moroccan and Polisario forces fought intermittently from 
1975 until a 1991 ceasefire and the deployment of a UN peacekeeping 
contingent, the UN Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara 
(MINURSO), whose mandate does not include human rights monitoring. In 
the late 1980s, Morocco constructed a 1,250-mile stone and sand wall 
known as the ``berm'' that marks the effective limit of its 
administrative control.
    In 1988 Morocco and the Polisario agreed to settle the sovereignty 
dispute by referendum. The parties did not resolve disagreements over 
voter eligibility and which options for self-determination 
(integration, independence, or something in between) should be on the 
ballot; consequently, a referendum never took place.
    There have been several attempts to broker a solution. In 2007 the 
first face-to-face negotiations between representatives of the Moroccan 
government and the Polisario began under UN auspices. Morocco proposed 
autonomy for the territory within the kingdom; the Polisario proposed a 
referendum in which full independence would be an option. After four 
meetings in 2007 and 2008 produced little progress, both sides 
participated in informal meetings in August 2009, and during the year 
from February 10 to 11, from November 8 to 9, and from December 16 to 
18 under the auspices of Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for 
Western Sahara, Christopher Ross. Neither the November nor the December 
meetings yielded significant progress toward a permanent solution to 
the conflict.
    On April 30, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1920, 
extending MINURSO's mandate until April 30, 2011. The resolution also 
called on member states to consider voluntary contributions to 
confidence building measures carried out under the UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees intended to allow increased contact between family members 
separated by the dispute.
    Morocco considers the part of the territory that it administers to 
be an integral part of the kingdom with the same laws and structures 
conditioning the exercise of civil liberties and political rights. 
Accordingly, ultimate authority rests with King Mohammed VI, and human 
rights conditions in the territory tended to converge with those in the 
kingdom.
    There were reports that government security officials committed 
arbitrary or unlawful killings. There were unconfirmed reports of 
politically motivated disappearances.
    On October 10, 173 Saharawis set up approximately 40 tents outside 
of Laayoune in an area known as Agdem Izik to protest the Government's 
lack of response to poor social and economic conditions in the 
territory. The camp grew quickly, and by late October, according to 
most government and credible NGO estimates, as many as 16,000 persons 
lived in or spent significant time in the camp. On October 21, a 
delegation led by three regional walis, or regional governors, began 
negotiations with the organizers of the tent settlement to address the 
organizers' social and economic concerns, including housing conditions 
and employment. In order to control the growing number of individuals 
moving in and out of the community, authorities built a sand wall 
around the site and placed security checkpoints around the perimeter.
    On October 24, security forces shot and killed 14-year-old Al-Nagem 
Al-Qarhi and injured four other civilians while they were in a car at a 
checkpoint waiting to enter the Agdem Izik tent camp. In an official 
statement, the Ministry of the Interior stated that known criminals 
were riding in the vehicle and that they fired on the gendarmes who had 
attempted to detain them. An independent investigation, conducted by 
the domestic NGOs Mediator for Democracy and Human Rights (MDDH), the 
Forum for an Alternative Morocco, and the Moroccan Observatory for 
Public Liberties (OMLP), confirmed that a group of men in a 4X4 vehicle 
attempted to force their way past a Royal Gendarmerie checkpoint. The 
NGOs noted that gunfire ensued during the incident, but could not 
identify who fired first. Authorities opened an internal judicial 
investigation, which they had not concluded at year's end.
    After negotiations between Interior Ministry officials and camp 
organizers failed to result in a peaceful dismantling of the camp, 
authorities moved on November 8 to dismantle it using water cannons and 
truncheons. Police and gendarmes dispersed several thousand campers and 
quickly leveled the camp. When news of the dismantling reached 
Laayoune, it prompted widespread rioting, violent attacks, and 
confrontations between security forces and protestors.
    The Government, international human rights NGOs, and independent 
domestic NGOs reported that 11 members of the security forces were 
killed and over 200 injured in violent clashes with Agdem Izik campers 
or protestors in Laayoune. Two Sahrawis also died in the violence, and 
some international media sources reported that hundreds of Sahrawis 
were injured. The Government reported that a nonofficial vehicle 
accidentally struck and fatally injured 26-year-old Babi Gargar Brahim 
Ould Mahmud Hamadi in Laayoune. His brother and other eyewitnesses told 
a Human Rights Watch (HRW) investigator that a police vehicle 
purposefully struck him while he lay injured on the ground.
    Another civilian, 42-year-old Brahim Daoudi, died in police 
custody. The Government reported first that he suffered a fatal asthma 
attack at the Laayoune Military Hospital after security forces detained 
him. A second official press statement called the cause of death 
pneumonia. However, Daoudi's family members told Amnesty International 
(AI) and other NGOs that the Government never confirmed the cause or 
circumstances of his death. At the request of NGOs and the families, 
the Government opened investigations into both civilian deaths; by 
year's end, it had not concluded either investigation, and authorities 
had not provided autopsy reports to the family or to the public.
    In response to the November 8 events, the parliament, domestic 
human rights organization Association Marocaine des Droits de l'Homme 
(AMDH), and a separate consortium of 11 other domestic human rights 
NGOs launched investigations. The AMDH and HRW reports, which were 
available at year's end, confirmed the Government's claims that it did 
not use lethal force during the operation to dismantle Agdem Izik and 
that there were several casualties among security forces. However, AMDH 
and HRW also concluded that police and gendarmes used excessive force, 
including physical beatings to the point of unconsciousness, in 
suppressing the unrest in Laayoune. The reports also claimed that 
security forces mistreated detainees who were taken into custody 
following the violence, and that officials and pro-Moroccan civilians 
had attacked several Sahrawi homes in Laayoune. The parliament's and 
the consortium's reports had not been released by year's end.
    There were unconfirmed reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    On April 28, plainclothes police in Laayoune allegedly abducted 
Mohamad Abdellah Dayhani. His family reported to the Sahwari Collective 
of Human Rights Defenders (CODESA) that Dayhani was last seen near the 
residence of his relative and Sahrawi independence activist Abdallah 
Dayhani. His family allegedly inquired about his whereabouts at the 
police station and received no information. Government authorities 
claimed that although Dayhani's mother appeared at a police station to 
inquire into the whereabouts of her son, she never returned with the 
information that authorities requested she provide to launch an 
investigation.
    Regarding the 2007 discovery of a gravesite near the Laayoune 
Prison, the Government stated that judicial police who inspected the 
gravesite with the assistance of French forensics experts found human 
remains that appeared to date to 1938. There were no further 
developments.
    Regarding the still-unresolved cases of disappearance dating to the 
1970s and 1980s, the Governmental Consultative Council for Human Rights 
(CCDH) continues to cooperate with the UN Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to investigate claims of enforced 
and involuntary disappearances. The CCDH has provided the OHCHR with 
information regarding 56 cases that the OHCHR considers unresolved. 
CCDH and UNCHR continued to receive occasional new claims regarding 
disappearances that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. The CCHD 
acknowledged that due to a lack of evidence, it will likely be unable 
to resolve nine difficult cases. Sahrawi human rights groups and 
families, on the other hand, claimed that at least 114 cases remained 
unresolved and accused the CCDH and its predecessor, the Justice and 
Reconciliation Authority (IER), of failing to acknowledge many 
additional alleged disappearances, especially from Western Sahara.
    As it has done since 2000, the CCDH paid reparations during the 
year to victims of human rights abuses, including Sahrawis or family 
members of those Sahrawis who had disappeared or been detained during 
the 1970s and 1980s. During the year 331 individuals received 
reparation payments totaling 46,233,210 dirhams ($550,395). The CCDH 
reported that although it continued to receive and investigate 
reparation claims during the year, it had shifted its focus to 
community reparation projects, including providing medical insurance to 
victims' families. During the year CCDH disbursed 979 medical insurance 
cards to individuals living in both Morocco and in Western Sahara.
    There were credible reports that security forces engaged in 
torture, beatings, and other mistreatment of detainees. HRW, AI, and 
local NGOs continued to report abuses, especially of Sahrawi 
independence advocates.
    Moroccan authorities detained more than 300 civilians during the 
November 8 dismantling of the Adgem Izik camp and the subsequent 
violence in Laayoune. Authorities released without charge more than 100 
individuals within 48 hours, but by year's end, the Government had 
charged at least 60 with crimes. By year's end, the Government claimed 
that nearly all detainees had been arraigned before a civilian court 
and that 47 remained in custody at the Laayoune Prison awaiting trial. 
Authorities reported that they had arraigned and transferred 20 
additional detainees to the Sale Prison in internationally recognized 
Morocco, where they were awaiting trial before a military tribunal at 
year's end. However, NGOs alleged that the Government continued to hold 
as many as 131 detainees in either Sale or Laayoune and had not filed 
formal charges against some of them by year's end.
    Many of those released and many of the families of those still in 
custody claimed that security officials beat and otherwise abused them. 
International and domestic NGOs claimed that security forces beat some 
civilians to the extent that they sustained fractured limbs, open 
wounds, and loss of consciousness. NGOs and family members also claimed 
that the security forces used rubber bullets during the riots in 
Laayoune, although the Government denied this charge. AI reported that, 
in two cases, victims alleged that police raped them while in custody. 
In addition AI, the Association of Sahrawi Victims of Grave Human 
Rights Violations (ASVDH), and other domestic NGOs alleged that, in 
numerous instances, security officials threatened detainees with rape.
    In the ensuing protests and riots that occurred after the 
dismantlement of the camp on November 8, numerous eyewitnesses reported 
that police beat and used excessive force to detain protestors and 
bystanders. Police briefly detained and beat with fists and rubber 
batons an American journalist and a Sahrawi employee of HRW, who 
watched as police indiscriminately beat several other Sahrawis who had 
gathered in the area. Police took the two to a temporary holding 
station on the periphery of a city square and released them without 
charge.
    Regarding the February 2009 case of a Sahrawi independence activist 
who claimed that police had beaten and sodomized her, the Ministry of 
Justice rejected the case for lack of evidence after judicial police 
investigated. Western Sahara-based human rights NGOs criticized the 
decision and the lack of transparency in the investigation.
    The Procurer General also rejected for lack of evidence a well 
known human rights activist's August 2009 claim that police stripped 
her, left her naked on the outskirts of Laayoune, and threatened to 
post videos of her on the Internet. The Government confirmed that the 
victim had submitted a complaint to the Public Prosecutor in Laayoune 
in September 2009 and that the public prosecutor had investigated the 
accusation. Western Sahara-based human rights NGOs criticized the 
decision and the investigation.
    Authorities confirmed in November that the General Prosecutor at 
the Court of Appeals in Laayoune received a complaint from 20-year-old 
Chamad Marzouk, who alleged that two police officers beat him while he 
was in custody in September 2009. Authorities conducted an 
investigation, but the Attorney General ruled that Marzouk's 
allegations were unfounded due to a lack of evidence, including medical 
documentation or eyewitnesses.
    Sahrawi activist Yahya Mohamed El Hafed, convicted by a judge along 
with seven others of killing a security officer in 2008, remained in 
prison. The group claimed that the court convicted them based on 
confessions elicited through torture. The Government reported that it 
had released one of the convicted, Omar El Faquir, in 2008. There were 
no other developments in the case.
    There were several cases of violence breaking out at rallies or 
demonstrations between pro-independence Sahrawi groups and pro-union 
activists. In all these cases, the Government reported security forces 
responded adequately to prevent violence from becoming serious, 
although Sahrawi activists alleged that the security forces responded 
slowly and sometimes even tacitly encouraged violence.
    On April 6, a group of 11 Sahrawi independence activists returned 
to Laayoune after having traveled to Algiers and the Sahrawi refugee 
camps near Tindouf, Algeria, to meet with Algerian and Polisario 
officials. When various groups gathered at the airport to greet the 
activists, 31 nationalist Sahrawi associations clashed with several 
groups of pro-union activists. Independence activists claimed that 
plainclothes police encouraged pro-union demonstrators to attack them 
and deliberately delayed action to prevent the violence. While no one 
was seriously injured, crowds damaged the vehicles. The Government 
claimed that security forces acted professionally and prevented greater 
violence.
    On April 8, police stopped independence activists Sultana Khaya and 
others who had returned from Algiers on April 6 at a standard police 
checkpoint in Boujdour. The activists reported that a large group of 
pro-union activists had gathered at the checkpoint to await the group. 
While independence activists report that the pro-union group attacked 
first, pro-union activists allege that the independence activists 
provoked the ensuing violence. CODESA claimed that three individuals 
were injured. Authorities reported the scuffle and claim they 
maintained order.
    On May 7, ASVDH claimed that security forces intervened during a 
pro-independence Sahrawi demonstration in the Ma'atalah neighborhood of 
Laayoune, resulting in injuries to Dagna Moussaoui and her two sons, 
Jamal and Alyen Housaini. Authorities confirmed that a group of 
activists held a protest near a school where one police officer on a 
routine patrol dispersed the students, but claimed that their 
intervention was nonviolent.
    On July 18, several pro-independence activists gathered to welcome 
activists who had recently visited Algiers and Tindouf. The reception 
took place in the Al'Ina'ach neighborhood of Laayoune, which was 
reportedly surrounded by dozens of police cars and plainclothes 
security authorities. ASVDH reported that police verbally intimidated 
gatherers and attacked several individuals including Mohamed Manolo 
Hassan Dah, Khadjatou Lma'adal, Mary Salek Boudjemaa, and Kalthoum 
Lbsair.
    Police impunity remained a problem. According to several 
international, domestic, and Sahrawi NGOs, the number of alleged 
victims of human rights abuses to file complaints against police 
increased. The Government disputed the alleged increase and provided 
statistics indicating that through October, residents of Western Sahara 
filed 45 complaints against authorities based throughout the territory. 
Authorities referred all 45 complaints to the judicial police for 
investigation. The Public Prosecutor opened investigations into all 45 
complaints but dismissed 32 due to lack of evidence. Thirteen cases 
remain under investigation. International and domestic human rights 
organizations claimed that authorities dismissed nearly all complaints 
without collecting evidence beyond the police version of events.
    The Government stated that it increased investigations, 
prosecutions, and training (including a human rights component) to 
security personnel and took some steps aimed at reducing police abuse 
and impunity. The Government reported that some of these prosecutions 
involved officers who committed crimes in the territory; however, the 
exact number was uncertain because the Government did not disaggregate 
any of the data by region. Past practice has often left alleged abusers 
in leadership positions or transferred them to other positions.
    Allegations of abuse and substandard prison conditions persisted. 
Government policy permits NGOs that provide social or religious 
services to prisoners to enter prison facilities, but does not permit 
NGOs that solely have a human rights mission to enter except when 
authorities authorize them to do so. The Moroccan Observatory of 
Prisons (OMP), a government-subsidized local NGO consisting of lawyers 
and benevolent activists promoting better conditions for prisoners, and 
members of the CCDH continued regular visits to prisons and child 
protection centers, which host juvenile offenders, and relayed 
complaints of substandard prison conditions or detainee abuse to 
government authorities.
    In October OMP stated that overcrowding in the Laayoune Prison, the 
sole prison in Western Sahara, was no longer as serious a problem as in 
past years, and conditions had improved significantly. The prison had 
an initial capacity of 300. OMP reported in October that authorities 
had reduced the prison population from a high of 900 inmates in 2005 to 
448 through a program that transferred prisoners to other facilities in 
internationally recognized Morocco. Of the remaining 448 prisoners, 
there were 39 women and 31 teenagers, all of whom were separated from 
the men while in detention. However, overcrowding increased when 
authorities imprisoned up to 300 Sahrawis in connection with the Agdem 
Izik camp dismantling in November. Authorities held the majority of 
these prisoners for one to four days, then released them without 
charge, and government and NGO reports indicated that between 47 and 
111 Sahrawis detained in connection with the November 8 events remained 
in the Laayoune Prison, bringing the population at year's end to 
between 495 and 559. Human rights activists and NGOs continued to 
charge that the Government occasionally used its program to reduce 
overcrowding as a punishment for politically active prisoners by 
transferring them to facilities in Morocco far from their families. The 
Government and OMP acknowledged that transfers occurred, but stated 
that their purpose was apolitical and solely to improve prison 
conditions.
    In addition to the main Laayoune Prison, there are small holding 
cells in Smara, Boujdour, and Dakhla, which can hold approximately 20 
prisoners each. Overcrowding at these facilities was generally not a 
problem.
    Human rights and pro-independence activists continued to claim that 
authorities arrested them for their political activities but charged 
them with drug or other criminal offenses. Laws require authorities to 
investigate abuse allegations for any individual facing prosecution who 
requests an investigation, but local and international human rights 
advocates claimed that courts often refused to order medical 
examinations, or to consider medical examination results in cases of 
alleged torture.
    In September the Government reported that the public prosecutor and 
magistrates had requested expert medical examinations for 31 
individuals, compared with 27 requests in 2009 and 49 requests in 2008. 
An 11-member coalition of Moroccan NGOs reported that 52 Sahrawis 
arrested by security forces in connection with the November 8 camp 
dismantlement and ensuing protests alleged police torture and submitted 
requests for medical examinations. The Government's response to their 
requests was unknown at year's end.
    The Government stated that by law and in accordance with official 
policy, there are no political prisoners in Morocco or Western Sahara, 
and all detainees had been convicted of or charged with crimes. 
However, human rights and pro-independence groups alleged that there 
were approximately 52 Sahrawi ``political prisoners'' held either in 
Western Sahara or in prisons in internationally recognized Morocco. OMP 
noted that, at year's end, all known Sahrawi political activist 
prisoners were in detention facilities in Tiznit, Kenitra, Ben Slimane, 
Agadir, Taraghazout, Casablanca, and Sale.
    Students who made public displays of their support for Western 
Saharan independence were reportedly detained and mistreated. Student 
and human rights activists stated that authorities regularly took them 
into custody, beat them, and released them within 24 hours without 
formal arrest or charge.
    In September 2009 according to local NGOs, police allegedly threw 
demonstrator Mohamed Berkan from a window in Laayoune during an 
unauthorized demonstration. The Public Prosecutor officially refuted 
the NGOs' allegation and charged Berkan with assaulting an officer and 
other crimes. Berkan paid a 200 dirham ($25) fine, and authorities 
released him on September 27 after he completed his full one-year 
sentence.
    Law prohibits questioning the institution of the monarchy, Islam as 
the state religion, and Morocco's claim to sovereignty over Western 
Sahara (see country report on Morocco). The king announced, in a 
November 2009 speech, a policy of decreased tolerance for individuals 
who hold pro-independence views. As a result, individuals and the media 
engaged in self-censorship, and no views appeared in the media during 
the year supporting either independence or a referendum that included 
independence as an option.
    Authorities barred Moroccan and international journalists from 
travelling to Laayoune in the days preceding and subsequent to the 
November 8 camp dismantlement, making it difficult for the public to 
obtain and verify information regarding injury and death tolls. There 
were no reports of government action against Web log writers in the 
territory. During the year there continued to be credible reports that 
government authorities prevented some foreign journalists from meeting 
with pro-independence activists.
    Moroccan and international media, as well as satellite television, 
were available in the territory. There was no indication that Internet 
access in the territory differed from that in internationally 
recognized Morocco, which was generally open and unrestricted, although 
the Government blocked a small number of Morocco-based Web sites and 
proxies used to make activity on the Internet untraceable.
    The constitution provides for freedom of assembly and association 
within the limits provided by law. Although sit-ins, demonstrations, 
and protests occurred, in practice the Government used administrative 
delays and other methods to suppress or discourage demonstrations. The 
Government also prohibited or failed to recognize associations it 
deemed unqualified for NGO status.
    The Ministry of the Interior required persons wishing to hold 
public gatherings, including demonstrations, to obtain permission for 
public assemblies. However, authorities often allowed those who have 
not received permission to hold assemblies on an unofficial basis. NGOs 
have complained that the process is never consistent.
    The constitution and the law provide for freedom of association. 
Specifically, a 1958 decree, Dhahir 1-58-376, article 5 governs the 
establishment and functioning of establishments.
    Pro-independence organizations and some human rights NGOs stated 
that in recent years they have applied less frequently for legal 
permits to engage in sit-ins and demonstrations because police rarely 
granted the permits. In addition to these limitations, the 
organizations reported that holding organized demonstrations became 
more difficult because police increasingly harassed them following the 
king's November 2009 speech. The Government reported that as of 
October, (the last date for which figures are available) over 130 
demonstrations or protests had been held in Western Sahara. The 
majority of these regarded socioeconomic issues such as unemployment 
and housing concerns, but many also had political overtones.
    The Government enforced strict procedures governing the ability of 
NGOs and activists to meet with journalists. Foreign journalists needed 
prior official approval before meeting with pro-independence NGOs.
    As in previous years, the Government did not allow CODESA or ASVDH 
to register as official NGOs, limiting their ability to raise funds 
domestically and internationally and to secure space for public 
meetings. CODESA last submitted an application in 2008 by registered 
mail. ASVDH leadership reported that in 2005, an Agadir administrative 
court ordered the Government to register it; however, the Government 
did not do so.
    The Government continued to accuse the Polisario of withholding 
information regarding 213 Moroccans alleged to be missing since the 
1975-91 war, and the Polisario continued to accuse Morocco of 
withholding information concerning approximately 150 Algerians and 
Polisario supporters (including 58 soldiers). Morocco and the Polisario 
both denied that any former combatants remained in detention.
    Corruption among security forces and judicial officials was a 
problem.
    The laws and restrictions regarding religious organizations and 
religious freedom in the territory are the same as those in Morocco. 
For a complete description of religious freedom, please see the 2010 
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.
    HRW and ASVDH reported instances of authorities preventing foreign 
persons from meeting with pro-independence activists.
    Sahrawi independence activists alleged that on August 28, 
plainclothes security forces beat and arrested 14 Spanish activists 
protesting human rights violations in Western Sahara in front of the 
Hotel Negjir. ASVDH reported that authorities expelled the Spanish 
activists to the Canary Islands after hours of interrogation. Moroccan 
authorities claimed that police only intervened to prevent and manage a 
brawl that resulted when Moroccan youth leaving a soccer match came 
across the Spanish activists. In an August 30 statement, the Spanish 
Foreign Ministry confirmed that the Moroccan police had detained 11 
Spaniards and accepted Morocco's explanation that the police had 
intervened with the aim of defusing clashes between demonstrators and 
Moroccan citizens.
    Although in previous years, the Government occasionally restricted 
freedom to travel abroad, there were no reports that the Government 
restricted freedom to travel abroad during the year.
    In an October 2009 case, authorities detained and charged seven 
Sahrawi activists with ``intelligence cooperation with a foreign 
entity'' and incitement to disturb public order after they traveled to 
meet with Algerian and Polisario officials in Algiers and Tindouf. 
Government officials sent the case to a military tribunal in accordance 
with a law that gives military courts jurisdiction over cases involving 
treason or espionage. On January 28, the prison administration 
provisionally released one of the activists, Dakja Lashgar, due to 
health problems, but the Government did not drop official charges 
against her. After the remaining six activists engaged in a 41-day 
hunger strike, a separate civilian court in Sale ordered the 
provisional release of Yahdith Ettarouzi, Rachid Sghir, and Saleh 
Labihi on May 18, but also did not drop charges against them. On 
September 23, the military court in Sale dismissed the espionage 
charges against the seven and referred the case to the Casablanca civil 
appeals court for a hearing on the remaining charge of incitement. The 
remaining imprisoned activists, Ahmed Alansari, Brahim Dahane, and Ali 
Salem Tamek, appeared four times before the Casablanca court, but the 
judge postponed the case each time because pro-Moroccan activists in 
the courtroom caused chaos and physically threatened the three 
defendants. Numerous credible Sahrawi and Moroccan human rights NGOs 
claimed that authorities permitted the scenes of chaos inside the 
courtroom as a means of intimidating the detainees and any witnesses or 
family members who might have wished to attend. They also continued to 
maintain that the charges against the seven were politically motivated. 
The detainees' families reported that while their access to the 
detainees was limited during the first month of the activists' 
detainment, the Government generally allowed them access thereafter.
    CODESA leader Aminatou Haidar, whom authorities prevented from 
reentering the territory for 34 days in November and December 2009, 
returned on December 18, 2009. Since her return, Haidar has travelled 
freely in and out of the territory.
    Since 1977 the inhabitants of the Western Saharan provinces of 
Laayoune, Smara, Awsard, and Boujdour and, since 1983, Oued Ed-Dahab, 
have participated in Moroccan national and regional elections. In the 
June 2009 communal elections, the Government allowed only Sahrawis with 
pro-Moroccan political views to serve as candidates. Turnout exceeded 
70 percent of registered voters. Domestic observers leveled accusations 
of corruption, principally vote buying, in some races.
    Relatively little information was available on discrimination in 
the territory. In traditional tribal Sahrawi society, women 
participated more actively in political and economic activities than 
among other North African ethnic groups. Most Sahrawis in the territory 
lived in urban or semi-urban environments, and their circumstances 
paralleled the situation in Morocco proper. In the June 2009 communal 
elections, women won 13 percent of seats due partly to the 
implementation of the same new quota system used in internationally 
recognized Morocco, which required all political parties to include at 
least 12 percent women on their party slates.
    For information on trafficking in persons, please see the 
Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 
www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The Moroccan labor code applies in the Moroccan-controlled areas of 
the territory. Moroccan unions covering all sectors were present in 
those areas but were not active. The largest trade confederations 
maintain a nominal presence in Laayoune and Dakhla. These include the 
Moroccan Union of Labor, the Democratic Confederation of Labor, and the 
National Union of Moroccan Workers.
    The constitution and the labor code permit the right to strike, but 
there were no known labor strikes, other job actions, or collective 
bargaining agreements during the year. Most union members were 
employees of the Moroccan government or state-owned organizations. 
Unions were also active in the phosphate and fishing industries. Wage-
sector workers in the territory earned up to 85 percent more than their 
counterparts in Morocco as an inducement for Moroccans to relocate to 
the territory. The Government exempted workers from income and value-
added taxes.
    The labor code prohibited forced or bonded labor, and there were no 
reports that such practices occurred. Penalties for those who 
perpetrate forced labor range up to four years' imprisonment, and 
penalties for forced child labor are between one and three years in 
prison. Labor inspectors assigned to labor delegation offices enforce 
Moroccan labor laws. There are two delegations in Western Sahara, one 
in Laayoune and one in Oued Eddahab.
    Regulations on the minimum age of employment were the same as in 
Morocco. There were no reports regarding child labor in the formal wage 
sector. There were reports of children working in family-owned 
businesses and in the agricultural sector.
    The minimum wage and maximum hours of work in the territory were 
identical to those in Morocco. In practice during peak periods, workers 
in fish processing plants worked as many as 12 hours per day, six days 
per week. Occupational health and safety standards were the same as in 
Morocco and enforcement was rudimentary, except for a prohibition on 
the employment of women in dangerous occupations.

                               __________

                                 YEMEN

    Yemen, with a population of approximately 23 million, is a republic 
whose law provides for presidential election by popular vote from among 
at least two candidates endorsed by parliament. In 2006 citizens 
reelected President Ali Abdullah Saleh to another seven-year term in a 
generally open and competitive election, but one characterized by 
multiple problems with the voting process and the use of state 
resources on behalf of the ruling party. Saleh has led the country 
since 1978. The president appoints the prime minister, who is the head 
of government. The prime minister, in consultation with the president, 
selects the Council of Ministers. Although there are a number of 
parties, President Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) dominated 
the Government. Armed conflicts with the Houthi rebels in the North and 
with elements of the Southern Mobility Movement in southern 
governorates, as well as with Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) 
terrorists, affected the Government's human rights performance. There 
were instances in which elements of the security forces acted 
independently of civilian control.
    Armed conflict in the northern Saada region declined markedly after 
a February 11 ceasefire. Nonetheless, violence and abuses persisted in 
connection with ongoing protests by the Southern Mobility Movement, a 
decentralized umbrella group formed in 2008 as a result of widespread 
antigovernment protests that sought more rights for southerners and 
during the year increasingly became associated with activists seeking 
to reestablish an independent South Yemen.
    During the year attacks, often by unknown actors, occurred on 
government security forces, usually attributed to AQAP, although 
government claims of AQAP responsibility could not be verified in many 
cases.
    The main government human rights abuses included severe limitations 
on citizens' ability to change their government due to, among other 
factors, corruption, fraudulent voter registration, administrative 
weakness, and close political-military relationships at high levels. 
Arbitrary and unlawful killings, politically motivated disappearances, 
and reports of torture and other physical abuse accompanied the use of 
excessive force against civilians in internal conflict. Prisons and 
detention centers were in poor condition, and some private, largely 
tribal, ones operated without legal authorization or control. Arbitrary 
arrest and detention, sometimes incommunicado, and denial of fair 
public trial were widespread. Official impunity was common. The 
Government restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of speech and 
of the press, including access to the Internet, peaceful assembly, and 
religious freedom. The judiciary was weak, corrupt, and lacked 
independence. Official corruption and lack of government transparency 
were severe problems. International humanitarian groups estimated more 
than 300,000 persons were internally displaced as a result of the Saada 
conflict. Pervasive discrimination against women continued, as did 
early marriage, child labor, and child trafficking. Discrimination on 
the basis of religion, sect, and ethnicity was common. Workers' rights 
were restricted.

                        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 during the year, including politically motivated killings. 
Security forces killed suspects during apprehension and public 
demonstrations in actions that appeared to be politically motivated. 
The vast majority of reported killings were related to the two internal 
conflicts (see section 1.g.). In the governorates of Saada and Amran in 
the North, government forces sought to end a long-festering conflict 
with Houthi tribal forces, who are Shia Muslims of the Zaydi sect 
motivated by a sense of political, social, and religious 
marginalization; Saudi Arabian military forces reportedly also killed 
Houthi citizens in Yemen. The conflict in the South saw lethal action 
against separatists and Islamic militants, usually associated with 
AQAP. Insurgent tribal elements in the North and separatists and 
Islamist militants in the South committed politically motivated 
killings. Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for 
some killings. Tribal violence against the Government, a regular 
feature of the country's politics, often led to governmental 
attribution of killings to AQAP, whose members frequently were linked 
by birth or marriage, rather than ideology, to belligerent tribes.
    Apart from the two internal conflicts, government forces also 
committed arbitrary killings. For example, on August 6, according to 
the domestic nongovernmental organization (NGO) the National Society 
for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms (HOOD), Abdul-Ghani al-Zamzani 
struck a cement barricade in Sana'a with his truck near the house of 
the father of the chief of staff of the Central Security Forces (CSF). 
House guards and CSF officers shot at Zamzani, who despite being 
wounded fled to his residence nearby, where a CSF officer shot and 
killed him at close range. The CSF officials prevented Zamzani from 
receiving medical care and also prevented local police from conducting 
an investigation.
    Some detainees died in custody. For example, on June 25, Ahmed al-
Dirwish died while detained by police in Khor Maksar. According to a 
local NGO, he died because of injuries sustained from torture. Despite 
an order from the attorney general, investigators did not present the 
suspects responsible for the incident. An autopsy showed that Dirwish 
sustained broken ribs and substantial bruising and had ingested poison. 
On July 11, Faisal Al Goma'i died a month after suffering severe burns 
he received during a beating while in police custody at Al Shahid Al 
Ahmar Police Station in Sana'a. Police officials claimed the injuries 
were self-inflicted, and authorities did not conduct an adequate 
judicial investigation into the matter.
    Persistent, low-intensity conflict among tribes and between tribes 
and the Government resulted in killings and other abuses. On May 7, 
during the noon prayer, a group of armed men killed Houthi leader Yahya 
Al-Hames at the Muhammad Al-Ezzi mosque in Majez, Saada. On July 24, in 
Amran Governorate, according to the local press, clashes between 
Houthis and Sufian tribes over tribal properties killed at least 40 
persons. Other incidents of fatal shootings continued throughout the 
year. In most cases it was impossible to determine the perpetrator or 
motive, and there rarely were claims of responsibility. Some killings 
may have had criminal, religious, or political motives, while others 
appeared to involve land disputes or tribal revenge.
    There continued to be no investigation into the 2008 reported 
security force killings of Saleh Abubakr al-Sayed, Muhammad Ali 
Muhammad, Saleh Taleb Saeed, Abdelfatah Saif Abdullah, and Hisham Ahmed 
Muhsen.
    In November 2009 Saudi armed forces fought Houthi rebels, claiming 
that its attacks were within Saudi territory and intended to eliminate 
armed groups of Houthi rebels who had killed three border guards and 
wounded 15 other members of the security forces in the border region of 
Jebel al-Dukhan. According to media reports, Saudi forces continued to 
kill civilians in cross-border air and artillery strikes for more than 
a week after an initial January 23 ceasefire. The Houthis claimed there 
were 14 deaths, including some women and children, due to Saudi 
military action.
    The land was littered with mines and unexploded ordnance from 
several conflicts, including the 1962-70 war in the North between 
republicans and royalists, the 1963-67 war of independence in the 
South, the 1970-83 war against left-wing guerrillas, and the 1994 civil 
war. The majority of mines were in border areas between the former 
North Yemen and South Yemen and in the southern governorates. Many 
minefields in the southern governorates remained unmapped. According to 
the Governmental Yemen Executive Mine Action Center (YEMAC), during the 
year antipersonnel mines injured eight persons but caused no deaths. 
YEMAC tallied 15 deaths and 26 injuries from mines and explosive 
remnants of war during the year. YEMAC reported approximately 55 square 
miles of land remained to be demined at the end of the year.

    b. Disappearance.--During the year there were reports of 
politically motivated disappearances of individuals associated with 
southern protests and with the conflict in Saada in the North. Although 
many disappearances were short-term detentions followed by releases, 
the whereabouts of other individuals remained unknown for months or 
longer. Civil society groups accused the Government of using sporadic 
disappearances to intimidate the populace.
    Tribal kidnappings traditionally carried out to attract government 
attention to specific grievances occurred. On May 17, tribal gunmen 
kidnapped two foreign workers in Shabwa and released them two days 
later. On May 24, members of the Shardah tribe abducted two foreigners 
as well as their citizen driver and translator near al-Haima. They also 
were released after two days.
    On May 17, two German girls, kidnapped in June 2009, were released. 
There was no confirmed information concerning the fate of the remaining 
hostages: their infant brother, their parents, and a British engineer.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices, but domestic 
law lacks a comprehensive definition, according to the May 25 UN 
Committee Against Torture's Concluding Observations on the country. 
Human rights NGOs and former detainees and prisoners corroborated 
allegations of widespread practice of torture and mistreatment.
    The international NGO Amnesty International's (AI) 2010 annual 
report claimed that police brutality and torture of detainees were 
widespread and affected political as well as ordinary criminal 
detainees and prisoners, and that officials committed these acts with 
impunity. Reported techniques included beatings with fists, sticks, and 
rifle butts; kicking; scalding with hot water; using excessively tight 
handcuffs; prolonged blindfolding and suspending by the wrists or 
ankles; denying water or access to toilets; burning with cigarettes; 
stripping naked; denying food and prompt access to medical help; and 
threatening sexual abuse and death. Sleep deprivation and solitary 
confinement were other forms of abuse reported by local human rights 
NGOs to have occurred in Political Security Organization (PSO) 
detention centers.
    Ministry of Interior (MOI), which includes CSF and National 
Security Bureau (NSB), officers reportedly used force during 
interrogations, especially on those arrested for violent crimes, 
although according to the Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR), torture was 
not MOI policy. The PSO, a security apparatus reporting directly to the 
president, previously stated that torture did not occur at its 
facilities. New PSO officers must sign a document certifying they 
recognize torture is illegal according to the laws and constitution of 
the country and that those who torture prisoners would be punished 
according to the law.
    Penal law, based on the Government's interpretation of Shari'a 
(Islamic law), permits amputations and physical abuse, such as 
flogging, as punishments for some crimes.
    During the year the MOHR reported it received one complaint 
alleging torture at the hands of the military, police, or other 
security services but acknowledged that other isolated incidents might 
have occurred It stated that most complaints concerned prison 
conditions. HOOD claimed it received dozens of complaints of torture 
during the year; however, because the complainants often brought their 
cases weeks or months after the torture allegedly occurred, their 
claims were difficult to verify. If HOOD has the capacity and interest, 
it takes the Government to court on behalf of the victims. The domestic 
NGO Yemeni Organization for the Defense of Public Rights and Liberties 
(YODPRL) claimed to have documented 11 cases of detainees with chronic 
injuries resulting from torture during the year. On March 29, Mohammad 
al-Maqaleh, a journalist, claimed at a press conference held shortly 
after his release following six months of detention by the PSO that he 
was subjected to torture. He claimed he was held incommunicado and 
experienced the ``harshest of physical torture.''
    Some detainees, such as Ahmed al-Dirwish and Faisal Al Goma'i, died 
in custody allegedly after torture (see section 1.a.).
    According to the domestic NGO Women Journalists without Chains, 
Sana'a police officers tortured Fuad Ahmed Naji after detaining him in 
October at a demonstration in Sana'a supporting internally displaced 
persons (IDPs) from al-Djashen. He allegedly was subjected to electric 
shock, cigarette burns, and gun-butt strikes and was hospitalized for 
his injuries.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Local and international 
observers reported prison conditions remained poor and did not meet 
international standards. The Government permitted some visits by 
independent human rights observers. Prison conditions deteriorated 
during the year due to the marked increase in the number of prisoners, 
according to HOOD.
    Many prisons, particularly in rural areas, were overcrowded, with 
poor sanitary conditions, inadequate food, and inadequate medical care. 
In some cases prison authorities reportedly extracted bribes from 
prisoners to obtain privileges or refused to release prisoners who had 
completed their sentences until the prisoners' family members paid 
authorities.
    In some rural and women's prisons, children were held with adults. 
By custom young children and babies born in prison remained in custody 
with their mothers. Local NGOs asserted children were held with adults 
in Sana'a jails. Pretrial detainees were held with convicted criminals.
    Local tradition requires male relatives of female prisoners to 
arrange for their release. Authorities regularly held female prisoners 
in jail after the end of their sentences if male relatives refused to 
authorize their release, a practice that occurred because of the shame 
associated with the return of an imprisoned female family member or 
because families were unable to pay the ``blood money'' resulting from 
a court judgment. There were no female guards in female prisons or 
detention centers, except at the Hajjah Detention Center.
    The Department of Public Prosecutions has overall responsibility 
for overseeing and inspecting prisons. It performed investigative and 
monitoring functions without real effectiveness, hampered by a lack of 
authority over powerful security agencies and tribal leaders who 
controlled separate prison and detention fiefdoms. In the mosaic of 
different prison arrangements and authorities, several patterns 
emerged. Apart from incommunicado detention, visitor access was 
reasonable, and religious observance was permitted. There was no 
evidence that prisoners and detainees were permitted to submit 
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship or request 
investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. 
Similarly, there was no evidence that the Government or local prison 
authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions 
and publicly documented the results. According to a HOOD statement on 
November 23, PSO prison officials in Sana'a incited detained Sunni al-
Qaida suspects to beat severely Shia Houthi detainees on several 
occasions during the year.
    Authorities granted limited access to family members of PSO 
prisoners and detainees but routinely denied parliamentarians' and NGO 
requests for access to investigate human rights violation claims. The 
PSO argued that prospective visitors failed to comply with proper 
notification procedures.
    Prison authorities granted the MOHR and a few local NGOs, including 
HOOD, access to selected MOI prisons. NGO representatives met with MOI 
prisoners as private visitors. The MOHR said it met with NGOs 
frequently throughout the year and served as a mediator between NGOs 
and the Government. The MOHR also conducted awareness campaigns 
concerning civil rights in a number of governorates. The Government 
allowed independent human rights observers access to PSO prisons during 
the year, a departure from prior years.
    The MOHR stated it conducted more than 15 prison visits in 15 
governorates during the year, including surprise visits and visits 
conducted by the minister. It also inspected juvenile centers in 
approximately 15 governorates. The MOHR claimed the successful 
implementation of most recommendations in its 2007 report on prisons, 
such as the separation of incarcerated adults and minors and provision 
of educational instruction to prisoners.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) suspended 
visits in 2004 to PSO facilities, citing the PSO's failure to agree to 
the ICRC's universally applied manner of conducting visits, which 
includes regular access to and private interviews with all detainees. 
During the year the ICRC determined the PSO was cooperative and by 
year's end had made three visits to PSO facilities (see section 5).
    During the year the Government provided a few independent human 
rights observers limited access to selected prisons. There was no 
ombudsman advocating for humane and bureaucratically correct treatment 
of prisoners and detainees.
    Unauthorized ``private'' prisons and detention centers in rural 
areas controlled by tribes continued to operate, holding persons 
subjected to tribal justice. Tribal leaders misused the prison system 
by placing ``problem'' tribesmen in private jails, sometimes simply 
rooms in a sheikh's house, either to punish them for noncriminal 
actions or to protect them from retaliation. Speakers of Parliament 
reportedly maintained a special section of one of the main government 
prisons in Sana'a for their own private prisoners. Persons often were 
detained in such circumstances for strictly personal or tribal reasons 
without trial, judicial sentencing, or other fundamental legal 
safeguards.
    The Government claimed that the influx of prisoners and detainees 
due to internal conflict and antiterrorism arrests constrained its 
ability to improve conditions in prisons and detention facilities.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but the Government generally did not observe 
these prohibitions. Enforcement of the law was inconsistent, 
particularly in cases involving suspected security offenses.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The primary state 
security and intelligence-gathering entities, the PSO and the NSB, 
report directly to the president. There was no clear definition of many 
of the NSB's duties, which have evolved from protecting the country 
from external threats to overlap with those of the PSO, which is 
domestically focused and charged with identifying and combating 
political crimes and acts of sabotage. The police Criminal 
Investigation Division reports to the MOI and conducted most criminal 
investigations and arrests. The Central Security Office, also a part of 
the MOI, maintains a paramilitary force the CSF, which was active in 
maintaining order in restive regions in the country and was often 
accused of using excessive force during crowd control; the CSO also 
maintains a Counter Terrorism Unit formed in 2003 to combat al-Qaida. 
Official impunity was a continuing problem.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides that an individual cannot be arrested unless apprehended in a 
criminal act or served with a summons and that a detainee must be 
arraigned within 24 hours or be released. The judge or prosecuting 
attorney must inform the accused of the basis for the arrest and decide 
whether detention is required. The law stipulates a detainee may not be 
held longer than seven days without a court order. 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, throughout the 
year authorities arbitrarily arrested numerous southern demonstration 
leaders and persons with alleged connections to the Houthi movement and 
detained them for prolonged periods. According to HOOD several thousand 
individuals detained during the last Houthi war remained imprisoned 
without trial at year's end. They were not arrested on the battlefield, 
so the Government does not consider them ``enemy combatants.'' In 
HOOD's opinion they would not be released as part of peace negotiations 
with the Houthis.
    There are legal provisions for bail, but some authorities abided by 
these provisions only if they received a bribe. The law prohibits 
incommunicado detention and provides detainees the right to inform 
their families of their arrests and to decline to answer questions 
without an attorney present, but these rights were not always 
respected. The law states that the Government must provide attorneys 
for indigent detainees, but in practice it often did not do so. Tribal 
mediators reportedly settled almost all rural cases without reference 
to the formal court system.
    Citizens regularly claimed security officials did not observe due 
process when arresting and detaining suspects and demonstrators. Some 
members of the security forces continued to arrest or detain persons 
for varying periods without charge, family notification, or hearings. 
Detainees were often unclear which investigating agency had arrested 
them, and the agencies frequently complicated determination by 
unofficially transferring custody of individuals among agencies. 
Security forces routinely detained relatives of fugitives as hostages 
until the suspect was located. Authorities stated they detained 
relatives only when the relatives obstructed justice. Human rights 
organizations rejected this claim.
    The UN Committee against Torture expressed concern in its May 25 
Concluding Observations report about the practice of hostage-taking, 
whereby the Government holds relatives of alleged criminals. For 
example, the committee noted the case of Muhammad al-Badani, abducted 
at the age of 14 in 2001 by a tribal chief for his father's failure to 
pay his debts, and who reportedly remained in a government prison at 
year's end.
    Estimates of the number of persons arrested in arbitrary 
circumstances ranged broadly, as many detainees' names were not 
recorded, some detainees were never transferred to official detention 
centers, and many were arrested and released multiple times during the 
year. Local NGOs estimated the number of individuals extrajudicially 
arrested during the year in connection with the northern Saada conflict 
to be between 100 and 200 persons and in connection with the southern 
protest movement to be approximately 650 (see section 1.g.).While the 
PSO was only a part of the system, HOOD recorded approximately 650 PSO 
extrajudicial detentions during the year in PSO facilities throughout 
the country.
    From January to April, the National Security Court sentenced a 
number of prominent Southern Mobility Movement activists to extended 
terms after they were held without formal charges. Ahmed Muhammad Ba 
Mo'alim received a 12-year term on March 23, and Fadi Ba'um, Qasim 
Askar, Hussein al-Aqil, and Salh al-Saqladi received sentences ranging 
from three to five years in prison.
    Although both denied it, the MOI and the PSO operated extrajudicial 
detention facilities, according to local and international NGO reports. 
Unauthorized private prisons and detention facilities also existed. One 
example was the private facility maintained by Sheikh Muhammad Ahmed 
al-Mansour in al-Djashen. Mansour reportedly detained without 
government review a significant number of al-Djashen residents for 
months at a time.
    Members of the security forces continued to detain journalists for 
publishing articles the Government deemed controversial (see section 
2.a.).
    According to YODPRL the Government arbitrarily detained eight 
persons for human rights advocacy. One activist, Walid Sharafuddin, was 
arrested in 2009 on charges of supporting the Houthis and spying for 
Iran. His attorney alleged that the PSO tortured him during his 
detention. Sharafuddin did not receive a fair trial by year's end. 
During the year the Government also continued to detain suspects 
accused of links to terrorism, at times without due process. HOOD 
reported the Government held 150 terrorist suspects detained during the 
year, as well as 100 persons in Sana'a and Hudeidah who remained 
detained since being arrested in 2009 on suspicion of terrorist 
affiliation or activities.

    Amnesty.--Following a May 22 general amnesty that President Saleh 
said would apply to ``all outlaws,'' releases were made of detainees 
and prisoners from the conflicts in the North and South, as well as 
journalists.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, but it was weak and not independent in practice, 
as corruption and executive branch interference severely hampered its 
operations. Litigants maintained, and the Government acknowledged, that 
a judge's social ties and occasional bribery influenced verdicts. Many 
judges were poorly trained, and some were closely associated with the 
ruling party. The Government's frequent reluctance to enforce court 
orders further undermined the integrity and efficiency of the 
judiciary. Members of the judiciary were threatened and harassed.
    During the year the Specialized Criminal Court within the Ministry 
of Justice heard cases that were not security-related, despite its 
mandate to try persons charged with acts considered a ``public 
danger,'' such as banditry and sabotage. The specialized criminal court 
reportedly does not provide defendants with the same rights provided in 
the regular courts. AI and local NGOs characterized specialized 
criminal courts as unconstitutional. Defense lawyers reportedly did not 
have full access to the charges against their clients or relevant 
government evidence and court files. YODRPL recorded 113 persons who 
received sentences before the special court during the year, 36 of whom 
received the death penalty. One person sentenced to death, Qabous Said 
al-Mazigi, was 15 years old at sentencing.
    In May 2009 the Government for the first time established a press 
court, a special court to try media and publication cases. Trials of 
journalists and newspapers took place during the year. The court found 
most defendants guilty and suspended them from journalism for a number 
of months or assessed fines typically amounting to 50,000 riyals 
(approximately $235). The court imposed the most severe sentences on 
Al-Masdar editor Samir Jubran (subsequently released after the May 22 
amnesty) and journalist Munir al-Mawri, who received prison sentences 
and bans from practicing journalism (see section 2.a.). During the year 
the special court cleared its docket and reportedly no longer hears 
cases or issues rulings at the request of President Saleh.
    The military justice system has jurisdiction over uniformed 
personnel and civil servants charged with violations of military 
regulations. Decisions of military tribunals may be appealed to the 
courts of appeal. Information on the existence of military tribunals 
separate from the military court system was not available.

    Trial Procedures.--Laws are a mixture of Egyptian law, Napoleonic 
tradition, and Shari'a. The codified law, social custom, and Shari'a, 
as interpreted in the country, discriminated against women, 
particularly in domestic matters (see section 6). By law, but not in 
practice, prosecutors are a part of the judiciary and independent of 
the Government. Prosecutors investigate criminal cases. The police 
generally were poorly trained and played a limited role in developing 
cases.
    The security services (NSB, PSO, and MOI) continued to arrest, 
charge, and submit cases to the Prosecutor's Office of persons with 
alleged links to shootings, explosions, and other acts of violence, 
including terrorism. Citizens and human rights groups, especially in 
cases involving ``political crimes'' or the security services 
generally, alleged that the judiciary did not normally observe due 
process and extend the right to a fair trial to all citizens. Foreign 
litigants in commercial disputes complained of biased rulings.
    The accused are considered innocent until proven guilty. Trials are 
generally public, but all courts may conduct closed sessions ``for 
reasons of public security or morals.'' There are no jury trials. 
Judges, who play an active role in questioning witnesses and the 
accused, adjudicate criminal cases. Defendants have the right to be 
present and to consult with an attorney in a timely manner. Defendants 
can confront or question witnesses against them and present witnesses 
and evidence on their behalf; defendants and their attorneys have 
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defense 
attorneys are allowed to counsel their clients, address the court, and 
examine witnesses and any relevant evidence. The law provides for the 
Government to furnish attorneys for indigent defendants in serious 
criminal (felony) cases; in practice counsel was not always provided. 
All defendants, including women and minorities, have the right to 
appeal their sentences.
    In addition to regular courts, there is a system of tribal 
adjudication for noncriminal issues; in practice tribal judges often 
adjudicated criminal cases. The results carried the same, if not 
greater, weight as court judgments. Persons tried under the tribal 
system usually had not been formally charged with a crime but had been 
publicly accused.
    The law grants parliament exclusive jurisdiction over executive 
branch officials for crimes including bribery, interference, and 
embezzlement. No government official was investigated or tried under 
this law during the year.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year there was a 
decrease in the number of political prisoners and detainees related to 
the southern protest movement and the conflict in Saada, where a 
ceasefire was announced on February 11 (see section 1.g.). Human rights 
organizations reported there were hundreds of political prisoners and 
detainees held during the year; many were arrested and released the 
same day, while others were held for weeks or months. In July the 
Government released more than 200 detainees associated with the 
southern movement after President Saleh issued a general amnesty. 
Confirmation of the number and assessment of the status of political 
prisoners or even detainees was difficult because the Government 
severely restricted or barred information and access by local or 
international humanitarian organizations, and the detainees were not 
publicly charged. For example, Ali al-Saqqaf, a campaigner for 
protection of the rights of detainees in the conflict in Saada and a 
member of the Yemeni Organization for Human Rights (YOHR), was detained 
in September 2009, was not charged, was denied access to legal counsel, 
and remained in custody of the PSO in Sana'a at year's end, according 
to the international NGO FrontLine.
    Absent charges, it was difficult to determine whether detainees' 
actions had gone beyond advocacy and dissent to committing acts of 
violence. At year's end the Government held more than 100 prisoners in 
connection with the Saada conflict, according to HOOD, which also 
reported that approximately 100 other detainees with suspected links to 
AQAP remained in PSO prisons without charge.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides for an 
independent and impartial judiciary in civil matters, but there were 
limitations in practice. A provision in the civil code permits the 
president to review any judicial decision after receiving permission 
from the Supreme Judicial Committee, over which the president 
reportedly exerted significant influence. The provision was challenged 
in court but remained in effect at year's end.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such action, but PSO, NSB, and MOI 
personnel, claiming security reasons, routinely searched homes and 
private offices, monitored telephone calls, read personal mail and e-
mail, and otherwise intruded into personal matters. Human rights 
organizations claimed security forces undertook such activities without 
legally issued warrants or judicial supervision. The PSO and MOI 
rejected these claims. The PSO stated (that) its policies require the 
attorney general personally to authorize monitoring telephone calls and 
reading personal mail and e-mail. The PSO reported that to do a house 
search, it first obtains a warrant and a signed certification by the 
head of the neighborhood, and two neighbors who serve as witnesses 
accompany officers on the search.
    Throughout the year human rights activists and journalists reported 
receiving repeated threatening telephone calls day and night. Activists 
and journalists considered these calls to be attempts by authorities to 
intimidate them from speaking out about the Saada conflict and southern 
political discontent.
    The law prohibits arrests or the serving of a subpoena between 
sundown and dawn, but persons suspected of crimes were reportedly taken 
from their homes without warrants in the middle of the night.
    No citizen may marry a foreigner without permission from the MOI, 
but this regulation does not carry the force of law and appeared 
inconsistently enforced.
    Security forces routinely detained relatives of fugitives as 
hostages until the suspect was located (see section 1.d.). In other 
cases detention of family members continued while the families 
negotiated compensation for the alleged wrongdoing. Families, 
tribesmen, and other nongovernmental interlocutors commonly used 
arbitration and mediation to settle such cases.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
During the year the Government responded with excessive force to 
domestic political problems with the Houthis in the Northwest and with 
protesters and secessionists in the Southern Movement. At the same 
time, Islamic militants associated with AQAP terrorism directed violent 
attacks largely against government personnel and installations, 
exacerbating the political and security situation in the South.
    The Houthis, a group of Zaydi Shia rebels intermittently in armed 
conflict since 2004 with the Government, called for greater resources 
and religious autonomy in Saada, along with a reduced government 
security force presence. The Government alleged the Houthis received 
support from Iran and sought to reestablish a separate Shia imamate.
    In northern Saada Governorate another round of intense fighting 
started in August 2009 and lasted until the parties announced partially 
observed January 23, then February 11 cease-fires, followed by 
President Saleh officially declaring the war ``over'' in a March 19 
television interview. Large-scale conflict erupted again in August-
September and continued sporadically at low levels at year's end.
    According to the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other 
humanitarian organizations, witnesses reported four separate air raids 
on September 16 in which government bombs killed almost 90 civilians, 
mostly women, children, and the elderly in Adl, near Harf Sufyan in 
Amran Governorate. On September 18, the Government announced a plan to 
investigate the deaths. By year's end no results of an investigation 
had been presented. Independent investigation into the shelling did not 
occur because of heightened insecurity in the region.
    YODPRL recorded more than 20 forcible disappearances attributed to 
government forces during the year in connection with the fighting in 
Saada.
    In fighting between government forces and Houthi rebels between 
August 2009 and February, international NGOs providing humanitarian 
assistance in Saada estimated more than 300,000 persons were displaced 
from their homes, then spreading across four northern governorates in 
search of aid (see section 2.d.).
    There were reports during the year of the use by both sides of 
antipersonnel mines, including antitank and improvised mines, during 
the conflict in northern Saada Governorate between rebel forces led by 
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and government troops. Houthi rebels actively 
interfered with government demining efforts.
    The Government and local and international human rights 
organizations claimed that Houthis also committed human rights 
violations during the year. According to an August 2009 government 
report, Houthi abuses included unlawful killing, rape and sexual 
assault, looting and destruction of civilian property, and plunder and 
destruction of public buildings. Some human rights activists said 
Houthis used human shields and killed and threatened civilians who did 
not support them. Independent verification of these allegations was 
difficult because the Government and Houthi rebels blocked nearly all 
access to Saada during the year.
    Although the law barred the use of underage soldiers, local and 
international human rights organizations reported that both Houthis and 
government-affiliated tribes deployed child soldiers into armed 
conflict during the latest round of fighting in Saada (see section 6). 
For a more detailed discussion, see the Department of State's 
Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    There was also serious conflict in the South. In response to a 
growing southern protest movement that began peacefully with sit-ins in 
2007, security forces killed at least 20 protesters and injured 87 in 
the southern governorates in the first six months of the year, 
according to AI. In the course of the year, security forces killed 
dozens of persons and injured hundreds of others in a series of 
increasingly violent demonstrations in Dhale, Lahj, Aden, Abyan, and 
Hadramout governorates.
    In March the military, the CSF, and other security services 
launched a security operation in the city of Dhale, killing three 
persons, injuring 44, arresting 81 others, and destroying 57 houses. 
More than 100 families were displaced. Local and international human 
rights observers noted the Government and local media outlets conflated 
the issues of the southern movement and al-Qaida, making it difficult 
to assess the goals and targets of such operations.
    During the year the Government launched mass preemptive arrest 
campaigns across the southern governorates and used excessive force to 
disperse demonstrations that sometimes involved tens of thousands of 
protesters. The Government arrested hundreds of southerners during the 
year, including members of opposition political parties, academics, 
members of parliament, journalists, and human rights activists. Some 
were released after a few hours of detention, and others remained in 
jail at year's end.
    Media and local NGOs reported that during August and September, 
government military forces bombed and shelled civilian areas in the 
southern governorates of Abyan and Shabwa. According to the Government, 
the shelling was an attack on members of Al-Qaida in the Arabian 
Peninsula.
    Terrorist activity increased during the year. For example, on June 
19, the intelligence headquarters in the city of Aden was attacked; the 
attack killed at least 11 persons. According to press reports, AQAP 
asserted responsibility for the attack, claiming it killed at least 24 
persons. On July 14, suspected al-Qaida militants attacked the 
intelligence headquarters in Zinjibar in the southern governorate of 
Abyan. Using heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, they 
killed at least 10 persons and wounded 13 others, according to press 
reports. On August 28, AQAP claimed responsibility for an attack on a 
checkpoint near Jaar in Abyan that killed eight soldiers and a civilian 
government employee.

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. On 
May 3, the international NGO Reporters Without Borders severely 
criticized President Saleh for creating the press court and for 
harassing and prosecuting a dozen journalists in an attempt to limit 
coverage of the conflicts in the North and South.
    The Government attempted to impede criticism, such as by using 
government informers to monitor meetings and assemblies. During the 
year--especially in the northern governorates of Sana'a, Amran, and 
Saada--there were reports that the Government monitored their speech 
and removed Houthi Zaydi imams from their positions in mosques.
    The Government limited press freedom, censoring and banning media 
outlets, which operated with restrictions. The 1990 Press and 
Publication Law criminalizes criticism of the person of the head of 
state,'' although not necessarily ``constructive'' criticism; the 
publication of ``false information'' that may spread ``chaos and 
confusion in the country''; and ``false stories intended to damage Arab 
and friendly countries or their relations'' with the country. The 
security apparatus, including the NSB and elements of the military, 
threatened and harassed journalists to influence media coverage. 
Journalists and publishers regularly practiced self-censorship.
    The press law specifies newspapers and magazines must apply 
annually to the Government for licensing renewal and must show 
continuing evidence of 700,000 riyals ($3,286) in operating capital. 
There were reports authorities made the registration process 
bureaucratically difficult for opposition figures or organizations, 
while progovernment or tribal newspapers received licenses quickly. 
Three independent newspapers owned their own presses; no papers 
associated with political opposition groups did.
    Harassment of journalists who reported on the southern protest 
movement and the Saada conflict continued during the year. The 
Government attempted to prevent details of the Saada conflict from 
becoming public knowledge. Measures included forbidding journalists and 
humanitarian workers from going to the conflict zone, disconnecting all 
but a select number of cell phone numbers in the governorate, warning 
journalists not to report on the conflict, and arresting persons who 
transmitted information about what they had seen or who could have such 
information because they had recently left the area.
    The Government continued to shut down newspapers during the year. 
For example, independent Aden-based newspaper Al-Tariq, barred from 
publication on February 21, was allowed to resume publication on March 
4 after its staff reported receiving warnings from the Government to 
moderate its content. On March 14, the Government shut down Taiz's only 
independent newspaper, the weekly Hadiith al-Medina, and ordered the 
Government-owned Jamhurriya printing press in Taiz--the city's only 
press--to stop printing Hadiith al-Medina until further notice. The 
newspaper remained closed at year's end. On March 24, authorities 
released Hisham Bashraheel, editor of Aden-based independent newspaper 
al-Ayyam, which has been suspended from publication since May 2009. 
Bashraheel had been detained since a January 4 exchange of gunfire at 
al-Ayyam's offices. The elderly Bashraheel was in poor health even 
before his arrest, and authorities cited ``health reasons'' for his 
release.
    On March 26, authorities released opposition writer Mohammad al-
Maqaleh, arrested in September 2009 for criticizing military actions 
resulting in civilian casualties in the Saada war. His release closely 
followed statements by the Yemen Socialist Party and Yemen Journalists 
Syndicate alleging that he was being tortured in custody, and a March 
24 segment on Al Jazeera that showed Maqaleh's daughters pleading for 
his release. Official media cited ``health reasons'' for Maqaleh's 
release, and he went directly from PSO custody to a hospital in Sana'a. 
Unknown persons reportedly had abducted Al-Maqaleh on the street in 
Sana'a and held him incommunicado for five months in PSO custody 
without charges or appearance before judicial authorities.
    Physical attacks against journalists continued during the year, 
along with government harassment, including threats against journalists 
and their families, brief imprisonment, and personal surveillance. On 
July 11, al-Baidha's governor Muhammad al-Amry ordered Majed Karout, an 
al-Masdar correspondent in al-Baidha Governorate, to stop writing 
articles criticizing the local government. Similar incidents of 
government threats or harassment against journalists were reported in 
Taiz and Aden during the summer.
    On May 22, President Saleh released four journalists who had cases 
before courts or court rulings on public rights to mark the 20th 
anniversary of the country's unification, according to the Defense 
Ministry's 26sep.net news Web site. Subsequently, a number of prominent 
journalists were released, including Hussein al-Laswas, sentenced to a 
year's imprisonment on May 2 for ``defamation of a public official'' 
for his reporting on government corruption and editor of the 
independent newspaper al-Tajdeed, and Hussein al-Aqel, a writer and 
Aden University lecturer. The Government also lifted the ban on al-
Masdar's editor Samir Jubran from working as a journalist. The special 
press court dropped proceedings against 33 journalists. Taiz Governor 
Hamoud Khaled al-Soufi in announcing the president's decision stated 
the action was subject to their ``putting their pens in the service of 
their country and helping to consolidate national unity,'' according to 
press reports.
    During the year independent newspapers published statements by 
exiled southern leaders in which government security forces in the 
South were described as ``occupation forces'' and President Saleh was 
described as ``the tyrant.'' On August 3, quasi-independent news Web 
site Mareb Press cited statements by exiled Houthi leader and Member of 
Parliament Yahya al-Houthi boasting that Houthi rebels had the strength 
to invade President Saleh's home area of Sanhan in Sana'a Governorate.
    At times customs officials confiscated foreign publications they 
regarded as pornographic or objectionable due to religious or political 
content. During the year there were reports that authorities monitored 
foreign publications and banned those deemed harmful to national 
interests.
    The Government selected items for news broadcasts and rarely 
permitted broadcasts critical of the Government. The Government 
televised parliamentary debates and occasionally permitted broadcasts 
including aggressive criticism of ministries. 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.
    On March 11, government security forces entered without warrant the 
Sana'a offices of Al Jazeera and Al Arabiyya and seized the satellite 
television stations' broadcasting equipment. The Government claimed 
that the equipment was not properly licensed and that the seizure was 
in accordance with the law. The equipment was returned on March 18 
following a presidential directive.
    The Government required that book authors obtain certification from 
the Ministry of Culture (MOC) for publication and submit copies to the 
ministry. Publishers sometimes refused to deal with an author who had 
not obtained certification. The MOC approved most books, but long 
delays were frequent. Both the ministry and the PSO monitored and 
sometimes removed books from stores. A ban continued on publishers 
distributing books that espoused Zaydi Shia Islamic doctrine or were 
deemed pornographic. The Government denied that the media were subject 
to censorship by any security apparatus.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government restricted Internet use by 
intermittently blocking access to some political and religious Web 
sites and sites it deemed immoral. During the year the Government 
reportedly blocked for extended periods a number of independent and 
opposition news Web sites, such as al-Shura.net and Ishtiraki.net and 
the Web sites of independent newspapers al-Ayyam, al-Masdar, al-
Tagheer, and al-Wasat. It also blocked Adenpress.com, a Web site that 
covered the southern demonstrations, and it allegedly blocked and 
changed content on Yemenhurra.net, a Web site that covered the Saada 
conflict.
    Physical attacks against Internet journalists continued during the 
year, along with government harassment, including threats against 
journalists and their families, brief imprisonment, and personal 
surveillance. Awadh Kashmiim, a journalist from Seiyun in Hadramaut 
Governorate, was detained by the PSO for 15 days in April for 
publishing ``separatist'' articles on his independent news Web site 
Hadramaut Press. Kashmiim claimed to continue to receive death threats 
from security officials.
    Several Internet journalists benefitted from the president's May 22 
decision to halt press law cases and release detained and imprisoned 
journalists: Fuad Rashed, editor of opposition news Web site Mukalla 
Press, Salah al-Saqladi, editor of opposition news Web site Khaleej 
Aden, and Muhammad al-Rabeedi, a blogger critical of the Government.
    In November 2009 hackers attacked the leading independent news Web 
site NewsYemen, causing the site to crash and erasing its five-year 
news archive. The Web site's editor blamed the Government, citing 
evidence the virus that destroyed the Web site originated in a ministry 
office.
    In June the country had an estimated 420,000 Internet users (1.8 
percent penetration). Many could not afford the Internet or were 
unfamiliar with the equipment and services needed to access it. 
Internet access was available from homes or Internet cafes in major 
urban areas.
    The Government limited the Internet content its citizens could 
access through commercially available filtering technology and control 
of its two Internet service providers, TeleYemen (operators of the 
service YNET) and YemenNet, via the Ministry of Telecommunications and 
Information Technology. Human rights organizations and other NGOs 
complained the Government restricted what journalists wrote and how 
citizens used the Internet through a variety of intimidation tactics.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted 
academic freedom, purportedly to prevent the politicization of 
university campuses. Political parties frequently attempted to 
influence academic appointments, as well as university faculty and 
student elections. During the year security officials were present on 
university campuses and at intellectual forums. PSO representatives had 
permanent offices on the campuses. Human rights NGOs reported that 
government informers monitored the activities of professors and 
students, especially those who were allegedly affiliated with 
opposition parties. Authorities reviewed prospective university 
professors and administrators for political acceptability before hiring 
them and commonly showed favoritism toward supporters of the ruling GPC 
party.
    Authorities intermittently enforced a ban on new student 
associations at Sana'a University. Opposition sources contended 
authorities did not enforce this regulation against GPC-affiliated 
organizations.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for freedom of assembly, requiring a permit 
for demonstrations that the Government issues routinely. However, the 
Government limited this right in practice. The Government banned and 
disrupted some demonstrations, allegedly to prevent them from 
degenerating into riots and violence.
    For example, on May 26, security forces in Mukullah prevented a 
demonstration called to support detained journalist Foud Rashed; they 
detained and questioned dozens of protesters. On October 6, military 
personnel attempting to break up a sit-in for press freedom in Sana'a 
physically abused journalist and human rights advocate Tawakul Karman 
and other activists. The military took demonstrators' banners and broke 
cameras. On October 22, police arrested 20 persons in Taiz when they 
attempted to hold a demonstration calling for increased development for 
the region. The Government said the protesters did not have the 
appropriate permit. On November 30, police banned demonstrations by the 
southern protest movement marking the United Kingdom's 1967 withdrawal 
from the southern part of the country. The Government said it imposed 
the ban after two northerners were killed while traveling through the 
South in the days before the scheduled protests. Police arrested 
hundreds of persons planning to participate in the demonstrations.
    The southern protest movement that began in 2007 with a group of 
retired military and civilian officials of the People's Democratic 
Republic of Yemen grew during the year into a widespread political 
coalition across the southern governorates. The expanded movement 
continued to grow increasingly vocal in its calls for secession from 
the central government in Sana'a and organized dozens of relatively 
peaceful demonstrations in support of its cause. In response the 
Government conducted mass arrest campaigns before and during 
demonstrations organized by the southern protest movement and fired on 
demonstrators frequently throughout the year. The Government claimed 
that it was responding to violent acts on the part of some 
demonstrators.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government nominally respected this right in 
practice, but the ruling party retained control of professional 
associations through subsidies and by influencing internal elections. 
According to local observers, there were approximately 20 legally 
recognized NGOs independent of the ruling party operating in the 
country.
    All associations, including NGOs, are required to register annually 
with one of four ministries: Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL), Culture, 
Education, or Vocational Training and Technical Education. The 
Government cooperated to varying degrees depending on the issues with 
the country's more than 6,000 civil society organizations, including 
human rights NGOs, according to the MOHR. All registered associations 
were by law provided with an annual stipend, although in past years 
some organizations such as the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate said they 
did not receive their government stipends.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a description of religious freedom, 
see the Department of State's 2010 International Religious Freedom 
Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights with 
some restrictions. The Government limited the movement of women, 
foreign tourists, and other foreigners. The two latter groups were 
required to obtain government permission before leaving the country. 
The Government also restricted domestic travel by refusing to issue 
travel permits to conflict areas, and the army and security forces 
maintained checkpoints on major roads. The Government generally 
cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection 
and assistance to IDPs, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern. However, the 
Government was not always cooperative with the UNHCR regarding 
migrants, and the UNHCR was often not allowed to conduct refugee status 
determinations for Ethiopians and Eritreans, which often resulted in 
their forcible deportation.
    In certain areas armed tribesmen frequently operated their own 
checkpoints, sometimes with military or other security officials; they 
often subjected travelers to physical harassment, extortion, or theft.
    According to the law, government officials required women to have 
the permission of a male relative before applying for a passport or 
leaving the country. A women's rights NGO asserted that a husband or a 
male relative could bar a woman from leaving the country and that 
authorities strictly enforced this requirement when women traveled with 
children. During the year authorities reportedly turned back several 
women at the airport because they did not have the permission of a male 
relative.
    Security officials at government checkpoints often required 
immigrants and refugees traveling within the country to show they 
possessed resident status or refugee identification cards. There were 
reports that at times local officials did not honor official documents.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of forced 
exile during the year.
    During the year the Government continued to deport an unknown 
number of foreigners who were studying at Muslim religious schools and 
believed to be illegally residing in the country. The Government 
claimed these persons were suspected of inciting violence or engaging 
in criminal acts by promoting religious extremism. The Government 
required foreigners to register with police or immigration authorities 
within one month of arrival.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--The sixth round of fighting 
in the six-year conflict in Saada between the Government and Houthi 
rebels broke out in August 2009,diminished after the February 11 cease-
fire, but continued throughout the year at lower levels as Houthi 
forces clashed with progovernment tribes.
    In October UNHCR representatives reported they had identified and 
registered more than 329,000 IDPs in the North who were displaced as a 
result of the fighting (see section 1.g.). The majority of IDPs lived 
outside of camps, but approximately 15 percent were located in camps in 
the four northern governorates of Saada, Hajja, Amran, and Al Jawf.
    By year's end the February cease-fire had not resulted in 
sufficiently improved security conditions in many of the affected areas 
to permit the safe and voluntary return of displaced persons. Fighting 
continued for a second year in and around Saada City, traditionally a 
gathering point for IDPs from the governorate's rural areas, and 
elsewhere in the North. Scattered land mines and unexploded ordnance, 
threats against returnees, and a lack of confidence that a long-term 
period of stability was at hand also contributed to continued 
displacement. According to the special representative of the UN 
secretary-general on the human rights of IDPs, Walter Kaelin, , other 
obstacles to return included the extensive destruction of houses and 
other infrastructure, loss of livestock and livelihoods, and lack of 
basic services. Humanitarian organizations continued to be denied 
access to many areas to assist potential returnees in rebuilding their 
livelihoods.
    Inaccessibility of certain districts of Saada, Al Jawf, and parts 
of Amran governorates prevented humanitarian assistance from reaching 
all IDPs. At times both the Government and Houthi rebels limited access 
to the region, preventing food, medical supplies, and other assistance 
from reaching IDPs. During his April 4-10 visit, the special 
representative spoke of ``good cooperation' between the Government and 
the UN in averting a disaster with IDPs during the armed conflict. 
Nonetheless, humanitarian organizations' access to IDPs remained 
problematic through the end of the year because of the general security 
situation and government restrictions.
    Most IDPs lived outside official camps wherever they could find 
shelter in scattered settlements, including with host families and 
relatives in communities or under trees and bridges and in school 
buildings. Journalists reported many IDPs were starving and lacked 
basic requirements such as clean water, food, and medicine. Surveys 
completed by the World Food Program and other international 
organizations in the North found elevated rates of acute malnutrition 
in displaced and other vulnerable children. The UNHCR reported that 
schools in some areas of the North remained closed as of October and 
that many children did not attend school, with girls' registration 
often half that of boys'.
    In October the UNHCR reported that only an estimated 16,000 IDPs 
had voluntarily returned to their areas of origin. There were no 
reports that the Government had attacked or forcibly returned IDPs. The 
Government committed to the rebuilding of Saada and other areas 
affected by the conflict as part of the cease-fire agreement and to 
encouraging safe and voluntary returns, but progress was minimal. The 
majority of IDPs were not likely to reintegrate into their host 
communities, although some may choose to do so. In general IDPs did not 
want to return to their areas of origin, and safe and voluntary returns 
were not possible because of security risks, lack of infrastructure or 
services, and mines and other unexploded ordnance.
    There were reports of brief displacements in the South as a result 
of fighting between the Government and al-Qaida from August to October. 
Small-scale displacement occurred primarily in Shabwa and Abyan 
governorates and was largely temporary. Government troops attempted to 
protect citizens from the fighting by encouraging them to leave towns 
before large campaigns against AQAP began. The UNHCR, Yemeni Red 
Crescent Society, government, and other organizations provided 
assistance to the displaced, who usually stayed with host families or 
in public buildings until fighting had ceased.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government does not have a national 
law addressing the granting of refugee status or asylum, and the 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees. In February President Saleh issued a decree making it 
possible to begin work on the legislation to establish a Bureau of 
Refugees and on the drafting of national refugee legislation.
    In practice the Government occasionally provided protection against 
the expulsion or return of persons to a country where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. The Government continued to grant prima facie refugee status 
to Somalis who arrived in the country after 1991. Non-Somali asylum 
seekers must undergo an individual refugee status determination 
conducted by the UNHCR, as the Government has no ability to conduct 
refugee status determinations on its own. The Government did not 
consistently allow the UNHCR to perform refugee status determinations 
for non-Somalis. An estimated 3,500 Ethiopians were recognized as 
refugees, but Ethiopians and Eritreans fleeing persecution and/or 
conflict did not receive prima facie status. The majority of Ethiopian 
and Eritrean asylum seekers were detained, generally without UNHCR 
access, and deported as economic migrants. During the year an estimated 
53,000 migrants from the Horn of Africa made the treacherous journey 
across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen in search of asylum or economic 
opportunity. Proper screening was therefore necessary to identify 
asylum seekers from the massive mixed-migratory flow. The UNHCR was 
unsuccessful in convincing the Government to do proper screening and 
registration of these asylum seekers.
    The Government continued to provide temporary protection for 
thousands of individuals from Iraq and the Darfur region of Sudan who 
may not qualify as refugees, although there were some reports of 
deportations. There were reports that authorities denied some Iraqis 
readmission into the country, blocking them from reuniting with their 
families.
    Generally, authorities allowed refugees to work and travel freely 
within the country, although refugees faced some difficulties. The vast 
majority of refugees lived in urban areas, while approximately 14,000 
resided in the Kharaz camp. There were isolated reports of refugees 
refused employment or passage at checkpoints. However, such refusals 
reportedly were due to lack of legal documentation rather than refugee 
status. Refugee children attended local schools, although facilities 
were limited and could not meet the demand in full.
    In 2005 the Government and the UNHCR signed a memorandum of 
understanding to establish six registration centers to register and 
provide greater legal protection to refugees. The UNHCR operated three 
reception centers in the South, the newest of which opened in 2008. The 
replacement of the head of the security force reduced harassment and 
abuse by security forces at a Somali refugee camp. Some potential 
asylum seekers were imprisoned while their status determinations were 
pending with the UNHCR, which had uneven access to these refugees; 
authorities generally released refugees 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, but 
there were limitations in practice, particularly concerning the 
fairness of elections. The president, who has been in office since 
1978, held almost total decision-making authority. The president 
appoints the prime minister, who presides over a 35-member cabinet 
chosen by the president. The last change in the composition of the 
cabinet occurred in May. In practice the president, in association with 
the ruling GPC party, dominated the Government. The president can 
dissolve parliament, in which three parties were represented, and 
parliament was not an effective counterweight to the executive branch.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Parliamentary elections 
scheduled for April 2009 were postponed for two years in an agreement 
the ruling GPC party and the coalition of six opposition parties, the 
Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), signed in February 2009 after the two 
sides failed to agree on electoral reform. As a result of this 
agreement, parliament officially voted in April to extend its current 
six-year term by two years in order to avoid violating the 
constitution. The JMP and GPC also agreed to engage in a national 
dialogue process to discuss implementing electoral reforms. The process 
was formalized in July, when 100 delegates each from the JMP and GPC 
began to meet in a joint committee. A 30-member steering subcommittee 
was formed, which established a 16-member outreach committee to 
incorporate delegates from underrepresented opposition groups, 
including the Houthis and members of the Southern Movement, protesters 
as well as secessionists. The JMP and GPC reached an impasse in 
November over the timing of elections and election reform and were 
unable to reach formal agreement by the end of the year.
    In December 2009 the Government held hastily prepared by-elections 
for 12 vacant parliamentary seats, boycotted by the opposition JMP. The 
ruling GPC party won 10 seats, with two going to independent 
candidates.
    In 2008 the local councils of each of the 21 governorates elected 
governors. The election of governors, whom the president previously 
appointed, was proposed as an important step toward the 
decentralization of power. The influence of the ruling party in the 
majority of local councils and a boycott by the opposition, however, 
resulted in continuing ruling party dominance.
    Ali Abdullah Saleh won a seven-year term in the 2006 election, the 
country's second nationwide direct presidential race, securing 77 
percent of the votes. JMP candidate Faisal bin Shamlan received 22 
percent. The remaining three opposition and independent candidates had 
less than 1 percent each. According to the Supreme Council for 
Elections and Referenda (SCER), approximately 65 percent of eligible 
voters participated in the elections, and an estimated 42 percent of 
voters were female.
    International and local observers widely viewed the SCER, which 
administers and monitors elections, as unfairly biased towards the 
ruling GPC. Opposition parties called for its recomposition, but the 
membership of the SCER remained heavily weighted toward the GPC at the 
end of the year.
    International NGOs and the EU observer mission characterized the 
2006 polling as an important and unprecedented step in the country's 
democratic development. In its final postelection report, the EU 
mission noted that the GPC had an unfair electoral advantage because 
the state put significant resources at the disposal of GPC candidates 
for use during their campaigns. Opposition parties, while noting 
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.
    As reported by NGOs, poorly trained administrative staff, 
registration of a large number of underage and dead voters, and 
interference by security officials marred the 2006 voter registration 
process. The JMP refused to participate in the process due to 
allegations of SCER bias. The SCER therefore recruited voter 
registration staff on short notice and without meaningful training.
    Opposition parties or local constituencies never received a 
searchable electronic copy of the registration list to enable them to 
verify voter lists before the election. There were reports the SCER 
mistakenly removed eligible voters from lists in several 
constituencies. Many constituencies were redistricted a month before 
the election with new boundaries widely viewed as favoring the ruling 
party. Ballots for the local council elections went uncounted in some 
constituencies or were not secured after the count.
    Political parties could generally operate without restriction or 
outside interference. The law mandates that political parties be 
national organizations that cannot restrict their membership to a 
particular region, tribe, religious sect, class, or profession. The 
constitution prohibits the establishment of parties that are contrary 
to Islam, ``oppose the goals of the country's revolutions,'' or violate 
the country's international commitments. The law further stipulates 
that each party have at least 75 founders and 2,500 members. Candidates 
from any party may 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 has been the dominant party since unification of the 
country. It controlled 238 of the 301 seats in parliament. Islah, the 
largest opposition party, controlled 46 seats. Tribalism distorted 
political participation and influenced the central government's 
composition. Observers noted individuals often were selected to run for 
office or given jobs in particular ministries based on tribal 
affiliation. Because patriarchal systems dominate in tribal areas, some 
tribal leaders reportedly influenced tribal members' votes.
    Although there were no formal restrictions limiting opposition 
participation, the Government made it difficult for some parties to 
organize. At year's end the Government continued to hold substantial 
assets of the opposition Yemeni Socialist Party, including land and 
buildings seized after the 1994 civil war.
    In 2007 the Government dissolved the al-Haq Party for it having 
reportedly violated the law on political parties. Civil society 
observers claimed the Government abolished the party because of its 
affiliation with the Houthi rebels and for its appeal to Zaydi Shia. 
The leader of the al-Haq Party, Hassan Zaid, claimed that he received 
death threats in August because of his political activities.
    Women voted and held office, but increasingly conservative cultural 
norms rooted in tribal traditions and patriarchal religious 
interpretation often limited their exercise of these rights. There was 
one woman in the 301-seat parliament. There were two women in the 
cabinet, the minister of human rights and the minister of social 
affairs and labor. The SCER women's department, responsible for 
addressing gender equality in the electoral process, conducted 
informational campaigns prior to the 2006 elections on the importance 
and mechanism of voting. In the elections, 164 women competed in local 
and provincial councils, and 38 won seats. Women's rights activists and 
female parliamentary candidates accused the ruling party and 
authorities of rigging the 2006 elections against women.
    Many members of the Akhdam community did not participate in the 
political process due to poverty and racial and social discrimination. 
There were no members of minority groups in parliament or the cabinet.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
Article 136 of the constitution states that a criminal investigation 
may not be conducted on a deputy minister or above without first 
securing a 1/5 approval vote in parliament. Subsequently, it requires a 
2/3 parliamentary vote and presidential permission to bring the case to 
the general prosecutor for indictment, which in essence creates a 
separate legal system for the political elite. The World Bank's 
Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that there was a serious 
corruption problem, and a perception of corruption in every branch and 
level of a government with weak state institutions was widespread. 
International observers presumed that government officials and 
parliamentarians benefited from insider arrangements and embezzlement. 
Leaders and governmental agencies took negligible action to combat 
corruption.
    Corruption and impunity were serious problems throughout the 
military-security establishment and intelligence bureaucracy. There 
were no public governmental investigations of corruption in these areas 
during the year. Some police stations reportedly maintained an internal 
affairs section to investigate security force abuses, and citizens had 
the right to file complaints with the Prosecutor's Office. Enforcement 
of this right was inconsistent, and there were no effective 
investigations reported. The MOI had a fax line for citizens to file 
claims of abuse for investigation. It was unknown how many fax 
complaints the MOI received and how many it investigated.
    Government procurement was regularly impacted by corruption. In 
2007 the Government established the high tender board to review 
government tenders up to 213 million riyals ($1,000,000) and assess 
them for legality. The board conducted training sessions for government 
officials during the year.
    The Central Organization for Control and Audit (COCA) is the 
country's national auditing agency for public expenditures and 
investigative body for corruption. COCA presented its reports to 
parliament but did not make them publicly available. The president 
appointed its top officials. In cases involving high-level officials, 
COCA submitted reports directly to the president, who had the power to 
veto them. Only low-ranking officials have been prosecuted for 
corruption since COCA's inception in 1999. The actual extent of 
corruption was generally considered significantly greater than what was 
reported confidentially to parliament.
    The culture of corruption was pervasive, and petty corruption was 
widely reported in nearly every government office. Job candidates often 
were expected to purchase their positions. Tax inspectors were believed 
to undervalue assessments and pocket the difference. Many government 
officials received salaries for jobs they did not perform or multiple 
salaries for the same job.
    The independent Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption 
(SNACC), formed in 2006, includes a council of government, civil 
society, and private sector representatives. In 2007 parliament elected 
11 members to the SNACC, whose chairman and deputy chairman serve a 
two-and-a-half-year term, renewable once with SNACC consent, whereas 
regular SNACC members can serve only one five-year term. Each board 
serves only one five-year term, and the current board's term was 
scheduled to end in July 2012. Members manage sectors such as media, 
criminal investigations, and contracts. On July28, the SNACC released a 
National Strategy for Combating Corruption.
    During the year 498 complaints were investigated, with 200 
individuals accused in 43 criminal cases referred to the Office of the 
General Prosecutor There were seven criminal convictions. An additional 
135 cases of failure of public officials to file asset declarations 
were referred to the Attorney General's Office. Approximately 200 
government officials were trained in criminal justice sector best 
practices, and dedicated anticorruption prosecutors were placed within 
the SNACC.
    Yemen Parliamentarians Against Corruption (Yemen PAC), the local 
branch of Arab PAC, is part of a network of parliamentarians organized 
to combat corruption and was founded in 2006 to fight corruption by 
legislative branch action. Without any legal mandate, Yemen PAC 
monitored the activities of anticorruption institutions like the SNACC 
and provided limited, unofficial oversight for their activities. It 
also attempted to push anticorruption laws through parliament. During 
the year the group formed and worked with anticorruption networks 
across the country, including in Marib, Taiz, and Aden governorates, 
and established local monitoring and awareness committees.
    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; 
in practice the Government offered few procedures that could ensure 
transparency. The law requires public disclosure of government 
officials' assets, and the SNACC worked to implement this requirement 
during the year. The Government provided limited information via the 
Internet which, despite few citizens having access to the Internet, 
remained accessible to media, international observers, and NGOs.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    Domestic and international human rights groups operated with 
varying degrees of government restriction, many investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases with little constraint. 
NGOs reported government officials were sometimes uncooperative and 
unresponsive to their views. The law on associations and foundations 
regulates the formation and activities of NGOs. The law exempts NGOs 
from taxes and tariffs and requires the Government to provide a reason 
for denying an NGO registration, such as if it perceives an NGO's 
activities as detrimental to the state. It also requires that any 
organization have at least 41 members to continue operation and forbids 
them from being involved in political activities.
    The law permits some foreign funding of NGOs and requires 
government observation of NGOs' internal elections. In 2008 the MOHR 
sponsored several initiatives to advance cooperation with local NGOs 
such as the Yemeni Women's Union and Violence Against Women.
    Domestic human rights NGOs operated throughout the year. The NGO 
landscape was complex. The Government provides a stipend to all 
registered NGOs; however, some ministries reportedly harassed NGOs 
critical of the Government by denying their annual registration and 
subsidy. Progovernment NGOs received support from the ruling party and 
the Government as well, while others received support from opposition 
parties or were fully independent. Some of the most active included the 
Human Rights Information and Training Center, HOOD, YOHR, the Democracy 
School, Media Women Forum, the Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights, 
YODPRL, Seyaj, Shawthab Foundation, the National Organization for 
Developing Society, the Society for the Development of Women and 
Children, and the Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC).
    Some NGOs limited their activities to avoid negative government 
attention. Some ministries reportedly harassed NGOs critical of the 
Government by delaying the procedures required for annual registration 
and licensing and through bureaucratic funding criteria. Unlike in 
previous years, the MSAL registered HOOD for a five-month trial period 
in July. After many months of denials, authorities finally renewed 
WJWC's license in March. Both HOOD and WJWC frequently were critical of 
the Government. In 2009, after a two-year wait due to its criticism of 
the Government for limiting media freedom, the MSAL issued a temporary 
two-year license to the Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights. The 
Government requires NGOs to register annually or be declared illegal, 
but NGOs that were not granted licenses continued to operate during the 
year. In some instances the Government reportedly registered a 
progovernment clone version of an NGO, recognizing the clone as the 
legitimate NGO, thereby preventing the original NGO from renewing its 
registration under its original name. In such cases registration 
applications must be resubmitted under a new name.
    The Government monitored NGO finances. The Government reportedly 
used financial reviews as a pretext to harass or close NGOs. Some NGOs 
allegedly kept less than transparent records, a common practice in the 
country.
    The Government provided AI, HRW, the EU parliament, and the 
Committee to Protect Journalists limited access to records, detention 
centers, and prisons. The ICRC maintained a resident office to inspect 
prisons during the year and resumed inspections of PSO prisons in July 
after suspending inspections in 2004 (see section 1.c.). The ICRC also 
carried out humanitarian missions in Saada to support displaced 
populations during the war. The ICRC, Islamic Relief Yemen, UNHCR, UN 
Children's Fund, UN World Food Program, and UN Food and Agriculture 
Organization provided humanitarian assistance to Saada's displaced 
population. The ICRC did not face governmental restrictions in 
providing humanitarian assistance, but because of the dangerous 
security situation in Saada, it was unable to respond to emergencies in 
an adequate manner. Other organizations reported significantly 
restricted access to conflict areas of Saada that hindered their 
ability to support the displaced population (see section 2.d.).
    The MOHR attempted to raise awareness of human rights via public 
information campaigns, training of civil society organizations, and 
participation in numerous conferences in cooperation with NGOs. During 
the year the MOHR launched what it described as a major campaign to 
educate citizens about their rights under the law. The MOHR has a 
nationwide hotline to receive complaints about abuses of human rights 
but reported that the hotline did not receive any calls during the year 
due to cultural sensitivities. The MOHR also presented regular reports 
regarding its international commitments, such as a report on economic, 
social, and cultural rights and an antiviolence report.
    A Human Rights Committee in the legislature was one of the more 
vocal committees but rarely took action on real issues.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law provides for equal rights and equal opportunity for all 
citizens; however, the Government did not effectively enforce the law. 
Discrimination based on race, gender, and disability remained a serious 
problem. There was no specific discrimination based on social status 
with the exception of the Akhdam. Entrenched general societal and 
patriarchal attitudes limited women's access to equal rights.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape, although spousal rape is not 
criminalized because a woman may not refuse sexual relations with her 
husband. The Government did not effectively enforce the law. The 
punishment for rape is imprisonment for up to 15 years; however, the 
maximum sentence had never been imposed. There were no reliable 
statistics on the number of rapes. Most rape victims did not report the 
crime for fear of shaming the family and incurring violent retaliation. 
Rape victims often were prosecuted on charges of fornication after the 
perpetrator was freed. According to the law, if the accused does not 
confess, the defense must provide four female or two male witnesses to 
the crime. DNA technology was not available in criminal rape cases, and 
without witnesses cases were difficult to prosecute. Flagrant 
corruption often hindered investigation of rape cases. A leading local 
women's rights organization asserted that the judicial system failed to 
bring justice to victims of rape.
    The law, rarely enforced, provides women with protection against 
violence, but there were no laws specifically prohibiting domestic 
violence, including spousal abuse. Although spousal abuse occurred, it 
generally was undocumented. Violence against women and children was 
considered a family affair and usually went unreported to police. Due 
to social norms and customs, an abused woman was expected to take her 
complaint to a male relative (rather than to authorities) to intercede 
on her behalf or provide sanctuary to avoid publicizing the abuse and 
shaming the family.
    A small shelter for battered women in Aden assisted victims, and 
telephone hotlines operated with moderate success in Aden and Sana'a.
    The media and women's rights activists continued to investigate and 
report on violations of women's rights. During the year NGOs sponsored 
several women's rights conferences dealing with matters such as 
violence against women, increasing the political representation of 
women, and economic empowerment. The Ministry of Information broadcast 
programs on official television and radio stations promoting women's 
rights during the year.
    The penal code allows leniency for persons guilty of committing an 
honor crime, a violent assault, or killing committed against women for 
perceived immodest or defiant behavior. The law does not address other 
types of honor crimes, including beatings, forced isolation, 
imprisonment, and forced early marriage. The law regarding violence 
against women states a convicted man should be executed for killing a 
woman. A husband who kills his wife and her lover may receive a maximum 
sentence of a fine or imprisonment for up to one year.
    The MOI and PSO tolerated and unofficially facilitated sex tourism 
through corruption for financial and operational gain. Although no laws 
addressed sex tourism from outside the country, it was a problem, 
particularly in Aden and Sana'a.
    The extent, as well as a legal definition within the local context, 
of sexual harassment was difficult to determine, although direct 
observation and very infrequent media reports suggested it occurred 
both in the workplace and in the streets. There are no specific laws 
prohibiting sexual harassment.
    There were no reports of government interference in the right of 
couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of children. However, societal pressure, a lack of 
women's education, and the young age of marriage for many women and 
girls meant that many women in reality had little control over 
reproduction. Decisions regarding access to contraceptives, family 
size, and procedures involving reproductive and fertility treatments 
required the consent of both husband and wife. The information and 
means to make those decisions were freely available in cities, although 
contraception, obstetric care, and postpartum care were too costly for 
much of the population. Most women gave birth at home without skilled 
attendance and did not see a doctor during their pregnancies or after 
delivery. According to statistics compiled by international 
organizations, there were approximately 210 maternal deaths per 100,000 
live births in the country in 2008. Information was not available 
regarding women's equal diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted 
infections, including HIV.
    Social custom and local interpretation of Shari'a discriminated 
significantly against women in family law, property law, and in the 
judicial system.
    Men were permitted to take as many as four wives. A husband may 
divorce a wife without justifying the action in court. Under the formal 
court system, a woman has the legal right to divorce, but she must 
provide a justification, and there were practical, social, and 
financial considerations that impeded women from obtaining a divorce. 
However, in some regions under tribal customary law, a woman has the 
right to divorce without justification.
    Some interpretations of Shari'a prohibit a Muslim woman from 
marrying a non-Muslim man. 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, but they may confer citizenship on children 
born of a foreign-born father 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 residency permit.
    According to an 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 to the MOI proof of her parents' 
approval. A foreign woman who wishes to marry a male citizen must prove 
to the ministry that she is ``of good conduct and behavior.'' A close 
male relative has the authority to approve her travel (see section 
2.d.).
    Women faced discrimination under family law and inheritance law. 
Courts awarded custody of children when they attained a specified age 
(seven years for boys and nine years for girls) to the divorced husband 
or the deceased husband's family. In numerous cases former husbands 
prevented divorced noncitizen women from visiting their children. Under 
Shari'a inheritance laws, daughters receive half the inheritance 
awarded to their brothers.
    Women also faced discrimination in courts, where the testimony of 
one man equals that of two women. Shari'a discriminates against women 
in calculating accidental death or injury compensation where women 
receive 50 percent of what men receive. Female parties in court 
proceedings such as divorce and family law cases normally deputized 
male relatives to speak on their behalf; however, they have the option 
to speak for themselves.
    Women experienced economic discrimination. The law stipulates women 
are equal to men in employment rights, but women's rights activists and 
NGOs reported that discrimination was a common practice in the public 
and private sectors.
    Governmental mechanisms to enforce equal protection were weak or 
nonexistent.
    According to the MSAL, there were more than 170 NGOs working for 
women's advancement. The Arab Sisters Forum for Human Rights worked 
with other NGOs, the Government, and donor countries to strengthen 
women's political participation. The Yemeni Women's Union and Women's 
National Committee (WNC) conducted workshops on women's rights. The 
Arab Sisters Forum, with funding from the Netherlands and in 
cooperation with the MSAL, established projects aimed at providing 
protection against violence for women and children.

    Children.--Children born to at least one citizen parent are 
eligible to receive citizenship. Children born in the country who do 
not have a citizen father, or a citizen mother and a noncitizen father 
that dies or abandons a child, are eligible to file for citizenship, 
but the Government rarely granted it. Children of foreign parents who 
did not receive citizenship were sometimes excluded from receiving 
government services, including education.
    There was no universal birth registration, and many children, 
especially in rural areas, were never registered or were registered 
several years after birth. Hospitals maintained official birth 
registries, but not all hospitals insisted on registration, and most 
children were not born in hospitals. Children must have birth 
certificates to register for school, but this requirement was not 
universally enforced. There were no reports of services being denied to 
children based on lack of registration.
    The law provides for universal, compulsory, and tuition-free 
education from age six to 15; however, compulsory attendance was not 
enforced, and books and school uniforms raised the cost of attendance 
to approximately 2,000 riyals ($9.40) per student per year, which some 
parents could not afford. Public schooling was available to children 
through the secondary school level. Attendance was mandatory through 
the ninth grade, but many children, especially girls, did not attend 
primary school. Secondary and postsecondary attendance for girls was 
less as well.
    The law provides for free medical care for children who hold 
citizenship; however, this was not always enforced. Male children 
received preferential treatment and had better health and survival 
rates.
    The law does not define or prohibit child abuse, and there was no 
reliable data on its extent.
    The law prohibits female genital mutilation (FGM), but it was a 
pervasive practice in the coastal areas on infants less than 40 days 
old. Although government health workers and officials discouraged the 
practice, women's groups reported FGM rates as high as 90 percent in 
some coastal areas, such as Mahara and Hudeidah. The WNC and the 
Ministry of Endowments and Religious Guidance provided a manual for 
religious leaders on women's health issues, including the negative 
health consequences of FGM.
    Child marriage was a significant problem in the country. There was 
no minimum age of marriage, and girls were married as young as age 
eight. A February 2009 law setting the minimum age for marriage at age 
17 was repealed. According to a 2009 MSAL study, a quarter of all girls 
were married before they were 15 years old. The law has a provision 
that forbids sex with underage brides until they are ``suitable for 
sexual intercourse,'' an age that is undefined. An Oxfam International 
study calculated that among 1,495 couples, 52 percent of women and 7 
percent of men were married at an early age. The report also 
highlighted that 15-16 years was generally considered the appropriate 
age of marriage for girls, depending on region and socioeconomic 
status. According to the MSAL, the Government did not promote public 
awareness campaigns on the negative effects of child marriage due to 
the cultural sensitivity of the issue.
    Media reports highlighted the problem of child marriage in the 
country. On April 2, three days after being married to a 23-year-old 
man, 12-year-old Elham Mahdi died from internal bleeding following 
intercourse. There were reports that underage citizen girls worked as 
prostitutes in major cities, particularly in Aden and Sana'a.
    There was no law defining statutory rape and no legal limits placed 
on the age for consensual sex. The law prohibits pornography, including 
child pornography.
    Reports of child soldiers increased in a number of armed conflicts 
across the country. According to the NGO Small Arms Survey, direct 
involvement in combat killed or injured hundreds of children annually.
    The intermittent conflict in Saada, which resumed in August 2009 
and ended in February, reportedly drew underage soldiers fighting for 
the Government and the rebel Houthis (see section 1.g.). The Houthis 
reportedly used children as runners between groups of fighters as well 
as to carry supplies and explosives, according to local children's 
rights NGO Seyaj. The use of child soldiers was forbidden by law, and 
the Government opposed the practice as a matter of policy. However, 
tribes the Government armed and financed to fight alongside the regular 
army used children in combat, according to reports by international 
NGOs such as Save the Children.
    Married boys, ages 12 to 15 years, were reportedly involved in 
armed conflicts in the northern tribal areas. According to tribal 
custom, boys who married were considered adults who owed allegiance to 
the tribe. As a result half of the tribal fighters in such conflicts 
were children who had volunteered to demonstrate their tribal 
allegiance, according to international and local human rights NGOs.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Government's stated policy was to protect the 
country's Jewish community. However, social pressure excluded Jewish 
citizens, who numbered fewer than 250, from certain occupations. They 
are not eligible to serve in the military or federal government.
    In October two packages containing explosives were sent as cargo on 
an airplane from the country addressed to former synagogues in the 
United States; Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula took credit for the 
mailing.
    During the year a cleric resident in the country blogged and 
released online videos that included the vilification of Jews. 
According to a foreign NGO, in at least one video, he claimed that Jews 
had ``a hidden agenda'' and had infiltrated every government in the 
world.
    A December 19 cartoon in the newspaper Al-Jamhurriya represented a 
stereotypic individual wearing a hat with a Star of David and sucking 
on a straw, the caption of which read ``Jew sucks dry Palestinian 
identity.''
    In 2008 an explosive device was thrown at a Jewish home. The 
Government appeared unwilling or unable to increase security for the 
remaining Jewish population; perpetrators of violence against the 
community generally went unpunished.
    The historic Saada community of 45 Jews, relocated to Sana'a in 
2007 after a follower of the Houthis threatened it, remained under 
government protection in Sana'a. In 2008 a group of men ransacked and 
destroyed two homes in Saada Governorate that belonged to a member of 
the Jewish community living in Sana'a. The attack was believed to have 
been the work of Houthi rebels.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Several laws mandate the rights and 
care of persons with disabilities, but there was discrimination against 
such persons. No national law mandates accessibility of buildings, 
information, and communications for persons with disabilities.
    Information about patterns of abuse of persons with disabilities in 
educational and mental health institutions was not available.
    Authorities imprisoned persons with mental disabilities without 
providing adequate medical care. According to the MOHR, nurses and 
doctors watched the inmates. In some instances authorities detained 
without charge persons with mental disabilities and placed them in 
prisons with criminals. The MOI reported that at times family members 
brought relatives with mental disabilities to MOI-run prisons, asking 
officers to imprison the individuals. At year's end MOI-run prisons in 
Sana'a, Aden, and Taiz operated in conjunction with the Red Crescent 
semiautonomous units for prisoners with mental disabilities; conditions 
in these units reportedly were deficient. At year's end neither the MOI 
nor Ministry of Health had acted on a 2005 MOI initiative to establish 
centers for persons with mental illness.
    The MSAL is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with 
disabilities. The Government's Social Fund for Development and the Fund 
for the Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled, administered by the 
MSAL, provided limited basic services and supported more than 60 NGOs 
to assist persons with disabilities.
    By law 5 percent of government jobs should be reserved for persons 
with disabilities, and the law mandates the acceptance of persons with 
disabilities in universities, exempts them from paying tuition, and 
requires that schools be made more accessible to persons with 
disabilities. It was unclear to what extent these laws were 
implemented.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although racial discrimination 
is illegal, racial and societal discrimination against the Akhdam (an 
estimated 2-5 percent of the population) was a problem. They generally 
lived in poverty and endured persistent social discrimination. 
According to a March 2009 study by the NGO Save the Children, the 
Akhdam community, a small ethnic minority descended from East Africans, 
was the social group most vulnerable to discrimination. The 
Government's social fund for development provided basic services to 
assist them.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexual activity is a crime 
punishable by death under the country's interpretation of Islamic law. 
Due to the illegality and severe punishment applicable, there were no 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) persons' organizations. 
There were no reports of official or societal discrimination, physical 
violence, or harassment based on sexual orientation, and there was no 
official discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, 
housing, statelessness, or access to education or health care, largely 
because, since the activity was illegal, LGBT issues were not 
considered relevant. Few if any LGBT residents were open about their 
orientation or identity because of strong, hostile societal pressure.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no societal 
violence or public reports of discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS; however, the topic was socially sensitive and not discussed 
publicly.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The laws provide workers the right to 
form and join unions, except for the armed and other security forces 
and those holding high-level posts in the public sector, civil 
associations, cooperatives, and professional unions established under 
different laws than the Trade Union Law; however, the laws were not 
effectively implemented, and this right was restricted in practice with 
workers and unions facing many impediments in implementation, 
administration, and networking. The right to strike was also severely 
restricted, and the Government interfered in union activities.
    Although not required by law, in practice all unions are federated 
within the General Federation of Trade Unions of Yemen (GFTUY), a 
national umbrella organization. The GFTUY claimed approximately 42,000 
members in 21 unions during its 2007 elections. Each union had its own 
bylaws that organize its internal affairs, including elections. 
However, bylaws issued by the (MSAL require that union elections take 
place at least every three years, with MSAL officials present as 
witnesses. The GFTUY denied any association with the Government; 
however, it is the only official federation, acts as an umbrella 
organization for all unions, and works closely with the Government to 
resolve labor disputes through negotiation.
    The labor law provides unions with the right to strike only if 
prior attempts at negotiation and arbitration fail; workers exercised 
this right by conducting legal strikes.
    Political parties tried to place allies in union leadership 
positions to advance party interests, which resulted in division among 
workers and weakened associative action by unions and professional 
associations. In some instances political parties attempted to control 
professional associations by influencing internal elections or placing 
their own personnel, usually tied to the Government, in positions of 
influence in unions and professional associations. For example, there 
were two distinct teachers' unions during the year; one was tied to the 
ruling GPC party, and the other was linked to the opposition JMP 
coalition. The parties worked separately and sometimes at odds on 
matters affecting teachers.
    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. In reality a 
union's ability to strike depended on its political strength and 
closeness to the ruling party. For example, the physicians and 
pharmacists' syndicate has never conducted a general strike, while the 
GPC-associated teachers' union successfully struck for a salary 
increase.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The labor law 
protects collective bargaining. The law provides workers who are not 
public servants as well as foreign workers, day laborers, and domestic 
servants the right to organize and bargain collectively without 
government interference. This group constitutes the majority of the 
workforce. The drivers' union conducts annual negotiations with the 
Government regarding rights and benefits. 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. The MSAL has veto power over collective 
bargaining agreements, although it has not exercised this power in 
recent years.
    The law generally protects employees from antiunion discrimination. 
An employer does not have the right to dismiss an employee for union 
activities; however, there were reports that private-sector employers 
discriminated against union members through transfers, demotions, and 
dismissals. The majority of employers in the private sector register 
only five to 10 employees, which allows them to avoid many social 
security and labor union regulations. Fewer than 100,000 employees 
worked for companies with more than 100 employees, making it difficult 
for the vast majority of workers to enjoy union protection and 
benefits.
    Employees may appeal any dispute, including cases of antiunion 
discrimination, to the MSAL. Employees also may take a case to the 
labor arbitration committee, which the MSAL chairs, composed of an 
employer representative and a GFTUY representative. Generally, all 
parties want to resolve cases via the committee system since court 
proceedings are costly and the system is often corrupt. National 
statistics on how many unionized employees used this system during the 
year were unavailable.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children; 
however, the Government did not effectively enforce such laws, and 
there were reports of such practices during the year. In some instances 
children were forced into domestic servitude and agricultural work, 
women were forced into domestic servitude or prostitution, and migrant 
workers were vulnerable to forced labor conditions. Children reportedly 
were trafficked from the country to work as child laborers in other 
countries, especially from the governorates of Hajja, Hudeidah, and 
Saada.
    See also the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
child rights law prohibits child labor; however, the Government did not 
effectively implement the law.
    The established minimum age for employment is 15 years in the 
private sector and 18 years in the public sector. By special permit 
children between the ages of 12 and 15 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. Approximately 12 percent of children 
between the ages of six and 14 worked. In rural areas many children 
were required to work in subsistence farming due to family poverty. In 
urban areas children worked in stores and workshops, sold goods, and 
begged on the streets. Many children of school age worked instead of 
attending school, particularly in areas where schools were not easily 
accessible.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The child labor unit at the MSAL was responsible for implementing 
and enforcing child labor laws and regulations; however, the unit's 
lack of resources hampered enforcement. Due to extensive budget cuts, 
MSAL employees were unable to travel to conduct their work during the 
year.
    Working children equaled 10 to 15 percent of the total work force. 
Approximately 52 percent of male children between the ages of 10 and 14 
were in the workforce, compared to 48 percent of female children in the 
same age group. An estimated 83 percent of working children worked for 
their families (including street beggars), and 17 percent worked 
outside the family. According to the MSAL, small factories and shops 
employed children working outside the family. The Government partnered 
with the International Labor Organization to offer 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 public-sector workers and 
civil servants. Private-sector workers, especially skilled technicians, 
earned a 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 eight-
hour workday; however, many workshops and stores operated 10- to 12-
hour shifts without penalty. The 35-hour workweek for government 
employees was seven hours per day from Saturday through Wednesday.
    The MSAL 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 lack of MSAL capacity. The MSAL has a vocational 
safety department that relies on committees to conduct primary and 
periodic investigations of safety and health conditions in workplaces. 
Many workers were exposed to toxic industrial products regularly 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.

                               __________


                         SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA

                              ----------                              


                              AFGHANISTAN

    Afghanistan is an Islamic republic; population estimates range from 
24 to 33 million. In August 2009, citizens voted in their second 
presidential and first-ever contested election; after his challenger 
withdrew from a run-off election, the Independent Electoral Commission 
(IEC) declared Hamid Karzai president for a second term. The elections 
were marred by serious allegations of widespread fraud. On September 
18, citizens voted in parliamentary elections. Citizens who 
participated in the elections faced threats of insurgent violence; 
insurgents killed at least 30 people election day. The elections were 
marred by widespread electoral fraud and irregularities, including: a 
Taliban offensive to disrupt the elections through public threats, 
fear-mongering, and violence; low voter turnout; and insufficient 
conditions for the full participation by women. Subsequent to the 
election, President Karzai appointed a special tribunal to review and 
investigate election results, a measure with uncertain consequences for 
future elections. There were instances in which security forces acted 
independently of civilian control.
    Human rights problems included extrajudicial killings; torture and 
other abuse; poor prison conditions; widespread official impunity; 
ineffective government investigations of abuses by local security 
forces; arbitrary arrest and detention; prolonged pretrial detention; 
judicial corruption; violations of privacy rights; restrictions on 
freedom of the press; limits on freedom of assembly; restrictions on 
freedom of religion, including on religious conversions; limits on 
freedom of movement; official corruption; violence and societal 
discrimination against women; sexual abuse of children; abuses against 
minorities; trafficking in persons; abuse of worker rights; and child 
labor.
    The Taliban and other insurgents killed numerous civilians, both in 
attacks and with car bombs and suicide bombs. The Taliban and other 
antigovernment elements continued to kill, threaten, rob, and attack 
villagers, foreigners, and nongovernmental organization (NGO) workers.

                        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 reports that security forces committed arbitrary or unlawful 
killings. For example, on February 6, Shamshad TV and Radio Azadi 
reported that Afghan Border Police mistakenly killed seven civilians 
who were collecting firewood near a checkpoint in the border town of 
Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province. Reports stated that the police 
officials involved in the shooting were taken into custody for 
interrogation. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), in December 2009 
Abdul Basir died as a result of abuse in a National Directorate of 
Security (NDS) detention facility. Although NDS authorities claimed 
that Basir committed suicide, small dark circles on his forehead, cuts 
on his back, bruising in several places, and a large cut on the shin 
were found on Basir's body.
    According to Amnesty International (AI), operations by security 
forces resulted in an increase in civilian deaths during the first half 
of the year, as did operations by progovernment international forces 
(see section 1.g.). For example, according to the United Nations 
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), 69 of the 223 civilian 
deaths during that period were caused by aerial attacks by the 
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). HRW reported that 
timely and transparent inquiries or accountability for forces in the 
event of wrongdoing were often lacking when civilians were hurt or 
killed in night raids, airstrikes, or escalation of force incidents.
    Politically targeted killings by the Taliban and other insurgent 
groups increased. For example, the Taliban claimed responsibility for 
killing three candidates during the campaign period between July and 
August: Sayedullah Sayed, Najibullah Gulistani, and Haji Abdul Manan 
Noorzai. In August five campaign workers supporting Fauwzia Gilani in 
Herat were abducted and killed. There were also attacks on election 
officials. For example, in September insurgents killed two election 
staff in Balkh.
    The Taliban and other insurgents also killed numerous civilians, 
both in attacks and through use of bombs (see section 1.g.). Taliban 
and insurgent attacks escalated in both number and complexity during 
the year. The media reported that the Taliban issued ``night letters'' 
threatening anyone who made peace with the Government, a charge Taliban 
spokesmen denied. Kabul continued to be a key terrorist target during 
the year, although violence occurred in many parts of the country.
    There were numerous reports of summary justice by the Taliban 
resulting in extrajudicial executions. For example, on August 9, the 
Taliban publicly executed a woman, Sanam Bibi (also referred to as Bibi 
Sanubar), for adultery in the Qadis District of Badghis Province. After 
a staged public trial, local Taliban commander Mohammad Yousuf publicly 
lashed Sanam Bibi 200 times, then shot her in the head three times. The 
man who allegedly had an affair with Sanam Bibi was not punished 
because he paid a fine of 150,000 afghanis (approximately $3,300). On 
August 15, the Taliban ordered a public execution by stoning in Kunduz 
Province, killing a young man and woman who had eloped. In October in 
Ghazni, the Taliban shot a woman to death for allegedly killing her 
mother-in-law.
    Three persons were arrested, tried, and convicted for the November 
2009 killing of Makhdoum Abdullah, the provincial head of the Red 
Crescent Society in Takhar: one was sentenced to execution; the second 
was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison; and the third was 
convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
    According to Physicians for Human Rights, there were several known 
mass grave sites in the country, most notably outside the town of 
Shebergan in Jowzjan Province. On March 22, the media widely reported 
that a mass grave containing nearly 1,000 bodies was discovered in 
Jalalabad, Nangarhar Province. The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights 
Commission (AIHRC) reported that tampering with mass grave sites 
hampered independent investigations of the Jowzjan Province mass grave 
site, which allegedly contained the remains of 2,000 Taliban fighters 
killed during conflict in 2001.
    There were no new developments regarding the September 2009 
discovery of a mass grave in Kunduz Province or in Bamyan in October 
2009.

    b. Disappearance.--There were reports that insurgent groups and 
criminals were responsible for disappearances and abductions in 
connection with the ongoing insurgency (see section 1.g.). For example, 
in September, 28 election staff members were kidnapped in Baghlan.
    Observers alleged that noninsurgency-related kidnapping was a form 
of dispute resolution.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, there 
were reports of serious abuses by government officials, security 
forces, detention center authorities, and police. Nongovernmental 
organizations reported that security forces continued to use excessive 
force, including torturing and beating civilians.
    Human rights organizations reported that local Ministry of Interior 
(MOI) and NDS detention center authorities tortured and abused 
detainees. Torture and abuse methods included, but were not limited to, 
beating by stick, scorching bar, or iron bar; flogging by cable; 
battering by rod; electric shock; deprivation of sleep, water, and 
food; abusive language; sexual humiliation; and rape. HRW received many 
reports of torture and mistreatment during interrogations by the NDS, 
including one case in December 2009 that resulted in death (see section 
1.a.).
    The Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) and NGOs reported that 
police raped female detainees. NGOs also reported that authorities 
raped women in prison. There were reports of the sexual abuse of boys 
by members of the Afghan National Police (ANP) and the Afghan National 
Army (ANA).
    According to the AIHRC, Terre des Homme, and the UN Children's Fund 
(UNICEF), many of the children in detention centers and orphanages 
suffered physical abuse. There were credible reports of cases in which 
authorities threatened and mistreated juvenile detainees.
    There were no developments in the September 2009 arrest of three 
police officers in Dai Kundi Province for the rape of a 13-year-old 
girl.
    There were reports of torture and other abuses by the Taliban and 
other insurgent groups. Media reports and firsthand accounts accused 
the Taliban of employing torture in interrogations of persons they 
accused of supporting coalition forces and the central government. The 
Taliban contacted newspapers and television stations in several such 
cases to claim responsibility.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor; however, the Government took some steps to improve conditions 
within the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) prisons and detention centers. 
Most prisons and detention centers, particularly MOI detention centers, 
were decrepit, severely overcrowded, and unsanitary and fell well short 
of international standards. The AIHRC and other observers continued to 
report that inadequate food and water, poor sanitation facilities, 
insufficient blankets, and infectious diseases were common in the 
country's prisons. However, some observers have found the food and 
water to be sufficient throughout the Central Prison Directorate (CPD). 
The CPD has a nationwide program to feed prisoners, but on an extremely 
limited budget. Many prisoners' families supplement food and other 
necessary living items.
    The AIHRC reported that many prisons and detention centers lacked 
potable water, adequate space, heating and cooling facilities, and 
adequate restrooms. Infirmaries, where they existed, were 
underequipped. Prisoners with contagious diseases and prisoners with 
mental illness rarely were separated from other prisoners; according to 
authorities this was for cultural reasons.
    There were reports of abuse of persons in detention. For example, 
in December 2009 Abdul Basir reportedly died as a result of abuse in an 
NDS detention facility (see section 1.a.). According to NGOs, 
authorities also raped women in prison. There were 34 provincial 
prisons under MOJ/CPD control and 187 active MOJ detention facilities. 
The total number of active detention facilities reportedly fluctuated 
from month to month. There were 30 juvenile rehabilitation centers. The 
MOI usually lacked sufficient detention facilities. No official 
information was available on the number of prisoners the NDS held or 
the number of facilities the NDS operated.
    Authorities generally did not have the infrastructural capacity to 
separate pretrial and posttrial inmates. In November the CPD reported 
4,764 male pretrial detainees, 12,953 male prisoners, 103 female 
detainees, and 463 female prisoners. In most instances limited 
infrastructure hindered housing prisoners by their classification, but 
where it was feasible the CPD separated them. Women were not imprisoned 
with men. In the two largest female prisons, the conditions and 
programs were better for women than men. Authorities generally did not 
have the infrastructural capacity to house juveniles according to the 
nature of the charges against them.
    Under the law, children younger than age seven are allowed to (and 
often do) live in prison with their mothers who have been convicted of 
a crime. However, in Kabul this practice was reduced significantly 
under the direction of the CPD and in conjunction with the opening of a 
children's support center in the city. A children's support center in 
Kunduz for children over five years of age, whose mothers were in 
prison, was scheduled to open in March 2011.
    The law provides prisoners with the right to leave prison for up to 
20 days for visits; however, the AIHRC reported in 2009 that this right 
was not observed in most prisons.
    On August 18, on the 91st anniversary of the country's 
independence, the president released 141 prisoners, including six 
women, and reduced the sentences of 239 prisoners. Between March and 
the end of the year, the CPD released an estimated 2,000 prisoners, and 
an estimated 5,000 prisoners had their sentences reduced as a result of 
presidential decrees.
    There is an informal grievance procedure within the CPD. The MOJ, 
the attorney general, and some governors monitored or assessed prison 
conditions, although investigations and monitoring did not fully meet 
international standards. The MOI and the MOJ permitted the AIHRC and 
UNICEF partners to visit correctional facilities operated by the two 
ministries. Security constraints occasionally prevented visits to some 
places of detention. Media reports indicated that the AIHRC did not 
have access to NDS facilities.
    UNAMA observed significant operational improvements in conjunction 
with international support to train and mentor prison staff in the 
provinces. International observers noted that the MOJ and the CPD 
leadership were actively striving to improve staff working conditions 
and prisoner living conditions, with the goal of meeting the UN minimum 
standards for prisoners and detainees. This included drafting 49 
standard operating procedures; beginning to implement a prisoner 
classification system; and beginning to implement the standard case 
management system.
    In government detention facilities, observers reported that 
prisoners were permitted religious observance.
    During the year the AIHRC received reports that private prisons 
existed in Dai Kundi and Kandahar Provinces but could not verify the 
reports, or the alleged number of prisoners, because AIHRC 
representatives could not visit the provinces due to lack of security. 
The AIHRC had reported in 2009 and earlier that private prisons existed 
and that it had successfully advocated for their closure and the 
release of their inmates.
    NGOs reported that powerful local leaders and insurgents, including 
the Taliban, continued to operate private prisons. In some cases tribal 
leaders may have held persons accused of crimes in private detention. 
The AIHRC did not have access to prisoners and hostages detained by 
insurgents.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest or detention; however, both remained serious problems. According 
to a January UN report, many citizens were detained without enjoying 
essential procedural protections.
    According to AI, hundreds of citizens continued to be arbitrarily 
detained, without clear legal authority and due process. Detainees 
handed over to the NDS reportedly were at risk of torture and other 
mistreatment, as well as unfair trials. AI's 2010 report stated that 
the NDS arrested and detained persons, including journalists, for acts 
deemed a risk to public or state security, which was vaguely defined in 
the law. Law enforcement officials also reportedly illegally detained--
and in some cases tried--persons on charges not provided for in the 
penal code, related to matters such as family disputes and so-called 
moral crimes.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Three ministries have 
responsibility both in law and in practice for providing security in 
the country. The ANP, under the MOI, has primary responsibility for 
internal order but increasingly was engaged in fighting the insurgency. 
The ANA, under the Ministry of Defense, is responsible for external 
security. The NDS has responsibility for investigating cases of 
national security and also functions as an intelligence agency. The 
investigative branch of the NDS has a facility in Kabul where it holds 
prisoners on a pretrial basis until the case is handed over to 
prosecutors. In some areas insurgents maintained considerable power as 
a result of the Government's failure to assert control. The ISAF 
remained a subordinate headquarters within the NATO command structure 
and continued to support development of the Afghan National Security 
Forces (ANSF).
    Official impunity was pervasive. According to HRW, police generally 
enjoyed impunity after they were accused of killing civilians. Many 
observers believed that ANP personnel were largely unaware of their 
responsibilities and defendants' rights under the law.
    There were reports in one province that police threatened to arrest 
entire villages if elders failed to produce a suspect for a crime. In 
the same province, observers reported that children were imprisoned for 
questionable violations of the law, in effect turning the juvenile 
criminal detention facility into a near ``foster home.'' There were 
also reports that local police extorted a ``tax'' at checkpoints. 
According to Integrity Watch Afghanistan, police officials used the 
threat of jail or beatings to extort bribes from citizens.
    International support for recruiting and training new ANP personnel 
continued, with the goal of professionalizing the police force, 
including the continuing implementation of the CPD staff prison reform 
and restructuring program. The international community worked with the 
Government to develop awareness and training programs, as well as 
internal investigation mechanisms to curb security force corruption and 
abuses. Training programs for police emphasized law enforcement, the 
constitution, police values and ethics, professional development, the 
prevention of domestic violence, and fundamental standards of human 
rights, in addition to core policing skills. The MOI reported that 
every new police officer received limited training in human rights. Two 
officers were responsible for human rights reporting in each province. 
In Kabul 81 officers were responsible for human rights, an increase of 
31 over 2009. A separate inspector general conducted investigations 
into internal police matters.
    Nevertheless, human rights problems persisted. Violations of human 
rights and women's rights within the MOI (for example, sexual 
harassment) reportedly were not dealt with adequately. According to 
international experts and a civil society organization, the MOI 
Inspector General's Office charged with investigating internal police 
issues lacked the ability or the will to take the direct action needed 
in cases involving disciplinary problems among police, including sexual 
harassment charges.
    NGOs and human rights activists noted that societal violence, 
especially against women, was widespread; in many cases the ANP did not 
prevent or respond to the violence.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Arbitrary 
arrest and detention remained problems.
    The law provides for access to legal counsel and the use of 
warrants, and it limits how long detainees may be held without charge. 
The International Committee for the Red Cross, the AIHRC, and other 
observers reported that arbitrary and prolonged detention frequently 
occurred throughout the country. Authorities often did not inform 
detainees of the charges against them. Police have the right to detain 
a suspect as long as 72 hours to complete a preliminary investigation. 
If they decide to pursue a case, the file is transferred to the 
Attorney General's Office, which must interrogate the suspect within 48 
hours. The investigating prosecutor can continue to detain a suspect 
without formal charges for 15 days from the time of arrest while 
continuing the investigation. With court approval the investigating 
prosecutor may detain a suspect for an additional 15 days. The 
prosecutor must file an indictment or release the suspect within 30 
days of arrest. Investigation may continue even if an indictment cannot 
be completed within the 30 days.
    In practice many detainees did not benefit from any or all of these 
provisions, largely due to lack of resources. There is also a provision 
that upon request by defense counsel, the court shall release a 
detainee held over the 30-day period when an indictment is not filed. 
However, many detainees were held beyond 30 days, despite the lack of 
any indictment. Observers reported that prosecutors and police detained 
individuals on average for nine months without charging them, sometimes 
for actions that were not crimes under the law, in part because the 
judicial system was inadequate to process detainees in a timely 
fashion.
    In October 2009 all seven government entities involved in the 
criminal justice sector--the MOJ, Attorney General's Office, Supreme 
Court, MOI, NDS, Ministry of Defense, and High Office of Oversight--
signed a memorandum of understanding to implement a standard case 
management system. The system provides for maintenance of uniform 
records on all inmates, thereby reducing opportunities for corruption 
through offers and demands for bribes to alter prisoner data. 
Information on 5,000 inmates, drawn from the 8,000 paper-based CPD 
files, was entered into the case management system by year's end. The 
CPD continued to enter the remaining data. As a result 128 inmates held 
beyond their sentences were released.
    The media and human rights organizations reported arbitrary arrests 
in most provinces. According to AI, the NDS continued to arrest and 
detain suspects arbitrarily without allowing access to defense lawyers, 
families, courts, or other outside bodies, and incommunicado detention 
remained a problem. Prompt access to a lawyer was rare. While detainees 
were allowed access to their families, there were many cases in which 
such access was not prompt. Scores of detainees were subjected to 
torture and other mistreatment, including being whipped, exposed to 
extreme cold, and deprived of food. UNAMA reported that police detained 
individuals for moral crimes, breaches of contracts, family disputes, 
and to extract confessions. Observers reported that those detained for 
moral crimes were almost exclusively women.
    There was little consistency in the length of time detainees were 
held before trial or arraignment. Postsentence detention also was 
reportedly common. According to a UNAMA report, in cases in which a 
prison sentence and a fine were handed down, impoverished prisoners 
sometimes remained in prison after their sentence had been completed.
    According to the MOJ, 81 children were detained on national 
security-related charges in juvenile rehabilitation centers during the 
year; all were male, six younger than the age of 15. The juvenile code 
presumes children should not be held to the same standards as adults. 
The code states that the arrest of a child ``should be a matter of last 
resort and should last for the shortest possible period.''
    Detained children typically were denied basic rights and many 
aspects of due process, including the presumption of innocence, the 
right to be informed of charges, access to defense lawyers, and the 
right not to be forced to confess. The juvenile code prohibits 
punishment of children, even for the purpose of correction or 
reprimand. The law states that police can only undertake initial 
inquiry, while the authority to review and conduct full investigations 
into a case against juveniles lies with the Special Court of Children 
and the Special Prosecution Office for Children. It is the 
responsibility of the prosecution to decide whether to refer such a 
case to court. The law provides for the creation of juvenile police, 
prosecution offices, and courts. Due to limited resources, the special 
juvenile courts functioned only in six large provinces (Kabul, Herat, 
Balkh, Kandahar, Jalalabad, and Kunduz). In provinces where special 
courts do not exist, children's cases fall under the ordinary courts. 
The law also mandates that children's cases be addressed in private and 
may involve three stages: primary, appeals, and the final stage at the 
Supreme Court.
    Some of the children in the criminal justice system were victims 
rather than perpetrators of crime. Particularly in cases of sexual 
exploitation, perpetrators were seldom imprisoned, as cases were seldom 
prosecuted; some victims were perceived as shameful and in need of 
punishment, having brought shame on their family by reporting the 
abuse. Some children allegedly were imprisoned as a family proxy for 
the actual perpetrator.
    ``Zina,'' the term for adultery or fornication, is a criminal act 
under the penal code. In practice police and legal officials often 
charged women with intent to commit zina to justify their arrest and 
incarceration for social offenses such as running away from home, 
defying family choice of a spouse, fleeing domestic violence or rape, 
or eloping. Police often detained women for zina at the request of 
family members. UNAMA reported cases of zina in nearly every province.
    Authorities imprisoned some women for reporting crimes perpetrated 
against them and some as proxies serving as substitutes for their 
husbands or male relatives convicted of crimes. During the year the 
AIHRC received reports of men being arrested in place of a male 
relative when a suspect could not be located, on the assumption that 
the suspect would turn himself in to free the family member.
    Authorities placed some women in protective custody to prevent 
violent retaliation by family members. Authorities also placed women 
who were victims of domestic violence in protective custody (including 
in a detention center), if there was no shelter facility available, to 
protect them from further abuse. Under the 2009 decree on the 
Elimination of Violence Against Women Act (EVAW), the police have the 
obligation to arrest those who abuse women; however, both the police 
and the courts were not yet fully familiar with the EVAW, and limited 
implementation occurred.
    Authorities frequently did not rearrest defendants even after an 
appellate court convicted them in absentia. There was no bond system, 
although a rudimentary personal recognizance system was utilized in 
some areas where international observers monitored cases; authorities 
justified posttrial detention because defendants released pending 
appeal often disappeared.
    Prosecutors did not exercise discretion in making decisions on 
charges. International mentors observed that prosecutors filed 
indictments in cases transferred to them by the police, even where 
there was a reasonable belief that no crime actually was committed.
    There were 2,842 practicing prosecutors, compared with 963 in 2009; 
many of these lacked any formal legal training. According to the Afghan 
Bar Association, the total number of registered and licensed defense 
lawyers was 1,020 (of whom 200 were women), compared with 850 in 2009 
(of whom only 80 were women). The MOJ had 82 legal aid providers in 16 
provinces, compared with 50 providers in 13 provinces in 2009. 
According to the MOJ, as of year's end, 18,949 persons were detained in 
correctional facilities nationwide (compared with 14,857 in 2009), of 
whom 14,219 had been tried and convicted (compared with 10,593 in 
2009); the remaining 4,730 were awaiting trial (compared with 4,264 in 
2009).
    The Criminal Law Reform Working Group, which included local legal 
experts and international rule-of-law advisors, completed its revision 
of the criminal procedure code in June 2009 and submitted it to the 
legislative drafting department of the MOJ for further consideration. 
The department did not respond to the Criminal Law Reform Working 
Group's recommendation by year's end.

    Amnesty.--The Law on National Reconciliation and Amnesty, published 
in December 2009, grants amnesty to all persons engaged in conflict 
during the previous 25 years, up until the establishment of the interim 
administration, providing immunity from prosecution for serious 
violations of human rights, including war crimes and crimes against 
humanity.
    The AIHRC stated that some members of the Taliban were released 
during the 2010 Peace Jirga and through presidential pardons under this 
law. In addition many alleged war criminals and human rights abusers 
remained in positions of power within the Government. Under the Afghan 
Peace and Reintegration Program (APRP), antigovernment elements were 
entitled to amnesty for political offenses if they agreed to live 
within the country's laws and renounced violence and terrorism. There 
is no legal framework for political amnesty and forgiveness of other 
crimes. In the absence of such a framework, the country was expected to 
continue to provide amnesty on an ad hoc basis to those who sought 
reintegration, subject to community vetting requirements. Hundreds of 
persons entered the APRP process by year's end.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, but in practice the judiciary often was 
underfunded, understaffed, and subject to political influence and 
pervasive corruption. Bribery, corruption, and pressure from public 
officials, tribal leaders, families of accused persons, and individuals 
associated with the insurgency threatened judicial impartiality. The 
Counter Narcotics Tribunal in Kabul, whose members' salaries the 
international community supplemented and which worked within a secure 
compound, was an exception. International organizations reported no 
evidence of corruption or political influence involving its officials. 
Other courts administered justice unevenly, according to a mixture of 
codified law, Sharia (Islamic law), and local custom.
    The formal justice system was relatively strong in the urban 
centers, where the central government was strongest, and weaker in the 
rural areas, where approximately 72 percent of the population lived. 
Nationwide, fully functioning courts, police forces, and prisons were 
rare. The judicial system lacked the capacity to handle the large 
volume of new and amended legislation. A lack of qualified judicial 
personnel hindered the courts. Municipal and provincial authorities, 
including judges, had minimal training and often based their judgments 
on their personal understanding of Sharia, tribal codes of honor, or 
local custom.
    The majority of judges were graduates of madrassas or had Sharia 
training. Very few judges were graduates of a law school. Lack of 
access to legal codes and statutes hindered judges and prosecutors.
    There were widespread shortages of judges, primarily in insecure 
areas. The Supreme Court reported that there were an estimated 2,282 
judges at the primary, appellate, and Supreme Court levels, including 
120 female judges at year's end.
    In areas not under government control, the Taliban enforced a 
parallel judicial system. The Taliban issued punishments including 
beatings, cutting off fingers, beheadings, hangings, and stonings. On 
March 9, the Taliban killed a man for allegedly spying. On July 20, the 
Taliban beheaded six ANP officers in Baghlan Province, timed to 
coincide with the Kabul Conference. In major cities courts primarily 
decided criminal cases, as mandated by law. Civil cases often were 
resolved in the informal system. Because of the unreliable formal legal 
system, in rural areas local elders and shuras (consultative 
gatherings, usually of men selected by the community) were the primary 
means of settling both criminal matters and civil disputes; they also 
levied unsanctioned punishments. Some estimates suggested that 80 
percent of all cases went through shuras, which did not adhere to the 
constitutional rights of citizens and often violated the rights of 
women and minorities. In many rural communities, there were no judges 
or prosecutors, only ANP or criminal investigation division officers. 
As a result legal issues were settled through tribal elders and the 
informal justice sector.

    Trial Procedures.--Trial procedures rarely met internationally 
accepted standards. The administration and implementation of justice 
varied in different areas of the country. By law all citizens are 
entitled to a presumption of innocence. In practice the courts 
typically convicted defendants after sessions that lasted only a few 
minutes. Defendants have the right to be present at trial and to 
appeal; however, these rights were not always applied. Trials were 
usually public. Judges decided all criminal trials, since there is no 
right to a jury trial under the constitution. A defendant also has the 
right to consult with an advocate or counsel at public expense when 
resources allow. This right was inconsistently applied, in part due to 
a severe shortage of defense counsel. Defendants frequently were not 
allowed to confront or question witnesses. Citizens often were unaware 
of their constitutional rights. Defendants and attorneys were entitled 
to examine the physical evidence and the documents related to their 
case before trial; however, observers noted that in practice court 
documents often were not available for review before cases went to 
trial, despite defense lawyers' requests. AI reported that trial 
proceedings fell below international standards, including not providing 
adequate time for the accused to prepare their defense, lack of legal 
representation, reliance on insufficient evidence or evidence gathered 
through torture and other mistreatment, and the denial of the 
defendant's right to call and examine witnesses.
    When the accused is held in custody, the primary court must hear 
the trial within two months. The appellate court has two months to 
review the case of an incarcerated person. Either side may appeal; an 
accused defendant who is found innocent usually remains detained in the 
legal system until the case moves through all three levels of the 
judiciary: primary, appeals, and the Supreme Court. The decision of the 
primary court becomes final if an appeal is not filed within 20 days. 
Any second appeal must be filed within 30 days, after which the case 
moves to the Supreme Court, which must decide the case of the defendant 
within five months. If the appellate deadlines are not met, the law 
requires that the accused be released from custody. In many cases 
courts did not meet these deadlines.
    In cases lacking a clearly defined legal statute, or cases in which 
judges, prosecutors, or elders were unaware of the law, judges and 
informal shuras enforced customary law; this practice often resulted in 
outcomes that discriminated against women. This included the practice 
(``baadh'') of ordering the defendant to provide compensation in the 
form of a young girl to be married to a man whose family the defendant 
had wronged.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The AIHRC stated that there 
were no reports that the Government held political prisoners or 
detainees.
    There were reports that a number of tribal leaders, sometimes 
affiliated with the Government, held prisoners and detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens had limited 
access to justice for constitutional and human rights violations, and 
interpretations of religious doctrine often took precedence over human 
rights or constitutional rights. The judiciary did not play a 
significant role in civil matters due to corruption and lack of 
capacity. Land disputes remained the most common civil dispute and were 
most often resolved through the informal justice system.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary interference in matters of 
privacy; however, the Government did not respect these prohibitions in 
practice, and there were no legal protections for victims.
    Government officials forcibly entered homes and businesses of 
civilians without judicial authorization. UNAMA reported that community 
members alleged theft of possessions during home searches the military 
conducted. UNAMA also reported that searches by members of the military 
or security officials involved conduct toward women that contravened 
local customs and angered local communities.
    Authorities imprisoned men and women as substitutes for male 
relatives who were suspects or convicted criminals in order to induce 
those persons at large to surrender themselves (see section 1.d.).
    The law provides for wiretapping in certain cases, as was done 
during investigations of bribery and corruption in the case of Mohammad 
Zia Salehi. Wiretapping was permitted to track money laundering and 
narcotics trafficking.
    The Government's willingness to recognize the right to marry varied 
according to nationality, gender, and religion. The family court could 
register a marriage between a Jewish or Christian woman and a Muslim 
man, but the court required the couple to accept a Muslim ceremony. A 
non-Muslim woman had to convert to Islam before marrying a Muslim man. 
The court could not register a marriage between a Muslim woman and a 
non-Muslim man. These situations rarely occurred, however, as more than 
99 percent of the population was Muslim. The courts registered 
marriages between non-Muslims, however.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts--
Continuing internal conflict resulted in civilian deaths, abductions, 
prisoner abuse, property damage, and the displacement of residents. The 
security situation remained a problem during the year due to insurgent 
attacks. According to a December report of the UN secretary-general, 
civilians continued to bear the brunt of intensified armed conflict as 
civilian casualties, including death and injuries, increased by 20 
percent in the first 10 months of the year, compared with the same 
period in 2009.
    The large number of attacks by antigovernment elements limited the 
capability of the central government to protect human rights in many 
districts, especially in the south. Armed conflict intensified 
throughout the country, including previously unaffected areas. The 
marked deterioration in security posed a major challenge for the 
central government, hindering its ability to govern effectively, extend 
its influence, and deliver services, especially in rural areas.

    Killings.--Although international forces revised their rules of 
engagement to minimize civilian casualties, government and 
progovernment forces were responsible for civilian casualties. The 
joint AIHRC/UNAMA 2010 Annual Report on the Protection of Citizens in 
Armed Conflict stated that there were 2,777 conflict-related deaths 
during the year, an increase of 15 percent from 2009. However, 
progovernment forces were responsible for 440 deaths or 16 percent of 
total civilian deaths, a decrease of 26 percent.
    Airstrikes remained responsible for the largest percentage of 
civilian deaths caused by progovernment forces; UNAMA reported 171 
civilians were killed between January and December. The AIHRC/UNAMA 
report stated civilian deaths caused by aerial attacks decreased 52 
percent compared with in 2009.
    There were several incidents of alleged misuse of force by 
progovernment forces. Operations by progovernment forces resulted in 
civilian casualties due to ``escalation of force'' incidents, in which 
civilians were injured or killed at military checkpoints or within the 
vicinity of military convoys. These incidents accounted for 45 civilian 
deaths. The second leading cause of death of civilians at the hands of 
progovernment forces was action taken during search and seizure 
operations; the AIHRC/UNAMA report stated that 80 civilians were killed 
during the year, which represented an 18 percent decline from 2009.
    The MOI reported 1,286 civilians killed and 2,987 injured during 
the year. The AIHRC/UNAMA report documented 4,343 conflict-related 
civilian injuries, an increase of 22 percent from 2009. Antigovernment 
forces were responsible for 78 percent of the civilian injuries. 
Progovernment forces were responsible for 9 percent of the injuries. 
HRW reported that the third quarter of the year saw an increase in 
civilian casualties.
    The AIHRC and UNAMA noted that antigovernment elements remained 
responsible for the largest proportion of civilian casualties, which 
rose 28 percent over the same period in 2009.
    The Taliban and antigovernment elements continued to kill and 
attack villagers, foreigners, and NGO workers. The Taliban and other 
insurgents killed numerous civilians, both in attacks and with car 
bombs and suicide bombs. As in 2008 and 2009, suicide and improvised 
explosive device (IED) attacks killed more civilians than any other 
tactic, causing 1,141 deaths and 3,366 injuries during the year. 
Suicide attacks and IEDs accounted for 55 percent of all civilian 
deaths caused by antigovernment forces during the year.
    Increases in insurgent attacks caused civilian casualties to rise. 
Persistent Taliban and antigovernment activity, interfactional fighting 
between regional warlords, and criminal activity resulted in hundreds 
of unlawful killings and civilian casualties.
    HRW reported 2,135 civilian deaths in the first nine months of the 
year, an increase of more than 10 percent compared with the same period 
in 2009, largely due to increased insurgent attacks. The AIHRC and 
UNAMA stated that civilian casualties (including both deaths and 
injuries) numbered 7, 120. More than three quarters of all civilian 
casualties were linked to antigovernment elements.
    The UN secretary-general reported that the Taliban and 
antigovernment forces were responsible for 76 percent of civilian 
casualties, for a total of 5,446, (including both deaths and injuries) 
during the year.
    AIHRC and UNAMA stated in their annual report that antigovernment 
forces killed 462 civilians, an increase of 105 percent from 2009.
    Insurgents targeted national and government officials, foreigners, 
and local NGO employees. There were numerous accounts of insurgent 
violence against the civilian population. The Ministry of Education 
(MOE) reported that 20 schools were attacked using explosives and arson 
between March and October and that insurgents killed 126 students. The 
UNAMA mid-year report stated that antigovernment forces attacked 
educational facilities and harassed and intimidated students and 
teachers. The Taliban denied responsibility for the attacks, but HRW 
reported evidence of night letters with Taliban insignia that 
threatened attacks against teachers and schools. According to the 
United Nations Country Task Force Monitoring and Reporting on Grave 
Child Rights Violations, there were 13 attacks on girls' schools since 
April.
    On July 18, Taliban leader Mullah Omar issued new rules of 
engagement, calling on Taliban commanders to capture or kill civilians 
working for foreign forces or the Government. This order represented a 
reversal of the May 2009 rules (``Jihadi Layeha,'' or ``Regulations for 
Jihad''), to avoid targeting civilians. Whereas Jihadi Layeha was 
possibly issued in response to the ISAF's commitment to reduce civilian 
casualties, the new code of conduct amounted to battlefield guidelines 
for identifying targets, particularly those who cooperated with the 
Government.
    On January 7, media sources reported that a suicide attack killed 
10 persons and wounded 27 in Gardez, Paktia Province. On February 4, in 
Kandahar, a suicide bomb killed six persons and wounded approximately 
20. On February 6, a motorcycle-borne suicide bomb in Helmand Province 
killed three persons, including one child, and wounded at least 30 
others, including 17 children. On March 14, the Taliban killed 30 
persons and wounded 53 in a series of blasts that included four suicide 
bombs and three car bomb explosions in Kandahar Province; the 
casualties included four Pakistani workers and at least seven police 
officers who were killed, along with eight officers injured. On April 
3, a large suicide bomb attack in the Babaji area of Helmand Province 
killed 30 persons and injured more than 50. On June 21, the first 
reported suicide attack involving a woman occurred in Kunar Province; 
the Taliban took credit for this body-borne IED, which killed one 
person and injured 13, including nine children. On July 26, the Taliban 
attacked civilians in their cars in Parwan, killing seven members of 
one family and injuring five others.
    There were no developments in the May 2009 killing of the mayor of 
Mehterlam city in Laghman, along with six civilians or in the July 2009 
killing of Jan Mohammad, a candidate for provincial council in Kunduz. 
However, two persons were arrested in the case of the August 2009 
killing of Qari Jan Gir, the head of the Justice Department of Kunduz. 
The Antiterrorism Office of the Kunduz Police Headquarters forwarded 
the cases to the provincial NDS office, which forwarded the cases and 
the suspects, to Kabul for further investigation.

    Abductions.--The MOI reported 162 abductions during the year. The 
Afghanistan NGO Safety Office (ANSO) reported that insurgents and 
others kidnapped 19 aid workers during the year. In December the UN 
Secretary General reported 134 NGO staff members were abducted between 
June and the end of October. The AIHRC/UNAMA annual report for the year 
also stated that there was a total of 251 incidents of civilian 
abductions during the year, an 83 percent increase from 2009.
    On August 16, according to the Bakhtar News Agency, the Taliban 
abducted a doctor in Baghlan Province. Insurgents abducted British aid 
worker Linda Norgrove in Kunar Province in September; she was killed 
during a rescue operation in early October. Also in September the 
Taliban kidnapped a parliamentary candidate and several other election 
workers and campaign workers (see section 1.b.).
    There were no developments in the arrest of six suspects in the 
2008 kidnapping of Humayun Shah Asifi, a relative of the late King 
Zahir Shah.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--Land mines and unexploded 
ordnance continued to cause deaths and injuries, restricted areas 
available for farming, and impeded the return of refugees. The Mine 
Action Coordination Center for Afghanistan reported that land mines and 
unexploded ordnance killed or injured an average of 40 persons each 
month. The MOE and NGOs conducted educational programs and mine 
awareness campaigns for more than one million persons, including women 
and children, throughout the country. At year's end land mines and 
unexploded ordnance imperiled 2,122 communities.

    Child Soldiers.--Officially the Government, with international 
assistance, vetted all recruits into the armed forces and police, 
rejecting applicants under the age of 18. However, an April report by 
the UN secretary-general stated that children were recruited and used 
for military purposes by the ANSF, and especially the ANP.
    UNAMA reported that progovernment militias, including the ANSF, 
recruited underage boys and sometimes sexually abused them in an 
environment of criminal impunity. Reports verified that some 
recruitment campaigns took place on school compounds. The AIHRC also 
stated that it received reports of child recruitment by progovernment 
militias in some provinces.
    The UN secretary-general's April report also noted that children 
were recruited and used for military purposes by several antigovernment 
and insurgent groups, including the Haqqani network, Hezb-e-Islami 
Gulbuddin (HIG), the Taliban, the Tora Bora Front, and the Jamat Sunat 
al-Dawa Salafia.
    Anecdotal evidence suggested that insurgent recruitment of underage 
soldiers was on the rise. There were numerous credible reports that the 
Taliban and other insurgent forces recruited children younger than age 
18, in some cases as suicide bombers and human shields and in other 
cases to assist with their work. NGOs and UN agencies reported that the 
Taliban tricked children, promised them money, or forced them to become 
suicide bombers.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--The security environment had a 
negative effect on the ability of humanitarian organizations to operate 
freely in many parts of the country. Insurgents deliberately targeted 
government employees and aid workers.
    During the year antigovernment elements continued to attack 
progovernment religious leaders. According to the MOI, the Taliban 
killed at least 37 clerics and committed at least two acts of violence 
inside mosques and other religious facilities.
    The ANSO reported that attacks by armed opposition groups increased 
by 51 percent and that civilian casualty figures increased by 23 
percent since 2009. The ANSO and the UN Office for the Coordination of 
Humanitarian Affairs also reported that the number of security 
incidents involving humanitarian aid workers appeared to show a general 
decline compared with 2009. The decline was ascribed to armed 
opposition groups' preoccupation with the February Marjah campaign in 
the south and the possibility that they were beginning to value the aid 
community.
    Nonetheless, several high-profile incidents occurred. The most 
notable was on March 17, when two suicide bombers, one clad in a burqa, 
entered the International Relief and Development office in Helmand 
Province; police killed both men. On April 13, two men on motorbikes 
opened fired on a woman who worked at a local NGO and had been 
receiving threats for doing so. On April 15, two car bombings in the 
city of Kandahar left three persons dead and dozens wounded, including 
10 foreigners; one of the car bombs was aimed at houses rented by 
contracting companies. On July 2, the Taliban stormed a contractors' 
compound in Kunduz, killing six persons and wounding 23. On August 5, 
10 NGO health workers were killed in Badakhshan Province. Both the 
Taliban and HIG claimed responsibility, each stating that the victims 
were Christian missionaries trying to convert citizens, a claim the 
group denied; an investigation continued at year's end.
    As in 2009 suspected Taliban members fired on NGO vehicles and 
attacked NGO offices, guest houses, and hotels frequented by NGO 
employees. Violence and instability hampered development, relief, and 
reconstruction efforts. The ANSO reported 126 security incidents 
involving NGOs and aid workers. NGOs reported that insurgents, powerful 
local individuals, and militia leaders demanded bribes to allow groups 
to bring relief supplies into the country and distribute them.
    The Taliban continued to distribute threatening messages in 
attempts to curtail government and development activities. In addition 
to threats against persons working for the Government or NGOs, the 
Taliban distributed night letters (death threats) and text messages 
warning citizens not to vote in the September 18 elections.
    Insurgents regularly used civilians, including children as young as 
the age of three, as human shields, either by forcing them into the 
line of fire or by basing operations in civilian settings. UNAMA 
documented how insurgents deliberately deployed their forces in 
populated villages, with the intent of embarrassing international 
coalition forces and the Government and increasing civilian casualties 
from airstrikes.
    In the south and east, the Taliban and other antigovernment 
elements frequently forced local residents to provide food and shelter 
to their fighters. The Taliban also continued to attack schools, radio 
stations, and government offices. In September the Taliban threatened 
to blow up a local music store if the owner did not close it.

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 and others restricted 
these rights. Some media observers contended that individuals could not 
criticize the Government publicly without fear of reprisal. HRW 
reported that threats, violence, and intimidations were used regularly 
to silence opposition politicians, particularly those who spoke out 
about impunity, war crimes, government officials, or powerful figures. 
Government officials intimidated journalists in an effort to influence 
reporting. Media sources reported instances in which provincial 
officials attempted to regulate the media based on their personal 
interests.
    HRW reported that there was widespread self-censorship as a result 
of the Government's repression of journalism it deemed critical. 
According to journalists many reporters exercised self-censorship by 
not asking substantive questions of government officials and by 
ignoring certain investigative stories. Powerful figures largely 
avoided media scrutiny. Members of the media reported that they did not 
interview Taliban commanders or leaders due to government pressure; 
police in Helmand Province jailed journalists for speaking to the 
Taliban. Some media observers considered it more difficult for 
journalists to operate in the areas of the country that the Government 
controlled than in Taliban-controlled areas.
    On March 1, the NDS and the MOI banned live television coverage of 
ongoing insurgent attacks, ostensibly in an effort to protect reporters 
and restrict the flow of information to insurgents. Media outlets 
immediately complained to the Ministry of Information and Culture 
(MOIC), which convened a series of meetings with independent media, 
resulting in an agreement on the parameters of media coverage of 
security incidents.
    On July 27, at the direction of President Karzai and the Council of 
Ministers, the MOIC banned Emrooz TV for ``provoking religious 
differences and disrupting national unity.'' While the ban was largely 
regarded as positive due to Emrooz TV's widely perceived anti-Shia 
stance, media observers noted that the process violated due process 
because the Council of Ministers should have complained formally to the 
Media Complaints Commission. There was little public debate about the 
matter. On the same day, the MOIC also banned two game shows, Tolo TV's 
Deal or No Deal and One TV's Del Wa Nadel. Media observers widely 
regarded the ban on the game shows as unfounded and a capitulation to 
conservative opinion against gambling, as well as political cover 
designed to illustrate the lack of a ministerial agenda against any one 
channel or individual.
    The Government banned a news Web site, Benawa, on September 10, 
reportedly for mistakenly reporting that Vice President Mohammed Qasim 
Fahim died, despite the fact that a correction was issued within 30 
minutes. Benawa officials accused Information Minister Sayed Makhdum 
Rahin of issuing the ban in retaliation for stories previously 
published about him.
    Violence against journalists continued. According to independent 
media and observers, a combination of government repression, armed 
groups, and manipulation by foreign groups and individuals prevented 
the media from operating freely. Journalists increasingly were 
vulnerable to physical harm and reported numerous instances of pressure 
from multiple sources to influence reporting, including national and 
provincial governments. According to Afghan Media Watch, violence 
against journalists decreased by 32 percent during the year. Afghan 
Media Watch registered 58 cases of violence against journalists and 
claimed that the Government was responsible for 22 of them.
    Media sources reported that police detained journalists without 
cause. There was at least one report that an ANA soldier assaulted two 
journalists who were filming a helicopter crash in Kabul on July 27. 
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported in September that 
journalist Hojatullah Mojadadi was arrested in Kapisa Province by the 
NDS. He was released a few days later without explanation.
    Reporters without Borders reported that media regulatory bodies 
were ``under the Government's thumb.''
    The Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) stated that 
broadcast media operated somewhat more freely than print media and that 
commercially viable stations experienced less government control than 
others.
    Television broadcasts appeared to avoid some of the restrictions 
imposed on print journalism. Satirical programming was widespread; 
every private television station had at least one comedy-satire program 
that openly criticized government officials.
    Some independent journalists and writers published magazines and 
newsletters, although circulation largely was confined to Kabul.
    Newspaper readership has progressed significantly, from almost nil 
under Taliban rule. Newspapers tended to reflect more openly on 
domestic developments in comparison to broadcasters.
    Prior to the September 18 elections, radio and television stations 
broadcast candidate debates, forums, and interviews. Several stations 
showed live coverage on election day. The Media Commission of the 
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) did not find significant 
problems with candidate access to the media.
    The mass media law contains content restrictions that prohibit 
works and materials contrary to the principles of Islam or other 
religions and sects; works that publicize religions other than Islam; 
works and materials considered defamatory, insulting, offensive, or 
libelous, or that may cause damage to a person's personality or 
credibility; works and materials that are contrary to the constitution 
and penal code; disclosure of the identity and pictures of victims of 
violence and rape in a manner that damages their social dignity; and 
works and material that harm the psychological security and moral well-
being of individuals, especially children and adolescents. The NGO Nai 
Media and the Afghan National Journalists Union reported that the MOIC 
failed to implement the law.
    Conservative values remained a strong force, and some private 
stations angered conservative Islamic religious elements. As a result 
many media outlets were accused of carrying morally offensive material. 
Some of this criticism came from the Commission for Monitoring Media 
Misconduct, a body set up by the MOIC. The IWPR stated that Internet 
service providers were told to block thousands of Web sites that 
contained pornography or were linked to insurgent groups like the 
Taliban.
    The constitution and the mass media law also cover foreign media; 
however, local power brokers sometimes restricted them from commenting 
negatively on Islam and from publishing materials considered a threat 
to the Government.
    Despite these obstacles media sources and observers asserted that 
the country's independent media continued to expand and became 
increasingly sophisticated. Independent media were active and reflected 
differing political views. Numerous international and local 
organizations provided regular training and mentoring for journalists.
    The number of female journalists remained low. According to the 
IWPR, female reporters found it difficult to practice their profession 
because of the region's conservative attitude. However, there were a 
few instances in which women oversaw radio stations across the country.
    Factional authorities reportedly controlled media in some parts of 
the country. In addition, according to many media sources, private 
Iranian, Pakistani, and Gulf state citizens actively influenced the 
media, shaping it through both ownership and threats. There were 
allegations that Iran intimidated reporters in the western provinces to 
increase antigovernment reporting and decrease anti-Iranian articles.
    According to independent media and observers, warlords, the drug 
mafia, foreign governments and individuals, and the Taliban and other 
insurgents harassed, intimidated, and threatened to commit violence 
against journalists. According to Afghan Media Watch, the Taliban were 
responsible for 12 cases of violence against journalists. The IWPR also 
reported intimidation by insurgent forces.
    The Taliban manipulated the media, especially print journalism, 
both directly and indirectly, by threatening to harm some journalists 
physically and by directly feeding news to others. Some sources 
asserted that the media underreported reconstruction efforts, for 
example, as a result of Taliban pressure to shape local opinion. 
Journalists reported receiving threats of harm if they did not publish 
stories released on Taliban Web sites, if they published anti-Taliban 
stories, or if they published stories favorable to the Government.
    The CPJ reported that local and foreign reporting teams continued 
to face a risk of kidnapping. In December 2009 the Taliban kidnapped 
French journalists Herve Ghesquisre and Stephane Taponier, along with 
their Afghan translator, Mohammad Reza. In April the Taliban threatened 
to kill the two kidnapped journalists unless their demands were met; 
the two remained in Taliban custody at year's end.

    Internet Freedom.--In general the Government did not restrict 
access to the Internet. However, on May 21, the MOIC banned access to 
all pornographic Web sites. The Government asked telecommunications 
providers to limit or ban access to online gambling and social dating 
Web sites, although the media reported that enforcement was weak and 
that citizens regularly could access pornographic and gambling sites. 
There were no reports that the Government monitored e-mail or Internet 
chat rooms. Some reports indicated that the Government increased its 
efforts to control independent online media through Internet Service 
Providers (ISPs). Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including e-mail messages.
    The CPJ reported that government regulators were not fully able to 
enforce their rules. Government requests for Internet bans were made to 
private ISPs; filtering equipment was not reported as widely used. 
However, the owner of the Benawa Web site told the CPJ that his site 
was banned on 97 percent of ISP servers in the country after the 
Government issued a ban on the site. Later reporting by the CPJ 
indicated that the site came back online after the case drew widespread 
attention.
    Lack of public infrastructure limited public access to the 
Internet; computer literacy and ownership rates were estimated at less 
than 10 percent of the population.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted 
academic freedom by forbidding course content it deemed un-Islamic. The 
Mass Media Law states that academic research ``shall be subject to 
prior approval of concerned ministries and institutions.'' Educators at 
public universities stated that they censored themselves when 
discussing questions of ethnicity. It was not clear whether the self-
censorship was due to fear of official sanctions or to societal 
pressure.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government 
generally respected these rights, although in some cases local 
officials restricted the right of free assembly.

    Freedom of Assembly--A lack of physical security, as well as 
interference from local authorities and security forces, inhibited 
freedom of assembly in some areas of the country where security was 
poor.
    There were numerous protests during the year, related to a variety 
of causes. Citizens frequently protested against civilian casualties 
allegedly caused by progovernment forces. Following the September 18 
parliamentary elections, there were numerous generally peaceful 
protests of the election results.
    On September 11, thousands of citizens protested in response to the 
plan announced by a cleric in another country to burn copies of the 
Qu'ran. Four demonstrators were seriously wounded when security forces 
opened fire as protesters attempted to storm several government 
buildings in Pul-e-Alam, Logar Province. On September 15, in Kabul 
media sources reported that demonstrators began throwing stones and 
shooting at security forces; police shot two demonstrators.

    Freedom of Association.--The law on political parties obliges 
parties to register with the MOJ and requires them to pursue objectives 
consistent with Islam. Political parties based on ethnicity, language, 
Islamic school of thought, and religion are not allowed. Antigovernment 
violence affected the ability of provincial council candidates and 
political parties to conduct activities in many areas of the country.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; however, the Government sometimes limited citizens' 
movement for security reasons.
    Taxi, truck, and bus drivers reported that security forces operated 
illegal checkpoints and extorted money and goods. The number of such 
checkpoints increased at night, especially in the border provinces. 
Residents reported having to pay bribes to the ANP and border police 
officials at checkpoints and the Khyber Pass border crossing between 
Jalalabad and Pakistan.
    The greatest restriction to movement in some parts of the country 
was the lack of security. In many areas insurgent violence, banditry, 
land mines, and IEDs made travel extremely dangerous, especially at 
night.
    Armed insurgents also operated illegal checkpoints and extorted 
money and goods. The Taliban imposed nightly curfews on the local 
populace in regions where it exercised authority, mostly in the 
southeast.
    Social custom limited women's freedom of movement without male 
consent or chaperone.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use 
forced exile. The Government cooperated with the UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration, and 
other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance 
to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, and 
other persons of concern but was limited by lack of infrastructure and 
capacity.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)--The country continued to 
experience high levels of internal population movements, triggered by 
irregular labor conditions, large numbers of refugees who returned, 
poor service infrastructure in rural areas, military operations, and 
the volatile security situation in some parts of the country. Severe 
flooding in several provinces rendered families homeless.
    As of December an estimated 351,907 persons were displaced, 
according to the UNHCR. Among these, 117,089 persons were recorded as 
displaced prior to December 2002 and were referred to as IDPs in 
protracted displacement. According to the UNHCR, 102,658 persons were 
displaced due to conflict during the year. The main areas in which 
conflict-induced displacement originated during the year were Helmand 
in the south, Badghis and Farah in the west, Faryab in the north, and 
Khost in the southeast. The displaced populations largely remained in 
their regions of origin. The key provinces that received IDPs, in order 
of the numbers displaced, were Helmand, Nangarhar, Herat, Kandahar, and 
Farah.
    Local governments provided access to land for basic accommodation, 
while international organizations and the Afghan Red Crescent Society 
provided shelter, food, and other life-saving aid. However, the UNHCR 
reported that access to land and rights for returnees and IDPs was 
hampered by a weak judiciary. Some IDPs in protracted displacement 
established self-sufficient settlements in the Herat, Kandahar, 
Helmand, and Jalalabad areas.
    Unverified populations, including IDPs and refugees who returned 
were also known to reside alongside urban slum dwellers in unauthorized 
informal settlements in the larger urban areas of Kabul, Jalalabad, 
Mazar-e-Sharif, and Herat. These settlements were prone to serious 
deficiencies in several areas, including health, education, security of 
tenure, and absence of registration of child births and identity cards.
    The UNHCR reported that restricted access due to poor security 
limited its efforts to assess the numbers of displaced persons and made 
it difficult to provide assistance.
    In August flooding across the country displaced 200,000 persons. 
Local authorities, the Afghan National Disaster Management Authority, 
various government ministries, the Afghan Red Crescent Society, NGOs, 
UN agencies, and donor governments provided emergency assistance.

    Protection of Refugees.--Laws do not provide for granting asylum or 
refugee status, and the Government has not established a system for 
providing protection to refugees. In accordance with an agreement among 
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the UNHCR, repatriation must be voluntary.
    In practice the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular group, or political opinion.
    The Government's capacity to absorb returned refugees remained low. 
The economic difficulties and security concerns discouraged numerous 
refugees from returning to the country, although returnees doubled 
compared with the previous year. Many refugees needed humanitarian 
assistance upon arrival. According to the AIHRC and the UNHCR, single 
women among refugee returnees and deportees were referred to a safe 
house until their families guaranteed their safety. The UNHCR referred 
25 women to safe houses. Common types of extreme vulnerability, as 
defined by the UNHCR, included minors unaccompanied by adult family 
members, drug addiction, mental illness, and severe physical illness. 
Returnees who came back due to flooding in Pakistan were also 
vulnerable.
    During the year 112,917 refugees were repatriated voluntarily from 
Pakistan with UNHCR assistance, an increase from the 54,552 refugees 
repatriated in 2009. Approximately 2.6 million Afghan refugees lived in 
Pakistan and Iran during the year.
    Iran continued to deport undocumented economic migrants back to 
Afghanistan.
    Migration to and from Iran was mostly temporary and cyclical, with 
more than 400,000 adult males staying on average for 3.5 years without 
their families. According to the UN, remittances from Iran exceeded 25 
billion afghanis ($500 million) annually.
    During the year Iran deported 286,662 undocumented Afghans, an 11 
percent decrease compared with 2009, during which 322,008 Afghans were 
expelled from Iran, through the border points at Islam Qala, Herat 
Province, and Zaranj, Nimroz Province.
    As of December an average of 785 Afghans were deported per day 
during the year. A total of 322,008 Afghans were deported from Iran in 
2009, averaging 882 persons per day.

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 the 
September parliamentary elections. In August 2009 citizens voted in 
their second presidential and first-ever contested election; after his 
challenger withdrew from a run-off election, the IEC declared Hamid 
Karzai president for a second term. Both elections were marked by 
serious allegations of widespread fraud.

    Elections and Political Parties--Approximately 4.3 million citizens 
voted in the September 18 parliamentary elections. Elections were held 
amid significant security and logistical challenges, including a 
prolonged intimidation campaign waged by insurgents, which led to fewer 
polling stations being opened than in previous elections. The electoral 
institutions and security forces greatly improved the preparations for, 
and holding of, the elections as compared with 2009. Although the 
elections generally followed the constitutional process, they were 
marred by widespread fraud and corruption.
    On November 25, Akhtar Mohammad, the former independent elections 
commission provincial elections officer for Nangarhar, was found guilty 
on charges of embezzlement and corruption and was sentenced to two 
years' imprisonment.
    Citizens elected 249 members of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house 
of the national assembly; 396 of the 2,510 candidates for the election 
were women, representing a significant increase in female candidate 
participation compared with the 2005 parliamentary elections.
    International observers and civil society groups documented 
instances of fraud, including ballot stuffing, ghost polling stations, 
and some interference by staff of electoral bodies; fraud was 
especially notable in areas with high levels of insecurity and 
insufficient female electoral staff. While security arrangements were 
improved as compared to the 2009 election, it was still inadequate in 
many locations, and numerous irregularities occurred, including 
pervasive intimidation of voters, polling staff, and candidates, 
especially women. The IEC invalidated approximately 1.3 million votes 
during the tally process due to evidence of fraud at 2,543 polling 
stations identified through predetermined IEC triggers (for example, 
more than 600 votes at a polling station where only 600 ballots were 
allocated). According to the IEC, the final numbers for voter turnout 
could only be estimated as 4.27 million; approximately 23 percent of 
5.6 million ballots cast were invalidated.
    The Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC) received 4,557 complaints 
of electoral irregularities, leading to the disqualification of an 
additional 334 polling stations. In addition the ECC disqualified the 
votes for 24 candidates due to allegations of fraud. These 
disqualifications brought the total number of candidates excluded by 
the IEC and ECC, both pre and postelection, to 142. No comprehensive 
list of the 334 polling stations was made public, making it difficult 
to track the reason for ECC decisions and whether these decisions were 
implemented by the IEC. Limited transparency on the part of the IEC and 
ECC during the tally and adjudication process fueled the perception 
that political interference may have affected the invalidation process. 
In December President Karzai appointed, per the Supreme Court's 
recommendation, a special tribunal to investigate the election results 
and resolve complaints. The IEC expressed concern regarding the special 
tribunal's legitimacy under the law and stated that the tribunal's 
intervention in electoral affairs was in violation of the law. The 
special tribunal remained in place through year's end.
    A total of 396 women ran for the 68 seats reserved for women. There 
were sufficient members to fill the seats reserved for women in each 
province.
    Both under- and over-registration of women were reported. Women 
voted in separate polling stations from men, yet the lack of sufficient 
numbers of female election workers, including female searchers, 
hindered women's participation. There was a lack of provision of 
security by the Government for female candidates. At some voting sites, 
women were turned away due to lack of available female workers. There 
was evidence that men also voted by proxy on behalf of women in many 
cases, as occurred in 2009.
    Insurgents targeted civilians and election officials in a campaign 
to disrupt the national elections. Insurgents killed 31 civilians, 
including 11 IEC officials, and injured 50 in attacks on election day. 
Night letters and direct threats were reported countrywide, including 
the threat to cut off fingers marked with voting ink. Some schools 
identified as polling places received threatening letters.
    As of November 21, the MOJ had accredited 33 political parties 
under a 2009 political parties law. However, very few parties were 
accredited in time for the September 18 elections, and very few of the 
candidates were shown to be affiliated with a party during the 
campaign. Political parties were not always able to conduct activities 
throughout the country, particularly in regions where antigovernment 
violence affected overall security.
    The Pashtun ethnic group had more seats than any other ethnic group 
in both houses but did not have more than 50 percent of the seats. It 
lost seats in the September 18 lower house elections. There was no 
evidence that there were societal groups that were specifically 
excluded. Traditional society practices that limit women's 
participation in politics and activities outside the home community 
likely influenced the central government's composition.
    Women active in public life faced disproportionate levels of 
threats and violence. Media sources reported that female parliamentary 
candidates were inundated with late-night threatening calls. Women were 
also the targets of attacks by the Taliban and other insurgent groups. 
Women who received threats often moved throughout the country to evade 
harassment. Most female members of parliament reportedly experienced 
some kind of threat or intimidation; many believed that the state could 
not or would not protect them.
    Various antigovernment forces attacked female candidates. One 
provincial council member was seriously injured and her bodyguard 
killed in Baghlan Province in a drive-by shooting by unknown 
assailants. Other unknown individuals attacked a Gereshk District, 
Helmand Province community council member, who was also a provincial 
council candidate. The assailants killed her husband and abducted her. 
She was later released. In August campaign workers supporting a female 
candidate were killed (see section 1.a.).
    In March media reported that the Taliban attacked the convoy of a 
female parliamentarian in the east of the country. According to the 
Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, a female candidate in 
Ghor Province was forced under threat of violence to abandon her 
campaign and flee to Kabul.
    Women represented approximately 21 percent of the delegates to the 
Consultative Peace Jirga. Nine women were appointed members of the High 
Peace Council established in September.
    There were 69 female parliamentarians elected, one more than the 
required 68 minimum, and both seats in Nimroz Province were won by 
female candidates. There were 28 women in the Meshrano Jirga, the upper 
house of the national assembly. Three women served in the cabinet, 
heading the women's affairs; public health; and labor, social affairs, 
martyrs, and disabled ministries. No women served on the Supreme Court 
Council. There were 123 female judges, and 341 women served as staff.
    There were no laws preventing minorities from participating in 
political life; however, different ethnic groups complained that they 
did not have equal access to local government jobs in provinces where 
they were in the minority.
    Besides the Pashtuns, which have a majority in the country, all 
members of parliament and the legislature were members of ethnic 
minorities. The ethnic breakdown of the lower house of the national 
assembly included 39 percent Pashtuns, 28 percent Tajiks, 20 percent 
Hazaras, 7 percent Uzbeks, and 6 percent other minorities, according to 
the IEC certified results of the September 18 elections. As of July, 36 
percent of the cabinet was Pashtun, 29 percent Tajik, 15 percent Uzbek, 
11 percent Hazara, 3 percent Turkmen, 3 percent Arab, and another 3 
percent unknown.
    The constitution provides for seats for women and minorities in 
both houses of parliament. The constitution provides for at least 64 
female delegates in the lower house of the national assembly, while 10 
seats are provided for the Kuchi ethnic minority. Some members of 
parliament disagreed with this allotment, arguing that under the 
constitution all groups were to be treated equally. In the upper house, 
the president appoints one-third of the members, including two members 
with physical disabilities and two Kuchis. Fifty percent of the 
president's appointees to the upper house must be women.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides for criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The 
Government had limited success in bringing corruption cases, especially 
in cases involving low- and mid-level officials. More cases were opened 
against high-level officials, but successful prosecutions and 
convictions were rare, although they occurred. The progress made in 
initiating and prosecuting high-level corruption cases was due in large 
part to international assistance in creating special anticorruption law 
enforcement investigatory, prosecutorial, and judicial entities.
    Corruption was endemic throughout society, and the massive flows of 
money from the military, international donors, and the drug trade 
exacerbated the problem. Prisoners and local NGOs reported that 
corruption was widespread across the justice system, particularly in 
relation to the prosecution of criminal cases and ``buying'' release 
from prison. There were also numerous reports of money being paid to 
reduce prison sentences, halt an investigation, or have charges 
dismissed outright. In July the administrative head of President 
Karzai's National Security Office was arrested on the basis of an 
investigation by the anticorruption task force. Mohammad Zia Salehi was 
arrested by the Attorney General's Office and charged with soliciting 
bribes. Due to direct intervention by President Karzai, however, Salehi 
was freed within hours.
    Allegations of corruption surfaced around the Kabul Bank, the 
country's largest private financial institution. The media reported 
that the bank's top two directors were forced to resign and the 
chairman ordered to surrender $160 million worth of luxury villas 
bought with bank funds in Dubai.
    Provincial police benefited financially from corruption at police 
checkpoints and from the narcotics industry. Observers reported that 
ANP officers often had to pay money to the MOI to secure promotions. A 
lack of political accountability and low salaries exacerbated 
government corruption. The international community worked with the 
national and provincial governance structures to address the problem of 
low salaries. Salaries for the police, investigators, and judges 
increased significantly; however, the pay for prosecutors remained very 
low. The process of pay and grade reform for prosecutors made only 
slight progress during the year. Police mentors addressed problems of 
corruption among police and justice officials at provincial and 
district levels.
    Credible sources, including detainees, reported that local police 
in many parts of the country extorted a ``tax'' and inflicted violence 
at police checkpoints. Police also reportedly extorted bribes from 
civilians in exchange for release from prison or to avoid arrest. 
Police abuses generally declined following international police 
training efforts. Observers alleged that the high acquittal rate in 
courts reflected the lack of training of judges, poor investigations, 
lack of evidence, and possible bribes to legal officials. Lack of 
formal education and low literacy rates among the ANSF and the 
judiciary hampered the consistent delivery of justice.
    The Government made efforts to combat corruption in the security 
apparatus. Before the September 18 elections, the MOI trained and 
deployed provincial inspectors general (IGs) to investigate election-
related claims against the police; however, they remained on duty after 
the election as general purpose IG officers. Merit-based promotion 
boards continued, with at least three candidates competing for each 
job; the process of instituting pay reform and electronic funds 
transfer for police salaries also continued. The MOI continued to 
obtain training for its IG office.
    The High Office of Oversight (HOO), which is intended to play the 
role of watchdog, introduced two programs that could provide a means to 
constrain corruption, if implemented effectively. The publication of 
asset declarations by senior government officials, if verified, could 
provide much needed transparency to the activities of senior officials. 
The HOO received asset declarations from 1,900 senior officials, 
including all ministers and governors. However, it published only 78 in 
a limited distribution official newspaper, and it did no external 
verification of the declarations. Nonetheless, the World Bank reported 
that in some cases the published declarations provided a basis for 
serious questions about the assets and sources of funds of government 
officials. The HOO also opened a hotline for those who wanted to report 
corruption. Through September the hotline received 149 complaints, 
including 24 regarding corruption. During the year the HOO turned over 
to the Attorney General's Office 13 cases for investigation and 
possible prosecution.
    The Government made electronic direct deposits of police and 
military salaries, making pay a more transparent and accountable 
process and less subject to corruption.
    Observers alleged that governors with reported involvement in the 
drug trade or past records of human rights violations received 
executive appointments and served with relative impunity.
    The constitution provides citizens the right to access government 
information, except when access might violate the rights of others. The 
Government generally provided access in practice, but officials at the 
local level were less cooperative in handling requests for information. 
Lack of government capacity also severely restricted access to 
information. On July 18, civil society groups launched a campaign 
demanding access to government information, arguing that access to 
information was a basic human right acknowledged in the constitution.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views.
    The lack of security and instability in parts of the country 
severely reduced NGO activities. Insurgent groups and the Taliban 
directly targeted NGOs during the year (see section 1.g.).
    The constitutionally mandated AIHRC continued to address human 
rights problems and operated without government interference or 
funding. The AIHRC was effective in drawing attention to major human 
rights problems, publishing numerous reports on a range of topics.
    President Hamid Karzai signed the Action Plan for Peace, Justice, 
and Reconciliation in 2006; however, the Government did not take any 
affirmative action in support of transitional justice.
    Three parliamentary committees 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 concerns. During the year these committees 
vetted several draft laws that went before parliament.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination between citizens and 
provides for the equal rights of men and women; however, local customs 
and practices that discriminated against women prevailed in much of the 
country. The constitution does not explicitly address equal rights 
based on race, disability, language, or social status. There were 
reports of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, and 
gender.

    Women.--Pursuant to the constitution, the 2009 Shia Personal Status 
Law governs family and marital issues for the 20 percent of the 
population who are Shia. Some groups hailed the law for officially 
recognizing the Shiite minority; however, the law was controversial 
both domestically and internationally due to its failure to promote 
gender equality. Articles in the law of particular concern include 
minimum age of marriage, polygamy, right of inheritance, right of self-
determination, freedom of movement, sexual obligations, and 
guardianship.
    The EVAW law criminalizes violence against women, including rape, 
battery, or beating; forced or underage marriage; ``baahd'' (the giving 
of a female relative to another family to settle a debt or dispute); 
humiliation; intimidation; and the refusal of food. The law 
specifically punishes rape with life imprisonment, and if the act 
results in the death of the victim, the law provides for the death 
sentence for the perpetrator. The law punishes the ``violation of 
chastity of a woman. that does not result in adultery (such as 
touching)'' with imprisonment of up to seven years. Under the law rape 
does not include spousal rape. Sharia law, as interpreted in the local 
context and influenced by tribal customs, although uncodified, impeded 
successful prosecution of rape cases. Under one interpretation of 
Sharia, local tribal elders or religious leaders may treat rape as a 
form of adultery, punishable by stoning to death or 100 lashes (see 
section 1.a.). Under some interpretations of Sharia, a woman who brings 
a charge of rape sometimes must produce four witnesses to prove that 
the rape occurred as a result of force. The law was seen as only a 
small step forward due to lack of sufficient implementation.
    Accused men often claimed the victim agreed to consensual sex, 
which resulted in an adultery charge against the victim. The MOI 
reported 60 cases of rape during the year, and the AIHRC reported 60 
cases between January and September; the actual number of cases was 
probably much higher. The MOI reported 99 arrests in connection with 
rape cases. Statistics on convictions were unavailable. Rapes were 
difficult to document due to social stigma. Male victims seldom came 
forward. Peer sexual abuse was allegedly common. Female victims faced 
stringent societal reprisal, from being deemed unfit for marriage to 
being imprisoned. According to NGOs, authorities raped women in prison.
    On February 27, Kunduz police arrested a man in connection with the 
alleged rape of two women in the northern district of Imam Saheb. The 
women alleged that they were raped in December 2009 by five members of 
a local militia. Although the women reported the case to the police 
five days later, police in Imam Saheb did not conduct a thorough 
investigation. After the case received national attention, the Ministry 
of Interior sent a team to Kunduz to investigate. Kunduz police then 
reopened the case and arrested a suspect, with warrants outstanding for 
others.
    On March 2, Tolo TV and Ariana TV reported that a local mullah of a 
mosque raped a 13-year-old girl and married another underage girl in 
Dai Kundi Province.
    The penal code criminalizes assault, and courts entered judgments 
against domestic abusers under this provision. 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 police and 
justice systems. HRW reported that 87.2 percent of women had 
experienced at least one form of physical, sexual, or psychological 
violence or forced marriage in their lifetimes. Many elements of 
society tolerated and practiced violence against women. Killing and 
assault against women commonly involved family members as suspects. 
Women widely reported that they were victims of violence, especially 
sexual violence. The wide range of violence against women included 
honor killings, the exchange of women for dispute resolution, 
trafficking and abduction, early and forced marriages, and domestic 
violence.
    Police response to domestic violence was limited, a result of the 
crimes never being reported, sympathetic attitudes towards 
perpetrators, and limited protection for victims, even as witnesses to 
a serious crime. Generally police and judicial officials were not aware 
or convinced that rape was a serious criminal offense; therefore, 
investigating a rape case was rarely a priority.
    NGOs that ran women's shelters in Kabul reported an increase in 
referrals from police, possibly reflecting improved ANP training and 
awareness. Authorities rarely prosecuted abusers and only occasionally 
investigated complaints of violent attacks, rape, killings, or suicides 
of women. If cases came to court, the accused often were exonerated or 
punished lightly. NGOs confirmed that domestic violence occurred in 
most homes but went largely unreported due to societal acceptance of 
the practice. Most domestic violence cases involved beating women and 
children. In some cases men reportedly burned their wives in an attempt 
to mimic self-immolation.
    AI reported that NGOs were the only entities that defended most 
female victims, as the Government-funded defense attorneys mainly 
assisted men. According to the MOJ, neither Ghor, Badghis, nor Farah 
provinces had domestic violence prosecutors; the penal code does not 
differentiate between domestic violence and battery. Most provinces 
reported only one or two domestic violence prosecutions per year.
    Women sometimes resorted to self-immolation when they believed 
there was no escape from their situations. During the first nine months 
of the year, the AIHRC documented 111 cases of self-immolation, 
compared with 86 cases in 2009. Other organizations reported an overall 
increase during the past two years. On July 31, Faizullah Kakar, 
presidential advisor on health, reported that an estimated 2,400 women 
committed suicide every year because of depression resulting from fears 
and concerns over the continued conflicts; forced and underage 
marriages, including ``baahd'' to a rival tribe or family; domestic 
violence, including violence from in-laws; and sexual violence. Kakar 
estimated that 28 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 35 
suffered from depression and psychological problems.
    Policewomen trained to help victims of domestic violence complained 
that they were instructed not to reach out to victims but to wait for 
victims to come to police stations. This significantly hindered their 
work, as reporting domestic violence was not socially accepted, and 
many women could not travel to police stations alone. UNAMA reported 
that police leadership often did not provide female officers with 
equipment or vehicles to do outside investigations. The 42 family 
response units (29 in Kabul, seven in Mazar, four in Kunduz, two in 
Bamyan, and three opening in Jalalabad) were staffed primarily by 
female police officers who addressed violence and crimes against women, 
children, and families. Women serving in civilian and ANP positions in 
the MOI offered mediation and resources to prevent future domestic 
violence.
    There were 11 formal women's shelters across the country run by 
NGOs, and five informal shelters or referral centers run by NGOs or 
MOWA. The MOWA and other agencies referred women to the formal 
shelters, which provided protection, accommodation, food, training, and 
health care to women escaping violence in the home or seeking legal 
support due to family feuds. The MOWA reported receiving two to three 
new domestic violence victims a month; however, space at the formal 
shelters was limited. Women in need of shelter who could not find a 
place in the Kabul shelters often ended up in prison.
    According to a December UNAMA report, ``unaccompanied'' women were 
not accepted in society, so women who could not be reunified with their 
family had nowhere to go. The difficulty of finding durable solutions 
for women compelled to stay in a shelter was compounded by the societal 
attitude toward shelters, linked to the belief that ``running away from 
home'' was a serious violation of social mores. The misapprehension 
that safe houses were a safe haven for immoral women forced them to 
operate nearly clandestinely and in a precarious security situation. In 
lieu of relying on shelters, girls who sought to escape violence at 
home were reportedly sometimes ``married'' or ``engaged'' to older men 
as a means of providing them with safety; observers noted that 
officials across the justice sector promoted and accepted this 
practice. During the year Emrooz TV broadcast programs claiming that 
shelters were brothels, which civil society activists and women's 
rights groups argued to be baseless accusations. During the year Nasto 
Naderi, a television journalist, produced a series of comments accusing 
shelters of carrying out activities violating Islamic law. He did not 
provide proof of these claims.
    Religious organizations in some provinces reinforced the social 
unacceptability of women travelling or even leaving home without a male 
family member or other approved escort. One religious leader said that 
travel without a ``mahram,'' or unmarriageable relative, raised 
``questions about a woman's piety.'' The Ulema Council for the Western 
Region issued a declaration that women traveling a distance of greater 
than 54 miles from home must be accompanied by a chaperone and 
forbidding female employees of foreign organizations from working alone 
in a room with a foreign man. For example, on July 8, the Pajhwok News 
Agency reported that the provincial Ulema council in Badakhshan issued 
a resolution asking all women not to leave their homes without a male 
member of their family.
    Women continued to face pervasive human rights violations and 
remained largely uninformed about their rights under the law. 
Discrimination was particularly acute in rural areas and villages.
    Denial of educational opportunities, limited employment options, 
and continuing security threats continued to impede the ability of many 
women to improve their situation, despite the progress women in urban 
areas made toward access to public life, education, health care, and 
employment. According to UNAMA, there was an increase in violence 
against women working in the public sector. There were no developments 
in the case of Sitara Achakzai, an outspoken human rights defender and 
local councilor in Kandahar, who was killed in April 2009.
    Societal discrimination against women persisted, including domestic 
abuse, rape, forced marriages, forced prostitution, exchange of girls 
to settle disputes, kidnappings, and honor killings. Cultural 
prohibitions on free travel and leaving the home unaccompanied by a 
male relative meant that many women could not work outside the home and 
often could not receive access to education, health care, police 
protection, and other social services.
    Bibi Aisha, the 16-year-old woman from Uruzgan Province whose 
husband and in-laws cut off her nose and ears in September 2009 because 
she had brought shame to the family by running away after years of 
domestic violence, received plastic surgery at a facility abroad. Media 
reported the father-in-law's arrest.
    Extended family violence was reportedly widespread. For example, on 
March 31, the former Kunar director of women's affairs and her husband 
were sentenced to death following a public trial for the January 21 
murder of their daughter-in-law. Their son--the victim's husband--was 
also convicted and sentenced to two years in prison. Doctors who 
evaluated the body testified that the daughter-in-law was beaten and 
tortured.
    There were no developments in the case of the 16-year-old whose 
mother-in-law doused her in gasoline and set her on fire in November 
2009.
    Although police, prosecutors, and judges discriminated against 
women in criminal and civil legal proceedings stemming from violence 
and forced marriages, increasing numbers of female attorneys 
successfully represented female clients in these types of cases in both 
formal courts.
    According to HRW and UN Women, more than 70 percent of marriages 
were forced, and despite laws banning the practice, a majority of 
brides were younger than the legal marriage age of 16 (or 15 with a 
guardian and a court's approval). According to the UN High Commissioner 
for Human Rights, only 5 percent of marriages were registered, leaving 
forced marriages outside legal control. The AIHRC recorded 28 cases 
from January to September of women given to another family for baahd, 
to settle disputes or as a debt settlement, although a presidential 
decree outlaws the practice. The unreported number was likely much 
higher. IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN 
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reported that drug 
smugglers often demanded young brides when farmers failed to produce 
opium and lacked other means to repay their loans. In a practice known 
as ``badal,'' a brother and a sister are married to another pair of 
siblings to avoid any payment having to be made.
    Local officials occasionally imprisoned women at the request of 
family members for opposing the family's choice of a marriage partner 
or being charged with adultery or bigamy. Women also faced bigamy 
charges from husbands who had deserted them and then reappeared after 
the woman had remarried. Local officials imprisoned women in place of a 
family member who had committed a crime but could not be located. Some 
women resided in detention facilities because they had run away from 
home to escape domestic violence or the prospect of forced marriage. 
Several girls between the ages of 17 and 21 remained detained in Pol-e-
Charkhi Prison after fleeing abusive forced marriages.
    Due to the early marriage age, some women become widows in their 
20s and 30s. Since widows were perceived as their in-laws' property, 
they could be forced to marry a brother-in-law, who might already have 
a wife; the late husband's family seized any property he left.
    The AIHRC documented 44 ``honor killings'' throughout the first 
nine months of the year; however, the unreported number was believed to 
be much higher. Under the penal code, a man convicted of honor killing 
after finding his wife committing adultery cannot be sentenced to more 
than two years' imprisonment.
    Temporary marriages lasted from one day to a few months, in 
exchange for a dowry. Many observers considered ``temporary marriages'' 
a form of prostitution.
    There is no law specifically prohibiting sexual harassment.
    Couples were free from government discrimination, coercion, and 
violence to decide the number, spacing, and timing of their children, 
but family and community pressures to reproduce, the high prevalence of 
child marriages, and lack of accurate biological knowledge limited 
their ability to do so. Oral contraceptives, intrauterine devices, 
injectables, and condoms were available commercially and through 
provincial hospitals. Men and women were diagnosed and treated equally 
for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, when health care 
was available.
    NGOs reported that sexually transmitted diseases were widespread 
and typically went undiagnosed, since most persons suffered from 
numerous untreated medical conditions. According to UN estimates, there 
were approximately 1,400 deaths per 100,000 live births in the country 
in 2008. Only 24 percent of births had skilled attendants present, and 
only 36 percent of women received professional prenatal care. Early 
marriage and early pregnancy put girls at greater risk for premature 
labor, complications during delivery, and death in childbirth. Lack of 
skilled care during childbirth and lack of obstetric and postpartum 
care were key causes of maternal mortality. The number of trained 
midwives increased from 268 in 2002 to 2,685 during the year. There was 
a 15 percent contraceptive prevalence rate.
    Women who reported cases of abuse or who sought legal redress for 
other matters reported pervasive discrimination within the judicial 
system. Local practices were discriminatory toward women, and in parts 
of the country where courts were not functional or knowledge of the law 
was minimal, elders relied on an interpretation of Sharia and tribal 
customs, which generally were discriminatory toward women. Most women 
reported limited access to justice in tribal shuras, where all 
presiding elders were men; women in some villages were not allowed any 
access for dispute resolution. Women's advocacy groups reported that 
the Government intervened informally with local courts to encourage 
them to interpret laws in ways favorable to women.
    The MOWA and NGOs continued to promote women's rights and freedoms. 
According to UN Women, women made up 26 percent of government 
employees. The MOWA, the primary government agency responsible for 
addressing the needs of women, had provincial offices, but the 
organization suffered from a lack of capacity and resources. The 
provincial offices assisted hundreds of women by providing legal and 
family counseling and referring women they could not directly assist to 
relevant organizations.
    Women and children were overwhelmingly the victims of preventable 
deaths due to illness. Women constituted 68 percent of those infected 
with tuberculosis. Additionally, of the 25,000 citizens who died from 
tuberculosis each year, 16,000 were women. Many households could afford 
neither the cost of health care nor transport to health-care 
facilities, and many women were not permitted to travel to health 
facilities on their own. Observers reported that 60 percent of the 
population had access to primary health-care centers within two hours' 
walking distance from their homes, an increase from 9 percent in 2002.
    According to reports in the British medical journal The Lancet, 
both adults and children suffered from a broad spectrum of mental 
health problems, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic 
stress related to widespread social suffering and domestic violence, as 
well as acts of war.
    According to Save the Children, although there was some diversity 
in household decision-making practices throughout the country, women 
generally exercised little decision-making authority regarding 
marriage, timing of pregnancies, birthing practices, and child 
education. Informal social and familial pressure led the majority of 
women in rural areas to wear burqas, and most women covered their 
heads.
    Women face discrimination in access to or terms of employment and 
occupation.

    Children.--Citizenship is transmitted by a citizen father to his 
child. Birth in the country or to a citizen mother alone is not 
sufficient.
    Education is mandatory up to the secondary level (four years for 
primary school and three years for secondary), and the law provides for 
free education up to and including the college level.
    Boys made up nearly two-thirds of the school population. In most 
regions boys and girls attended primary classes together but were 
separated for intermediate and secondary-level education. Although the 
rate of secondary school for boys was 10 times the rate for girls, boys 
could be legally identifiable as ``heads of household'' as young as age 
15, and many boys were forced to leave school to work.
    Due to insecurity, inadequate facilities, poor quality of 
education, severe shortages of female teachers, early and forced 
marriages, the perceived need for girls to work at home, and cultural 
pressures, the status of girls and women in education remained a matter 
of concern. According to UNICEF more than two million girls were 
enrolled in grades one through 12. Most of the five million children 
who were estimated not to attend school were girls. According to the 
MOE, they were deprived education for economic reasons, security 
problems (especially in the southern provinces), cultural issues 
(especially girls), and the lack of schools within a short distance of 
their homes. In December 2009 HRW reported that the number of girls in 
school dropped 50 percent between sixth and seventh grades. In February 
a researcher for HRW reported that only 4 percent of secondary school-
age girls reached grade 10. Since 2001 most girls enrolled in schools 
were the first generation in their family to receive formal education. 
The AIHRC worked with influential local figures to combat these harmful 
traditions.
    Violence impeded access to education in increasing sections of the 
country from 2008 through year's end. The Taliban and other extremists, 
as well as criminal gangs, threatened or attacked schools, especially 
girls' schools, school officials, teachers, and students. As in 
previous years, where schools remained open, parents were often afraid 
to send their children, particularly girls. The MOE reported that five 
million children were deprived of access to education. The AIHRC 
reported that half of schools did not have adequate, safe, and 
appropriate space for learning.
    According to HRW the Taliban and other insurgent groups continued 
to target schools (particularly those for girls over 10 years old), 
teachers, and students. The MOE reported that between March and 
October, 20 schools were attacked using explosives or arson, and 
insurgent attacks killed 126 students. For example, on April 2, the 
Taliban set fire to the girls' school in Gereshk, Helmand's commercial 
capital; reports indicated that three days earlier locals had been 
warned to vacate the school because it would be destroyed; this was the 
second attack on the school in two months. On April 3, Ariana TV and 
the Pajhwok News Agency reported that unidentified gunmen burned a 
girls' school in Faryab Province. On April 4, Tolo TV reported that 
unidentified men burned a girls' school in Sayedabad District, Maydan 
Wardak Province; the governor stated that armed opponents of the 
Government were responsible, but the Taliban denied any involvement. 
According to the Director of Education in Heart Province, in May female 
teachers and students in Guzara, Shindand, Koshke Rabat Sangi, and 
Kohna Districts were threatened to not attend schools. On May 28, the 
Taliban destroyed one school and threatened two others in the Lakan 
area of Khost; the attackers demanded that certain detainees be 
released before they would allow the schools to reopen. The Taliban 
also attacked the Zaku Khel School, a large project under construction 
by CARE International; 80 percent of the building, which was not yet 
operational, was destroyed. The attackers also left night letters at 
two other schools in Khost, warning students not to attend and turned 
students away on May 29. On July 14, during an interview with BBC Radio 
Dari/Pashtu Services, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahed said that the 
Taliban did not oppose women's education as long as they gained that 
education ``in a secured environment'' and under Sharia. He also denied 
that the Taliban burned down schools or harmed women. The UNAMA mid-
year report stated that as a result of threats by antigovernment 
forces, schools were destroyed or closed, denying educational 
opportunities for thousands of children, particularly in the southern, 
southeastern, northern, and central regions. According to the AIHRC, 
the Government was not able to bring most of the perpetrators of 
violence against women and children to justice, and the persistent 
culture of impunity exacerbated the situation.
    NGOs and aid agencies reported that insecurity, conservative 
attitudes, and poverty denied education to millions of school-age 
children, mainly in the southern and southeastern provinces.
    In some parts of the country, especially rural areas, girls' 
schools were closed due to societal bias or security issues. In some 
provinces, such as Kandahar and Helmand, girls' schools were open in 
the provincial capitals but not in outlying districts. According to the 
United Nations Country Task Force Monitoring and Reporting on Grave 
Child Rights Violations, there had been 13 attacks on girls' schools 
since April. In some areas individuals opened schools inside their 
homes or recruited local mullahs as teachers.
    Child abuse was endemic throughout the country, based on cultural 
beliefs about child-rearing, and included general neglect, physical 
abuse, sexual abuse, abandonment, and confined forced labor to pay off 
family debts. The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs, and 
Disabled (MOLSA) stated that police frequently beat children. During 
the year drought and food shortages forced many families to send their 
children onto the streets to beg for food and money. NGOs reported a 
predominantly punitive and retributive approach to juvenile justice 
throughout the country. Although it was against the law, corporal 
punishment in schools, rehabilitation centers, and other public 
institutions remained common. The MOLSA also reported that more than 
five million children lived in need of humanitarian assistance.
    The legal age for marriage was 16 years old for girls and 18 years 
old for boys. International and local observers estimated that 
approximately 60 percent of girls were married younger than the age of 
16. Under the EVAW those who arrange forced or underage marriages may 
be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than two years; but there has 
been very limited, if any, implementation of this law. The Law on 
Marriage states that marriage of a minor may be conducted by a 
guardian. By law the marriage contract requires verification that the 
bride is 16 years of age; however, less than 10 percent of the 
population had birth certificates. Since the marriage registration 
process was officially legalized in 2008, the AIHRC has been promoting 
marriage registration as an important tool for preventing forced and 
underage marriages. The Herat regional office of the AIHRC conducted a 
campaign on the use and advantages of marriage registration in the 
western region.
    The custom of bride money may have motivated families facing 
poverty, indebtedness, and economic crisis to pledge daughters as young 
as six or seven years old, with the understanding that the actual 
marriage would be delayed until the child reached puberty. However, 
reports indicated that this delay was rarely observed and that young 
girls were sexually violated not only by the groom but also by older 
men in the family, particularly if the groom was also a child.
    Sexual abuse of children remained pervasive. NGOs noted that most 
child victims were abused by extended family members. A UNHCR report 
noted tribal leaders also abused boys. During the year the MOI recorded 
28 cases of child rape; the unreported number was believed to be much 
higher. According to the AIHRC, most child sexual abusers were not 
arrested. Numerous media outlets reported that harems of young boys 
were cloistered for ``bacha baazi,'' a practice in which young boys are 
sold to powerful local figures and businessmen and trained to dance in 
female clothes for male audiences and then used and traded for sex; 
however, credible statistics were difficult to acquire as the subject 
was a source of shame.
    The AIHRC reported that pornography is a crime but child 
pornography, reportedly widespread, is not specifically prohibited by 
law. Exploiting a child for sex purposes, as is done with bacha baazi, 
is a crime.
    Children were displaced due to the conflict. The MOLSA estimated 
that a large number of IDPs were children.
    NGOs estimated that there were 37,000 street children in urban 
areas. Street children had little or no access to government services, 
although several NGOs provided access to basic needs, such as shelter 
and food.
    Living conditions for children in orphanages were poor. The MOLSA 
oversaw 84 residential orphanages, designed to provide vocational 
training to children from destitute families. Of these 18 were private 
orphanages and 10 were official centers (but operated by NGOs by 
agreement with the ministry). NGOs reported that 60 to 80 percent of 
four- to 18-year-old children in the orphanages were not orphans but 
rather children whose families could not provide food, shelter, or 
schooling. Children in orphanages reported mental, physical, and sexual 
abuse; were sometimes trafficked; and did not always have access to 
running water, winter heating, indoor plumbing, health services, 
recreational facilities, or education.
    The AIHRC expressed concern about the living conditions and future 
of children who lived with their mothers in women's prisons.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. There 
was only one known Jewish resident in the country, caretaker of the one 
remaining synagogue in Kabul.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report, which can be found at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits any kind of 
discrimination against citizens and requires the state to assist 
persons who have disabilities and to protect their rights, including 
the rights to health care and financial protection. The constitution 
also requires the state to adopt measures to reintegrate and ensure the 
active participation in society of persons with disabilities.
    One international organization reported that accurate figures on 
the number of persons with disabilities were not available, but it 
estimated that there were 800,000 mobility-impaired persons, of whom 
approximately 40,000 were limb amputees. The MOLSA stated that it 
provided financial support to 80,000 individuals with disabilities. A 
survey by HANDICAP reported that there were 800,000 such persons in the 
country. The MOLSA accorded special treatment to families of those 
killed in war. The AIHRC reported that of the nearly 200,000 school-age 
children with disabilities, only 22.4 percent attended school.
    In the Meshrano Jirga, two of the presidentially appointed seats 
were reserved for persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnic tensions between Pashtun 
and non-Pashtun groups resulted in conflict and occasional killings.
    Social discrimination against Shia Hazaras continued along class, 
race, and religious lines. Ethnic Hazaras reported occasionally being 
asked to pay additional bribes at border crossings where Pashtuns were 
allowed to pass freely. Sikhs and Hindus reportedly continued to face 
discrimination, including unequal access to government jobs; and verbal 
and physical abuse in public places. The UNHCR reported that Hindus, 
Sikhs, and Shiite Muslims--particularly those from the Hazara ethnic 
group--faced official obstacles and discrimination by the Sunni Muslim 
majority.
    On June 19, a Kuchi (Pashtun) encampment in a pistachio forest in 
Ab Kamari District, Badghis Province, was attacked, allegedly by Tajik 
militias. Six persons reportedly were killed and more than 30 injured; 
the attack appeared to be retaliation for the killing of Tajiks/Sunni 
Hazaras in Narab, Ab Kamari, by Taliban members who were demanding 
taxes from the village. There were rumors of ANSF involvement, possibly 
due to the fact that many villagers from Narab are members of the ANP. 
Long-standing disputes between the Kuchis (nomads) and Hazaras 
escalated during the year. In April tensions with Kuchis flared in 
Baraki Barak, Logar Province. Villagers claimed that the Kuchis allowed 
their animals to graze too close to the settled areas. At least one 
person was killed in the fighting. On April 8 in Wardak Province, 
senior government officials negotiated a settlement of a 30-year-old 
land dispute between the Hazaras and the Kuchis, but on May 19, Hazaras 
and Kuchis fought over land disputes. On August 14 and 15, fighting 
broke out over land disputes between Hazaras and Kuchis in western 
Kabul, and several persons were killed. Tolo TV reported that following 
the clash, unrest spread to the Kota-e Sangi, Dasht-e Barchi, Pol-e 
Sorkh, and Qala-e Shada areas of the capital. Shamshad TV reported that 
Hazaras attacked nomads in the Qala-e Qazi area of Kabul city, killing 
at least 10 persons, injuring more than 50 (including 24 police 
officers), and destroying hundreds of houses.
    Discrimination against Hazaras and other Shias continued in certain 
areas, in the form of extortion of money through illegal taxation, 
forced recruitment and forced labor, physical abuse, and detention.
    NGOs reported that Ismailis (a minority Shia Muslim group whose 
members follow the Aga Khan) were not generally targeted or seriously 
discriminated against. In February the Ismaili Council for Afghanistan 
hosted an event to commemorate Mowlud-e-Sharif. It was attended by 
members of parliament, government officials, and representatives from 
other communities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes 
homosexual activity, but authorities only sporadically enforced the 
prohibition. Organizations devoted to the protection or exercise of 
freedom of sexual orientation remained underground. There were no 
reported instances of discrimination or violence based on sexual 
orientation, but social taboos remained strong.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no known 
instances of discrimination or violence against persons with HIV/AIDS, 
but there was reportedly high social stigma against persons with AIDS.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The 2007 labor law allows workers to 
join and form unions under the 2002 Social Organizations Law. The 
Government allowed several unions, including the National Union of 
Afghanistan Employees (NUAE), the largest, and several smaller unions, 
to operate without interference. However, the International Trade Union 
Confederation did not accept the NUAE as an effective, independent 
representative of workers.
    Implementation of labor laws remained a problem due to lack of 
implementing regulations, funding, personnel, political will, and 
central enforcement authority. Workers were not aware of their rights. 
More than 80 percent of the workforce was in the informal or 
agricultural sector, and the Government employed the majority of formal 
sector workers. Formal private sector employees were a tiny fraction of 
the workforce. In the public sector, the National Union of Afghan 
Employees claimed that most civilian government workers are members of 
the union. In the private sector, there were virtually no unions.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The 2007 labor 
law allows workers to join independent trade unions, but it provides no 
definition of a union nor its relationship with employers and members. 
The country lacked a tradition of genuine labor-management bargaining. 
Articles 145 and 146 of the labor law identify the Labor High Council 
established in the MOLSA as the highest labor tribunal and the MOLSA's 
Monitoring and Guidance Authority as the body investigating labor 
disputes; however, at year's end no implementing regulation to 
establish the council had been drafted.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that 
such practices occurred. Anecdotal reports suggested that women and 
girls were given away as household laborers to other families to settle 
disputes and debts. Anecdotal evidence suggested that forced child 
labor occurred, but there were no statistics available to indicate how 
pervasive the problem was.
    Nothing in the labor law provides a penalty for forced labor, and 
enforcement of the law was problematic.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
labor law sets the minimum age for employment at 18 years old but 
permits children 15 years and older to do ``light work.'' Children 
between the ages of 16 and 18 may work only 35 hours per week. Children 
14 years old and older may work as apprentices. Children younger than 
age 13 are prohibited from work under any circumstances, although these 
laws were not observed in practice. Although the labor law prohibits 
the employment of children in work likely to threaten their health or 
cause disability, there is no defined list of hazardous jobs. There was 
no evidence that authorities in any part of the country enforced child 
labor laws.
    Child labor remained a pervasive problem. According to UNICEF 
estimates, at least 30 percent of primary school-age children undertook 
some form of work, and there were more than one million child laborers 
younger than the age of 14. Many child laborers worked as domestic 
servants, street vendors, peddlers, or shopkeepers. They also worked in 
several other sectors, including carpet weaving, brick making, and 
poppy harvesting. Children were also heavily employed in agriculture, 
mining (especially family-owned gem mines), and organized begging 
rings. Some sectors of child labor exposed children to land mines. 
According to the AIHRC, 85 percent of child laborers were boys. Girls 
performed domestic work in their homes. Many families stated that they 
needed the income their children provided, but many reportedly also 
believed that work was useful for children. The MOLSA and the Aschiana 
Foundation reported approximately 60,000 child laborers in Kabul alone, 
the majority of whom migrated to the city from other provinces. 
Children faced numerous health and safety risks at work, and some of 
them sustained serious injuries such as broken bones.
    Carpet weaving was especially dangerous for children, particularly 
in urban settings, as the enclosed spaces where they lived and worked 
exposed them to upper respiratory diseases, eyestrain, and spinal and 
muscular damage. Children were considered suitable to learn carpet 
weaving at age five, and many children began working in this sector at 
an early age; families typically worked together weaving carpets, 
earning 1,500 afghanis ($30) per month for their efforts, well below 
the minimum wage.
    Sectors in which there were allegations of children subject to 
forced labor, including its worst forms, included agriculture, brick 
kilns, carpet-making factories, domestic service, and organized 
begging.
    The Government made some progress in implementing its 2004 National 
Strategy for Children at Risk, including the passage of several laws, 
but it lacked a specific policy on child labor. The MOLSA's labor 
inspection function was weak, and the absence of implementing 
regulations for the labor law's child labor provisions mean that there 
were no rules to enforce. Generally poor institutional capacity, not 
unique to the MOLSA, was a serious impediment to effective enforcement 
of the labor law.
    There was a general lack of data on child labor and the worst forms 
of child labor, which hindered policy and program development. In 
addition fewer than 10 percent of children in the country had formal 
birth registrations, further limiting authorities' already weak 
capacity to enforce laws on the minimum age of employment and military 
recruitment.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage for government 
workers was 4,000 afghanis ($80) per month. There is no minimum wage in 
the private sector.
    The labor law makes no mention of day laborers or casual labor, 
which left them completely unprotected. This segment of the population 
was unprotected; in an interview one day laborer indicated that when 
such a person took a job it was ``always a gamble.'' Such workers might 
or might not get paid or get the pay that was agreed. Taking grievances 
to authorities might require bribes to have attention paid to such 
cases.
    The law defines the standard workweek for both public-sector and 
private-sector employees as 40 hours: eight hours per day with one hour 
for lunch and noon prayers. Reduced standard workweeks were stipulated 
for youth, pregnant women, nursing mothers, miners, and others in other 
occupations that present health risks. The law provides workers the 
right to receive wages, annual vacation time in addition to national 
holidays, 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. These standards were not effectively enforced, and 
citizens generally were not aware of the full extent of their labor 
rights under the law.
    Labor violations against migrant workers were common; many 
companies allegedly did not pay local laborers for months at a time.
    There were no occupational health and safety standards and no 
enforcement mechanisms. Employment was at will, and the MOLSA did not 
enforce the existing legal protections for workers. Workers did not 
have the right to remove themselves from situations that endangered 
their health or safety without jeopardizing their employment, as all 
employment could be terminated without cause. The MOLSA claimed that it 
was drafting regulations for occupational health and safety in 
collaboration with the Ministry of Health, but such regulations were 
not issued by year's end.

                               __________

                               BANGLADESH

    Bangladesh is a parliamentary democracy of 155 million citizens. 
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed leads the Awami League (AL) 
alliance, a 14-party coalition with a large majority of parliamentary 
seats. International and domestic observers considered the 2008 
elections to be free and fair, with isolated irregularities and 
sporadic violence. There were instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    Security forces committed extrajudicial killings and were 
responsible for custodial deaths, torture, and arbitrary arrest and 
detention. The failure to investigate fully extrajudicial killings by 
security forces, including several deaths in custody of alleged 
criminals detained by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), remained a 
matter of serious concern. Some members of the security forces acted 
with impunity. Prison conditions at times were life-threatening, 
lengthy pretrial detention continued to be a problem, and authorities 
infringed on citizens' privacy rights. An increasingly politicized 
judiciary exacerbated problems in an already overwhelmed judicial 
system and constrained access to justice for members of opposition 
parties. The Government limited freedom of speech and of the press, 
self-censorship continued, and security forces harassed journalists. 
The Government curbed freedom of assembly, and politically motivated 
violence remained a problem. Official corruption and related impunity 
continued. Discrimination against women, and violence against women and 
children remained serious problems, as did discrimination against 
persons with disabilities and against persons based on their sexual 
orientation. Trafficking in persons remained a serious problem. 
Violence against religious and ethnic minorities still occurred, 
although many government and civil society leaders stated that these 
acts often had political or economic motivations and could not be 
attributed only to religious belief or affiliation. Limits on worker 
rights and child labor remained problems.

                        RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS


Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--Members of the 
security forces committed numerous extrajudicial killings. Police, 
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border force, and the RAB at times used 
unwarranted lethal force.
    The Government did not release statistics for total killings by all 
security personnel. The Government also did not take comprehensive 
measures to investigate cases, despite public statements by high-
ranking officials that the Government would show ``zero tolerance'' and 
would fully investigate all extrajudicial killings by security forces. 
The number of killings by police and combined security forces also 
increased. According to the media and local human rights organizations, 
no case resulted in criminal punishment, and in the few instances in 
which the Government brought charges, those found guilty generally 
received administrative punishment. Some members of the security forces 
acted with impunity.
    According to media reports, local and international human rights 
organizations, and the Government, the RAB killed 68 persons during the 
year, compared with 41 the previous year. Combined security units 
consisting of RAB members killed 15 persons during the year. The 
deaths, some under unusual circumstances, occurred during raids, 
arrests, and other law enforcement operations, or, in some cases, while 
the accused were in custody. The Government often described these 
deaths as ``crossfire killings,'' ``gunfights,'' or ``encounter 
killings,'' terms it used to characterize exchanges of gunfire between 
the RAB or police and criminal gangs.
    According to media reports, local and international human rights 
organizations, and the Government, law enforcement officials were 
responsible for 127 deaths, 101 of which were attributed to crossfire. 
The RAB accounted for 65 crossfire killings, members of police were 
responsible for 21, and combined security units consisting of the RAB 
and police were responsible for 12.
    Since 2004 when the Minister for Law, Justice, and Parliamentary 
Affairs stated that crossfire deaths under RAB or police custody could 
not be considered custodial deaths, the Government has not disclosed 
any prosecution of a RAB officer for a killing.
    According to the human rights organization Ain O-Shalish Kendra 
(ASK), 133 deaths occurred in custody during the year, including 74 
deaths in prison. Many of the deaths were allegedly the result of 
torture.
    According to Odhikar, a Bangladeshi human rights organization, on 
May 11, Mohammad Manik was arrested after being named in a theft case. 
While in custody in the Kotowali police station, Manik allegedly was 
tortured to death by the subinspector, Yunus Miah. Following the 
incident, the High Court ordered a full investigation. When the police 
commissioner failed to comply with the order, the High Court ruled the 
commissioner and the subinspector to be in contempt of court.
    According to Odhikar, on May 24, RAB officials detained Abul Kalam 
Azad and his son. They were interrogated separately at RAB 
headquarters, after which Azad died. Azad's son claimed that the RAB 
tortured his father to death.
    According to Odhikar, on June 29, the Dhaka metropolitan police 
detained Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, along with three other persons. While 
they were in custody, officials took the four individuals to a bridge 
in Gulshan where a police subinspector, Anisur Rahman, interrogated and 
shot Mizanur and one other person. Doctors treated Mizanur at Dhaka 
Medical College Hospital, but he died as a result of his injuries. The 
Dhaka metropolitan police formed an inquiry committee to investigate 
the incident.
    There were no developments in the investigation into the January 
2009 case of Mohammed Habib. Police from Chandgaon Police Station 
arrested, tortured, and killed Habib and tortured his colleague Arif. 
According to police, the men were arrested on suspicion of importing 
drugs from India and were injured during their arrest. Following 
Habib's death, an ``unnatural death case'' was filed. According to the 
assistant police commissioner of the Chittagong metropolitan police, 
the three officers involved were suspended.
    According to media reports, 59 BDR members arrested in the wake of 
the February 2009 mutiny died in custody. Family members of the victims 
alleged that they died after being tortured. According to Odhikar, 
several BDR members taken into custody claimed the RAB and police 
physically assaulted and beat them, administered electric shocks, 
blindfolded them, and hung them upside down while in custody; NGOs 
alleged that army personnel also were involved in custodial deaths. The 
Government announced an investigation and promised to publish a report 
by July 2009 regarding the nature of the deaths but failed to publish 
any report. The Government investigation ruled that only two members 
died due to torture and that the others died because of illness or 
suicide. At year's end, the Government had not taken any action 
regarding the deaths or allegations of torture. Officials made little 
effort to investigate allegations of torture and deaths in custody.
    There were no developments in the March 2009 case of Nayak Mobarak 
Hossain, a detective in the BDR security unit of the 18th Rifle 
Battalion in Cox's Bazar, who died at the Dhaka Medical College 
Hospital after soldiers allegedly assaulted him, according to his 
family. Hossain allegedly had telephoned his wife to say he was being 
kept in poor conditions and tortured. His body reportedly showed signs 
of severe bruising, swelling of limbs, injuries to both palms, and 
broken joints. A local police subinspector in Dhaka, who was present at 
the medical examination, had opened a murder investigation.
    There were no developments in the May 2009 case in which police 
officers and RAB members allegedly shot and killed Sayeedur Rahman 
Sayeed in a crossfire killing in Alamdanga, Chuadanga. The RAB and 
police claimed they were conducting a raid on a cemetery where Sayeed 
and his accomplice were holding a meeting when the two men opened fire. 
The security forces allegedly returned fire, killing Sayeed. According 
to witnesses, no gunfight took place and police and RAB staged the 
incident.
    There were no developments in the May 2009 case in which a team 
from RAB allegedly killed two Dhaka Polytechnic Institute students, 
Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Mohsin Sheikh, in a shootout. Family members, 
fellow students, and teachers alleged Jinnah and Sheikh were members of 
the Bangladesh Chhatra League and did not have criminal records. The 
RAB alleged the two students were ``criminals'' and ``muggers,'' and 
that they had stopped the students at a checkpoint for acting 
suspiciously.
    The Government did not conduct any further investigations into the 
alleged 2008 death by torture of Abul Hossain Dahli by police in 
Botiyaghata.
    There were no new developments in the 2008 death of Fakir Chan in 
police custody in Maulvibazar. Chan's widow told Odhikar she was not 
financially able to pursue any legal case against his alleged killers.
    There were no developments in the case against 16 officers from RAB 
who allegedly tortured to death Afzal Khan in 2008. Khan's father 
reported receiving various threats from the accused. In May 2009, 
according to Odhikar, following a petition from the victim's father, 
the chief judicial magistrate ordered local police to file a case. 
There were no further developments in the 2008 killing of Moshiul Alam 
Sentu, allegedly by officers from RAB. According to Odhikar, Sentu's 
mother claimed that she tried to file a case against the RAB, but no 
lawyers would take it due to fear the RAB would target them.
    There was no further investigation into the 2008 killing of Mizanur 
Rahman Tutu by police officers. Family members told human rights groups 
they did not file a case.
    There were no further developments in the 2008 killing of Anwar 
Hossain by police officers.
    Politically motivated violence increased since the AL government 
assumed office, with opposition party supporters claiming harassment by 
ruling party supporters. Motivations for the violence often were 
unclear. According to Odhikar, 220 deaths were suspected of being 
politically motivated, compared with 251 the previous year.
    Individual members of student wings from all major parties were 
responsible for numerous acts of on-campus violence, During the year 
auxiliary student wings were formally severed from the political 
parties and, according to media and human rights sources, many 
incidents of violence were related to criminal activities or personal 
as opposed to political vendettas, Despite the ban, some politicians 
from all major parties mobilized members of student wings for movements 
and demonstrations.
    According to newspaper reports, on February 9, members of the 
Chhatra Shibir, the student wing linked to Jamaat-e-Islami, clashed 
with members of the Chhatra League, killing one Chhatra League member 
and injuring several others. Following the incident, police arrested 
dozens of Chhatra Shibir activists around the country and disrupted 
several of the organization's gatherings throughout the rest of the 
year.
    According to press reports, on October 8, AL and Chhatra League 
activists attacked a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) rally in the 
Baraigram upazilla in the district of Natore, killing Upazilla 
Chairman, Sanaullah Noor Babu, and injuring several journalists. The 
case continued at of year's end.
    There were no further developments on the case of Manju Morshed 
Shipu, the BNP activist killed in Mohammadpur in June 2009, by year's 
end.
    There also were a significant number of reports of killings 
involving political party supporters, although there was no evidence of 
support from party leadership.
    According to information gathered by Odhikar, 16 persons were 
killed and 1,127 injured in political violence in July. There were also 
46 incidents of internal violence in the AL and four within the BNP. In 
addition four persons were killed in AL internal conflict while 410 
were injured; 45 persons were injured in internal BNP violence.
    According to information gathered by Odhikar, 220 persons were 
killed and 13,999 injured in political violence during the year. There 
were also 576 incidents of internal violence in the AL and 92 within 
the BNP. In addition 38 persons were killed and 5,614 persons were 
injured in AL internal conflict, and seven persons were killed and 
1,146 persons were injured in internal BNP violence.
    There were no developments in the June 2009 case in which seven to 
eight unknown assailants abducted and killed opposition BNP member 
Manju Morshed Shipu in Mohammadpur, Dhaka. According to police, Shipu 
had been shot in the left side of the forehead, and there were marks of 
beating on his arms, back, and feet. According to Shipu's wife, he was 
a potential candidate for ward commissioner in the city corporation 
elections. She believed his murder was politically motivated.
    There were no developments in the 2008 killing of Mohammad Farman 
Ali by political rivals or the death of an individual following gunfire 
between AL and BNP activists.
    At year's end, authorities still had not carried out death 
sentences in the case of three individuals from the banned Islamist 
organization Harkatul Jihad al Islami (HuJi) who were tried in 2007 for 
organizing a grenade attack at the Hazrat Shahjalal Shrine in Sylhet in 
2004. Two others sentenced to life imprisonment were serving their 
sentences.
    Vigilante killings occurred during the year, although figures 
suggested that the problem lessened or remained the same as in 2009. 
Odhikar reported at least 174 killings, but local human rights 
organizations acknowledged that the number of reported cases probably 
represented only a fraction of the actual incidents.
    According to the New Age, on July 18, a mob lynched six suspected 
robbers in the village of Enayetpur in Gazipur. There was no 
investigation as of the end of the reporting period.
    According to the Daily Star, a mob beat two suspected kidnappers to 
death in Kushtia Sadar on August 30. The deceased were identified as 
Somir Uddin and Ratan Kumar Das. Police were able to detain two members 
of the mob.
    There were no investigations in the July 2009 killing by a mob of a 
suspected robber in Naranpar village in Comilla, the September 2009 
beating to death of a carjacker by a mob in the Pallabi area of Dhaka, 
and the November 2009 beating to death of an alleged regional leader of 
an outlawed faction of the Purbo Banglar Communist Party in Roypur 
village in Gangni upazila.
    There was no further investigation into the 2008 vigilante killings 
in Nasirabad and Kaliakoir, near Dhaka.
    Violence along the border with India remained a problem, and the 
number of incidents increased by nearly 33 percent from the previous 
year. According to human rights organizations, the Indian Border 
Security Force killed 98 persons during the year. There were also 
reports that Bangladesh Border Guards, the new name adopted by the BDR, 
engaged in shootings along the border.
    According to Odhikar, on January 21, Indian forces detained and 
tortured a 15-year-old boy whose family lived adjacent to the border. 
The boy was swimming in the river that demarcates the border before his 
detention. After his release, the boy died from the injuries he 
sustained during torture.

    b. Disappearance.--Disappearances and kidnappings, allegedly by the 
security services, increased significantly during the year, but precise 
figures were unavailable. At least some of the kidnappings were 
politically motivated, although many were often for money or as a 
result of localized rivalries. According to Odhikar, there were nine 
disappearances with alleged ties to security personnel, although some 
incidents may have involved private citizens impersonating security 
personnel.
    According to the Bengali-language daily, Prothom Alo, on February 
28, RAB officials picked up Mohammad Selim, a fruit vendor in Gazipur. 
At year's end, his whereabouts were unknown.
    According to Odhikar, on March 19, RAB officials detained Mohammad 
Akbar Ali Shorder in Thakurgaon. He has not been seen or heard from 
since, and the RAB denied detaining him His wife filed a kidnapping 
case, but there was no progress as of year's end. On June 25, a group 
of men in a microbus abducted Mohammad Chowdhury Alam, a BNP city 
councilor in Dhaka. According to Odhikar, police foiled a previous 
attempt to abduct Alam earlier that month and detained the abductors. 
Odhikar's report stated that in detention the abductors identified 
themselves as agents of the RAB and subsequently were released. Several 
days later, a group of men in plainclothes pulled Alam from his car and 
placed him in a microbus. Both Odhikar and his family believe that the 
same group was involved in both incidents. As of year's end, Alam's 
location was unknown.
    According to the Bengali-language Shamakal, in June a group of nine 
persons identifying themselves as officers of RAB arrested Jahir Raihan 
Hiron at his house in Dhaka. The individuals wore uniforms and carried 
RAB identity cards. The group told Hiron and his family that he was 
being taken to the Dhanmondi Police Station for questioning. His 
whereabouts were unknown at year's end.
    There were no developments in the 2008 disappearance of Liakat 
Hossain, allegedly involving members of the RAB.
    There were no further developments in the 2008 case of 16 men 
charged with kidnapping nine members of an extended family. There were 
no further developments in the 2008 kidnapping of 40 anglers from the 
Kachikhali coast of Pathorghata.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment--Although the constitution prohibits torture and cruel, 
inhuman, or degrading punishment, security forces including the RAB, 
and police frequently employed torture and severe physical and 
psychological abuse during arrests and interrogations. Abuse consisted 
of threats, beatings, and the use of electric shock. According to human 
rights organizations, security forces tortured at least 22 persons. The 
Government rarely charged, convicted, or punished those responsible, 
and a climate of impunity allowed such abuses by the RAB and police to 
continue.
    The criminal procedure code contained provisions allowing a 
magistrate to place a suspect in interrogative custody, known as 
remand, during which the suspect could be questioned without his or her 
lawyer present. During the year the Government made efforts to limit 
the amount of time allowed for remand; however, these efforts were 
largely ignored by local magistrates. Most abuses occur during periods 
of remand.
    According to Odhikar, on January 24, RAB officers arrested Mohammad 
Mohiuddin Arif and took him to the Pallabi police station. While in 
custody, officers moved him to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for 
treatment and, at that time, he told his father that members of the RAB 
beat him on his chest and legs. Officers later took Arif back to the 
Pallabi police station, but he died after sustaining further injuries 
during subsequent interrogations. An unnatural death case was filed, 
but there was no arrest as of year's end.
    On December 15, police detained Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury on an 
arson case stemming from the BNP's June strike. The International War 
Crimes Tribunal later charged Chowdhury with war crimes related to the 
country's 1971 war of independence. Chowdhury's family alleged that he 
was tortured during his initial interrogation, but police denied the 
charges. Chowdhury was later moved into protective custody and allowed 
medical treatment, but serious concerns regarding his health persisted.
    According to Odhikar, on May 12, Rabiul Islam Khokon was tortured 
in remand, under court-ordered investigative custody, by subinspector 
Abdul Manan of the Noakhali Chatkhil police station. Khokon allegedly 
was beaten with metal rods, burned with cigarettes, stabbed with 
needles, and had several of his joints broken. After the torture, 
officials took Khokon the hospital where he died of his injuries. 
Officials arrested Abdul Manan on the charge of murder, and he was 
awaiting trial as of year's end.
    According to Amnesty International, on June 27, RAB personnel 
entered the house of BNP leader and former Dhaka mayor Mirza Abbas 
without a warrant during the opposition-led nationwide strike. 
Officials arrested Abbas earlier in the day on separate charges. During 
the incident, members of the RAB beat several members of Abbas' family 
and injured more than 20 persons. Officials made no further arrests, 
and no official investigation occurred after the incident.
    There were no developments in the June 2009 torture case of BNP 
student leader Morshed Habib Bhuiyan Jewel by Kahalu police in Bogra. 
Jewel alleged that several times while in custody at the Netrokona 
Model police station three to four police officers blindfolded him, 
suspended him from the ceiling with handcuffs, beat him with sticks 
from the waist down, and poured hot water into his nose and mouth.
    According to human rights organizations, there were at least six 
recorded incidents of rape and sexual abuse by police, officers, or 
armed forces personnel.
    According to Odhikar, on July 7, Manik Rana, a member of the 
Bangladesh Army, raped a female factory worker in Ashulia. After her 
brother filed a case in the Ashulia police station, Rana was taken into 
custody. The case continued at year's end.
    According to the Bengali-language newspaper, Amar Desh, on April 
24, a police subinspector in the Betai village in the Jhineda District 
raped a homemaker after she refused his request for sexual favors. 
After the incident, the victim was hospitalized and the perpetrator was 
arrested. His trial continued at year's end.
    According to Prothom Alo, on January 21,a police assistant 
subinspector in the town of Rangamati sexually assaulted and attempted 
to rape an underage girl. Police in the area only accepted the case 
after human rights organizations intervened. As of year's end, no 
charges were filed, and the officer was suspended but not fired.
    There were no new developments in the February 2009 case of a 
member of an ethnic minority woman in the Chittagong metropolitan area 
who was gang-raped by four police constables.
    There were no new developments in the 2008 rape of a 14-year-old 
girl in Sonargaon, Narayanganj, allegedly by RAB officer Abdul Gaffur, 
or in the 2008 rape of a young girl at Kamlapur Dhaka, allegedly by 
police subinspector Rezaul Karim.
    There were also incidents of nonlethal, politically motivated 
violence by student groups. For example, according to the New Age, on 
January 28, a group of Chhatra League activists attacked a group of 
left-leaning activists on the campus of the all-female Eden College, 
leaving five injured. Officials made no arrests.
    According to the Daily Star, on February 2, activists from the 
Chhatra League attacked a procession of the BNP's female student wing 
on the Dhaka University campus. According to the report, police at the 
scene were able to disperse the groups, but officials made no arrests.
    Student groups also attacked journalists (see section 2.a.).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison system conditions 
remained life threatening at times due to overcrowding, inadequate 
facilities, and lack of proper sanitation. Human rights observers 
stated that these conditions contributed to custodial deaths. Unlike in 
the previous year, there were no accounts of security forces holding 
detainees in temporary or military detention facilities.
    According to Odhikar, 46 persons died in prison and 109 persons 
died in the custody of police and other security forces during the 
year.
    According to the Government, the existing prison population at 
year's end was 69,650, or more than over 200 percent of the official 
prison capacity of 29,240. Of the entire prison population, 
approximately one-third of the detainees had been convicted. The rest 
were either awaiting trial or detained for investigation. Due to the 
severe backlog of cases, individuals awaiting trial often spent more 
time in jail than if they had been convicted and served a maximum 
sentence. In most cases, prisoners slept in shifts because of the 
overcrowding and did not have adequate bathroom facilities. During the 
year the Government ordered the release of 1,000 prisoners to help ease 
overcrowding. Some human rights groups expressed concern over the 
methods used to determine which prisoners qualified for the release. 
Conditions in prisons varied widely often within the same prison 
complex as some prisoners were subject to high temperatures, poor 
ventilation, and overcrowding while others were placed in 
``divisional'' custody, which featured better conditions such as 
increased family visitation and access to household staff. Political 
and personal connections often influenced the conditions that a 
prisoner would be placed in. All prisoners have the right to water 
access and medical care; however, throughout the year, human rights 
organizations and the media stated that many prisoners did not enjoy 
these rights.
    The law requires that juveniles be detained separately from adults, 
but in practice many juveniles were incarcerated with adults. Over 300 
children were imprisoned (some with their mothers) despite laws and 
court decisions prohibiting the imprisonment of minors. In some places, 
the figure was much higher, mainly because there was no proper means of 
recording age in the criminal justice system. According to statistics 
from the 2008 International Centre for Prison Studies report, minors 
made up 0.4 percent of the prison population.
    Although the law prohibits women in ``safe custody'' (usually 
victims of rape, trafficking, and domestic violence) from being housed 
with criminals, in practice officials did not always provide separate 
facilities in these situations.
    In general the Government did not permit prison visits by 
independent human rights monitors, including the International 
Committee of the Red Cross.
    Government-appointed committees composed of prominent private 
citizens in each prison locality monitored prisons monthly but did not 
publicly release their findings. District judges occasionally visited 
prisons but rarely disclosed their findings to the public.
    In 2008 the inspector general of prisons tried to address prisoner 
morale by allowing low-level offenders to meet family and friends 
inside jail cells without any physical barriers between them. There 
were few additional efforts to improve the prison system during the 
year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the law permits authorities to 
arrest and detain persons suspected of criminal activity without an 
order from a magistrate or a warrant.
    On June 27, during the BNP's nationwide strike, police arrested 
former foreign secretary Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury and former mayor of 
Dhaka, Mirza Abbas, in Gulshan. Chowdhury remained in custody for 
several weeks while police interrogated him and eventually charged him 
with arson. Police did not mistreat Chowdhury and he was released on 
bail by year's end.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police are organized 
nationally under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) and have a mandate 
to maintain internal security and law and order. Under recent 
governments, police generally were ineffective and reluctant to 
investigate persons affiliated with the ruling party.
    The Government took steps to improve police professionalism, 
discipline, training, and responsiveness, and reduce corruption (see 
section 4).
    Plaintiffs rarely accused police in criminal cases due to lengthy 
trial procedures and fears of retribution. Reluctance to bring charges 
against police perpetuated a climate of impunity.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides for arrest without the use of warrants in certain cases. The 
criminal procedure code and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance 
authorize detention of persons on suspicion of criminal activity 
without an order from a magistrate or a warrant, and the Government 
regularly used such provisions. The number of preventive and arbitrary 
arrests declined from the previous year. Since taking office, the AL 
government has not carried out any mass arrests. ASK, a domestic human 
rights organization, and media outlets estimated that authorities made 
more than 2,000 routine arrests daily. The majority of those arrested 
were released within one or two days, often on payment of a bribe.
    Under the existing Special Powers Act, the Government or a district 
magistrate may order a person detained for 30 days to prevent the 
commission of an act that could threaten national security; however, 
authorities held detainees for longer periods. The magistrate must 
inform the detainee of the grounds of detention, and an advisory board 
is required to examine the detainee's case after four months.
    Detainees had the right to appeal. Many detainees taken into 
custody during the caretaker government's anticorruption drive were 
held under this act, and during the period the Government sought and 
received numerous detention extensions from advisory boards, consisting 
of two judges and a government official. Use of the provisions of the 
Special Powers Act declined during the year.
    There was a functioning bail system in the regular courts. For 
example, the courts granted bail to almost all of the officials and 
former officials accused of corruption under the caretaker government; 
however, the system sometimes moved slower in cases that carried 
political implications. Additionally the attorney general ordered that 
his office have the final decision on bail cases in violation of the 
code of criminal procedure.
    Most criminal detainees charged with crimes were granted access to 
attorneys. The Government rarely provided detainees with state-funded 
defense attorneys, and there were few legal aid programs for detainees. 
Government-funded legal aid programs received little funding, and there 
were no efforts to expand those programs during the year.
    The Government generally permitted lawyers to meet with their 
clients only after formal charges were filed in the courts, which in 
some cases occurred several weeks or months after the initial arrest. 
Arbitrary arrests were common, and the Government held persons in 
detention without specific charges, often to collect information about 
other suspects.
    Arbitrary and lengthy pretrial detention continued to be a problem. 
There were an estimated two million pending civil and criminal cases. A 
2008 estimate from the International Center for Prison Studies found 
nearly 70 percent of prison inmates were in pretrial detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, but in practice a longstanding temporary 
provision of the constitution placed the executive in charge of the 
lower courts, judicial appointments, and compensation for judicial 
officials. Legislation from 2007 separating the judiciary from the 
executive remained in effect throughout the year.
    Despite ostensible separation of the judiciary from the executive, 
the political authority made judicial appointments to the higher courts 
and allegedly influenced many judicial decisions on politically 
sensitive cases, including decisions regarding bail and detention for 
political opponents of the Government. On April 11, the AL government 
appointed 17 additional judges to the High Court Division of the 
Supreme Court triggering protests from the pro-opposition Supreme Court 
Bar Association leaders. The opposition argued that two of the 
appointees had criminal records that included murder charges and 
ransacking of court premises. Outgoing Chief Justice Fazlul Karim 
refused to administer oaths to the judges, which drew criticism from 
government leaders.
    On September 26, the Government appointed A.B.M. Khairul Haque as 
the new Chief Justice of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, 
superseding two senior members of the Appellate Division. Opposition 
party leaders criticized the appointment, stating that Haque was chosen 
because of his perceived loyalty to the ruling party. According to a 
set timeline, Haque was scheduled to step down from the Chief Justice 
position in May 2012 when he would assume responsibility for heading a 
constitutionally mandated caretaker government that would be 
responsible for conducting the next round of parliamentary elections.
    In 2008 the Appellate Division overturned politically charged 
decisions by the High Court Division, usually to the benefit of the 
current government. In several cases, the Appellate Division overturned 
decisions granting bail to corruption suspects who were high-level 
leaders of opposition parties. Additionally corruption (see section 4), 
judicial inefficiency, lack of resources, and a large case backlog 
remained serious problems within the judiciary.
    On July 29, the Supreme Court's appellate division lifted the stay 
on a 2005 High Court ruling that an amendment to the constitution that 
legitimized martial law in the 1980s was unconstitutional. However, 
there was no effort to prosecute those involved in declaring martial 
law.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides accused persons with the right 
to be represented by counsel, to review accusatory material, to call or 
question witnesses, and to appeal verdicts. Cases are decided by judges 
rather than juries, and trials are public. In practice a public 
defender is rarely provided to defendants. Defendants are presumed 
innocent and have the right to appeal, to be present, and to see the 
Government's evidence.
    Corruption and a substantial backlog of cases hindered the court 
system, and trials were typically marked by extended continuances that 
effectively prevented many defendants from obtaining fair trials due to 
witness tampering, victim intimidation, and missing evidence. Human 
rights observers stated that magistrates, attorneys, and court 
officials demanded bribes from defendants in many cases filed during 
the year.
    According to the National Human Rights Commission, 90 percent of 
those eventually brought to trial were not convicted.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Former law minister Moudud 
Ahmed and former communications minister Anwar Hossain Manju remained 
free on bail, although their cases remained in process. Ahmed refused 
the Government's offer to drop the cases against him, and Manju 
continued to appeal two of his three sentences. The metropolitan public 
prosecutor decided to withdraw one of the cases against Ahmed for 
possessing alcohol at his residence in 2007. The High Court threw out 
one of Manju's convictions.
    During the year the court granted several continuances in the trial 
against journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, who was detained for 
his attempted 2003 travel to Israel and who faced capital charges of 
``sedition, treason, and blasphemy.'' The Government allowed Choudhury 
to travel abroad while the case was pending.
    During the year the Government, through an interministerial 
committee, continued to identify and withdraw allegedly ``politically 
motivated'' cases initiated under the caretaker government. Initially, 
the majority of the cases recommended for withdrawal appeared to be 
those brought against AL members. However, in 2009 the committee 
recommended withdrawal of cases against BNP members Moudud Ahmed and 
Tarique Rahman.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Administrative and 
judicial remedies are available for alleged wrongs. The Government did 
not interfere with civil judicial procedures. Corruption and outside 
influence were problems in the civil judicial system. Alternative 
dispute resolution for civil cases allows citizens to present their 
cases for mediation. According to government sources, wider use of 
mediation in civil cases quickened the administration of justice, but 
there was no assessment of its fairness or impartiality.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law allows intelligence and law enforcement 
agencies to monitor private communications with the permission of the 
chief executive of the MOHA.
    According to media reports, the Government established a national 
monitoring center consisting of representatives from law enforcement 
and intelligence agencies to monitor and coordinate telephone taps in 
2008. Media and human rights groups complained that the Government 
continued to employ the practice of illegal telephone tapping. Police 
rarely obtained warrants as required, and officers violating these 
procedures were not punished. Human rights organizations indicated that 
the special branch of police, National Security Intelligence, and the 
Directorate General Forces Intelligence (DGFI) employed informers to 
conduct surveillance and report on citizens perceived as critical of 
the Government. The Government also routinely conducted surveillance on 
opposition politicians.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and press, but the Government frequently failed to 
respect these rights in practice.
    Although public criticism of the Government was common, newspapers 
depended on government advertisements for a significant percentage of 
their revenue. As a result, self-censorship by newspapers practiced was 
common.
    There were hundreds of daily and weekly independent publications. 
Although there were improvements over the previous year, newspapers 
critical of the Government still experienced government pressure. 
Journalists perceived to be critical of the Government and those 
aligned with the opposition alleged harassment from unspecified wings 
of the security forces and members of the ruling party. In addition to 
one official government-owned news service, there were two private news 
services.
    Unlike in previous years, the military's Inter-Service Public 
Relations office and the DGFI did not directly restrict newspaper 
ownership or content. However, in May the information minister met with 
the owners of private television channels and suggested that they 
refrain from broadcasting content critical of the Government. Shortly 
thereafter, the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission 
(BTRC) used a technicality in the communications law to shut down a 
private television station, Channel One, with close ties to the BNP. 
Channel One remained closed at year's end.
    On June 1, the deputy commissioner of Dhaka District ordered the 
closure of Amar Desh, an opposition newspaper, and the detention of its 
editor, Mahmudur Rahman, ostensibly for fraudulent editorial practices. 
Rahman remained in custody as police attempted to charge him with 
corruption or sedition. Amar Desh was closed for more than a month as 
its attorneys negotiated the convoluted appeals system. The newspaper 
was publishing under a stay ordered by the Appellate Division of the 
Supreme Court, pending a final verdict on its status at year's end.
    On August 19, officials charged Rahman with contempt of court after 
he published a commentary critical of the courts' neutrality, and he 
was sentenced to six months in prison. At year's end, Rahman remained 
in prison.
    Also on August 19, a second editor of Amar Desh, Waliullah Noman, 
was sentenced to one month in prison for an unrelated article 
criticizing the neutrality of two judicial appointments. According to 
the attorney general, this was the first time that the Appellate 
Division of the Supreme Court sentenced journalists to prison for 
contempt of court.
    The popular Bengali-language current affairs talk show, Point of 
Order, was removed from the air during the year. The host previously 
alleged that she received telephone calls from individuals identifying 
themselves as DGFI officials who warned her against promoting 
``antigovernment and antistate propaganda.'' She also stated that 
sponsors of her program were encouraged to stop their support of her 
show. Before the cancellation of the show, she stated, it was 
practicing significant self-censorship in an attempt to remain on the 
air.
    The Government owned one radio station and one television station. 
The parliament passed a law mandating that the public television 
station, BTV, remain the country's only terrestrial broadcast channel. 
An estimated 60 percent of the population did not have access to 
private satellite channels.
    There were 10 private satellite television stations and three 
private radio stations in operation. There were two foreign-based and 
licensed satellite television stations that maintained domestic news 
operations. Cable operators generally functioned without government 
interference; however, Diganta Television, a private operator, received 
a letter from the Ministry of Information warning it to edit content 
critical of the Government or face a shutdown. As of year's end, 
Diganta continued to operate. The Government required all private 
stations to broadcast, without charge, selected government news 
programs and speeches by the prime minister.
    Since coming to power, the AL-led government has shut two 
television channels, Channel 1 and Jamuna-TV. Both remained off the air 
as of the end of the year.
    The Government issued new licenses to operate television channels 
to political supporters. This conformed to past practice and was not 
unique to the AL.
    Attacks on journalists continued to be a problem. There was an 
increase in individuals affiliated with the Government or ruling party 
harassing, arresting, or assaulting journalists. According to Odhikar 
and media watchdog groups, at least four journalists were killed, 118 
were injured, two were arrested, 43 were assaulted, 49 were threatened, 
and 12 had cases filed against them during the year. According to some 
journalists and human rights NGOs, journalists engaged in self-
censorship due to fear of retribution from the Government.
    On August 17, in Damurhuda upazila, activists from the AL's local 
student wing, the Chhatra League, attacked a local correspondent from 
the Bengali language daily, Amader Shomoy, allegedly for publishing a 
report critical of the group's activities in the area.
    On September 1, activists from the Rajshahi University branch of 
the Chhatra League used sticks to attack a reporter from the English 
language newspaper, the Daily Star, over reports critical of the 
organization's campus activities.
    On September 25, an unknown assailant targeted the Rangpur 
correspondent from the Bengali-language Daily Jugantor and stabbed him 
in the back. The correspondent had published an article on tender 
manipulation by AL activists in the area during the year. His assailant 
remained at large at year's end.
    There were no further developments in the case of F.M. Masum, a 
reporter for the New Age newspaper. RABofficers arrested Masum and beat 
him in October 2009. Masum attempted to file a case, but was rebuffed. 
RAB headquarters released a statement expressing regret for the 
incident and transferred one of the officers involved.
    There were no new developments in the 2008 case of Rabiul Islam, a 
journalist for the Rajshahi-based Bengali language Daily Sunshine, who 
allegedly was tortured by local police.
    There were no developments in the case of the Jai Jai Din editor 
who was fired in 2008 because he published a cartoon critical of then 
army chief general Moeen Uddin Ahmed.
    There were no new developments in the case of Jahangir Alam Akash, 
who authorities reportedly tortured in 2008. Akash ran his own Web log 
devoted to press freedoms and human rights during the year.
    Unlike in previous years, the Government did not subject foreign 
publications and films to stringent reviews and censorship. A 
government-managed 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, but this was less strict than in 
the past. In practice video rental libraries and DVD shops stocked a 
wide variety of films, and government efforts to enforce censorship on 
rentals were sporadic and ineffective.
    Unlike in the previous year, the Government only rarely exercised 
censorship in cases of immodest or obscene photographs, perceived 
misrepresentation or defamation of Islam, or objectionable comments 
regarding national leaders.

    Internet Freedom.--Although individuals and groups generally could 
engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, local 
human rights organizations reported continued government monitoring of 
Internet communications. The most recent figures from the World Bank 
indicated that 5.8 percent of the population used the Internet in 2008. 
On May 28, the BTRC blocked access to the popular social networking 
site Facebook. The Government stated that the action was the result of 
pages depicting the Prophet Muhammed. Facebook was able to negotiate 
the reopening of the site which was again accessible as of June 5; 
however, pages other than those depicting the Prophet Muhammed also 
were blocked, including ones critical of the prime minister and the 
opposition leader. Opposition leaders alleged that security forces have 
attempted to their collect personally identifiable information; 
however, these allegations were not independently verified.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government did little to 
limit academic freedom or cultural events; however, media groups 
reported that authorities discouraged research on sensitive religious 
and political topics. Additionally, on April 28, Dhaka University 
dismissed five teachers with BNP affiliations for overstaying their 
allotted leave, but failed to enforce the measure more broadly as 219 
teachers without BNP affiliations remained on leave.

    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; however, at times the 
Government limited freedom of assembly.

    Freedom of Assembly--The Government generally permitted rallies to 
take place but on occasion used the criminal procedure code to prevent 
opposition political groups from holding meetings and demonstrations. 
The code authorizes the administration to ban assembly of more than 
four persons; according to ASK, the administration used this provision 
at least 93 times during the year. At times police or ruling party 
activists used force to disperse demonstrations.
    On July 28, the Dhaka Metropolitan Police issued an order banning 
all student protests in certain areas of the city, citing traffic 
concerns. All major political parties and student groups protested this 
ban, which remained in effect at year's end.
    According to the Daily Star, a rally on August 22 by the BNP's 
student wing, the Jubo Dal, met with police resistance. Police claimed 
that that the Jubo Dal failed to secure proper permission for the 
rally. At least 30 persons on both sides were injured.
    The Islamist Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, reported that its ability to 
secure permits for rallies or processions was severely hampered 
throughout the year.
    Local officials used the criminal procedure code prior to planned 
council meetings of the BNP to prevent clashes either between BNP and 
the ruling party or among rival factions of the BNP. In December 2009 
ruling party activists and police attacked individuals at a reception 
in honor of Moyeen Khan's selection as a party leader. BNP supporters 
clashed with police and AL supporters, causing dozens of injuries. No 
charges were filed before the end of the year.

    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. 
Unlike previous years under the state of emergency, trade unions were 
able to conduct their normal activities; however, the law made it 
nearly impossible to form new trade unions in many sectors, such as the 
ready-made garment industry.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice except in the cases of some opposition political figures. As 
the Government moved to prosecute war crimes from the 1971 War of 
Independence, it created a list--consisting entirely of opposition 
party leaders--of those suspected of war crimes who it considered 
ineligible to travel outside the country. However, it did not move to 
strip these individuals of their passports. Immigration officials at 
Hajrat Shah Jalal International Airport in Dhaka prevented numerous 
politicians belonging to the opposition BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami from 
leaving the country, citing the no-fly list and instructions from 
undisclosed higher authorities. Some of the politicians successfully 
challenged the unannounced restrictions on their travel abroad and 
managed to depart and return to the country.
    On three occasions, immigration officers barred senior BNP leaders 
from travelling abroad in violation of high court orders. On July 28, 
officials barred BNP Vice President Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury from 
traveling to Singapore. Immigration officers told the Daily Star that 
they received verbal instructions to deny Chowdhury's travel. On August 
8, Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie received similar treatment at the 
airport. Both individuals were on bail stemming from charges related to 
the BNP's general strike in June; however, both possessed high court 
permission to travel abroad. Both eventually were able to secure 
another court injunction and travel abroad.
    On September 14, BNP advisory committee member Reaz Rahman was 
stopped at the Dhaka airport as he attempted to board a flight to 
Kolkata and was told that his international travel was restricted by 
instructions from ``higher authorities.'' Rahman was not accused in any 
criminal cases and was able to obtain a high court injunction further 
verifying his right to travel.
    The law does not provide for exile, which was not practiced. The 
country's passports were invalid for travel to Israel.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)--According to the International 
Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) Web site, armed conflict broke 
out in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in 1973 as the Government 
opposed the demands of the indigenous Jumma people for greater 
autonomy. During the conflict throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the 
Government relocated landless Bengalis from the plains, ensuring that 
the Jumma became a minority in the CHT. During this period, clashes 
with army-backed settlers displaced tens of thousands of Jumma within 
the country.
    The number of IDPs in the region is disputed. In 2000 a government 
task force estimated the number to be 500,000 but included 
nonindigenous persons in its estimate. During the same year, Amnesty 
International reported that there were approximately 60,000 IDPs, not 
counting the nonindigenous population. In 2008 the Government pledged 
assistance and reparation to those who lost their land during the 
conflict and set up a commission and task for rehabilitation of 
returnee Jumma IDPs and the elimination of military camps. According to 
IDMC, however, ``as of December 2009 there were still approximately 300 
military camps in the region, and the work of the land commission and 
task force was hindered by lack of funding and human resources.''
    The IDMC also reports that there is ``possibly a much larger number 
of members of religious minorities'' across the country who may have 
been ``forcibly displaced'' as a result of discriminatory legislation. 
The Hindu community in particular lost much of its land under the 1974 
Vested Property Act, which authorized government confiscation of 
property from individuals it deemed ``enemies of the state.'' According 
to IDMC, ``almost 750,000 Hindu families were dispossessed of 
agricultural land.'' Although the act was appealed in 2001, by year's 
end, the Government had not taken measures to provide restitution or 
compensation to those disposed of their property. There is no 
systematic reporting on the treatment of these widely scattered IDPs.
    IDPs in the CHT have limited physical security. IDMC reported that 
``the army still holds authority over the general CHT administration, 
through an administrative order,'' and there are many reported cases of 
IDPs being subjected to arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, 
torture, rape, killings, and religious persecution. According to IDMC, 
``several reports indicate that these violations of the rights of 
indigenous people by settlers, sometimes with the involvement of 
security forces, have been systematic.''
    IDPs in the CHT also lack access to courts and legal aid. According 
to the IDC, ``the CHT Commission, composed of experts from inside and 
outside Bangladesh seeking to promote respect for human rights, 
democracy, participatory development, and land rights in the Hill 
Tracts, found that the lack of information and available lawyers to 
assist the indigenous people additionally hinder their access to 
justice.
    On February 19, Bengali settlers in the Baghaihat area of Sajek 
Union in Rangamati reportedly carried out arson attacks on more than 
200 homes of indigenous IDPs. Several shops, a church, a Buddhist 
temple and a village center also were burned. At least two indigenous 
people were killed, allegedly by army personnel, and dozens were 
injured. On October 5, the CHT Commission issued a press release in 
which it recommended that the Government institute a high level 
independent inquiry into the arson attacks and killings, amend the 2001 
CHT Land Dispute Settlement Commission Act in accordance with the 
articles of the CHT Accord, and ``ensure that all future decisions of 
the Land Commission are made with the agreement of Pahari leaders who 
are members of the Commission.'' The commission also recommended the 
``phased withdrawal of temporary military camps in the region in 
accordance with the CHT Accord'' and the full implementation of the CHT 
Accord.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol. As 
a result, and in the absence of any national legislation, the law does 
not provide a legal framework for the granting of asylum or refugee 
status. The Government had no formal system for providing protection to 
refugees. In practice the Government provided some protection against 
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedoms would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to refugees. However, delays in 
granting FD6 approvals by the Government's NGO Affairs Bureau have led 
to extended delays in allowing NGOs to operate in country and implement 
assistance programs.
    The Government continued to deny asylum to Rohingya arriving from 
Burma. The Government categorized them as illegal economic migrants and 
turned back many at the border; however, the border was porous, and 
attempts to stem the tide of migration proved unsuccessful. According 
to the UNHCR, some of the individuals who were turned back likely were 
entitled to refugee status. Some unregistered persons in UNHCR camps 
returned to the country illegally after their official repatriation to 
Burma. On a number of occasions, local police detained unregistered 
persons outside the camps and imprisoned them under the Foreigners Act.
    Working with the UNHCR, the Government provided temporary 
protection to approximately 28,000 registered Rohingya refugees at two 
official refugee camps and to individual asylum seekers that the UNHCR 
interviewed and recognized as refugees on a case-by-case basis. 
According to the UNHCR, there were some discrepancies between the 
Government's official list of registered refugees and the UNHCR's. The 
UNHCR worked to resolve these discrepancies with the Government and 
began a harmonization exercise in September, The initial results were 
mixed with UNHCR and the Government agreeing to only approximately 40 
percent of the cases, but the Government was willing to work with UNHCR 
on negotiating the cases that remained. According to international aid 
organizations active in the area, there were an estimated 200,000 to 
500,000 Rohingya not officially recognized as refugees living among the 
local population in the surrounding area of Teknaf and Cox's Bazar, 
including approximately 25,000 to 30,000 at an unofficial site adjacent 
to the official Kutupalong refugee camp. International NGOs generally 
were unable to work officially with unregistered refugees because the 
NGO Affairs Bureau refused to grant permission for such projects. There 
were no repatriations of Rohingya during the year.
    Working with the UNHCR, the Government continued to improve 
conditions in refugee camps following findings in recent years that 
sanitation, nutrition, and shelter conditions had fallen below minimum 
international standards. The Government permitted the UNHCR to build 
replacements for shelters and latrines and permitted more NGOs to work 
in the camps on skills training, education, and health for residents.
    According to the UNHCR, there were cases of abuse against refugees, 
including rape, assault, domestic abuse, deprivation of food, arbitrary 
detention, and documentation problems. However, conditions in the camps 
continued to improve as sanitation, medical, and education facilities 
were built and improved.
    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, obtain medical care, or attend school outside the 
camps. The Government began to allow the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to 
operate schools through grade five in the camps. In practice, however, 
the provision of basic services from the UNHCR and other NGOs meant 
that registered refugees often received better medical care than 
individuals in surrounding villages. The Government insisted that all 
Rohingya refugees remain in camps until their return to Burma. The 
Government claimed that Rohingya refugees were not allowed to possess 
money and that money in their possession could be confiscated. In 
practice enforcement of these rules remained sporadic and depended on 
local authorities. For example, many refugees worked illegally as 
manual laborers or rickshaw pullers in the unregulated economy, and 
small numbers of students studied with the assistance of private tutors 
and participated in countrywide school exams through the high school 
level.
    The Government repeatedly rejected a UNHCR proposal to grant 
refugees rights for temporary stay and freedom of movement under a 
self-reliance program.

    Stateless Persons--In 2008 the High Court ruled that Biharis living 
in the country, once considered stateless, were citizens. Approximately 
160,000 to 200,000 non-Bengali Bihari Muslims who immigrated to the 
former East Pakistan during the 1947 partition, a large number of whom 
supported Pakistan during the 1971 war, continued to live in camps 
throughout the country. According to Refugees International, many of 
these persons lived in unsanitary conditions with little access to 
education and medical resources. Some Biharis declined citizenship in 
1972, and a minority awaited repatriation to Pakistan, where the 
Government was reluctant to accept them. Many in the Bihari community 
were born after 1972, and the vast majority of this population has been 
assimilated into the mainstream Bengali-speaking environment, although 
social barriers to upward mobility remained.
    Approximately 90 percent of all adult Biharis, or 184,000 persons, 
were registered as voters following voter registration drives prior to 
the 2008 elections.

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.
    The Representation of the People's Order (Amendment) Ordinance 2008 
significantly changed the electoral law that had been in place since 
1972, in an attempt to address corruption in politics. The major 
political parties considered some of the new provisions in the bill, 
such as the abolition of students' and women's wings and foreign 
chapters, to be undemocratic, but they accepted the changes with some 
reluctance and revised their party constitutions. Under the amended 
ordinance, candidates must reveal information about their education, 
wealth, and criminal records when they file to run for parliament. Most 
political parties submitted statements to the election commission 
outlining expenditures and sources of funds by the September deadline.
    On February 2, the Appellate Panel of the Supreme Court upheld a 
2005 high court order nullifying the Fifth Amendment to the 
constitution, which had legitimized martial law as proclaimed by 
Khandker Mushtaq Ahmed, who succeeded former president Sheikh Mujibur 
Rahman in 1975. The Supreme Court, however, retained the Fifth 
Amendment provisions that restored multiparty democracy, freedom of the 
press and the judiciary, and validated the routine government actions 
carried out by that government.
    On July 21, the parliament constituted a 15-member committee to 
review the constitution and make recommendations for further 
amendments. Opposition members of parliament (MPs) refused to join the 
committee.
    On August 26, a high court panel, in a similar judgment, nullified 
the Seventh Amendment to the constitution, which had legitimized the 
seizure of power by then army chief of staff, H.M. Ershad, from an 
elected government and his government's activities under martial law. 
As of year's end, the High Court judgment was pending review by the 
appellate panel.
    In April 2009 the parliament passed the Upazila Parishad 
(Amendment) Act to reintroduce a tier of the local government abolished 
in 1991. The act made it mandatory for the updazila parishads, or 
councils, to accept the advice of the local MP. Under the act, upazila 
parishads could not communicate directly with the central government 
without their local MP's advice. As a result, the upazila parishads 
remained largely dysfunctional, as the Government failed to give them 
clear authority to carry out administrative and development activities 
at the subdistrict level. The reluctance of bureaucrats to work under 
the authority of the elected leaders of the upazila parishads and the 
domination of the MPs were partly responsible for the slow progress of 
this tier of local government.
    The parliament had 345 members, 300 of whom were directly elected. 
The remaining 45 seats were reserved for women nominated by the 
political parties, based on their proportional representation within 
the 300-member group of directly elected MPs. Party leaders appointed 
candidates for elections, and there were allegations that wealthy 
candidates could purchase nominations from party leaders with campaign 
contributions or personal gifts.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Sheikh Hasina, leader of 
the AL, became prime minister in January 2009, following the 
parliamentary elections in 2008. The 14-party AL alliance won 230 of 
299 seats in the elections, which international and local observers 
deemed free and fair. Hasina's cabinet included representatives from 
the other parties in her coalition. Hasina replaced Fakhruddin Ahmed, 
chief advisor to the caretaker government, as the head of government. 
BNP chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia became leader of 
the opposition.
    On April 24, sporadic violence, stuffing of ballot boxes, and 
intimidation of voters marred a parliamentary by-election in the 
southern district of Bhola. The ruling AL candidate won this election 
by a wide margin against his BNP rival. In contrast the June 17 
election to the Chittagong City Corporation was held peacefully and 
without any major incidents. The BNP-backed mayoral candidate narrowly 
defeated his AL-backed incumbent rival.
    Having walked out several times in the previous year, the 
opposition MPs returned to parliament on February 11 but resumed their 
boycott only a few hours later. They demanded fair treatment by the 
speaker and the ruling party legislators as preconditions for their 
return to the house. The parliament formed all 48 standing committees 
in the first session with participation from opposition parties. The 
opposition MPs continued to participate in standing committee meetings 
despite their absence from parliament.
    There were 64 women serving in parliament, 19 of them were directly 
elected. According to the law, women are eligible to contest and win 
any number of seats among the 345 MPs, but 45 seats were reserved for 
women. Six women, including Prime Minister Hasina, held the status of 
cabinet minister, including the ministers of home affairs, foreign 
affairs, and agriculture. The prime minister also retained the defense 
portfolio. Khaleda Zia, as the leader of the opposition, and Sajeda 
Chowdhury, as the deputy leader of parliament, also had the status of 
cabinet minister. Two women were appointed as state ministers, and a 
third was serving as a whip of parliament with the status of a state 
minister. In the January 22 upazila elections, 481 female vice 
chairpersons were elected to reserved positions for women. Seven of the 
95 Supreme Court judges were women.
    There was no provision to provide parliamentary seats for 
minorities. Members of minority groups constituted approximately 10.3 
percent of the population but held approximately 5 percent of seats in 
parliament.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
the Government did not implement the law effectively, and officials 
frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
    Gholam Rahman, the former chair of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory 
Commission, was appointed as the new chairman of the Anti-Corruption 
Commission (ACC) in May 2009. As in prior years, the ACC focused its 
efforts during the year on developing cases involving public persons 
who failed to disclose income.
    In previous years, the ACC filed more than 1,000 cases related to 
the endemic corruption that marked previous governments. As the ACC has 
lost much of its influence, most of these cases have been withdrawn. In 
2009 under its new chairman, the ACC filed a money-laundering case 
against Koko Rahman, the son of BNP leader Khaleda Zia. A separate 
money-laundering case was also filed against Koko Rahman and Khaleda 
Zia's other son, Tarique Rahman. Both were living outside the country 
on bail at year's end.
    According to a World Bank Country Assistance Strategy, the 
Government is trying to undercut the authority of the ACC and is 
severely hampering the prosecution of corruption throughout the 
country. The reports states that the current government has filed far 
fewer corruption cases than the caretaker government, and a government 
commission has recommended that the ACC drop thousands of corruption 
cases, mostly involving AL members. The report acknowledged that the 
Government has stated a commitment to countering corruption through 
preventive measures.
    According to Transparency International Bangladesh, the Government 
has approved an amendment that would significantly cripple the ACC. One 
provision of the amendment would require the ACC to obtain governmental 
approval before bringing proceedings against an individual. The 
proposed amendment was approved by the cabinet but was not brought to a 
vote in parliament by year's end.
    A review committee headed by the state minister for law, justice, 
and parliamentary affairs recommended the withdrawal of politically 
motivated cases that the Government and ACC filed prior to 2009. The 
committee recommended the withdrawal of approximately 1,817 cases, 
filed mostly against AL leaders, including all the cases filed against 
Sheikh Hasina. Other cases recommended for withdrawal included one case 
against BNP leader Khaleda Zia's son, Tarique Rahman; one against BNP 
leader and former law minister Moudud Ahmed; and one against Jatiya 
Party secretary general Ruhul Amin Howlader. Ahmed refused the 
Government's offer to withdraw all cases against him and demanded the 
withdrawal of all politically motivated cases against BNP leaders, 
including Khaleda Zia and her sons.
    The release of many corruption suspects continued to draw comment 
from some members of civil society, who stated that the Government was 
not serious about fighting corruption. Government leaders argued that 
the Government and the ACC would continue to pursue corruption cases 
despite the release of some suspects on bail.
    The Government took steps to address widespread police corruption. 
The inspector general of police continued to implement a new strategy, 
partially funded by international donors, for training police, 
addressing corruption, and creating a more responsive police force.
    The judiciary was subject to political pressure from the 
Government. In several cases, the appellate division overturned 
decisions granting bail to high-level corruption suspects who were 
leaders of opposition parties. Corruption remained a serious problem 
within the judiciary. Corruption was a factor in lengthy delays of 
trials, which were subject to witness tampering and intimidation of 
victims. Human rights observers contended that magistrates, attorneys, 
and court officials demanded bribes from defendants in many cases filed 
during the year.
    There were allegations that candidates could purchase nominations 
from party leaders with campaign contributions or personal gifts.
    In March 2009 parliament passed the Right to Information Act, in 
line with a lapsed 2008 ordinance promulgated by the caretaker 
government. This law effectively annulled the Official Secrets Act, 
which had denied the public access to government information.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated independently and without government restriction, 
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. 
Although human rights groups often were sharply critical of the 
Government, they also practiced some self-censorship.
    The Government required all NGOs, including religious 
organizations, to register with the Ministry of Social Welfare. Local 
and international NGOs, including Odhikar, Medecines Sans Frontieres 
(MSF), Action Contre la Faim (ACF), and the American Center for 
International Labor Solidarity (ACILS), reported that the Government 
sought to impede their work, either by canceling projects or subjecting 
them to restrictive operating requirements.
    In August 2009 Odhikar received a letter from the NGO Affairs 
Bureau (NAB), the office within the prime minister's office that 
approves NGO projects, canceling its approval of a continuing human 
rights training and advocacy project. Odhikar experienced similar 
trouble gaining NAB approval for a separate project and was navigating 
the appeals process at year's end, with the case still pending.
    According to the ACILS, during the year the NAB delayed approval 
for the release of foreign funding and delayed approval for its foreign 
donation (FD) registration. Additionally the NAB canceled the FD 
approval for one of its implementing partners, the Bangladesh Center 
for Workers Solidarity (BCWS) stating that the BCWS was operating 
outside of its geographical and operational mandate.
    During the year both MSF and ACF lost their FD approval. Both 
organizations were working with Rohingya refugees in the Cox's Bazar 
district, in addition to other programs throughout the country. The 
loss of their FD approval forced both organizations to suspend much of 
their operations. The situation was not resolved by year's end.
    There were no developments in the case of RAB officers allegedly 
harassing Odhikar in 2008. According to Odhikar, the RAB continued some 
harassment of the organization during the year.
    In July 2009 parliament passed the National Human Rights Commission 
Act, reconstituting the country's seven-member Human Rights Commission. 
The new commissioner, Mizanur Rahman, pledged to address all human 
rights violations, with emphasis on extrajudicial killings; however, 
the commission was not fully functional by year's end.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Laws specifically prohibit certain forms of discrimination against 
women, provide special procedures for persons accused of violence 
against women and children, call for harsh 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 law, weakening provisions for dowry crimes and 
addressing the issue of suicides of female victims of acts of dishonor. 
Women, children, minority groups, and persons with disabilities were 
often confronted with social and economic disadvantages.

    Women.--The law prohibits rape and physical spousal abuse but makes 
no specific provision for spousal rape. According to Odhikar, there 
were 556 reported incidents of rape against females during the year, 
including 308 against female children. According to human rights 
monitors, the actual number of rape cases was higher because many rape 
victims did not report the incidents due to social stigma. Prosecution 
of rapists was not consistent. Of the 556 rape victims, 93 were victims 
of gang rape; 30 were killed after their rape. According to ASK, there 
were only 323 rape cases filed during the year.
    According to the Daily Jugantor, on May 17, a health worker raped a 
mentally disabled woman in the village of Aliyara in Comilla. The local 
community detained the perpetrator, but police freed him after he paid 
a 50,000 taka ($725) fine.
    According to Odhikar and the Bengali-language Shamakal newspaper, 
on July 5, several students affiliated with the AL's Chhatra League 
abducted a female student in the village of Kaharta in Tangail. The 
students raped her while accomplices filmed the incident. The victim 
filed a case with the local police station, and one of the perpetrators 
was arrested; however, the leader of the group was not arrested.
    According to Odhikar, on October 18, three or four men raped a 
mentally disabled teenager from Bhuiyanbagh area in Narayanganj city, 
while she was on her way to her father's grocery shop. The men, 
including one named Rassel, raped her and videotaped the incident. 
After this assault, the criminals demanded 20,000 taka ($666) from the 
victim's family.
    In October parliament passed the Domestic Violence (Protection and 
Prevention) Bill, which criminalized domestic violence. Women's rights 
groups previously criticized the Government for its inaction on the 
issue, which was widespread and increased during the year, although 
data quantifying it was difficult to obtain. After the passage of the 
bill, critics expressed doubts about its effectiveness. A 2000 study by 
the UN Population Fund indicated that at least 50 percent of women 
experienced domestic violence at least once in their lives. The 
Bangladesh National Women Lawyers' Association (BNWLA) filed 1,721 
cases related to violence against women during the year and received 
over 6,000 reports of violence against women. Most efforts to combat 
domestic violence were funded by NGOs with little assistance from the 
Government. Some of the reported violence against women was related to 
disputes over dowries. There was an increase in the number of dowry-
related killings during the year. ASK reported 395 cases of dowry-
related violence, including physical torture, acid attacks, and 
killings-an increase from 227 the previous year. There are no adequate 
support groups for victims of domestic violence.
    According to the Daily Star, on September 4, police arrested Delwar 
Hossain, a resident of Dhaka, for beating his wife to death over a 
failed dowry payment. Her family was able to file a case for the 
murder, which continued at year's end.
    In July 2009 according to media reports, a man beat his wife and 
allegedly forced her to drink poison in Narsingdi. The woman died on 
the way to the hospital; her husband claimed she had committed suicide. 
When the wife's relatives confronted the husband about her death, he 
allegedly attacked them, seriously injuring six men. According to 
relatives, the husband regularly beat his wife because he was upset 
that he had not received a dowry from her parents. A case was filed 
with police and was pending at year's end.
    NGOs such as the BNWLA operated facilities to provide shelter to 
destitute persons and distressed women and children. According to the 
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 prison as a transit destination for short periods.
    A 2001 high court ruling banned fatwas (religious edicts). Islamic 
tradition dictated that only those muftis (religious scholars) with 
expertise in Islamic law were authorized to declare a fatwa. Despite 
these restrictions, village religious leaders sometimes made such a 
declaration in an individual case and called the declaration a fatwa. 
Such declarations could result in extrajudicial punishments, often 
against women for alleged moral transgressions. On May 24, the High 
Court ruled that extrajudicial punishments consistent with Sharia law 
were illegal and ordered that passages discouraging such punishment be 
added to school textbooks.
    Incidents of vigilantism against women--sometimes led by religious 
leaders by means of fatwas--occurred. According to ASK, 22 incidents of 
vigilante justice against women occurred during the year, and only four 
incidents resulted in police action. The punishments included whipping, 
beating, and other forms of physical violence.
    According to the Bengali-language Prothom Alo, on May 19, three 
imams in the village of Purbohati in Brahmanbaria issued a fatwa 
demanding that a 17-year-old girl be whipped 101 times and exiled from 
the village for an alleged extramarital affair. No punishment was 
included for the man involved in the affair. The girl lost 
consciousness after 25 lashes. The president of the local AL chapter 
presided over the arbitration that resulted in the fatwa.
    According to Odhikar, on August 3, the husband and in-laws of a 
homemaker in Jatrabari allegedly killed her after a sonogram confirmed 
that she was pregnant with a female child. Her husband, Mohammad Sohel, 
and his family members, killed her through repeated physical abuse. She 
also was previously mistreated periodically due to dowry demands.
    In May 2009 a fatwa committee in Bitteshwar union ordered a 26-
year-old woman whipped 100 times, according to the Daily Star. The 
woman, an unwed mother, sought to have her son's paternity socially 
acknowledged, a claim the alleged father denied. The woman was whipped 
until she lost consciousness; at this point, village leaders asked her 
father to tie her hands as they continued to whip her. Police filed 
cases against six men, but only three were arrested. The trial was 
pending at year's end.
    Acid attacks remained a serious problem. Assailants threw acid in 
the faces of victims--usually women--and left them disfigured and often 
blind. Acid attacks often related to allegations of spousal infidelity. 
During the year according to Odhikar, 137 persons were attacked with 
acid. Of these victims, 84 of the victims were women, 32 were men, and 
16 were children.
    According to Odhikar, a housewife in the village of Ilishpur in 
Shatkhira was attacked with acid, doused with gasoline, and set on fire 
after she filed for divorce on the grounds of persistent domestic 
abuse. The victim was admitted to Khulna Hospital and died of her 
injuries. A case was filed, and two of the three perpetrators were 
arrested. The case continued at year's end.
    The law provides for speedier prosecutions of acid-throwing cases 
in special tribunals and generally does not allow bail. The Women and 
Child Repression Control Act seeks to control the availability of acid 
and reduce acid-related violence directed toward women, but lack of 
awareness of the law and poor enforcement limited the law's effect. 
According to the Acid Survivors Foundation, the special tribunals were 
not entirely effective; prosecutors were able to obtain a conviction in 
an estimated 10 to 12 percent of attacks each year.
    Deputy Attorney General Rajik Al Jalil has stated that the 
guidelines covered verbal abuse and physical attacks, including the 
sending of suggestive text messages. Sexual harassment in schools, 
workplaces, and in other public spaces remained a problem during the 
year. A study published in May 2009 by the Journal of Interpersonal 
Violence found that out of 5,106 unmarried adolescent girls in rural 
areas surveyed in 2004, 35 percent experienced harassment, 34 percent 
experienced unwanted sexual attention, and 14 percent experienced 
sexual intimidation.
    Reproductive health information was freely available, but income 
and education often served as barriers to access. Pharmacies carried a 
wide range of family planning options; however, traditional family 
roles often hindered free access.
    According to 2008 UN estimates, the maternal mortality rate in the 
country is 340 deaths per 100,000 live births. The World Health 
Organization noted some of the major causes of maternal death, 
including postpartum hemorrhage, obstructed labor, eclampsia, 
postpartum sepsis, and violence or injuries. According to the 
Government's 2007 Demographic and Health Survey, approximately 85 
percent of women give birth at home, and only 18 percent had access to 
a skilled birth attendant. Sixty percent of women attended one of four 
recommended prenatal visits; only 21 percent attended all four. Only 30 
percent of women attend one or more postnatal visits. Most of the 
programs offered by the Government and NGOS to prevent and treat HIV/
AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases were focused on women.
    Women remained in a subordinate position in society, and the 
Government did not act effectively to protect their basic rights. For 
example, inheritance laws comply with the religion of the parties 
involved. Under traditional Islamic inheritance laws, daughters 
inherited only half that of sons, and, in the absence of sons, they may 
inherit only what remains after settling all debts and other 
obligations. Under Hindu inheritance laws, a widow's rights to her 
deceased husband's property are limited to her lifetime and revert to 
the male heirs upon her death.
    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 constituted approximately 80 percent of garment 
factory workers. There were some disparities in pay in the overall 
economy between men and women, but in the garments sector wages were 
roughly comparable.
    In September 2009 the AL government vowed to reinstate the National 
Women's Development Policy that the previous AL government established 
in 1997. The policy's features included reservation of seats for women 
in parliament, initiatives to appoint women in senior posts in the 
administration and in all spheres of employment, and greater legal 
measures to end discrimination against women. There were no further 
developments at year's end.

    Children.--The Government, with the assistance of local and foreign 
NGOs, worked to improve children's rights and welfare, enabling the 
country to make significant progress in improving children's health, 
nutrition, and education. Despite some progress, a 2009 Household Food 
Security and Nutrition Assessment jointly conducted by the Government, 
the World Food Program, and UNICEF found that 48.6 percent of all 
children remained chronically malnourished.
    The law does not grant citizenship automatically by birth within 
the country. Individuals become citizens if they, their fathers, or 
grandfathers were born in the territories that are now part of the 
country. If a person qualifies for citizenship through ancestry, the 
father or grandfather must have been a permanent resident of these 
territories on March 25, 1971. Birth registrations were available only 
to approximately 10 percent of the population.
    Primary education was free and compulsory, but the implementation 
of compulsory education fell short, in part because parents kept 
children out of school to work for money or help with household chores. 
Government incentives to families that sent children to school 
contributed significantly to the rise in primary school enrollments in 
recent years. Despite these efforts and contrary to established 
policies, public schools imposed fees that were burdensome for poor 
families and created a disincentive to attend school.
    Although the legal age of marriage is 18 years old for women and 21 
years old for men, underage marriage was a widespread problem. Reliable 
statistics concerning underage marriage were difficult to find because 
marriage registrations were sporadic and birth registrations rare. A 
local human rights NGO, Mass Line Media, concluded from a 2004 survey 
that an estimated 40 percent of all marriages could be considered child 
marriages. There was no indication that this had changed in the time 
since the survey was taken. In an effort to reduce child marriages, the 
Government offered stipends for girls' school expenses if parents 
promised to delay their daughters' marriage until at least the age of 
18.
    According to human rights monitors, child abandonment, kidnapping, 
and trafficking continued to be serious and widespread problems. 
Despite advances, including a monitoring agency in the Ministry of Home 
Affairs, trafficking of children continued to be a problem.
    Child labor remained a problem in certain industries, mostly in the 
informal sector. It frequently resulted in the abuse of children, 
mainly through mistreatment by employers during domestic service. 
According to a 2006 study by the Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies, 
attacks on children constituted more than 50 percent of the deaths, 
injuries, and sexual assaults reported among domestic workers during 
the year.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no Jewish community in the country, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts against locals, but some 
newspapers occasionally printed anti-Semitic articles and commentary.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, 
which can be found at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for equal treatment 
and freedom from discrimination for persons with disabilities; 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. Government facilities for treating persons 
with mental disabilities were inadequate. Several private initiatives 
existed for medical and vocational rehabilitation, as well as for 
employment of persons with disabilities, Several NGOs including 
Handicap International have programs focusing on helping and raising 
awareness about the persons with disabilities. Persons with 
disabilities were legally afforded the same access to information 
rights as those without disabilities; however, family dynamics often 
influenced whether or not these rights were used.

    Indigenous People.--Indigenous populations had marginal ability to 
influence decisions concerning the use of their lands. There was some 
progress in the implementation of the 1997 CHT Peace Accord. The 
Government reconstituted the CHT Land Commission, which announced its 
decision to conduct a land survey beginning in October 2009; however, 
indigenous rights groups have criticized this decision since they 
believe Bengali settlers will be able to obtain false documents 
detailing ownership of traditionally indigenous lands. The National 
Committee for Implementation of the CHT Peace Accord also was 
reconstituted, with Deputy Leader of Parliament Sajeda Chowdhury as 
chairman, on December 27, the National Committee for the Implementation 
of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accords, suspended the activities 
of the land commission pending further review, the Government ceded 
some key functions, such as primary education, to local authorities, 
but it did not cede responsibility for other key functions, such as 
land use and natural resources as the accord specified. Law and order 
problems and alleged human rights violations continued, as did 
dissatisfaction with the implementation of the peace accord.
    The Government allowed some cell phone and Internet coverage to the 
three Hill Tract districts in 2008. Although the Government cited 
security concerns as the reason for limiting coverage, human rights 
groups and local officials claimed lack of coverage was also aimed at 
stunting the development of the region. The land commission dealing 
with land disputes between ethnically indigenous individuals and 
Bengali settlers did not function effectively in addressing critical 
land disputes after the signing of the peace accord. Indigenous leaders 
remained disappointed with the lack of assistance to those who left the 
area during the insurgency.
    In 2007 the Government withdrew 16 temporary camps of security 
forces in the Rangamati area of the Hill Tracts. Since the signing of 
the 1997 Peace Agreement, the Government had withdrawn 212 camps, 
leaving approximately 235 camps. During the year indigenous leaders 
continued to protest the army's presence and called publicly called for 
its removal.
    The conflict continued between the Parbattya Chattagram Jono 
Sanghati Samity, which signed the 1997 Peace Agreement with the 
Government, and the United Peoples' Democratic Front , which opposed 
the peace agreement.
    On February 19 and 20, according to NGO and press reports, there 
were a number of skirmishes between Bengali settlers and the indigenous 
community in Baghaihat in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. During the 
incidents, parties set fire to several homes and attacked the residents 
with sticks and firearms, resulting in the deaths of two indigenous 
persons. A report by the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission alleged that 
army personnel were present during the attacks but did not attempt to 
restore peace. The Government immediately responded by moving several 
senior officers from of the area; however, there were no arrests.
    Indigenous communities in other areas continued to report loss of 
land to Bengali Muslims. The Government neither cancelled work on 
national park projects on land traditionally owned by indigenous 
communities in the Moulvibazar and Modhupur forest areas, nor did it 
undertake any new activities. In addition indigenous communities, local 
human rights organizations, and churches in the area continued to claim 
the Government had yet to withdraw thousands of false charges the 
Forestry Department filed against indigenous residents.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexual acts remained 
illegal, but in practice the law was rarely enforced. There were a few 
informal support networks for gay men, but organizations to assist 
lesbians were rare. Informal organizations reported that they were 
unable to organize, do outreach, petition for changes to the law, or 
set up permanent establishments because of the possibility of police 
raids. One gay rights organization stated that gay men and lesbians 
also often faced extreme family pressure to marry opposite sex 
partners.
    Attacks on lesbians and gay men occurred on occasion, but those 
offenses were difficult to document because victims desired 
confidentiality. Strong social stigma based on sexual orientation was 
common and repressed open discussion about the subject. Local human 
rights groups did not monitor the problem, and there were few studies 
on homosexuality in the country.
    Although overt discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, 
and transgender individuals was fairly rare--partly because few 
individuals openly identified their orientation--there was significant 
societal discrimination. Openly gay individuals, particularly those 
from less affluent backgrounds, found that their families and local 
communities ostracized them. Some sought refuge in the transgender or 
``hijra'' community.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reported 
cases of violence or discrimination against HIV/AIDS patients. NGOs 
believed that this was partly a function of the refusal of victims to 
self-identify and an absence of research given the relatively low rate 
of HIV/AIDS in the country.

Section 7. 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, 
although numerous restrictions on union registration remained. For 
example, the law requires more than 30 percent of an enterprise's total 
workforce to be members before approval, and the union can be dissolved 
if membership falls below 30 percent; no more than three trade unions 
can be registered in any establishment; and managerial staff and other 
employees designated by employers as ``confidential'' may not join 
unions.
    Civil service and security force employees were legally prohibited 
from forming unions. In 2006 new categories of workers, including 
teachers and NGO workers, were permitted to form unions; however, due 
to the broad limitations on union organizing during the state of 
emergency, these regulations were not formally instituted.
    The total labor force was approximately 50 million, of whom 
approximately 1.9 million belonged to unions, many of which were 
affiliated with political parties. There were approximately 4,000 
garment factories employing 2.5 million workers; more than 80 percent 
were women. No reliable labor statistics were available for the large 
informal sector in which the majority (nearly 80 percent) of citizens 
worked.
    The 2006 Bangladesh Labor Act (BLA) consolidated laws from 25 
separate acts into one comprehensive law. The director of labor is 
responsible for the registration and dissolution of unions The 
registrar of trade unions may deregister unions with the approval of 
the labor court and, during the year, some unions were deregistered, 
primarily for labor law violations. The law afforded unions the right 
of appeal in the case of dissolution or denial of registration.
    The law recognized the right to strike; however, many restrictions 
on this right remained. For example, 75 percent of union membership 
must consent to a strike before it can proceed. The Government can shut 
down any strikes lasting more than 30 days and refer the matter to 
labor courts for adjudication. In addition strikes are banned for the 
first three years of commercial production or if the factory was built 
with foreign investment or owned by a foreign investor. In practice few 
strikes followed legal requirements, which are cumbersome; strikes or 
walk-outs often occurred based on the spontaneous decisions of workers.
    The Government filed cases against some striking labor leaders and 
workers for destruction of property, blocking roads, or for labor 
unrest, stemming from the June and December minimum wage-related 
protests (see section 7e). These cases remained unresolved as of year's 
end.
    Throughout the year, labor organizers reported acts of intimidation 
and abuse, as well as increased scrutiny by security forces and the 
National Security Intelligence Agency. Sporadic, occasionally intense, 
labor unrest occurred throughout the country, particularly in the 
ready-made garment sector. Labor organizers reported frequent acts of 
intimidation and abuse, arbitrary lock outs, firing of employees, and 
increased scrutiny by security forces. Authorities sometimes arrested 
labor organizers for destruction of property and other charges, in what 
some NGOs considered repression of labor rights activists. In June the 
NGO Affairs Bureau did not renew the foreign donation approval of the 
Bangladesh Center for Workers' Solidarity (BCWS) asserting that the 
BCWS had violated its terms of registration; however, the BCWS was 
unable to use proper channels to appeal the decision, and its 
registration status remained in limbo at year's end. In August three 
BCWS leaders were arrested for alleged involvement in the violent 
unrest following the ready-made garment minimum wage announcement. They 
were released on bail, and their trial was pending as of year's end.
    The law establishes mechanisms for conciliation, arbitration, and 
labor court dispute resolution. Workers have the right to strike in the 
event of a failure to reach settlement. The Government filed cases 
against some striking labor leaders and workers for destruction of 
property, blocking roads, or for labor unrest stemming from the minimum 
wage announcement. The cases remain unresolved as of year's end. Civil 
servants and security forces have little recourse for grievances; 
however, they can file cases in the regular court system.
    Unions were highly politicized but were independent of the 
Government and were strongest in state-owned enterprises, including 
jute mills, textile mills, chemical industries, and the Government-run 
Port of Chittagong.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
protects the rights of workers to organize and bargain collectively 
without interference, but this right was not always effectively 
enforced. The BLA includes provisions protecting unions from employer 
interference in organizing activities; however, employers often sought 
to curtail this right, particularly in the ready-made garment industry. 
Implementation of the law's provisions was uneven and many private 
sector employers discouraged union activity. There were reports that 
employers in the shrimp and fish processing plants in Khulna fired 
workers over union activities. Many workers appealed their termination 
and the dispute continued at year's end.
    The Director of Labor ruled on union-organizing discrimination 
complaints except in Export Processing Zones (EPZs). Throughout the 
year, the Labor Court ordered reinstatement of workers who had been 
fired for union activities, but a large backlog of unresolved cases 
remained. The majority of workers in such cases, however, sought 
financial compensation rather than reinstatement. Increasingly, labor 
disputes were settled informally prior to scheduled hearing dates in 
the labor court.
    Under the BLA, legally registered unions are entitled to bargain 
collectively with employers; however, this was rarely implemented in 
practice. The BLA simplified and clarified the procedure for selecting 
a collective bargaining agent and specified time limits for steps in 
the process. Labor organizations reported that in some companies, 
workers feared reprisals and did not exercise their collective 
bargaining rights.
    Overall, labor conditions in the EPZs improved somewhat, although 
the legal situation continued to be questionable. In August parliament 
passed the EPZ Workers' Welfare Society and Industrial Relations Act 
(EWWSIRA), which, among other things, specifies association rights in 
the EPZs. Under EWWSIRA Workers Representation and Welfare Committees 
(WRWC) formed under the previous law expire four years after their 
constitution. In place of the WRWCs, workers were to form Workers 
Welfare Societies (WWS), although EWWSIRA did not set a date for the 
elections of the leadership of the new WWSs. Under EWWSIRA, the WWSs 
have many of the same basic powers as workers' associations, including 
the right to strike and engage in collective bargaining. The EPZ will 
expire in 2013, and the Government declared a minimum wage for shrimp 
sector workers. The date for the elections of the leadership of these 
new WWSs, an issue never fully resolved for WRWCs, was not set. The 
EWWSIRA also determined that until a separate labor tribunal was 
established for the EPZs, the present Labor Court would function as the 
EPZ Labor Tribunal, EPZ workers can file complaints to enforce broader 
legal rights in the EPZs.
    WWSs are prohibited from establishing any connection to outside 
political parties or NGOs. Under the previous law, no provision barring 
affiliation with NGOs had existed. It was unclear if the EWWSIRA will 
allow several existing labor and health organization programs to 
continue to operate in the EPZs. Additionally the EWWSIRA prohibited 
strikes in the EPZs until October 31, 2013. Despite the ban, worker 
unrest in the Chittagong EPZ in mid-December shut the EPZ for several 
days. Some labor groups welcomed the EWWSIRA while others protested its 
measures and pushed for full rights for unions in the EPZs.
    In November 2009 the labor law was amended to limit trade union 
activities at the Chittagong and Mongla ports, Under the amendment, 
each port can only have one trade union, which had to be organized 
within six months of the day of enactment of the amendment. All 
existing trade union bodies were to be dissolved. Only workers who had 
completed one year's service could be registered as members of these 
trade unions.
    Many workers associations were not formally registered because 
employees attempting to organize associations faced difficulties from 
some factory owners. Some factory managers strongly discouraged workers 
from meeting outside labor groups and sometimes terminated workers who 
did.
    Federations of workers associations within the EPZ were permitted, 
but federations with enterprises in other EPZs or with enterprises 
outside EPZs were banned.
    EPZ officials had interpreted EWAIRA regulations and applicable 
laws narrowly and claimed they were exempt from the broader labor law. 
Labor groups challenged this claim. Workers filed legal cases against 
EPZ factories that did not follow the BLA, and they remain unresolved. 
In 2008 the Government amended the labor law to make it illegal for a 
trade union office to be located inside or within 200 meters of any 
industrial institution or group of institutions. Therefore, any trade 
union offices within these limits had to be moved within three months 
of the date that the amendment was implemented. In November 2009 the 
BLA was amended to reduce the penalty for persons who violate the law. 
Labor activists protested this amendment, alleging it had been intended 
to favor the employers, although there was no strict enforcement of the 
law.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The penal code 
prohibits forced or bonded labor; however, the prescribed penalty of 
imprisonment for up to one year or a fine was not sufficiently 
stringent to deter the offense, and the Government did not enforce the 
prohibitions effectively. The BLA created inspection mechanisms to 
strengthen laws against forced labor, but these laws were not enforced.
    Some Bangladeshi men who are recruited for work overseas with 
fraudulent employment offers are subsequently exploited under 
conditions of forced labor or debt bondage abroad.
    Though relatively uncommon in urban areas, bonded labor remained 
common in rural areas and in domestic service. Bangladeshi children and 
adults are forced into domestic servitude and bonded labor, including 
restricted movement, nonpayment of wages, threats, and physical or 
sexual abuse. Faced with extreme poverty and unemployment, rural 
workers, including entire families, were engaged in bonded labor, often 
facing physical abuse and sometimes death. Also see the Department of 
State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Under the law every child must attend school through grade five or the 
age of 10 years, but there is no effective legal mechanism to enforce 
this provision, and child labor is widespread. The BLA regulates child 
employment depending on the type of work and the child's age. In 2006 
the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that of the 2.2 
million workers in 45 targeted hazardous sectors, 532,000 child workers 
between the ages of five and 17 performed hazardous labor.
    During the year Services and Solutions International, a Dhaka-based 
research institution, found children frequently worked in the informal 
sector in industries like road transport, such as rickshaw pulling, 
automotive repair, and minibus assistance; in machine shops, salt and 
match factories, and tanneries; and in the manufacturing of bricks, 
cigarettes, dried fish, footwear, steel furniture, glass, textiles, 
garments, and soap. Children were engaged in the following hazardous 
activities: printing, fabrication, stone breaking, dyeing operations, 
blacksmith assistance, and construction. Children also worked in the 
service industry in hotels and restaurants. According to a 2003 
government survey of urban areas, street children, mostly boys, engaged 
in various forms of work, such as begging, portering, shining shoes, 
collecting paper, and selling flowers. Boys and girls, often those 
living on the streets, were exploited in illicit activities, including 
smuggling and trading arms and drugs.
    Children routinely performed domestic work. The Government 
occasionally brought criminal charges against employers who abused 
domestic servants. In 2009 the ILO and the Bangladesh Bureau of 
Statistics completed a baseline survey on commercial sexual 
exploitation of children. According to the survey, among 18,902 child 
victims of sexual exploitation, 83 percent were girls, 9 percent 
transgender children, and 8 percent boys. Forty percent of the girls 
and 53 percent of the boys were below the age of 16. Fourteen percent 
of the girls and 6x percent of the boys were trafficking victims.
    The Ministry of Labor's enforcement mechanisms were insufficient 
for the large, urban informal sector, and there was little enforcement 
of child labor legislation outside the export garment and shrimp 
processing sectors. The law specifies penalties for child labor 
violations, typically nominal fines of less than 5,000 taka ($80). 
Agriculture and other informal sectors that had no government oversight 
employed large numbers of children.
    In 2008 the Government, with ILO support, established a child labor 
unit at the Ministry of Labor and Employment to coordinate planning and 
execution of all child-related labor interventions.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--For the five year period 2007-
12, the National Minimum Wage Board (NMWB) established the minimum 
monthly wage at 1,800 taka ($25.33) for all economic sectors not 
covered by industry-specific wages. The NMWB convenes every five years 
in a tripartite forum to set wages and benefits industry by industry. 
In the garment industry, the Ministry of Labor raised the minimum wage 
in June from 1,662 taka ($24) per month to 3,000 taka ($44) per month; 
however, wages were sometimes higher than the minimum wage. Workers had 
demanded a minimum wage increase to 5,000 taka ($73) per month, and the 
announcement of the lower figure triggered some unrest throughout the 
country but centered in Dhaka from late June through July. Wages in the 
EPZs were typically higher than general national wage levels. None of 
the set minimum wages provided a sufficient standard of living for 
urban dwellers. It was common practice for garment factories to force 
workers to work overtime, delay their pay for months, and deny full 
leave benefits. In May 2009 the Government declared a minimum wage for 
shrimp sector workers. The minimum monthly wage was 2,510 taka ($36).
    On December 12, garment workers protesting implementation of the 
minimum wage increase in the Chittagong EPZ clashed with police, 
leaving four persons dead including one rickshaw puller. The protests 
caused a one-day shutdown of the Chittagong EPZ. After the December 12 
violence, the Government decided to form a tripartite steering 
committee to oversee the implementation of the new pay scale and 
replaced the chair of the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority.
    The BLA established occupational health and safety standards. 
Workers groups stated that legally established standards were 
sufficient, but they were rarely implemented. Workers may resort to 
legal action for enforcement of the law's provisions, but few cases 
were pursued legally. Enforcement by the Labor Ministry's industrial 
inspectors was weak, due to the low number of labor inspectors. 
Inspections were unannounced, but, in many cases, labor groups alleged 
that factory owners in collusion with inspectors received advance 
warning. There were 95 inspectors serving nationwide and 59 vacant 
positions. Many workers alleged there was systemic and endemic 
corruption and inefficiency among inspectors.
    Safety conditions at many workplaces were extremely poor. Because 
of high unemployment rates and inadequate enforcement of laws, workers 
demanding redress of dangerous working conditions or who refused to 
work under hazardous conditions risked losing their jobs. According to 
a report during the year by SweatFree Communities, during the first six 
months of the year, 356 garment workers were killed in work-related 
incidents arising from unsafe work environments. The report singled out 
the garment sector for deadly fires and the collapse of buildings, 
including a February fire at the Garib and Garib Sweater Factory in 
Dhaka that killed 21 workers; locked exits that prevented workers from 
escaping the factory contributed to the death toll. On December 14, a 
fire at a factory owned by the Ha-Mim Group at Ashulia in Savar killed 
at least 31 persons; blocked exits and allegedly locked doors 
contributed to the death toll in this case as well, as some workers 
jumped to their deaths from the ninth and 10th floors.
    A standard workday is eight hours, but workers may work 10 hours a 
day in certain instances. Overtime is permitted, but the employer must 
pay double the basic wage and other allowances and interim wages for 
the overtime work. A standard workweek is 48 hours but can be extended 
up to 60 hours, subject to the payment of overtime allowances. By law 
the average workweek should not exceed 56 hours. Workers must have one 
hour of rest if they work for more than six hours a day, a half-hour of 
rest for more than five hours a day, and one hour's rest at intervals 
for more than eight hours' work in a day. Factory workers receive one 
day off every week. Shop workers receive one and a half days off per 
week.
    In practice these legal limits were routinely violated and 
enforcement of these provisions was weak. In the ready-made garment 
sector, employers often required workers to work 12 hours a day or more 
to meet export deadlines, but they did not always properly compensate 
workers for their time. It was common practice for employers to delay 
workers' pay for months and deny full leave benefits,
    Forced labor among Bangladeshi workers overseas remained common, in 
part because the Government failed to exert effective controls on high 
recruitment fees and other forms of fraudulent recruitment.

                               __________

                                 BHUTAN

    Bhutan is a democratic, constitutional monarchy with a population 
of approximately 700,000. The king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, is 
the head of state, and executive power is vested in the cabinet, headed 
by Prime Minister, Jigme Thinley. The country held its first general 
election for the National Assembly in 2008. A European Union monitoring 
team reported that the elections generally met international standards, 
although the team noted problems with freedom of expression and 
association during the campaign. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Principal human rights problems included the regulation of religion 
and discrimination against the Nepali-speaking minority.

                        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.--During the year there were no reports of 
politically motivated disappearances.
    The UN Human Rights Council's Working Group on Enforced or 
Involuntary Disappearances reported that it retransmitted five 
outstanding cases of disappearance from 2003 to the Government between 
November 14, 2009 and November 12; however, the Government had not 
responded by year's end. The cases were first transmitted to the 
Government in 2004. Four cases involved alleged members of the illegal 
United Liberation Front of Assam who were reportedly arrested by the 
country's army and subsequently handed over to the Indian Army. The 
fifth case concerned the publicity secretary of the National Democratic 
Front of Bodoland who was reportedly arrested by the army at a hotel in 
Thimphu and subsequently disappeared.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, but the South Asia Human 
Rights Documentation Center (SAHRDC) received anecdotal information 
from Indian border towns that the Government detained Maoist leaders 
and denied them food and medical treatment.
    Prison guards used torture on inmates. In a letter to Nebahat 
Albayrak, the chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House 
of Representatives in The Hague, the Bhutanese community in the 
Netherlands alleged that in the country's prisons ``.torture is 
extreme. Torture through mind control devices, electric ironing at the 
back, beating on the soles of the feet, hanging with heads down, water 
boarding, and wheel on the neck is common.'' The letter cited the case 
of Tek Nath Rizal, who reportedly spent 10 years in prison and alleged 
that beatings ``were routinely carried out on a daily basis.and 
[detainees] were also forced to fight against each other..They were 
tied to a post outside the jail compound and left overnight in freezing 
temperatures.''

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Inmates and members of 
civil society reported that prison conditions generally were 
satisfactory, and buildings and installations were in fairly good 
condition. According to the 1982 Prison Act, men and women should be 
detained separately, and juveniles (younger than 18) should be kept 
separate from adults. NGOs were unable to confirm reports that 
officials did not observe these provisions during the year.
    Visitors were allowed reasonable access to prisoners and detainees. 
The Government allowed visitors from the refugee camps in Nepal access 
to prisoners in Chamgang Prison near Thimphu by providing them with 
transport to and from the India-Bhutan border.
    In June the Government released a report on prisons to the National 
Assembly's Human Rights Committee. The report's recommendations 
included: improving infrastructure and facilities; building separate 
prison facilities for men, women, and juvenile delinquents; reducing 
overcrowding; establishing vocational training; and providing 
healthcare. While there were reports that prisons, with the exception 
of Chamgang, were in poor condition, there were no reports specifying 
inadequate provisions for sanitation, ventilation, temperature, 
lighting, basic and emergency medical care, and access to potable 
water. Authorities allowed prisoners to observe religious practices in 
Chamgang Prison.
    The Government continued to extend the International Committee of 
the Red Cross (ICRC) prison visits program. During the year the ICRC 
visited 86 persons held at Chamgang Prison. However, the Government did 
not grant other international human rights groups prison access.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions. However, the SAHRDC stated that its contacts in the 
country reported officials continued to detain 50 members of the Bhutan 
Communist Party Marxist-Leninist-Maoist, who were arrested in 
connection with bombings in 2008. No new information was available 
regarding their whereabouts or whether the Government brought official 
charges against them.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Bhutan Police 
(RBP) agency, which reports to the Ministry of Home and Cultural 
Affairs, is responsible for internal security. The Royal Bhutan Army is 
responsible for external threats but also has responsibility for some 
internal security functions, including conducting counterinsurgency 
operations, guarding forests, and providing security for prominent 
persons. The army and police both have procedures in place for 
conducting internal investigations of alleged officer misconduct; 
official courts of inquiry adjudicate the allegations. The king or 
other senior official makes the final determination of the outcome of a 
case. There were no reports that impunity was a problem.
    The Government adopted the Royal Bhutan Police Act in 2009 to 
address human rights abuses by police. Under the act a Police Service 
Board, made up of senior police personnel, and a Ministry of Home and 
Cultural Affairs representative investigate cases of abuse. Police 
officers can face criminal prosecution for human rights violations. The 
RBP has institutional reviews, human rights training for its personnel, 
and accountability procedures. There were no reported incidents in 
which security forces failed to prevent or respond to societal 
violence.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the law 
police may not arrest a person without a warrant, and in practice 
police generally respected the law. According to the law authorities 
must issue an immediate statement of charges and engage in reasonable 
efforts to inform the family of the accused. The law requires 
authorities to bring an arrested person before a court within 24 hours, 
exclusive of travel time from the place of arrest. Bail is available 
depending on the severity of charges and the suspect's criminal record, 
flight risk, and potential threat to the public. The law provides for 
prompt access to a lawyer provided by the state.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The Judiciary Services Act 
establishes the formal separation of the judiciary from the executive, 
setting professional standards for judges and other judicial service 
personnel. In practice the judiciary generally enforced the right to a 
fair trial. The National Judicial Commission (NJC) oversees the 
judiciary.
    On February 21, according to the Annual Report for the Judiciary of 
the Kingdom, the Supreme Court was established with the appointment of 
the chief justice and three associate justices. The Supreme Court 
oversees the interpretation and application of the constitution and 
serves as the highest appellate authority. The NJC nominates, and the 
king confirms, judges to the high court and 20 district court justices. 
The king may remove, suspend, or censure judges only at the request of 
the NJC.

    Trial Procedures.--The law stipulates that defendants must receive 
fair and speedy trials, and the Government generally respected this 
right in practice. A preliminary hearing must be convened within 10 
days of registration of a criminal matter with the appropriate court. 
Before registering any plea, courts must determine whether an accused 
is mentally sound and understands the consequences of entering a plea. 
Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, and cases must be proved 
beyond a reasonable doubt to obtain convictions. There is no trial by 
jury. Punishments include imprisonment, probation, fines, or a 
requirement for restitution of loss. Defendants have the right to 
appeal to the High Court and may make a final appeal to the king, who 
traditionally delegates the decision to the Royal Advisory Council. 
Trials are conducted publicly, except for cases involving family law 
and juveniles. The law grants defendants and their attorneys access to 
state evidence; however, only the court can determine if there is a 
need to question witnesses, after which the prosecutor and defendants 
are allowed to conduct cross-examinations.
    Courts try criminal and civil cases under both customary and the 
legal code. State-appointed Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) prosecutors 
are responsible for filing charges and prosecuting cases for offenses 
against the state. In other cases relevant organizations or government 
departments file charges and conduct prosecutions.
    Although most litigants represented themselves before the court, 
the law provides for the right to representation in criminal cases, 
including provision of counsel for defendants who cannot afford 
representation. In practice there were no known instances of the 
Government providing free legal counsel to political opponents, and 
many citizens who were unable to afford representation did not receive 
professional legal assistance. The law states that defendants may 
choose legal representation from a list of government licensed 
advocates, and the Government promoted the use of judiciary websites 
for legal information as a means of offering self-help to defendants. 
The OLA stated that most defendants sought professional legal 
assistance only in serious criminal cases. There were no reports that 
any groups were denied the right to trial.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Society for Threatened 
Peoples reported to the UN Human Rights Council that at least 200 
political prisoners remained imprisoned in the country. According to 
media reports, on December 9, expatriates from Europe and the Western 
Hemisphere submitted petitions to various human rights organizations 
and representatives, including the UN secretary general, seeking 
assistance in obtaining the release of hundreds of political prisoners, 
naming 89 prisoners specifically. The petitioners alleged that some 
political prisoners were held incommunicado and that international 
observers were denied access to them.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The Civil and Criminal 
Procedure Code (CCPC) governs the resolution of criminal matters and 
most civil matters. The CCPC states that a suit may be initiated by a 
litigant or a member of the litigant's family. Traditional Buddhist or 
Hindu law governs questions of family law. Village leaders adjudicate 
minor offenses.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution states that persons ``shall not be 
subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his or her 
privacy, family, home, or correspondence nor to unlawful attacks on the 
person's honor and reputation,'' and the Government generally respected 
these prohibitions.
    While the law requires citizens to adhere to a national dress code 
in government buildings during daylight hours, NGOs reported that 
enforcement of this regulation varied by district and was relaxed due 
to international pressure. As a result the Government allowed 
individuals to wear casual dress in public.
    The law bars non-Bhutanese individuals who are married to citizens 
from promoting a religion other than Buddhism. The 1980 Marriage Act 
also states that a Bhutanese married to a non-Bhutanese shall not be 
entitled to facilities enjoyed by other citizens, including the 
distribution of land, cash loans, and education or training abroad.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press; but the Government sometimes did not respect 
these rights in practice. The Government restricted the ownership of 
media outlets and licensing of journalists.
    A law adopted in 1992 prohibits criticism of the king and the 
political system, but criticism of the Government was allowed in some 
instances, including postings of criticism on government Web sites.
    According to Freedom House's annual report, the media law adopted 
in 2006 led to the establishment of two independent radio stations, but 
did not provide specific protections for journalists or guarantee 
freedom of information. Two independent weeklies and a state-owned 
newspaper generally published articles favorable to the Government and 
covered criticism of the Government only occasionally.
    Unlike in previous years, no journalists were arrested.
    Shanti Ram Acharya, a journalist working for the Bhutan Reporter, a 
monthly periodical published by refugees in Nepal, was sentenced to 
seven and a half years in prison in January 2009. He had been arrested 
for alleged subversive activities (photographing an army outpost) while 
visiting the country and remained incarcerated at year's end.
    Media sources suggested that while there is commitment at the 
highest levels to provide the media with information, some media 
professionals continued to find it difficult to get access to 
information from bureaucrats and public officials.

    Internet Freedom.--Individuals and groups generally were permitted 
to engage in peaceful expression of views via the Internet, although 
there were some reports of government restrictions. The Government 
continued to monitor material on the Internet and blocked what it 
deemed pornographic. According to the International Telecommunication 
Union, there were approximately 30,000 Internet users (0.4 percent of 
the population) during the year.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
    According to dissident groups, in predominantly Nepali-speaking 
areas in the southern portion of the country, local schools that were 
seized by the Government in the early 1990s now lay in ruins. The few 
children who were able to attend public schools were forced to learn in 
the Government-imposed language, practice the official religion, and 
follow its traditions. Unverified reports during the year, however, 
indicated that some relaxation in prohibitions against Nepali-language 
education has occurred.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for the right to assemble 
peacefully; however, the Government restricted this right. All 
protesters must first obtain government approval before staging public 
demonstrations. NGOs reported that no demonstrations occurred during 
the reporting period. According to Freedom House, in recent years 
security forces have arrested Southern Bhutanese refugees based in 
Nepal who entered the country to demonstrate for the right to return 
home.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government permitted the registration of some 
political parties and organizations but only for groups ``not harmful 
to the peace and unity of the country.'' The Government regarded 
political parties organized by ethnic Nepalese living in refugee camps 
as illegal, terrorist, and antinational in nature. According to Freedom 
House, the Government did not allow NGOs that work on human rights, 
refugee issues, or other sensitive matters to operate legally and 
prohibits independent trade unions (see sections 5 and 7). The 2007 
Civil Society Organization Act requires all new NGOs to register with 
the Government.
    The Human Rights Organization of Nepal (HURON) reported that a 
Bhutanese official in October prevented the shipment of a ballot box to 
India during the Tibetan government-in-exile's general election being 
conducted for the 1,298 Tibetan refugees residing in Bhutan.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, but the Government limited freedom of movement and 
repatriation in practice.
    The law does not address forced exile, but the Government forced 
the majority of its Nepali-speaking population to leave the country in 
the early 1990s following a series of steps taken during the 1970s and 
1980s to deprive the Nepali-speaking population of their citizenship. 
There were no reported cases of forced exile during the year.
    As of December 31, 72,242 Bhutanese refugees were living in refugee 
camps in Nepal administered by the Office of the UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR). Resettlement of the refugees was announced by the 
Government of Nepal in November 2007. As of December 31, 41,462 
Bhutanese refugees had been resettled in foreign countries, with 35,279 
of those resettled in the United States.
    The Government continued to criticize the UNHCR for its failure to 
screen individuals who entered camps in Nepal in the early 1990s to 
determine whether they were genuine citizens of the country. The 
Government maintained that individuals who entered the camps before the 
establishment of screening and registration mechanisms were not 
citizens and were using the camps as a base for terrorist activities 
against the country.
    The Druk National Congress, a political organization operating in 
exile, reported that 30-year-old Bhim Bhadur Rai from Beldangi Refugee 
camp in Nepal was arrested on May 5, at the Indo-Bhutan border.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country was not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol 
relating to the Status of Refugees. Its laws do not provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the Government has not 
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
    The Central Tibetan Administration reported that there were 
approximately 1,298 Tibetan refugees in seven settlements in Bhutan. 
Many Tibetan refugees in the past have accepted Bhutanese citizenship 
and many continued to seek citizenship. Tibetan refugees were permitted 
to travel to India freely but often could not obtain security 
clearances for government jobs, enroll in higher education, or obtain 
licenses to run private businesses.

    Stateless Persons--Implementation of a nationwide government census 
in 1985 resulted in the denationalization of many ethnic Nepalese in 
the country because land ownership documents from 1958 were required to 
receive citizenship. The census was repeated in 1988-89 in the southern 
districts, and those who lost citizenship in 1985 were at that time 
permitted to reapply for citizenship provided they met certain 
conditions. The Government then labeled as illegal immigrants those who 
could not meet the new, more stringent citizenship requirements. 
Beginning in 1990 the Government expelled large numbers of ethnic 
Nepalese individuals under the 1985 citizenship law, many of whom 
resided in refugee camps in Nepal.
    The law provides for 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.'' The Ministry 
of Home Affairs later declared that any nationals leaving the country 
to assist ``anti-nationals,'' and the families of such persons, would 
forfeit their citizenship. The law permits reapplication for 
citizenship after a two-year probationary period. The Government 
reissues citizenship upon successful completion of the probation period 
and a finding that the person in question is not responsible for any 
act against the Government. There were no reports of successful 
application of this provision.
    According to the 2010 UNHCR country operations profile for Nepal, 
there were approximately 89,000 Nepali-speaking Bhutanese refugees 
living in Nepal who did not have citizenship in any country and were 
thereby rendered stateless. According to the UNHCR, most of the 
refugees who arrived in Nepal between 1990 and 1993 were recognized on 
a prima facie basis. A large-scale resettlement program was initiated 
in 2007. As of September 2009, more than 78,000 refugees had expressed 
their interest in resettlement, and over 20,000 had left the camps in 
Nepal for third countries.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The country completed a successful transition from an absolute 
hereditary monarchy to a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral 
elected parliament in 2008, marking the final step in the transition to 
a parliamentary democracy. The law provides limited rights for changing 
the Government, and it provides for a separation of powers. In February 
the country held a human rights workshop with government 
representatives from different institutions.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2008 voters elected the 
country's first National Assembly, the lower house of the parliament. 
The ruling Druk Phensum Tshogpa (DPT) party won 45 of 47 seats. Human 
Rights Watch reported that the Government excluded 13 percent of the 
Nepali-speaking population from voting because they were considered 
``non-nationals'' in the 2005 census. Nonetheless, nine Nepali-speaking 
candidates were elected. International monitors reported that generally 
the elections were free and fair, met international standards for 
democratic elections, and formed a solid foundation for a credible 
democracy. There were no reports of irregularities during the election 
process, including restrictions on access to media, ballot stuffing, 
fraud, campaigning at polling stations, lack of ballot secrecy, family 
voting, intimidation, or violence.
    In 2007 the Government began allowing political parties to register 
under the terms of a draft constitution. Three parties registered with 
the Election Commission, which disqualified the Bhutan People's United 
Party (BPUP) for ``failing to prove its credibility'' as a national 
political party. The Election Commission indicated that BPUP candidates 
did not meet the commission's education requirements. The Election Act 
specifies that candidates for parliament must have earned at least a 
bachelor's degree to run for office. The Government took no action in 
response to the party's appeal of the decision.
    Other parties, such as the Druk National Congress, established in 
1994, continued to claim that the Government denied independent parties 
the ability to operate effectively. Both parties that participated in 
the 2008 national elections--the ruling DPT party and opposing People's 
Democratic Party (PDP)--had ties to the royal family. The Government 
regarded political parties organized by ethnic Nepalese living in 
refugee camps as illegal, terrorist, and antinational in nature. These 
parties, which sought repatriation of refugees and democratic reforms, 
were unable to conduct activities inside the country.
    There are 25 members of the National Council, the upper house of 
parliament; the king appoints five members and the remaining members 
are elected. In 2007 elections for the National Council, voters elected 
three women, two Nepali speakers, one Hindu, and one Christian. 
International monitors judged the elections free and fair.
    Women constituted 26 percent of civil service employees and held 
more than 30 percent of positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
There were no women on the High Court, although there was one female 
judge in a district court. Women in parliament increased from 9 percent 
in 2005 to 14 percent during the year. There was no provision for 
allocating a set number or percentage of parliamentary seats for women 
or members of minority groups.
    In September 2009 the Government passed the Local Governments Act, 
which established 20 local governments, one for each dzongkhags 
(province). The act calls upon the local governments to provide social 
and economic services and to promote the development and well-being of 
constituents. The act does not provide these governments with 
legislative powers but grants them the authority to collect taxes, make 
rules and regulations consistent with national legislation, and receive 
funds from the national government to fulfill their duties. Bhutanese 
officials confirmed in October that parliament's inability to form a 
consensus around the drawing of district lines continued to delay local 
elections. A date for local elections had not been scheduled by year's 
end.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively. 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 
Government's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is authorized to 
investigate cases of official corruption and allows citizens to post 
information on its Web site regarding corrupt practices. The National 
Council adopted the Anti-Corruption Amendment Bill of 2010 in September 
and the National Assembly passed the bill on December 3.
    In October the ACC presented the Gap Analysis Report to the 
Government, which described the steps the Government needed to take to 
comply with the UN Convention Against Corruption. According to a 
November 2009 article in the Bhutan Observer, 428 complaints of 
corruption were made during the year to the ACC.
    There is no law providing public access to government information, 
but NGOs reported that the Government regularly provided unclassified 
information upon request.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no independent human rights organizations operating in 
the country. The Government regarded human rights groups established by 
the exiled Nepali-speaking minority as political organizations and did 
not permit them to operate. The ICRC was the only human rights 
monitoring group officially operating in the country. According to 
international NGOs, local civil society organizations practiced self-
censorship to avoid conflict with the Government, and the majority of 
them focused on women's rights or environmental issues.
    Various civil society organizations functioned locally and 
informally. The Civil Society Organization (CSO) Authority was 
established by the Civil Society Act of Bhutan 2007. On January 18, the 
CSO Authority received staffing approval for its secretariat. The 
Government mandated the CSO Authority to oversee the accountability and 
transparency of civil society operations. Critics, including the 
Committee on the Rights of the Child, stated that they feared the CSO 
Act could result in restrictions on, rather than promotion of, 
independent civil society organizations.
    On February 10, the Committee on Human Rights in the National 
Assembly conducted a workshop on human rights awareness that included 
participants from law enforcement, the judiciary, the ACC, National 
Commission for Women Children, and UN agencies.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
sex, disability, language, or social status.

    Women.--The law contains a clear definition of criminal sexual 
assault and specifies 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. There was no evidence that rape or 
spousal abuse were extensive problems, but NGOs reported that many 
women did not report rape because of cultural taboos or because they 
were unaware of their rights. Spousal rape is illegal.
    The law protects against domestic violence. Penalties against 
offenders of domestic violence range from a jail sentence of a minimum 
of one month to a maximum of three years. Offenders are also fined a 
daily minimum national wage of 90 days. According to the Committee on 
the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Government 
commissioned a report on violence against women, set up mobile police 
stations, trained police on gender issues, and allowed civil society 
groups to undertake further efforts, including the opening of a crisis 
and rehabilitation center. The CEDAW committee expressed concern over 
reports of violence against women by their spouses or other family 
members and at work.
    The Labor Employment Act has specific provisions to address sexual 
harassment in the workplace. The CEDAW expressed concern about the 
large number of reported sexual harassment cases in the workplace.
    The country has no legal restrictions regarding the number, 
spacing, or timing of children, and there were no reports of coercion 
regarding reproduction. According to World Health Organization (WHO) 
estimates, the maternal mortality ratio in 2008 was 200 deaths per 
100,000 live births. WHO's figures from 2005 showed that skilled 
personnel attended 51 percent of births. In 2000 WHO stated that 
contraceptive prevalence was at 31 percent and information about, and 
access to, contraception was readily available. NGOs reported that 
women faced little overt discrimination and had equal access to health 
care, education, and public services, including for HIV/AIDS treatment 
and services.
    The law covers questions related to family issues, including 
divorce, child custody, and inheritance. The minimum age of marriage 
for women is 18. Polygamy is allowed provided the first wife gives her 
permission. Polyandry is permitted but was rare. Marriages were 
arranged by the marriage partners themselves or by their parents. The 
law requires registration of all marriages with the Government.
    Women were accorded respect in the traditions of most ethnic groups 
and participated relatively freely in the social and economic life of 
the country. Inheritance law provides for equal inheritance for sons 
and daughters, but traditional inheritance practices, which varied 
among ethnic groups, may be observed if the heirs choose to forgo legal 
challenges. Traditional inheritance laws for the majority of Buddhists 
stipulate that daughters inherit family land. As a result, 60 percent 
of rural women held land registration titles, accounting for the large 
number 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. Employers generally 
paid women in unskilled jobs slightly less than men in the same 
positions. According to the Government's 2009 Labor Force Survey 
Report, 46 percent of the country's workforce was female. Dowries were 
not customary in the country.
    The law mandates that the Government take appropriate measures to 
eliminate all forms of discrimination and exploitation of women, 
including trafficking, abuse, violence, harassment, and intimidation, 
at work and at home, and generally the law was enforced. The CEDAW 
reviewed the country during 2009 and commended the Government for 
establishing the National Commission on Women and Children (NCWC) Plan 
of Action for Gender and recognizing gender in the five-year plan of 
the Gross National Happiness Commission. The CEDAW expressed concerns, 
however, that the constitution does not adequately define 
discrimination to include both direct and indirect forms and noted that 
the Government failed to adopt implementation legislation for its 
international treaty obligations related to women's rights or to 
provide adequate resources to the NCWC to allow it to operate 
effectively.
    The National Women's Association, one of the few registered NGOs, 
tried to improve women's living standards and socioeconomic status. The 
NCWC actively defended the rights of women and children during the 
year, although CEDAW questioned the limited resources of the NCWC and 
its potential lack of independence from government influence.

    Children.--Under the constitution only children whose parents are 
both citizens become citizens at birth. According to the Bhutanese 
Refugee Support Group, existing citizenship laws contained inadequate 
provisions for a child to acquire nationality at birth, and persons who 
are designated as ``non-nationals'' (for example, ethnic Nepalese 
Bhutanese) are rendered essentially stateless (see section 2.d.). 
Births in remote areas are less likely to be registered. NGOs asserted 
births of children to nonregistered ethnic Nepalese Bhutanese may not 
be registered. The failure of timely birth registration had negative 
consequences and made it difficult for some children to access 
educational and other services.
    The Government provides 11 years of universal, free education to 
children who are recognized as citizens. Education is not compulsory, 
and some schools charged fees. In March the Ministry of Education 
reported that girls comprised approximately 50 percent of the 
enrollment in schools. The ministry's report stated that approximately 
37 percent of university students were female and 45 percent of the 
students receiving scholarships to study abroad were female.
    There is no law barring Nepali-speaking children from attending 
school, but there were unconfirmed reports that the Government denied 
``no objection certificates,'' which were necessary for admission to 
schools, to some Nepali-speaking children.
    Child abuse was rare. Although corporal punishment is banned in 
schools, there were some incidents in schools and monasteries.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

    Anti-Semitism.--The country does not have a Jewish population, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--During the year 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, but it does direct the 
Government to try to provide security in the ``event of sickness and 
disability.'' There was no evidence of official discrimination against 
persons with disabilities in matters of employment, education, access 
to health care, or the provision of other state services. The law 
stipulates that new buildings must be constructed to allow access for 
persons with disabilities, but the Government did not enforce the law 
consistently. Under the Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation 
Program, the Government seeks to provide medical and vocational 
rehabilitation for persons with all types of disabilities, promote 
integration of children with disabilities into schools, and foster 
community awareness and social integration. The approximately 22,000 
(3.4 percent of the population according to the most recent estimates 
released in 2005) persons with physical disabilities living in the 
country lacked necessary infrastructure. The Royal Government of Bhutan 
does not have a government agency specifically responsible for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.
    There are three special education institutes for students with 
disabilities, including the National Institute for the Disabled in 
Khaling, which educates visually impaired children, and an education 
resource unit for the hearing impaired in Paro. There also were special 
education facilities in Thimphu designed to meet the needs of children 
who have physical and mental disabilities. Although there were no 
government-sponsored social welfare services available for persons with 
disabilities, the National Pension and Provident Fund granted benefits 
to persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Organizations representing 
exiled Nepali-speaking Bhutanese claimed they were subjected to 
discrimination and prejudice in employment, but the Government stated 
they were proportionally represented in civil service and government 
jobs.
    English and Dzongkha languages are the mediums of instruction 
taught in all schools. No instruction in Nepali as a second language 
was required or offered, although there were unconfirmed reports that 
some instruction in Nepali may have been permitted during the year. The 
Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern about the rights 
of minority children, specifically the Nepali-speaking minority, to 
take part in their culture, practice their religion, or use their 
language.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Same-sex relationships are 
illegal in the country and punishable as a petty misdemeanor with a 
prison sentence ranging from one month to one year. Under Article 213 
in Chapter 14 of the Penal Code, a person can be imprisoned for as long 
as one year for engaging in ``sodomy or any other sexual conduct that 
is against the order of nature.'' There were, however, no reported 
cases of such charges.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Different observers 
assessed varying levels of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. Persons 
with HIV/AIDS received free medical and counseling services, and the 
Government maintained programs meant to prevent discrimination.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form 
workers' associations but does not allow for the formation of unions or 
for strikes. The law allows employees to form an association in one 
workplace if at least 12 employees join the association. The law was 
first tested in 2008 when national telecommunications employees decided 
to form an association after they accused management and the Government 
of discriminatory behavior in promotions.
    The Human Rights Organization of Bhutan (HUROB) stated that there 
is a drivers' association and a contractors' association. Associations 
were subject to government interference. For example, in July drivers 
working for Hindustan Construction Company in a hydroelectricity 
project called a strike to demand a higher salary. During the strike 
Labor Minister Dorji Wangdi threatened to inform the police that their 
actions were prohibited.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does 
not authorize collective bargaining. The 2007 Labor and Employment Act 
grants workers the right to pursue litigation.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Government 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor and there were no confirmed 
reports that forced or compulsory labor occurred during the reporting 
period.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
According to the law, the minimum age of employment is 18 years, but 
child labor remained prevalent. However, the law allows for employment 
of children between the ages of 13 and 17 in environments that will not 
be harmful to their health or safety. Children younger than 18 often 
performed agricultural and construction work, completed chores on 
family farms, or worked in shops and restaurants after school and 
during holidays. Girls were employed primarily as domestic workers, 
where they were vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. UNICEF estimated 
that 19 percent of children between five and 14 years of age were child 
laborers. Labor inspectors operating under the Ministry of Labor and 
Human Resources enforced child labor laws sporadically.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law addresses issues such as 
minimum wage, sexual harassment, workers' associations, acceptable 
forms of child labor, and labor inspection regulations. According to a 
news article on September 27, the national minimum wage rate was Nu 
3,000 ($67) per month, and the labor minister stated that half the 
country's workers earned more than the minimum wage. The workday was 
defined as eight hours with a one-hour lunch break, and employers must 
grant regular days of rest. Work in excess of this must be paid at 1.5 
times the normal rate.
    All citizens were entitled to free medical care. The Government 
transported persons who could not receive adequate care in the country 
to other countries (usually India) for treatment. Workers were eligible 
for compensation in the case of partial or total disability, and in the 
event of death, their families were entitled to compensation. Existing 
labor regulations did not grant workers the right to leave work 
situations that endangered their health and safety without jeopardizing 
their continued employment.

                               __________

                                 INDIA

    India is a multiparty federal, parliamentary democracy with a 
bicameral parliament and a population of approximately 1.2 billion. The 
president, elected by an electoral college, is the chief of state, and 
the prime minister is the head of the Government. India's 
constitution--the source of authority--provides the legal framework for 
the guarantee of human rights through its Fundamental Rights and 
Directive Principles. Under the constitution, the 28 states have a high 
degree of autonomy and have primary responsibility for issues of law 
and order. President Pratibha Patil was elected in 2007 to a five-year 
term with 65.8 percent of the vote, and Manmohan Singh became prime 
minister for a second term following the Congress Party-led coalition's 
victory in the 2009 general elections, which were considered free and 
fair, despite scattered instances of violence. Separatist insurgents 
and terrorists committed numerous serious abuses. Security forces 
reported to civilian authorities; unlike in previous years, there were 
no reported instances of security forces acting independently of 
government authority.
    Major human rights problems included reported extrajudicial 
killings of persons in custody, killings of protesters, and torture and 
rape by police and other security forces. Investigations into 
individual abuses and legal punishment for perpetrators occurred, but 
for many abuses, a lack of accountability due to weak law enforcement, 
a lack of trained police, and an overburdened court system created an 
atmosphere of impunity; lengthy court backlogs prolong the latter. Poor 
prison conditions and lengthy detentions were significant problems. 
Unlike in previous years (2008 and 2009), there were no instances of 
officials using antiterrorism legislation to justify excessive use of 
force; however, indiscriminate use of force by Border Security Forces 
was a problem. Corruption existed at all levels of government and 
police. There were reports of delays in obtaining legal redress for 
past attacks against minorities. The law in some states restricted 
religious conversion, but there were no reports of convictions under 
these restrictions. Violence associated with caste bias occurred. 
Domestic violence, child marriage, bonded labor, dowry-related deaths, 
honor crimes, and female feticide remained serious problems.Separatist 
insurgents and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeastern 
States, and the Naxalite belt committed numerous serious abuses, 
including killing armed forces personnel, police, government officials, 
and civilians. Insurgents engaged in widespread torture, rape, 
beheadings, kidnapping, and extortion. The number of incidents, 
however, declined compared with the previous 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 numerous 
reports that the Government and its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings of suspected 
criminals and insurgents, especially in areas of conflict such as Jammu 
and Kashmir, the Northeastern States, and the Naxalite belt, where 
nongovernmental forces also committed such killings (see section 1.g.). 
According to the Institute for Conflict Management, as of October 17, 
there were 1,616 fatalities in the country--including members of 
security forces, individuals classified by the Government as 
terrorists, and civilians--which represented a decrease from 2,231 
fatalities in 2009.
    Most encounter killings, in which security forces and police 
extrajudicially killed alleged criminals or insurgents, occurred in 
areas in conflict, but the practice reportedly occurred elsewhere in 
the country as well.
    In March a number of media outlets reported that in response to a 
Right to Information (RTI) request the National Human Rights Commission 
(NHRC) provided data indicating that 1,224 of the 2,560 police 
encounter cases reviewed since 1993 had been staged by security forces. 
Despite the NHRC's published recommendations that the Criminal 
Investigations Department investigate all police encounter deaths, many 
states did not follow the guidelines and continued to conduct internal 
reviews only at the discretion of senior officers.The Asian Human 
Rights Commission (AHRC) reported that on January 21 Manipur security 
personnel abducted and killed a shop owner in Chekon. Memcha Fazeruddin 
stated that her husband's body was returned with 15 bullet holes, but 
the body was clad in combat dress that was free of any bullet holes, 
which suggested tampering with the body. Police claimed that Fazeruddin 
had been shot in an encounter with troops from the 33 Assam Rifles in 
Kwakta Khuman and that they had found arms and ammunition on his body. 
In a meeting set up by community members, the Manipur chief minister 
assured Fezeruddin's wife that he would give her family compensation 
and find a suitable job for one of her relatives. The AHRC stated that 
the official did not offer to investigate the matter.
    On March 14, according to the ACHR, members of the Manipur State 
Police Commando Unit arrested Chongtham Nanao. The next morning police 
informed the local village head that they had recovered a dead body 
from the location of an alleged exchange of gunfire between police and 
armed militants. Nanao's relatives later identified his body. The local 
media stated that a combined team of Thoubal Police Commandos and 21 
Assam Rifles were involved in the killing.
    Also according to the AHRC, on April 8, Irengbam Gunindro was 
abducted and killed in Manipur. The local police reported that evening 
that they had killed him in an armed encounter. On April 10, a local 
daily newspaper quoted the inspector general of the Assam Rifles as 
saying that the 28 Assam Rifles killed Gunindro in an encounter killing 
and that a nine-millimeter pistol had been recovered from Gunindro's 
body. According to his family, Gunindro had no known history of 
previous involvement with police and no known prior criminal record.
    In September the state government reinstated the four police 
officials allegedly involved in the May 2009 killing of Neelofar Jan 
and Asiya Jan in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. On June 28, 
Shakeel Ahmad Ahangar, Neelofar's husband and Asiya's brother, filed a 
petition to reinstate inquiry into the killings of the two women. The 
petition remained pending before a Srinagar court at year's end. 
Relatives and police discovered the bodies of Neelofar and Asiya in a 
stream, and local residents and examining doctors alleged that Indian 
Security Forces gang-raped and killed Neelofar and Asiya. In addition 
several government officials stated that police involvement in the 
killings could not be ruled out. In July 2009 the High Court ordered 
the arrest of four police officers on charges of suppressing and 
destroying evidence in the case. In September 2009 the court granted 
bail to the officers, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) 
took charge of the case from the Special Investigation Team. In 
December 2009 the CBI submitted its report to the High Court, 
concluding the women died of drowning and ruling out foul play. The 
report prompted renewed protests and a general strike in the state. The 
CBI formally concluded its investigations into the incident, dismissing 
charges against police.
    There were no updates in the May 2009 incident in which Mumbai 
police killed alleged criminal Anil Mhatre or the June 2009 incident in 
which Maharashtra police killed Vishwanath Munna Katari in Nasik.
    On September 9, the CBI charged nine members from the Manipur Rapid 
Action Police Force with the July 2009 killing of Chongkham Sanjit in 
Imphal. Officials initially claimed they shot him after he fired on 
them, but a local photographer published pictures of the incident that 
showed police escorting Sanjit calmly into a pharmacy. When police 
emerged from the pharmacy, a witness photographed the officers dragging 
Sanjit's corpse to a waiting truck. Although the CBI charged them with 
the nonbailable offence of murder, none were arrested, and on September 
27, the chief judicial magistrate granted them bail, despite the 
opposition of the CBI. At the end of the year, seven of the nine were 
suspended; two remained working as law enforcement officers.
    Custodial deaths, in which prisoners were killed or died in police 
custody, also remained a serious problem, and authorities often delayed 
or failed to pursue prosecutions against members of the police or 
security forces. In April the AHRC reported that, ``according to the 
[most recent] statistics submitted to parliament by the MHA . under the 
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule from 2004-2005 to 2007-2008, 
prison custody deaths increased by 70.72 percent''; there was no 
current data regarding custodial deaths. While the NHRC published 
guidelines that directed all the state governments to report to it 
within 48 hours all cases of deaths in police actions, state 
governments did not consistently comply with the guidelines. In 
addition the armed forces were not required to report custodial deaths 
to the NHRC, and the commission did not have the power to investigate 
the armed forces. The NHRC was empowered to seek only reports from the 
central government regarding deaths in custody, and the central 
government was not bound by its recommendations.
    On April 11, according to a report in India Today, 28-year old 
Naresh Yadav died after spending a week in pretrial detention in Jamui 
prison (in the state of Bihar) on charges of being a Maoist. He had 
complained that his ribcage ached and was transported to a hospital, 
where he died a few hours later. Yadav's wife stated, ``They tortured 
him in captivity. He succumbed to internal injuries.''
    On December 10, following a petition submitted by the deceased's 
relatives, the High Court of Kerala ordered the CBI to submit the case 
diary before the court in connection with the March 2009 custodial 
death of Sampath. Sampath died in police custody prior to his trial on 
charges of murder. According to media reports, an autopsy revealed 
Sampath had multiple injuries, including bleeding in the brain from 
head trauma. In May 2009 the Kerala High Court transferred the 
investigation from the state police to the CBI.
    Security forces killed demonstrators during the year, including 
during the protests that occurred between June and September in Jammu 
and Kashmir (see section 1.g.).
    On September 13, according to Reuters news service, four persons 
were killed in Kashmir when police fired on Muslim protesters who set 
fire to a Christian missionary school to denounce international reports 
that copies of the Qur'an had been defaced.
    The Government made no progress in holding officials accountable 
for abuses that occurred during the period of the Punjab 
counterinsurgency between 1984 and 1994. In January the Human Rights 
Data Analysis group published research findings that supported claims 
by human rights groups that ``.more Amritdharis (or baptized Sikhs) 
were the victims of state-attributed lethal violence than non-
Amritdharis, that most victims of state-based lethal violence were 
young males of military age, and that police, although claiming to 
carry out a focused counterinsurgency against members of the militancy, 
ended up killing and disappearing a sizable number of individuals who 
were not known to have any links to the militancy.''
    The Government made some movement in holding police and security 
officials accountable for killings committed during the Delhi anti-Sikh 
violence of 1984. On July 7, a Delhi court brought charges of murder 
and rioting against senior Congress Party leader Sajjan Kumar and 
others in connection with an incident in which six persons were killed 
in New Delhi. On September 20, the Supreme Court rejected Kumar's 
petition challenging initiation of criminal proceedings against him and 
directed the trial court to continue proceedings against him. The court 
had not issued a verdict in the case by year's end.
    There were media reports and allegations by nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) of excessive use of force by the Indian Border 
Security Force (BSF) along the India-Bangladesh border. According to 
the NGO Odhikar, between 2000 and the end of the year, the BSF killed 
approximately 1,000 Bangladeshi nationals. The BSF usually explained 
these killings by stating that those individuals were evading arrest or 
that security force members had to fire in self-defense. Human Rights 
Watch (HRW) found that those who were killed had been armed only with 
sickles, sticks, and knives, which are tools commonly carried by 
villagers. HRW also reported that the BSF seldom mentioned injuries 
received by its own personnel, which suggested that the BSF may have 
used lethal force instead of attempting arrest. In many cases those 
killed had been shot in the back, indicating that they may have been 
shot while running away. There also were reports that Bangladesh Border 
Guards engaged in shootings along the border as well.
    On January 21, according to Odhikar, a Bangladesh human rights 
organization, Indian forces detained and tortured a 15-year-old boy 
whose family lived adjacent to the border. The boy was swimming in the 
river that demarcates the border. After his release the boy died from 
the injuries that he reportedly sustained during torture.
    On February 5, according to HRW, the BSF killed Bangladeshi Farid 
Hossian, who reportedly crossed the border illegally to transport a cow 
into Bangladesh. An autopsy revealed he had bullet wounds to his chest.
    There was at least one killing during the year attributed to a 
political figure. On July 21, two individuals on a motorcycle, 
allegedly Shailesh Pandya and Pachan Shiva, shot and killed Amit 
Jethwa, an RTI Act activist. Jethwa was campaigning against illegal 
mining in the Gir forest and had filed a public interest lawsuit in the 
Gujarat High Court in June. Jethwa's lawsuit named politician Dinubhai 
``Dinu'' Boghabhai Solanki and his family members as parties 
responsible for the illegal activity. On September 6, police arrested 
Shiva Solanki, Dinu's nephew, also a politician, based on reports that 
he had asked police constable Bahadursinh Wadher to arrange Jehwah's 
killing. On November 10, Gujarat police filed charges in the case. At 
year's end, the hearing had not begun, and Pandya, Shiva, Wadher, and 
Solanki remained in prison.
    There were multiple killings related to societal violence, 
including honor killings and mobs killing members of Scheduled Castes 
(see section 6). According to the Ministry of Home Affairs' (MHA) most 
recent annual report, 125 persons died in violent altercations between 
religious communities in 2009.
    Civil society activists continued to express concern about the 
Gujarat government's failure to arrest those responsible for communal 
violence in 2002 that resulted in the killing of more than 1,200 
persons, the majority of whom were Muslim. In one instance in 2002, an 
armed group attacked the Gulbarg Society, a lower middle-class Muslim 
neighborhood in Chamanpura, Ahmedabad. The attackers burned many 
houses, and at least 69 persons (including former Congress Party member 
of parliament Ehsan Jafri) died in the fires.
    The Gujarat government appointed the Nanavati-Mehta Commission to 
investigate the violence in 2002, and the Supreme Court appointed a 
Special Investigative Team (SIT) in 2008. Several witnesses accused the 
SIT of pressuring them to change earlier testimony given before the 
commission. Many cases tried in Gujarat's lower courts resulted in 
acquittals as a result of a lack of evidence or changes in testimony. 
By the end of January, the Gujarat government completed paying 
compensation to the next of kin to all victims, including those of 228 
missing persons whom the Government declared dead in February 2009.
    During the year Citizens for Justice and Peace, an advocacy group 
for victims of the 2002 violence, raised doubts about the impartiality 
of the SIT investigations in 10 cases. On February 9, the Supreme Court 
appointed Solicitor General Gopal Subramanian to study the SIT reports, 
and it halted the Gulberg Society trial on March 15. On March 27, at 
the request of the Supreme Court, the SIT questioned Gujarat Chief 
Minister Narendra Modi regarding a complaint filed by Zakia Jafri, a 
survivor of the Gulberg Society events. Since 2006 Jafri had sought to 
register a formal complaint against Modi and 60 other high-level state 
officials for their alleged role in the 2002 violence. On April 6, the 
Supreme Court ordered the removal of two high-level officers from the 
SIT and, on May 14, ordered the appointment of two new officers. The 
SIT submitted its final report on the Jafri complaint to the Supreme 
Court on May 14. The court did not release the contents of the report 
to the public.

    b. Disappearance.--There were reports that police throughout the 
country failed to file required arrest reports for detained persons, 
resulting in hundreds of unresolved and unreported disappearances. 
Police and government officials typically denied these claims. The 
central government reported that state government screening committees 
that determined which detainees were eligible for release provided 
information about detainees to their families, but credible sources 
stated that families often needed to bribe prison guards to confirm 
detention of their relatives.
    Disappearances attributed to governmental forces occurred in areas 
of conflict during the year (see section 1.g.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture, but many NGOs alleged that such 
practices were common, especially in areas of conflict (see section 
1.g.). In December parliament passed the Prevention of Torture Bill to 
comply with the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, 
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, but a number of nongovernmental 
activists expressed concerns about the act's provisions. Activists were 
concerned that the act requires that complaints regarding torture be 
made within six months, that previous sanctions by appropriate 
government bodies must be sought before a court is empowered to 
consider a complaint, that the legal framework to address cases of 
torture is insufficient because there is no independent agency to 
receive torture complaints and conduct prompt investigations, and that 
there is no effective procedure for victims to receive redress and 
rehabilitation.
    The law generally does not permit authorities to admit into 
evidence confessions that have been coerced, but NGOs and citizens 
alleged that authorities used torture to coerce confessions, which in 
some instances were submitted as evidentiary support for death 
sentences. Authorities allegedly also used torture to extort money or 
as summary punishment.
    The ACHR stated in its April report, Torture in India 2010, 
``[t]orture in police custody remains a widespread and systematic 
practice in the country'' and ``[t]he lack of any effective system of 
independent monitoring of all places of detention facilitates 
torture.'' NGOs asserted that custodial torture was common in Tamil 
Nadu, and credible sources claimed police stations in Punjab, Andhra 
Pradesh, Haryana, and Chandigarh used torture to obtain desired 
testimony. The AHRC claimed police used torture and assault in Kerala 
and Gujarat as a means of criminal investigation. While guidelines 
against torture exist, states reportedly continued to use it to extract 
information or obtain statements from those in custody.
    A report by the AHRC detailed inhuman and degrading treatment of a 
woman from Delhi's Mayapuri area. On May 22, the woman went to the 
Rajouri Garden Police Outpost in Delhi to inquire about her two sons 
(ages 10 and 12 years old) who had been detained at police station on 
accusations that they had stolen money. The AHRC stated that police 
used torture and abuse to force the 12-year-old boy to confess and 
return the money. On May 23, the officers reportedly forced the mother 
to strip naked and ordered her to have sex with her son. Upon her 
refusal one of the officers ordered the woman to have sex with him. The 
woman later filed a complaint with the Office of the Delhi Police 
Commissioner, who suspended three of the officers. The assistant sub-
inspector who was in charge of the outpost was transferred as a result 
of the incident.
    According to an October 29 report by India Today, an unknown source 
filmed three men in khaki clothing torturing a fraud suspect inside a 
police station in Punjab's Jalandhar district. The report stated that 
police officers made the suspect lie face-down on the floor and beat 
him with belts, causing the victim serious injuries. The district 
police instituted a probe and suspended three police personnel after 
the film became public.
    On December 22, Maharashtra police arrested sub-inspector Munir 
Shaikh in Mumbai on the charge of abetting the suicide of domestic 
worker Kunda Shinde. According to media reports, the inspector 
illegally detained Shinde on the basis of a theft complaint made by her 
neighbor. Police allegedly tortured her for two days, after which she 
committed suicide while in custody. Police arrested Shaikh for 
``abetment to suicide, wrongful restraint, and wrongful confinement to 
extort confession from a person.''
    No action was taken by Delhi police regarding the human rights 
complaint filed in 2009 by Joel Elliott, a journalist who has written 
for The Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times, and other 
publications. Elliott suffered severe wounds on his head, legs, and 
back and a black eye when police allegedly beat and tortured him during 
the six to seven hours he was in custody.
    On December 16, the Andhra Pradesh (AP) state government admitted 
that police tortured 21 Muslim detainees after the 2007 Mecca Masjid 
bombing; however, at year's end the Government had not initiated 
criminal proceedings against any police officers involved. AP Home 
Minister Sabita Reddy stated that the Government was waiting for the 
final report of Justice V Bhaskara Rao commission's probe into the 
events following the attack and that the Government would take action 
against any police officers found guilty of misconduct based on the 
report.
    On October 25, the Supreme Court sentenced three police officers 
from Rajasthan for cutting off the genitals of a man suspected of 
having an illicit affair in 1994. The court sentenced Kishore Singh to 
life imprisonment, Sumer Dan to 10 years' imprisonment, and Sohan Singh 
to six months' imprisonment. In its decision overturning a high court 
verdict that had given lighter sentences, the Supreme Court stated, 
``Policemen who commit criminal acts deserve harsher punishment than 
others . because it is the duty of the policemen to protect the people 
and not break the law themselves.''
    NGOs claimed the NHRC underestimated the number of rapes that 
police committed. Due to the lack of oversight and accountability, some 
rape victims, especially if the perpetrator is a police or other 
official, are unlikely to come forward and report the crime; victims 
often feel shame and fear retribution. Many of the reported rapes by 
security forces occurred in relation to internal conflicts and 
insurgencies (see section 1.g.).
    There were no updates in the investigation of the alleged gang rape 
by Madhya Pradesh police officers of a Dalit woman in Betul district in 
June 2009.
    Despite an ongoing investigation, there were no updates to the 2008 
case in which two commandos from the Haryana police allegedly raped a 
woman after pulling her out of a moving rickshaw.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
frequently life threatening and did not meet international standards. 
Prisons were severely overcrowded, sanitation and other environmental 
conditions often did not meet international standards, and food and 
medical care were inadequate. The state's 64 prisons were designed to 
40,000 prisoners but reportedly housed approximately 90,000 prisoners 
during the year. India Today also indicated that the average capacity 
of each of the 58 district jails, five central jails, and one model 
jail in the state's 73 districts was 500 to 800 inmates, but each 
contained approximately 2,400 to 3,000 inmates. According to the 
report, the overcrowding caused extremely inhuman conditions in most 
facilities, which reportedly caused high rates of disease and the 
deaths of an average of 300 inmates per year in the various state 
prisons.
    In 2009 the NHRC asked Uttar Pradesh's director general of police 
for a detailed report concerning allegations that the conditions in 
Mirzapur prison for female inmates were extremely poor; that the prison 
lacked medical facilities; and that authorities were holding minor 
female prisoners with adult prisoners instead of in government homes 
for children, in violation of the law. At the end of the year, the NHRC 
had not published the report.
    There was no information as to whether the Maharashtra health 
secretary had submitted to the Mumbai High Court a report on AIDS-
related deaths in prison, pending at the end of 2009.
    The physical status of the prison and detention center 
infrastructure often did not meet international standards. On December 
8, the MHA informed parliament that according to the federal Home 
Ministry's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), at the end of 2008, 
the 1,356 prisons across the country were 30 percent over capacity. In 
2008 there were 384,753 inmates despite an authorized capacity of 
297,777, and there were 19,670 vacant prison staff positions. The NCRB 
did not release more recent statistics during the year.
    Two-thirds of the prison population reportedly consisted of persons 
awaiting trial. Female prisoners accounted for approximately 4 percent 
of the total prison population, and juveniles composed less than 1 
percent. Men and women were held separately. The law requires juveniles 
to be detained in rehabilitative facilities, although at times they 
were detained in prison, especially in the rural areas. Pretrial 
detainees were held with convicted prisoners.
    Prisoners were permitted reasonable access to visitors, although 
some family members stated they were denied access to relatives held in 
detention, particularly in areas of conflict, including Jammu and 
Kashmir. Prisoners have the right to engage in religious observances, 
and in most cases that right was respected in practice. As in previous 
years, the Government allowed some NGOs to provide assistance to 
prisoners, within specific guidelines.
    Investigations of the prisoner complaints were within the purview 
of the NHRC, which received and investigated prisoner complaints of 
human right violations throughout the year, but some activists 
indicated that many complaints were not filed due to fear of 
retribution by prison guards or officials. Most investigation findings 
and NHRC recommendations were published on the NHRC Web site; however, 
there were allegations by NGOs that investigations and recommendations 
of controversial issues were not disclosed.
    Most state governments permitted prison monitoring by independent 
groups such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and 
the NHRC. During the year the central government rescinded the 
requirement of obtaining permission prior to visiting the Manipur, 
Nagaland, and Mizoram, and the special permits are no longer required. 
In many states the NHRC made surprise visits to state prisons but not 
to military detention centers. The NHRC lacks jurisdiction over the 
armed forces and their detention centers.
    According to the most recent statistics, in 2009 the ICRC visited 
860 detainees and interviewed 826 individually during 73 visits to 36 
detention centers. The ICRC was not authorized to visit interrogation 
or transit centers in the northeastern states of Manipur, Mizoram, and 
Nagaland. NGOs' observations of prison conditions often remained 
confidential due to agreements with the Government.
    The NHRC had a special rapporteur to ensure that state prison 
authorities performed medical checkups on all inmates. The rapporteur 
visited prisons on a regular basis throughout the year.
    A report released on March 31 by the Comptroller and Auditor 
General stated that the National Commission of Women (NCW) had failed 
to make the mandatory jail visits to assess the living conditions of 
women for the past four years.
    In an effort to improve conditions, the MHA acknowledged in its 
2009-10 annual report that prisons were overcrowded and required 
repairs and renovations, including improvements in sanitation and water 
supply. During the year the central government began implementing a 
plan to modernize the prisons. According to the MHA 2009-10 annual 
report, the plan had been implemented in 27 states and resulted in the 
construction of 99 new jails and 1,365 additional barracks in existing 
prisons.
    In April Maharashtra State created an ``open'' prison for women in 
Pune, where reportedly women are to be offered paid employment 
opportunities outside jail premises under minimal supervision. Some 
prisons gained recognition for their efforts to help inmates gain 
useful skills during their time detained. In December the Bureau of 
Standards granted a quality license to the Indira Gandhi National Open 
University Centre at Tihar Jail (New Delhi), where inmates can enroll 
in degree or certificate programs.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but both occurred during the year. The HRW 
country summary for the year described the situation as follows: 
``[police] abuses occur in part because of failure by the Government to 
properly train or modernize its police force. Police officers face 
dismal working conditions and recruitment lags far behind increasing 
duties, creating an overstretched force that is likely to take short-
cuts to gain convictions. Embittered and overworked, the police regard 
themselves as enforcers of the law--but not beholden to it.''
    Police also used special security laws to delay judicial review of 
arrests. Pretrial detention was arbitrarily lengthy and sometimes 
exceeded the sentence given.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Although the central 
government provides guidance and support, the 28 states and seven union 
territories have primary responsibility for maintaining law and order. 
The MHA controls most paramilitary forces, the internal intelligence 
bureaus, and the nationwide police service, and it provides training 
for senior police officers of the state-organized police forces. 
According to HRW, cases of arbitrary arrest, torture, and forced 
confessions by security forces were common. Several laws, including 
part of the criminal procedure code and the Armed Forces Special Powers 
Act (AFSPA), were used to provide legal protection for members of 
security forces who violated human rights.
    Officers at all levels acted with impunity, and officials rarely 
held them accountable for illegal actions. Military courts investigated 
cases of abuse by security officials. When a court found an officer 
guilty of a crime, the punishment often was a transfer.
    According to the MHA's 2008-09 report, citizens filed 1,185 reports 
of human rights violations countrywide against army and central 
paramilitary personnel. Authorities investigated 1,162 cases, found 
1,129 false, and judged 33 genuine. The military imposed penalties on 
69 individuals and awarded compensation in six cases.
    On September 7, Defense Minister A.K. Antony ordered a new inquiry 
into the death of Captain Sumit Kohli. The army claimed Kohli committed 
suicide while serving in Lolab Valley, Jammu and Kashmir in 2006, but 
family members claimed Kohli had been killed because he found out about 
an extrajudicial killing of four railway porters staged by his senior 
officers. On December 4, Kohlis' mother rejected the claim by Antony 
that her son's death was suicide and announced to the media her intent 
to file a petition with the Punjab and Haryana High Court. At year's 
end the petition had not been filed.
    On November 10, the Ministry of Defense informed parliament that 
the army had taken disciplinary action against personnel for violating 
human rights. Thirty-eight officers, 12 junior commissioned officers, 
and 79 individuals of other ranks were found guilty of violations and 
given punishments including imprisonment, dismissal from service, or 
termination.
    On January 6, in an effort to promote reform, the Indira Gandhi 
National Open University (IGNOU) announced the launch of sensitization 
programs for police officers. The NHRC and IGNOU agreed in 2009 to 
develop and conduct jointly courses for police personnel covering 
issues related to human rights and best practices. On December 11, 
IGNOU, in partnership with the MHA, announced an antitrafficking 
certificate course to accelerate improvement in the sensitization, 
awareness, and training of law enforcement officials, prosecutors, 
governmental departments, and NGOs.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the code 
of criminal procedure, a magistrate may authorize the precharge 
detention of an accused person for a period of no more than 90 days. 
Under the regular criminal procedure, the accused must be released on 
bail after 90 days. Article nine of the code prohibits arbitrary arrest 
or detention. Those detained on criminal charges must be promptly 
informed of the charges against them and of their rights to legal 
counsel. Article 39A of the constitution mandates free legal aid to the 
poor and weaker sections of society; however, need is not assessed 
systematically. By law authorities must allow family members access to 
detainees. In practice authorities granted access only occasionally. 
Arraignment of detainees must occur within 24 hours, unless the suspect 
is held under a preventive detention law.
    Authorities could also arrest and detain individuals under several 
other laws. In a February 11 report, HRW stated, ``[S]tate police, jail 
officials, and other authorities have committed a range of human rights 
violations, including arbitrary arrest and detention..'' HRW called for 
the repeal of the ``unlawful provisions of counterterrorism laws, 
including overly broad definitions of terrorism, expanded police powers 
of search and seizure, the presumption of guilt under certain 
circumstances, and draconian precharge detention periods.'' The ACHR 
stated in its April report, Torture in India 2010, ``There are no 
[legal] safeguards to ensure that a person taken into custody will have 
his detention recorded, have prompt access to a lawyer, or have an 
impartial medical examination upon his arrival at the place of 
detention or at the time of his release.''
    In 2008 parliament passed the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 
(UAPA), which gives authorities the ability to detain persons without 
charge in cases where insurgency or terrorism was suspected. Under the 
UAPA police can detain an individual without charge for up to 30 days. 
The UAPA also permits authorities to hold a detainee in judicial 
custody without charge for up to 180 days (including the 30 days in 
police custody). A court can authorize an initial period of 90 days 
precharge detention without special grounds and can extend detention 
for up to 90 days if the public prosecutor files a report with the 
court indicating the progress of the investigation. The UAPA also 
denies bail for foreigners and makes it easier for courts to deny bail 
in the case of detained Indian citizens. It presumes the accused to be 
guilty if the prosecution can produce certain incriminating evidence 
against the accused, such as the possession of arms or explosives or 
the presence of fingerprints at the crime scene, regardless of whether 
criminal intent exists.
    State governments also held persons without bail for extended 
periods before filing formal charges under the UAPA. For example, 
Maharashtra police arrested four alleged Naxalite sympathizers (Arun 
Ferreira, Sridhar Srinivasan, Murali Ashok Reddy, and Vernon Gonsalves) 
under the UAPA in 2007. In December 2009 the four were acquitted in one 
of the cases against them. However, the four remained in a jail near 
Mumbai at year's end.
    In 2004 the Government repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 
(POTA), which created special courts, allowed the identity of witnesses 
to be withheld, and allowed admission into evidence of custodial 
confessions. By law, however, persons arrested under a prior law 
continue to be prosecuted under that law even after its repeal. There 
were conflicting reports during the year of how many persons remained 
detained under POTA. In 2008 Union Minister Kapil Sibal announced there 
were between 90 and 100 pending POTA cases.
    During the year 85 Muslims detained in the 2002 Godhra train 
burning case remained in jail in Gujarat under POTA, despite a 2005 
POTA review committee ruling that POTA did not apply to them, a 2008 
ruling by the Supreme Court granting their release, and a Gujarat high 
court ruling in February 2009 that POTA charges did not apply to the 
accused and that they should be granted bail. Of the original 134 
persons accused, 104 were formally charged, five died, and 14 were 
released on bail. By year's end the trial in Gujarat had concluded, but 
judgment had not been released pending the Supreme Court's permission 
to the lower court to announce the verdict.
    The National Security Act (NSA) allows police to detain persons 
considered security risks anywhere in the country, except Jammu and 
Kashmir, without charge or trial for as long as one year. The law 
stipulates that family members and lawyers can visit NSA detainees and 
that authorities must inform a detainee of the grounds for detention 
within five days (10 to 15 days in exceptional circumstances). In 
practice these rights sometimes were not enforced.
    On July 18, the Tamil Nadu government detained film director 
Sebastian Seeman under the NSA. Seeman was trying to secure bail after 
being arrested on charges of engaging in inflammatory speech. After the 
court dismissed his bail plea, the city police commissioner ordered his 
detention under NSA. On December 10, the Madras High Court overturned 
the preventive detention of Seeman and ordered his release. Seeman was 
released from jail the same day.
    On September 9, railway police arrested four poultry farm workers 
for allegedly placing stones on the railway track between Erode and 
Uttukuli stations in Tamil Nadu. The Erode district collector ordered 
the suspects be charged under the NSA. At year's end there was no 
further information about the four.
    In June 2009 police detained five Manipur University students in 
Imphal under the NSA on charges of connection with militant 
organizations involved in the killing of a professor. On April 19, the 
court ordered the release of one of the students. At year's end the CBI 
continued to investigate the matter, and the other students remained in 
custody.
    The Public Safety Act (PSA), which applies only in Jammu and 
Kashmir, permits state authorities to detain persons without charge or 
judicial review for as long as two years. During this time family 
members do not have access to detainees, and detainees do not have 
access to legal counsel. In 2005 the NHRC set guidelines regarding 
arrest under the PSA that included establishing reasonable belief of 
guilt, avoiding detention if bail is an option, protecting the dignity 
of those arrested, prohibiting public display or parading, and allowing 
access to a lawyer during interrogation. In practice police routinely 
employed arbitrary detention and denied detainees, particularly the 
destitute, access to lawyers and medical attention.
    On February 24, the Jammu and Kashmir governor stated that 728 
persons had been detained under the PSA during 2008-10. On December 29, 
a Kashmir newspaper reported more than 3,500 youths were arrested and 
120 persons detained under the PSA during the June to September 
protests in the Kashmir valley.
    In 2005 the Chhattisgarh state government enacted the Special 
Public Security Act (SPSA), which permits detention for as long as 
three years for loosely defined unlawful activities. NGOs criticized 
the law as overly broad. Human rights groups voiced concerns that the 
law criminalizes any support given to Naxalites (Maoists), even support 
provided under duress.
    At year's end the Chhattisgarh High Court had not yet heard the 
petition filed by the People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) in April 
2009 challenging the SPSA's constitutionality. Police arrested PUCL 
human rights activist and physician, Dr. Binayak Sen in 2007 for 
alleged links with the Maoists. On December 24, the Raipur Sessions 
Court sentenced Sen to life imprisonment under the SPSA on the charge 
of sedition. Prominent intellectuals and members of the ruling Congress 
Party criticized the verdict.
    The 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 the AFSPA the Government can declare any state or union 
territory a ``disturbed area,'' a declaration that allows security 
forces to fire on any person to ``maintain law and order'' and to 
arrest any person ``against whom reasonable suspicion exists'' without 
informing the detainee of the grounds for arrest. The law also gives 
security forces immunity from prosecution for acts committed under the 
AFSPA. There were no records available for acts committed under the 
AFSPA.
    On September 29, the Jammu and Kashmir state government created two 
committees to review areas in the state in which AFSPA could be lifted; 
however, the committees did not meet during the year.
    A number of arbitrary arrests occurred during the year. According 
to media reports, on January 31, Devi Singh Rawat, a human rights 
lawyer, was arbitrarily arrested for ``voluntarily causing hurt to 
deter a public servant from his duty'' and ``assault or criminal force 
to deter public servant from discharge of his duty'' during a fight 
between members of the public and police officials during Panchayati 
Raj Institution elections in the village of Palra. He was released on 
bail on February 2. NGOs claimed that his arrest was due to his work on 
human rights.
    On April 9, according to the AHRC, security forces arrested 14-
year-old Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh for allegedly throwing stones in 
Srinagar. He was detained for eight days before being released on bail, 
but, on April 21, he was once again detained without charge or trial. 
At year's end he remained in jail.
    On May 23, according to the AHRC, Central Reserve Police Force 
(CRPF) personnel killed Iskandar Ali Barbhuiy when they opened fire 
indiscriminately in Panchaboti, a small market place in Cachar, Assam. 
They later arbitrarily arrested Moniruddin Barbhuiya and Abdul Khalik. 
Police claimed they opened fire on and arrested the individuals due to 
suspicious behavior during a routine patrol of the market; witnesses 
said that the CRPF did not warn the people before approximately 10 CRPF 
started firing, causing all to run in panic.
    In many states police made ``preventive arrests'' in the name of 
curbing public unrest. For example, in Maharashtra, on September 29, 
the day before the judgment on a contentious case that was to be 
delivered regarding the Babri Mosque-Ram Temple dispute in Ayodhya, 
Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai police officials detained approximately 4,000 
individuals for one day, purportedly to ``prevent disturbances.''
    Arbitrarily lengthy detention was a major problem as a result of 
overburdened court systems and lack of sufficient safeguards and 
oversight of the law. On September 13, Chief Justice Kurian Joseph said 
the number of pending cases in the high court decreased from 54,000 in 
February to 45,000 in August. Some of the cases dated to 1987. The 
chief justice said the goal was to clear all pending cases up to 2001, 
bringing the number of pending cases to approximately 20,000.
    The Government continued efforts to reduce lengthy detention and 
alleviate prison overcrowding by using ``fast-track'' courts, which 
specify a trial date or timeline and directions for case management and 
encourage use of bail. Critics contended that poor detainees were 
unable to make bail and would remain in detention. As of November 25, 
there were 1,292 functional fast-track courts across the country, which 
disposed of more than 16,000 cases in 2008 and 14,000 cases in 2009.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice, although citizens reported that judicial 
corruption was widespread. In Jammu and Kashmir, insurgents sought to 
threaten and intimidate members of the judiciary.
    The legal system was seriously overburdened and lacked modern case 
management systems, often delaying or denying justice. The court system 
had an estimated backlog of 30 million cases; one estimate during the 
year was that courts would require 320 years to clear that backlog.
    Many citizens reported that they offered bribes to move cases 
through the overburdened court system. In 2009 Minister of Law Veerappa 
Moily reported there were four million civil and criminal cases pending 
in the country's 21 high courts and 27 million pending civil and 
criminal cases in the lower courts. According to Moily the average time 
for a case to work its way through court was 15 years.
    There were allegations of bias in cases stemming from the 2002 
Gujarat violence (see section 1.a.).

    Trial Procedures.--The criminal procedure code provides for public 
trials, except in proceedings that involve official secrets, trials in 
which someone might make statements prejudicial to the safety of the 
state, or under provisions of special security legislation. Defendants 
enjoy the presumption of innocence and can choose their counsel. The 
state provides free legal counsel to indigent defendants, but in 
practice access to competent counsel often was limited, especially for 
the poor, and the overburdened justice system usually resulted in major 
delays in court cases.
    The law allows defendants access to relevant government evidence in 
most civil and criminal cases; the Government reserved the right to 
withhold information and did so in cases it considered sensitive. While 
defendants have the legal right to question witnesses against them, in 
practice underprivileged defendants sometimes did not enjoy this right. 
Courts must announce sentences publicly, and there are effective 
channels for appeal at most levels of the judicial system.
    Courts in Jammu and Kashmir often were reluctant to hear cases 
involving insurgent and terrorist crimes and failed to act 
expeditiously, if at all, on habeas corpus cases. According to a study 
by the South Asia Forum for Human Rights and the Centre for Law and 
Development, thousands of habeas corpus cases were pending in the 
courts throughout the Kashmir valley.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were reports of political 
prisoners or detainees in the country. NGOs reported that the Jammu and 
Kashmir government held political prisoners and also temporarily 
detained hundreds of persons characterized as terrorists, insurgents, 
or separatists. Human rights activists based in Jammu and Kashmir 
estimated there were 150 political prisoners in detention, and on 
December 23, members of the central government in Jammu and Kashmir 
announced that 2,950 political detainees who were arrested during the 
June-September protests had been released while 50 remained in prison. 
Prisoners arrested under one of the special antiterrorism laws often 
were not formally charged, nor did their family or other visitors have 
access to them.
    In West Bengal, 150 political prisoners remained in detention at 
year's end awaiting trial. Most were arrested in 2008 on charges of 
collaborating with the Maoists. On December 10, the prisoners at 
Mednipur Central Jail began a hunger strike protesting prison 
conditions and the noninitiation of court trials, and they demanded 
that a dialogue begin between the Government and the People's Committee 
Against Police Atrocities. The hunger strike continued at the end of 
the year.
    In May All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) chairman Mirwaiz Umar 
Farooq was placed under house arrest. Activists argued the arrest was 
made to prevent him from leading a rally to be held in Shopian in 
connection with the May 2009 killing of two women there (see section 
1.a.). In August 2009 the APHC released a list of 19 activists arrested 
as a result of protests of the Shopian incident; the activists were all 
released within several days of arrest.
    Kartam Joga, an indigenous political activist, arrested on 
September 14, remained imprisoned in Chhattisgarh at year's end on 
charges of collaborating with Maoists in ambushing and killing 76 CRPF 
personnel on April 6, murdering a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata 
Party Budhram Sodi in May, killing the father of a special police 
officer attached to the CRPF in August, and ambushing a truck and 
killing four persons in December 2009. Amnesty International maintained 
that the Government held Joga to prevent his peaceful political 
activities as an activist of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and an 
elected member of a local district government body and to deter him 
from defending the rights of adivasi (indigenous) communities.
    At year's end the trial of Marimuthu Barathan, a Dalit supporter 
with the Human Rights Education and Protection Council, for his alleged 
involvement in a January 2009 triple murder case had not begun. In June 
2009 authorities released Barathan from prison on bail.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The NHRC is an independent 
and impartial investigatory and advisory body. It has a mandate to 
address public servants' violations of human rights or negligence in 
the prevention of violations, intervene in judicial proceedings 
involving allegations of human rights violations, and review any 
factors (including acts of terrorism) that infringe on human rights. 
The NHRC has the ability to summon and enforce witness attendance, 
produce documentation, and requisition public records. The NHRC also 
recommends appropriate remedies for alleged wrongs by offering 
compensation to the families of individuals killed or harmed 
extrajudicially by government personnel; however, it cannot force the 
implementation of its recommendations. The NHRC is not empowered to 
address allegations against military and paramilitary personnel.
    Nineteen states also have human rights commissions, which hold 
independent investigations but work under the NHRC.
    On October 12, the NHRC chair reported that the NHRC received 
82,021 complaints related to human rights violations in 2009-10, a 
decrease from the 90,946 complaints received in 2008-09.
    Individuals or NGOs can file ``public interest litigation'' (PIL) 
petitions in any high court or directly in the Supreme Court to seek 
judicial redress of public injury. These injuries may have been a 
result of a breach of public duty by a government agent or as a result 
of a violation of a provision of the constitution. NGOs credited PIL 
petitions for making government officials accountable to civil society 
organizations in cases involving allegations of corruption and 
partiality.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government 
generally respected these laws in practice; however, at times the 
authorities infringed upon the right to privacy. Police are required to 
obtain warrants to conduct searches and seizures, except in cases in 
which such actions would cause undue delay. Police must justify 
warrantless searches in writing to the nearest magistrate with 
jurisdiction over the offense. In Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and 
Manipur, authorities have special powers to search and arrest without a 
warrant, and in terrorism cases under UAPA (amended), police are 
provided greater discretion to conduct searches and seizures.
    The Information Technology Act allows police 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.
    The 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 state governments 
used these surveillance techniques during the year.
    Although the Telegraph Act gives police the power to intercept 
telephone conversations, that evidence is generally inadmissible in 
court. The UAPA allows use of evidence obtained from intercepted 
communications in terrorist cases.
    On January 8, the central government defended its November 2009 
decision to ban prepaid mobile services in Jammu and Kashmir, 
explaining that terrorists used such services to detonate landmines 
targeting military convoys in the state. On January 21, the Government 
lifted the ban but placed strict conditions on telecommunications 
providers for verification of customers for both prepaid and postpaid 
connections. On June 29, the state government blocked mobile phone and 
messaging (SMS) services in the Kashmir Valley for one day to prevent 
further violence there but restored mobile services the next day.
    On August 15, the Department of Telecommunications and the 
country's security agencies issued a warning to Research in Motion 
(RIM), the creators of the Blackberry mobile device and its related 
services, that unlimited access to their devices was now a requirement. 
The department declared that if RIM did not grant unconstrained access 
to e-mails, text messages, and other communications in real time, the 
Government would ban their services. On October 15, the Prime 
Minister's Office intervened, delaying the deadline from October 31 to 
January 31, 2011. At year's end RIM and the Government remained in 
negotiations, and Blackberry service continued uninterrupted.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts--
During the year the country's armed forces, individual states' security 
forces, and paramilitary forces continued to engage in armed conflict 
with insurgent groups in Jammu and Kashmir, in several northeastern 
states, and in the Naxalite belt in the central and eastern parts of 
the country. All parties to the conflict used excessive force on 
occasion, killing and injuring conflict participants and civilians. The 
central and state governments and the armed forces investigated 
complaints and punished human rights violations committed by their own 
forces, and they arrested and tried insurgents under terrorism-related 
legislation. Investigations and prosecutions into human rights 
violations, however, were slow and few in number. There was no evidence 
that insurgent forces made attempts to prevent or punish human rights 
violations by their members.
    In November the Ministry of Defense informed parliament there had 
been 230 complaints of human rights violations lodged against armed 
forces personnel in the country since 2007. Of those complaints, 175 
personnel were demerited (mark on permanent record), and in four cases 
eight personnel were found guilty and punished.In Jammu and Kashmir, 
between June and September, security forces killed demonstrators during 
protests and injured many others. According to the Government, many of 
the protests turned violent after protesters threw stones and rocks at 
security forces, and security forces retaliated with excessive or 
deadly force. Deaths and injuries to protesters, including a number of 
children, spurred anger and renewed protests, deepening a cycle of 
violence. The MHA reported 101 civilians were killed from June 11 to 
October 31. In September the Government sought to calm tempers through 
dialogue, by releasing arrested protesters and providing financial 
compensation for deaths. During the violence the state government 
arrested 2,266 individuals; 81 of them were charged under the PSA for 
leading the protests.
    On October 6, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah stated 
that his government had ordered judicial inquiries into 13 cases of 
alleged human rights violations in the state in the past 20 months and 
an inquiry commission into 17 cases of civilian casualties during 
disturbances between June 11 and July 29.
    The conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir also resulted in the 
mistreatment and abuse of individuals. On April 1, the Jammu and 
Kashmir State Human Rights Commission informed the state assembly that 
there were 404 cases of human rights violations, including six rapes, 
43 disappearances, and six custodial deaths in 2008-09, 11 of which 
were specific complaints against paramilitary forces and the Jammu and 
Kashmir police. In three cases the army courts-martial court granted 
permission for the prosecution of the violators.
    The army prosecuted and punished some soldiers for human rights 
violations; on October 20, the army's Northern Command informed the 
media that 104 soldiers, including 48 officers, had either been 
dismissed from service or suspended for human rights violations in 
Jammu and Kashmir in the last 20 years. However, government 
investigations generally revealed a large percentage of the claims to 
be false and unjustified. The Northern Command reported that their 
investigations determined 97 percent of the 1,508 claims it 
investigated over the past 20 years were false. Similarly, on March 2, 
the Jammu and Kashmir government stated that as many as 384 complaints 
of the 623 human rights violations made to the State Human Rights 
Commission in the past two years were found to be false.
    The MHA's most recent annual report showed a decline in the number 
of violent incidents and people arrested and killed in the Northeastern 
tates, where a variety of ethnic groups sought independence or greater 
autonomy. According to the United NGO Mission of Manipur, human rights 
violations and excessive use of force by federal security forces in the 
state decreased, but there was an increase in the number of human 
rights violation committed by local security forces.
    In West Bengal's Naxalite (Maoist) affected districts, there were 
continued reports of excessive use of force by security agencies. The 
Andhra Pradesh police noted that large-scale Maoist (Naxalite) violence 
had declined in the state during the year, although there was a 
marginal increase in targeted killings as compared with 2009.

    Killings.--According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) 
database, total terrorism and insurgency-related fatalities continued 
to decrease from the previous year. There were reports that government 
security forces committed extrajudicial killings of persons in custody, 
including staging encounter killings to cover up the deaths of captured 
militants. Human rights groups claimed police refused to turn over 
bodies in cases of suspected staged encounters. In 2002 the Supreme 
Court ordered the central government and local authorities to conduct 
regular checks on police stations to monitor custodial violence, but 
government officials often failed to comply with the order. The armed 
forces are not required to report custodial deaths to the NHRC.
    The Institute for Conflict Management reported as of October 17, 
there were 375 fatalities in Jammu and Kashmir, including 270 alleged 
terrorists, 69 members of the security forces, and 36 civilians.
    There was no information about fatalities related to insurgencies 
during the year in the Northeastern States; they dropped from 1,054 in 
2008 to 843 in 2009.
    The ACHR reported that casualties among civilians and security 
forces resulting from Naxalite (Maoist) violence across at least 15 
states exceeded those resulting from violence by separatist insurgents 
in Jammu and Kashmir. The SATP database reported that during the year 
990 persons--including 212 militants, 250 security force personnel, and 
528 civilians--were killed as a result of Naxalite (Maoist) violence. 
Maoist-related fatalities in West Bengal, which had the most civilian 
fatalities during the year, have increased exponentially since 2005.
    On January 24, according to media reports, security forces 
allegedly used civilian Mushtaq Ahmad as a human shield. Police said he 
was caught in the exchange of gunfire during the operation to flush out 
insurgents at Karimpora village in south Kashmir's Pulwama. Locals, 
however, alleged that Mushtaq, son of the village headman, was used as 
a human shield against a barrage of fire directed at the forces.
    On February 3, crossfire between security forces and United 
Liberation Front of Asom militants in Udaigiri district, Orissa, killed 
10-year-old student Lakhya Jytoi Deka.
    On February 5, 17-year-old Zahid Farooq was shot dead in Srinagar. 
Police investigations found the involvement of BSF personnel in the 
crime. Two months after Farooq's killing, which sparked widespread 
protests, the Jammu and Kashmir police charged BSF Commandant R K 
Birdhi and Constable Lakhvinder Kumar Singh with the murder. The 
killing of Zahid Farooq followed the death of 14-year-old Wamiq Farooq 
on January 31, who died when he was struck by a tear gas canister as 
police tried to disperse a crowd protesting Indian rule in Kashmir.
    On April 24, personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles paramilitary force 
allegedly killed civilian Ghulam Muhammad Kalas and injured four others 
in Shopian district, Jammu and Kashmir. The NHRC sought a detailed 
report from the central government regarding the allegation. At year's 
end there was no further update.
    On May 29, an army major, a special police officer, and three army 
soldiers, were charged with murdering three civilians--Shahzad Ahmad 
Khan, Riyaz Ahmad Lone, and Muhammad Shafi Lone--on April 30. The 
officials allegedly promised the civilians a wage of 2,000 rupees ($45) 
per day to work as army porters in the Machil sector of the Line-of-
Control. Instead, they took them to Sogam village and shot them. The 
accused claimed the civilians were armed terrorists who died in a 
foiled infiltration attempt. Army investigators established that 
security forces killed the villagers extrajudicially, and the Jammu and 
Kashmir government owed the families compensation. On August 14, the 
media reported the victims' kin had received unsigned checks for 
100,000 rupees ($2,222). The Government administrators promised to 
reissue the checks, but there was no information about whether they had 
done so by year's end.
    On July 15, police charged 11 persons, including a colonel and two 
majors from the army, in connection with a fake encounter case that led 
to the killings of three youths in the Kupwara district, Jammu and 
Kashmir, on April 30. The 11 were charged with allegedly conspiring and 
kidnapping the three youths on the pretext of giving them jobs and 
later killing them in the higher reaches of Kupwara, claiming they were 
terrorists.
    On July 25, police allegedly tortured to death Tariq Ahmed Dar from 
Varmul District, Jammu and Kashmir, in custody. Police claimed he was a 
Laskar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative. His family filed a formal complaint, 
and at year's end investigations continued.
    On September 30, soldiers from the Nagaland unit of Indian Reserve 
Battalion shot at a vehicle and killed its two occupants near 
Balarampur town of West Bengal's Purulia District, reportedly without 
provocation. There were also reports of abuses by armed militias 
(``harmads''), affiliated with the CPI-M party, in West Bengal.
    There were no developments in the case of police allegedly killing 
19 persons in a staged encounter in Chhattisgarh in January 2009. 
Police claimed that Naxalite insurgents engaged them and that they 
recovered large amounts of explosives and weapons. Local villagers and 
journalists claimed, however, that the persons killed by police had no 
connection to Naxalites. According to villagers' reports, 150 to 170 
special police officers assembled villagers and forced them to put on 
Naxalite uniforms before shooting them. Villagers also alleged the 
officers raped female victims. At year's end the case continued in the 
state's high court.
    There were no developments in the January 2009 report of the army's 
high-level inquiry into the shooting death of Abdur Ahad Reshi, a deaf 
and mute man in Veer Saran Pahalgam in Kashmir.
    In March 2009 the army ordered disciplinary action against three 
soldiers found guilty of killing two civilians in February 2009 in 
Bumai, Jammu and Kashmir. Army authorities initially claimed the 
victims died as a result of an exchange of gun fire between militants 
and security forces. An army inquiry determined, however, that the 
three soldiers did not exercise adequate restraint in the use of their 
weapons.
    There were no updates regarding the March 2009 report that CRPF 
members killed Sahbir Ahmad Ahangar in Nowhatta, Jammu and Kashmir.
    In May 2009 the army ordered an inquiry into the alleged custodial 
death of Manzoor Ahmed Beig, who was found dead after Special Operation 
Group (SOG) inspector Khurshid Ahmad had summoned him to the SOG camp. 
At year's end Ahmad remained under suspension, but criminal proceedings 
had not been initiated against him.
    In September the Assam government paid 500,000 rupees ($11,000) 
each to the families of Ram Nath Chauhan and Jawahar Singh Gour, 
following recommendations of the NHRC. The two were victims of 
excessive use of firearms against protesters by police in Kabi Anglong 
district in 2008.
    On July 26, the family of Jalil Andrabi, human rights lawyer and 
activist, filed a petition before the Budgam chief judicial magistrate 
for further investigation into Andrabi's 1996 death in Srinagar, Jammu 
and Kashmir. The city court replied that it did not possess the power 
to reopen the case.
    On February 21, the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission 
sought sanction from the MHA and Ministry of Defense to prosecute two 
army officers indicted in the custodial killing of Muhammed Ayub Bhatt 
in 1991.
    Insurgents in the three conflict zones also committed killings 
during the year.
    On March 16, insurgent forces attacked a group of policemen in 
Baramulla district, Jammu and Kashmir, killing one policeman and one 
civilian and injuring six others.
    On April 6 and 10, Naxalites killed 75 and 76 police personnel, 
respectively.
    On May 2, two grenade blasts by insurgent forces in Doda district, 
Jammu and Kashmir, injured four civilians, including two children.
    On May 17, Naxalites blew up a private bus killing more than 40 
persons, including 18 local special police officers, in Dantewada, 
Chhattisgarh.
    On May 28, the Gyaneshwari Express derailed in West Bengal, 
resulting in the deaths of 148 passengers. It was disputed as to 
whether sabotage or a bomb caused damage on the railway track, which in 
turn led to a train's derailment before an oncoming freight train hit 
the loose carriages. An inquiry by the railway blamed ``sabotage'' for 
the train accident. The Maoist-backed People's Committee against Police 
Atrocities claimed responsibility. Police arrested several leaders with 
Maoist links, and on August 27, key suspect Umakanto Mahato was killed 
in an overnight encounter in Mohanpur forest.
    On May 3, a special fast-track court in Mumbai found Mohammed Ajmal 
Amir Kasab, the lone LeT terrorist captured alive from the 2008 
terrorist attacks in Mumbai, guilty of murder and waging war against 
the country and sentenced him to death. On October 18, the Mumbai High 
Court began hearing an appeal filed by Kasap against the death penalty. 
At year's end there was no verdict.

    Abductions.--Human rights groups maintained that military, 
paramilitary, and insurgent forces abducted numerous persons in Jammu 
and Kashmir, the Northeastern States, and the Naxalite belt. Human 
rights activists feared that some of the unacknowledged prisoners were 
tortured or killed during detention.
    Estimates of the number of missing persons varied. Human rights 
organizations stated there were 8,000 to 10,000 people missing in 
custody in Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir government reported 
in 2009 that 3,429 persons were missing from their homes and 110 
disappeared after arrest from 1999 to July 2009. During the year the 
Jammu and Kashmir government revised these figures and reported that 
1,105 persons had disappeared from the state since 1989.
    The Jammu and Kashmir Human Rights Commission handled 43 
disappearance cases in 2008-09. During the year there were no 
verifiable, documented disappearance cases involving security forces, 
police, or Naxalites.
    On August 3, personnel from the 12 Maratha Light Infantry arrested 
Leimakhujam Kokulo Singh at a checkpoint near Patsoi Lai Umang along 
the Imphal-Sangaithel Road. Kokulo was returning home with his wife and 
sister in an auto rickshaw. According to witnesses, security forces 
asked him to exit the vehicle, questioned and searched him, and dragged 
him into a white vehicle. The army did not issue an arrest memo, which 
is mandatory according to the guidelines of the Supreme Court. Kokulo's 
whereabouts remained unknown at year's end.
    On July 2, the Central Information Commissioner, Wajahat 
Habibullah, summoned to Delhi two top officials of the BSF in Jammu and 
Kashmir to provide information regarding the alleged disappearance of 
Muhammed Ashraf Yatoo in 1990 from Bandipora, Jammu and Kashmir. The 
BSF officials were summoned after Kashmir-based activist Raja Muzaffar 
Bhat filed an RTI request regarding Yatoo's death. No further action 
was taken against the BSF.
    Naxalites also abducted individuals during the year. On August 29, 
Naxalites abducted four policemen in Lakhisarai District, Bihar. The 
insurgent group killed one but released the others on September 6. 
According to media reports, the abduction was in retaliation for the 
July security force killing of Naxal leader Cherukuri Rajkumar (alias 
Azad).
    In October Naxalites abducted an intelligence officer and a teacher 
in West Bengal. At year's end their whereabouts were unknown.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--There were reports that 
government security forces tortured, raped, and mistreated insurgents 
and alleged terrorists in custody and injured demonstrators. All 
parties to the conflicts injured civilians on occasion.
    The NHRC looked into media reports and photographs that were 
published on June 18 of what appeared to be security force members 
carrying the dead bodies of Naxalites, including women, with their 
hands and feet tied to bamboo poles. It was alleged that the 
photographs were taken following an anti-Maoist operation in West 
Midnapore, West Bengal. The security members included members of armed 
CRPF counterinsurgency units and West Bengal police. The NHRC requested 
and received a report on the matter from the MHA and closed the case; a 
PIL petition requesting the reason why the security forces transported 
the dead bodies in such a manner was pending before the Kolkata High 
Court at year's end. The Government of West Bengal stated that security 
personnel had no intention of carrying the victims trussed in bamboo 
poles but were forced to as they were facing a hostile situation. At 
year's end the Kolkata High Court had held two sessions but had not 
pronounced a verdict.
    On September 5, police registered a case against Battalion 46 of 
the Rashtriya Rifles for opening fire and causing injury to five 
civilians in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir.
    On September 14, Amnesty International urged authorities to carry 
out an effective investigation into a three-minute video clip, 
allegedly recorded by one of the security force members, that showed 
Jammu and Kashmir police and CRPF personnel herding at least four naked 
youth to a nearby police station.
    Unlike in the previous two years, there were no reports of 
significant violence against out-of-state migrants by the regional 
political party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). Investigations 
continued in the violent incidents perpetrated by MNS members in 2008 
and February 2009. Several MNS activists were arrested, but at year's 
end they were released on bail.

    Child Soldiers.--There were no credible reports of any government 
security forces using child soldiers during the year; however, 
insurgent groups reportedly used child soldiers. According to an April 
13 UN secretary-general report on children and armed conflict, there 
were reports that Naxalites recruited and used child soldiers, 
especially in Chhattisgarh. According to an October 2009 MHA statement, 
intelligence information indicated forced recruitment of children by 
the Naxals in areas south of Chhattisgarh. In 2008 the NHRC stated that 
the Naxals forced many families to send at least one adolescent boy or 
girl to join their ranks. NGOs alleged that militants often used 
children as shields against government security forces. The UN 
conducted investigations into these allegations throughout the year.
    On November 23, the media reported on the escape of a 13-year-old 
tribal girl from a Maoist hideout near Bankura, West Bengal.

    Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--The conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir, 
the Northeastern States, and the Naxalite belt have displaced an 
estimated 621,000 persons; most remained without permanent homes during 
the year.
    In the Kashmir Valley region, from 1990 onwards, Islamist militants 
threatened, abducted, and killed Pandits and demanded that they leave. 
Tens of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits fled to Jammu, Delhi, and other 
areas in the country because of conflict between the Indian army and 
Muslim insurgents. As of June, 250,000 Kashmiri Pandits were displaced, 
most of them in camps in Jammu and Delhi. During the year protests in 
the Kashmir Valley region against Indian rule continued to make their 
return unlikely. According to the MHA's 2009-10 annual report, there 
were 57,863 Kashmiri Pandit migrant families, of whom 37,285 resided in 
Jammu, 19,338 in Delhi, and 1,240 in other states and territories. A 
February 2009 survey found 2,865 Kashmiri Pandits residing in Jammu and 
Kashmir, compared with 19,900 in 1998. The Governments of Jammu and 
Kashmir, the National Capital Territory of Delhi, and other states and 
territories provided aid to resident Kashmiri Pandit displaced 
families.
    In response to the deteriorating conditions of the camps, in 2004 
the prime minister announced the construction of approximately 5,000 
apartments for the Kashmiri Pandits, scheduled to be inhabited as of 
December; however, as of June only half had been completed. The plan 
was based on the assumption that all displaced Kashmiri Pandit families 
would eventually return to Kashmir.
    In the Northeast, violence between communal groups in the states of 
Assam, Manipur, and Mizoram displaced more than 25,000 persons from 
January 2009 through June; more than 202,000 remained displaced from 
previous incidents of communal violence from as early as 1993. 
According to the MHA's 2008-09 annual report, the central government 
began discussions with the northeastern state of Mizoram regarding 
repatriation to Mizoram of 32,500 Brus (also known as Reang) internally 
displaced persons (IDPs) living in six relief camps in Tripura. In 2005 
the Supreme Court ordered the MHA, the election commission, and the 
Governments of Mizoram and Tripura to resettle approximately 30,000 
displaced Brus (Reangs) and add them to the electoral rolls. A 2007 
survey by the Mizoram Bru Displaced Peoples Forum (MBDPF) of 5,328 
families found that more than 94 percent of camp inmates possessed at 
least one document issued by national or Mizoram authorities proving 
they were residents of Mizoram State. The first phase of the 
resettlement was delayed due to a November 2009 arson following the 
killing of a Mizo youth, which resulted in renewed Mizo-Bru violence 
and the displacement of an additional 5,000 Brus from Mizoram to 
Tripura. On May 1, 115 Brus displaced to Tripura in 2009 returned to 
Mizoram. As of August a census performed by the MBDPF counted 31,703 
Brus remaining in camps in Tripura. Most had been displaced in 1997; 
2,183 were displaced in 2009.
    In central India armed conflicts over land and mineral resources in 
tribal forest areas continued, and fighting between Naxalite (Maoist) 
insurgents and government security forces, supported by state-
supported, civilian anti-Naxalite Salwa Judum militia and Special 
Police Officers, affected more than 200 of the country's 626 districts 
in 20 of its 29 states. Most of the conflict areas overlap with the 
Dandakaranya forest, which covers parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, 
Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. The forest also 
has large deposits of mineral resources, such as bauxite, iron ore, and 
uranium, and is home to millions of tribal people. The Ministry of 
Rural Development in 2009 estimated up to 400,000 individuals have been 
displaced since the conflict began.
    In 2009 the Government initiated Operation Green Hunt against 
Naxalites in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, and West Bengal, 
including in the Dandakaranya forest. Human rights advocates argued 
that the operation seeks not only to suppress the Naxalites but also to 
force these tribal people off their land, allowing for commercial 
development. Also in 2009 the British newspaper The Guardian reported 
that the Government had signed several hundred memorandums of 
understanding with companies to build power plants, dams, and steel 
factories in the affected areas.
    IDP camps that opened in Chhattisgarh for displaced tribal persons 
caught in fighting between Naxalites and the Salwa Judum in 2006 
continued to operate. A 2008 NHRC report identified 23 government 
relief camps, with an estimated camp population of 40,000 IDPs, reduced 
from 27 camps with as many as 60,000 IDPs in 2006. The camps lacked 
adequate shelter, food, health care, education, and security. Civil 
society groups alleged that some men, women, and children from the 
camps were trafficked for labor and sexual exploitation. Some sources 
alleged that both Naxalites and Salwa Judum activists armed displaced 
children, but there was no confirmed evidence. Police acknowledged that 
some displaced minors may have been armed unintentionally by police 
officers but stated that police dismissed minors upon learning their 
ages. NGOs alleged that hundreds of Chhattisgarh IDPs settled in forest 
reserve areas in Andhra Pradesh were denied basic assistance, including 
food, water, shelter, medical facilities, and sanitation. Little was 
known about the population or their living conditions.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and expression, but it does not explicitly mention 
freedom of the press. While the Government generally respected freedom 
of speech and press in practice, certain forms of expression, such as 
obscenity or speech that the Government feared might disrupt public 
order, are not protected. In addition both the state and central 
governments imposed restrictions on media in Jammu and Kashmir during 
the violent protests in the summer as they attempted to restore law and 
order.
    Individuals could generally criticize the Government publicly or 
privately without reprisal; however, on June 29, the Jammu and Kashmir 
government blocked SMS in North Kashmir and, on June 30, expanded its 
blockage to all parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Official justified the 
blockage as a measure to prevent ``antinational'' elements and 
separatists from ``misusing'' the service. The ban was lifted on 
December 22.
    In October law enforcement authorities began investigating writer 
and activist Arundhati Roy and four others for sedition regarding 
public comments they made regarding the status of Jammu and Kashmir. At 
year's end no charges had been filed against Roy or the others.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. Independent newspapers and magazines were 
regularly published, and television channels broadcast investigative 
reports, including allegations of government wrongdoing. The media 
generally promoted human rights and criticized perceived government 
violations.
    AM radio broadcasting remained a government monopoly. Private FM 
radio station ownership was legal, but licenses authorized only 
entertainment and educational content. With the exception of radio, 
foreign media generally operated freely. Widely distributed private 
satellite television provided competition for Doordarshan, the 
Government-owned television network. There were allegations that the 
Government network manipulated the news. Some privately owned satellite 
channels promoted the platforms of political parties their owners 
supported.
    The Press Council, a statutory body of journalists, publishers, 
academics, and politicians with a government-appointed chairman, 
investigates what it considers irresponsible journalism and sets a 
self-regulated code of conduct for publishers. The code includes 
injunctions against publishing stories that might incite caste or 
communal violence. The council publicly criticized those it believed 
had broken the code.
    On July 1, the Jammu and Kashmir government banned publication of 
three daily newspapers after allegations of inflammatory reporting. The 
ban was lifted on July 6.
    On July 30, the Jammu and Kashmir government banned transmissions 
of two local television channels accused of broadcasting 
``provocative'' telecasts and creating law and order problems. The 
channels allegedly violated the 1995 Cable Television Network 
(Regulation) Act and were restricted to broadcasting news for only 15 
minutes at a predetermined time.
    Journalists experienced violence and harassment as a result of 
their reporting during the year.
    On January 7, police in Srinagar fired upon Amaan Farooq and Yawar 
Nazir after demanding the journalists cease photographing the scene 
following a battle between police and armed militants. Police assaulted 
three other journalists at the scene.
    On March 3, unidentified men attacked the Mangalore offices of 
Kannada Prabha and New Indian Express, reportedly in response to an 
article written by Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen that argued 
against the wearing of the burqa. Protests against the publication 
allegedly led to street violence in Shimoga and Hassan that killed two 
persons.
    On April 26, security forces in Srinagar beat Gowhar Bhat for 
covering a demonstration of the People's Democratic Party.
    On July 12, the Government refused to renew the work visa for Japan 
Broadcasting Corporation New Delhi bureau chief, Shogo Takahashi, 
purportedly due to his documentary programs that touched on the caste 
system.
    Local media reported 12 attacks and six instances of intimidation 
against journalists in Orissa from January through July.
    The central government banned some books from being imported or 
sold in the country because they contained material that government 
censors deemed inflammatory and apt to provoke communal or religious 
tensions.

    Internet Freedom.--There were some government restrictions on 
access to the Internet and reports that the Government occasionally 
monitored users of digital media. A 2008 amendment to the Information 
Technology Act reinforced the Government's power to block Internet 
sites and content, and it criminalized sending messages it deemed 
inflammatory or offensive. Both central and state governments have the 
power to issue directions for the interception, monitoring, or 
decryption of computer information. The Information Technology Ministry 
is responsible for enforcing the rules and regulations.
    According to International Telecommunication Union statistics 
during the year, 6.9 percent of the country's inhabitants used the 
Internet. Lack of infrastructure limited public access to the Internet, 
but large segments of the population (706 million) had mobile phones 
and used SMS to send and receive information.
    On August 20, the central government delayed implementation of a 
ban on Blackberry devices (see section 1.f.).

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government continued to 
apply restrictions to the travel and activities of a few visiting 
experts and scholars. Academic guidelines issued by the Ministry of 
Human Resources Development in 2003 required all central universities 
to obtain the ministry's permission before organizing ``all forms of 
foreign collaborations and other international academic exchange 
activities,'' including seminars, conferences, workshops, guest 
lectures, and research. Although the restrictions remained in force, in 
most cases the ministry permitted the international academic exchanges 
to take place after bureaucratic delays.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedoms of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    Freedom of Assembly--The law provides for freedom of assembly. 
Authorities normally required permits and notification before parades 
or demonstrations, and local governments generally 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 security forces occasionally detained and assaulted 
separatists engaged in peaceful protest (see section 1.g.). During 
periods of civil tension, authorities used the criminal procedure code 
to ban public assemblies or impose a curfew.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for the freedom of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice; however, there were restrictions on foreign funding and 
organization of international conferences (see section 5).

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. At year's end the Government lifted the requirement for 
nationals and foreigners, except persons from Pakistan and China, to 
apply for a special permit to travel to Manipur, Mizoram, or Nagaland; 
however, it continued to require special permits to travel to Jammu and 
Kashmir.
    The Government generally cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to some but not all IDPs, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    Security forces often searched and questioned vehicle occupants at 
checkpoints, mostly in troubled areas in the Kashmir Valley, before 
public events in New Delhi or after major terrorist attacks. The 
Government maintained a 330-mile security fence along the Line-of-
Control in Jammu and Kashmir, causing difficulties as the fence cuts 
through some villages and agricultural lands.
    The Government legally may deny a passport to any applicant who it 
believes may engage in activities outside the country ``prejudicial to 
the sovereignty and integrity of the nation.'' 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.
    Citizens from Jammu and Kashmir continued to face extended delays, 
often as long as two years, before the Ministry of External Affairs 
would issue or renew their passports. The Government subjected 
applicants born in Jammu and Kashmir--even children born to military 
officers during their deployment in the state--to additional scrutiny, 
requests for bribes, and police clearances before issuing them 
passports.
    The law allows for forced exile; however, the Government did not 
use forced exile in practice, and there were no reports of it during 
the year.

    Internally Displaced Persons.--There were several groups of IDPs in 
various locations in the country, including those displaced by internal 
armed conflicts in Jammu and Kashmir, the Naxalite belt, and the 
Northeast (see section 1.g.), as well as in Gujurat. In September the 
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) estimated that regional conflicts had 
displaced at least 650,000 persons, and the Internal Displacement 
Monitoring Center, operated by the NRC and the UN, put the total number 
of IDPs at approximately 500,000. It was difficult to estimate the 
exact number of those displaced by conflict or violence as there was no 
central government agency responsible for monitoring the numbers of 
those displaced or returning, and humanitarian and human rights 
agencies had limited access to camps and affected regions. While those 
who resided in IDP camps were registered, an unknown number stayed 
outside the camps.
    The violence in Gujarat in 2002 displaced more than 250,000 
persons, many of them Muslims from Gujarati villages and cities. 
According to the NRC, 19,000 IDPs remained in camps as of September 2, 
living in 86 relief colonies that lacked adequate infrastructure.
    The Government has no national policy or legislation to address 
internal displacement resulting from armed conflict and ethnic or 
communal violence, and the responsibility for protecting and assisting 
the displaced has often been delegated to the state governments and 
district authorities. The lack of a central policy allowed states to 
remain unaccountable for internal displacement and to claim they are 
unable to protect or assist displaced people. When state- or district-
level authorities provide assistance, it is often temporary and varied. 
The Government provided assistance to IDPs and allowed them access to 
NGO and human rights organizations, but neither access nor assistance 
was standard for all IDPs or situations. As in previous years, there 
were no reports that the Government attacked or forcibly resettled 
IDPs.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol 
relating to the Status of Refugees, and there is no law or clear policy 
for refugees. The 1946 Foreigners Act, the law consulted by authorities 
with regard to refugees and asylum seekers, does not contain the term 
``refugee''; the word ``foreigner'' is used, placing refugees, 
migrants, and tourists in the same category. Under this act physical 
presence in the country without valid travel or residential documents 
is a criminal offense, rendering refugees without appropriate 
documentation eligible to be deported; nevertheless, there were no 
reports that the Government deported refugees during the year. The 
Government generally provided protection against the expulsion or 
return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be 
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership 
in a particular social group, or political opinion.
    Although the Government lacks a legal framework for addressing 
refugees, it used an ad hoc approach and occasionally granted asylum 
and refugee status on humanitarian grounds in accordance with 
international law. However, this approach resulted in varying standards 
of protection for different refugee groups. The Government recognizes 
refugees of Tibet and Sri Lanka and honors UNHCR decisions on refugee 
status determination for individuals from other countries. According to 
the UNHCR, as of January there were 185,323 refugees in the country, 
including approximately 72,000 Sri Lankan refugees, 100,000 Tibetan 
refugees, and more than 14,000 urban refugees from other countries 
living in New Delhi. Of the 6,037 asylum seekers and 15,216 refugees 
registered with the UNHCR in New Delhi, a majority were from 
Afghanistan and Burma.
    The UNHCR had no formal status in the country, but the Government 
permitted its staff access to refugees in urban centers and allowed it 
to maintain a local office in Tamil Nadu; however, the UNHCR was not 
permitted direct access to Sri Lankan refugee camps, Tibetan 
settlements, or asylum seekers in Mizoram. In contrast the Government 
generally permitted NGOs, international humanitarian organizations, and 
foreign governments access to Sri Lankan refugee camps and Tibetan 
settlements but also generally denied them access to asylum seeker 
populations in Mizoram.
    As of December approximately 70,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees lived 
in 112 refugee camps throughout Tamil Nadu and one camp in Orissa. The 
central government and the state of Tamil Nadu jointly provided monthly 
cash payments and food subsidies to the refugees. According to NGOs, 
conditions in the Sri Lankan Tamil refugee camps in Tamil Nadu were 
generally acceptable, although much of the housing, as well as water 
and sanitation facilities, was of poor quality. There were some reports 
of gender-based violence including domestic violence, sexual abuse, and 
early marriage. The Government of Tamil Nadu estimated that there were 
an estimated 33,000 Sri Lankan refugees living at large in the state.
    The UNHCR provided refugee status and assistance to approximately 
3,000 to 4,000 Burmese living in Delhi, primarily Chins, but did not 
have access to the larger population of ethnic Chins living in the 
northeastern states. NGOs estimated that there were between 50,000 and 
100,000 Burmese Chin asylum seekers in Mizoram. Chin refugees generally 
reported fair access to housing, education, and health services. 
However, because most Chin refugees lacked legal status and were unable 
to work legally, they had inadequate income to meet their basic needs 
and remained vulnerable to abuse, discrimination, and harassment.
    While the Government respected the UNHCR's mandate of protection 
for UNHCR-recognized groups in New Delhi and provided residential 
permits to many of the UNHCR-recognized urban refugees, the Government 
did not recognize these populations in Delhi and other cities as 
``refugees,'' leaving them ineligible for certain rights and services 
and vulnerable to harassment and gender-based violence. They did not 
have the legal right to work and thus often worked for low wages in the 
informal market. Many refugees did not have sufficient access to 
education or basic services, although they received medical care in 
free clinics. Refugees without residency permits or other official 
documents did not have access to police or courts. One organization 
also reported a number of cases of abuse of refugees and arbitrary 
detentions. The organization noted that many urban refugees worked in 
the informal sector or in highly visible occupations such as street 
vendors, where they were subject to police extortion, nonpayment, and 
exploitation.

    Stateless Persons--According to the 1955 Citizenship Act, 
citizenship is derived by one's parents; birth within the country does 
not guarantee citizenship. A person born within the country is 
considered a citizen only if at least one parent is a citizen and the 
other is not an illegal migrant. Citizenship can also be obtained 
through registration under specific categories and via naturalization 
after residing in the country for 12 years.
    According to the UNHCR and NGOs, the country has a large population 
of stateless persons, but there were no accurate estimates of the 
number. Stateless populations include Chakmas and Hajongs, who migrated 
to India from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), and groups affected by 
the 1947 partition of the Indian Subcontinent into India and Pakistan. 
The UNHCR was working to identify and map stateless groups. In addition 
as of May, there were approximately 28,500 stateless Sri Lankan Tamils 
living in refugee camps in Tamil Nadu. The Sri Lankan government passed 
laws to grant citizenship to the Tamil refugees in 2009, but 
restoration of citizenship to the refugees was a slow process.

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.--The country held a five-
phase national election in April and May 2009 that included 714 million 
eligible voters. National and local security forces helped to ensure a 
relatively smooth election, although 65 persons were killed in voting-
related violence. The Congress-led United Progress Alliance government 
(a coalition of parties), headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, 
returned to power for a second term.
    Citizens elected state governments and local municipal or village 
council governments at regular intervals. During the year free and fair 
assembly elections were held in Bihar. While no voters were killed in 
election violence in Bihar, a bomb planted by Naxalites, who had urged 
a boycott of the election, killed two law enforcement officers.
    There were also cases of political violence during the year in 
Uttar Pradesh. For example, on October 11, four persons were killed and 
more than 36 others were injured during violence in the Uttar Pradesh 
Panchayat elections. The districts of Farukkhabad, Allahabad, Auraiya, 
Sitapur, Lucknow, and Gorakhpur reported incidents of booth capturing 
and seizure of ballot boxes. As of October 31, a reported total of nine 
persons had been killed and 59 others had been injured in the Uttar 
Pradesh Panchayat elections. On December 22, two persons were killed 
and several others were injured during violence between supporters of 
the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party and the opposition Samajwadi Party in 
the Block president elections in Uttar Pradesh.
    Political parties could operate without restriction or outside 
interference; however, violence between political parties that began 
following the 2009 Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) polls 
continued in West Bengal. Between mid-May 2009 and June 30, 245 Left 
Front members and about 240 Trinamool Congress workers were killed in 
West Bengal.
    Women held many high-level political offices, including the 
presidency, leader of the ruling Congress Party, 78 members (including 
the speaker) of the Lok Sabha, railways minister, chief minister 
position in Uttar Pradesh, and one seat on the Supreme Court bench. 
Women participated in politics throughout the country at all levels, 
including more than one million women in local village councils 
(panchayats).
    Implementation of an amendment increasing the quota for women in 
elected village councils from 33 percent to 50 percent continued at 
year's end. The state of Kerala began implementation in October.
    The constitution stipulates that to protect historically 
marginalized groups and to assure representation in the lower house of 
parliament, each state must reserve seats for scheduled castes and 
scheduled tribes in proportion to their population in the state. Only 
candidates belonging to these groups can contest elections in reserved 
constituencies. In the 2009 elections, 84 seats for candidates from 
scheduled castes and 47 seats from scheduled tribes were reserved, 
representing 24 percent of the total seats in the lower house.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. During 
the year Transparency International (TI) reported that the perception 
of corruption in the country had again increased. TI reported that 54 
percent of the population admitted to bribing authorities, with lower-
income earners reportedly paying more bribes. Bribes were typically 
paid to speed procedures such as police protection, school admission, 
water supply, or government assistance. Half of bribes were paid for 
the benefit of registering for government assistance. The report also 
stated that the population considered political parties to be the most 
corrupt institution in the country.
    According to a survey released in January 2009 by Trace 
International, a not-for-profit association that helps companies combat 
bribery, 91 percent of bribe demands came from government officials. 
Police officers accounted for 30 percent of bribe demands; the national 
customs office, 13 percent; and the national offices of taxation and 
water, 9 percent each. A May 2009 HRW report corroborated that 
corruption in the police force was pervasive, which several government 
officials reportedly acknowledged. Human rights activists and NGOs 
reported that citizens often had to pay bribes to receive police 
services. Many citizens reported they offered bribes to move cases 
through the court system. Government officials often demanded bribes 
for applicants from Jammu and Kashmir who required special clearances 
for passports.
    Both the Election Commission and the Supreme Court upheld mandatory 
disclosures of criminal and financial records for election candidates. 
Election campaigns for parliament and state legislatures often were 
funded with unreported money, and the Government failed to control the 
practice.
    The law mandates asset declarations for all Indian Administrative 
Service officers. On January 13, the Delhi High Court upheld the 
November 2009 ruling that required judges to declare their assets. On 
December 30, newspapers reported that the Bihar chief minister had 
requested all state government employees to make annual declarations of 
their assets, as part of a campaign to eliminate corruption in the 
state. Previously the minister established a special vigilance unit to 
stop corrupt officials.
    To increase transparency, on December 2, the Central Vigilance 
Commission (CVC) established a toll-free hotline so that persons across 
the country could lodge complaints against corrupt government 
officials. The number was advertised in newspapers, on television, and 
circulated to the public via an SMS.
    On December 9, International Anticorruption Day, the CVC launched a 
new portal, VIGEYE (Vigilance Eye), a platform to share information 
between the public government agencies and the vigilance commission. 
Registered users could upload video or audio acts of corruption. The 
portal was launched in an attempt to stop corruption.
    There was at least one killing during the year attributed to 
corrupt politicians (see section 1.a.).
    On November 16, following press accusations, the national 
comptroller general and auditor reported to parliament that 
mismanagement in 2007 by Telecommunications Minister Andimuthu Raja in 
the issuance of radio spectrum licenses to mobile phone companies had 
led to a notional loss to the Government of 1.72 trillion rupees ($38.1 
billion). On November 15, Raja resigned his post. The issue paralyzed 
parliament during the entire winter session as opposition party members 
forced daily adjournments by shouting slogans and demanding the 
formation of a special investigatory parliamentary committee. At year's 
end the CBI was investigating the allegations to determine whether 
criminal charges should be filed.
    On October 3-14, New Delhi hosted the Commonwealth Games, which 
were plagued by allegations of financial mismanagement, work safety 
violations, construction accidents, and massive delays. On October 16, 
the prime minister ordered a probe into the games' organizing 
committee, and on November 30, the CBI raided the homes and offices of 
two organizing committee officials, T.S. Darbari and Sanjay Mahindroo, 
charging them with criminal conspiracy, misuse of official post, 
cheating, and forgery. On December 24, the CBI raided the homes and 
offices of organizing committee head Suresh Kalmadi. The probe 
continued at year's end.
    On November 9, the Congress Party forced Ashok Chavan, chief 
minister of Maharashtra state, to resign due to his alleged involvement 
in a housing fraud in which Congress Party politicians, bureaucrats, 
and military officials were implicated in the sale of apartments 
reserved for veterans and war widows. The CBI began investigations, and 
the Government rescinded permissions that allowed owners to occupy the 
apartments.
    On November 24, the CBI arrested five officials from public-sector 
banks who were accused of taking bribes to facilitate large corporate 
loans. Those arrested included senior officials of Central Bank of 
India, Punjab National Bank, and the Bank of India.
    The following 2009 cases remained pending in court at year's end: 
the April cases of senior government bureaucrats in Tamil Nadu for 
corruption, accepting bribes, and abuse of official position for 
monetary gain; the August cases of the director of medical and rural 
health services in Tamil Nadu, who would have allegedly received 
853,000 rupees ($17,700) in exchange for a 150 million rupee ($3.1 
million) drug supply contract, and the vice chancellor of Coimbatore 
Anna University for accepting bribes; and the November case of former 
Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda for allegedly possessing assets 
disproportionate to his income and laundering 50 million rupees 
(approximately $1.1 million).
    The law provides for public access to information. Although the 
Government was often slow in response to requests, local community 
members as well as noncitizens could access the RTI online portal to 
get information on personal documentation, city plans, and other public 
records. RTI information can be requested only by citizens, not foreign 
nationals or foreign media. The Government charged 10 rupees 
(approximately $0.21) as a fee at the time of the request. If a request 
is denied, one can appeal to the Central Information Commission and 
then to the high court. Study findings announced in August 2009 
revealed that public authorities had not planned adequately in their 
implementation of the 2005 RTI Act, hindering the supply of 
information, and that rural inhabitants were not always aware of their 
rights under the act. Many states, including Jammu and Kashmir, also 
have right-to-information laws.
    On August 16, media reported that 11 persons, including three 
senior officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, had been 
arrested in two separate cases for allegedly harassing and threatening 
individuals who had sought information under the RTI.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases; however, in a few 
circumstances, groups faced restrictions. Government officials were 
somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views. The country hosts 
more than three million NGOs that advocate for social justice, 
sustainable development, and human rights. The Government generally met 
with domestic NGOs, responded to their inquiries, and took action in 
response to their reports or recommendations. The NHRC works 
cooperatively with numerous NGOs, and NGOs are present on several NHRC 
committees. However, while human rights monitors in Jammu and Kashmir 
were able to document human rights violations, security forces, 
counterinsurgents, and police at times restrained or harassed them.
    On September 15, parliament passed a new Foreign Contributions 
(Regulation) Act (FCRA). Many NGOs believed the law's revised 
regulations were vague and were concerned the ban on funding for 
organizations of a ``political nature'' made the law vulnerable to 
abuse and corruption by government officials. On November 16, the MHA 
informed parliament that 41 NGOs were banned from receiving foreign 
contributions due to complaints of corruption and/or irregularities in 
the use of funds received under the FCRA.
    NGOs must secure approval from the MHA before organizing 
international conferences; permission was typically granted, but the 
process was lengthy. Human rights groups contended that this practice 
provided the Government with political control over the work of NGOs 
and restricted their freedom of assembly and association.
    International human rights NGOs faced difficulties obtaining visas 
for their representatives, and occasional official harassment and 
restrictions limited the public distribution of materials.
    The Government permitted representatives of the UN and other 
international humanitarian organizations, such as the ICRC, access to 
the Northeastern States and Naxalite-controlled areas.
    On December 3, the ICRC, along with the Indian Red Cross, 
relaunched a physical rehabilitation center in Dimapur, Nagaland. The 
ICRC also worked with the Indian Red Cross in Chhattisgarh and Assam, 
where teams provided household items, water, and sanitation facilities 
for persons displaced by ethnic violence.
    The Government-appointed NHRC generally acted independently, but 
some human rights groups claimed institutional and legal weaknesses 
hampered it. The president appoints members after recommendations from 
parliament. While the NHRC has the authority to initiate 
investigations, inquire into complaints, or request that a state 
government submit a report--a request that state governments often 
ignored--it does not have the statutory power to enforce requests, 
initiate proceedings for prosecution, or grant interim compensation, 
nor could it inquire independently into human rights violations by the 
armed forces. Human rights NGOs criticized the NHRC's financial 
dependence on the Government and its failure to investigate abuses more 
than one year old. They claimed the NHRC did not register all 
complaints, dismissed cases on frivolous grounds, failed to investigate 
cases thoroughly, and did not adequately protect complainants.
    Nineteen of the 28 states had human rights commissions at year's 
end. Human rights groups alleged that state human rights commissions 
were limited by local politics and less likely to offer fair judgments 
than the NHRC. For example, the Jammu and Kashmir commission did not 
have authority to investigate alleged human rights violations committed 
by members of paramilitary security forces.
    The Government has also designated chief vigilance officers to 
address public complaints and grievances in the banking, insurance, and 
other sectors that are serviced by private, public, and corporate 
bodies. In addition several states had Lokpal or Lokayukta offices, 
which serve as ombudsmen with the authority to investigate allegations 
of corruption and poor administration.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, 
disability, language, religion, place of birth, or social status, and 
the Government worked with varying degrees of success to enforce these 
provisions.

    Women.--Crimes against women were common. The NCRB estimated there 
were 194,787 crimes against women during the year and noted that 
underreporting of such crimes was likely. The MHA informed parliament 
it recorded 109,559 cases of crime against women--including 
molestation, sexual harassment, rape, dowry deaths, and abduction--
through August 2009. The state of Andhra Pradesh recorded the worst 
record with 23,224 crimes against women, including 1,188 cases of rape, 
1,526 cases of kidnapping and abduction, 546 cases of dowry deaths, and 
11,297 cases of domestic violence. Uttar Pradesh recorded 22,941 cases 
of violence, including 2,232 cases of dowry deaths, 1,759 cases of 
rape, and 5,078 cases of kidnapping. Bihar reported that 2,532 married 
women were victims of domestic violence and recorded 7,480 cases of 
violence against women, including 929 rape cases, 1,295 dowry deaths, 
and 1,986 kidnapping and abduction cases.
    According to a joint survey released on July 8 by the Delhi 
Department of Women and Child Development, the NGO Jagori, and the UN 
Development Fund for Women, approximately 80 percent of women in Delhi 
feared for their safety.
    The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape. Punishment 
ranged from prison terms as long as one year, a fine of 19,800 rupees 
(approximately $450), or both. Official statistics point to rape as the 
fastest growing crime in the country, even when compared to murder, 
robbery, and kidnapping. Despite assurances from law enforcement, the 
NCRB states that a woman is raped in the country every 30 minutes. 
Since 1971 when rape cases were first recorded officially, the NCRB has 
registered a 678 percent increase in the crime. According to the NCRB, 
there were 21,397 rape cases registered in the country in 2009. Law 
enforcement and legal avenues for rape victims are inadequate, 
overburdened, and unable to address the issue effectively.
    Women in conflict situations, such as in Jammu and Kashmir, and 
vulnerable women, including lower-caste or tribal women, were often 
victims of rape.
    On November 26, a call center employee from Mizoram was allegedly 
abducted from the Dhaula Kuan area of Delhi and gang-raped in a moving 
car, then dumped in a different part of the city. She had been 
returning from work and was walking home after her colleague dropped 
her off a few blocks from her home. The victim was able to identify two 
persons, Shamshad and Osman, who were put in judicial custody. At 
year's end the case continued, and the victims name had not been 
publicly released.
    The law provides for protection from all forms of abuse against 
women in the home, including physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, or 
economic abuse, as well as threat of abuse; however, domestic abuse 
remained a serious problem. The law recognizes the right of a woman to 
reside in a shared household with her spouse or partner while the 
dispute continues, although a woman can be provided with alternative 
accommodations at the partner's expense. The law also provides women 
with the right to police assistance, legal aid, shelter, and access to 
medical care.
    While the Ministry of Women and Child Development has issued 
guidelines for the establishment of these social services, in practice 
lack of funding, personnel, and proper training resulted in limited 
services, primarily available in metropolitan areas.
    The Delhi Commission for Women received 1,975 complaints of 
violence against women in 2009-10, of which 1,122 complaints related to 
domestic violence. The Ministry of Women and Child Development informed 
parliament that 2,256 cases were registered under the Domestic Violence 
Act and 349 convictions took place in 2008. Lack of law enforcement 
safeguards and pervasive corruption limit the effectiveness of the law.
    Another form of societal violence targeting women occurred in 
October 2009 when villagers branded five Muslim widows in Pattharghatia 
village, Jharkhand, as witches and forced them to eat human excrement. 
Police arrested four persons and placed the victims under police 
protection. At year's end there was no update.
    The law forbids the provision or acceptance of a dowry, but 
families continued to offer and accept dowries, and dowry disputes 
remained a serious problem. The law also bans harassment in the form of 
dowry demands and empowers magistrates to issue protection orders. 
Deaths associated with the nonpayment of dowries rose in the past 
several years. According to the NCRB, in 2009 there were 8,383 reported 
dowry deaths. However, since many cases were not reported and not 
properly monitored, statistics were not accurate.
    Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, and several other states had a chief 
dowry prevention officer, although it was unclear whether these 
officers were effective. Madhya Pradesh required all state government 
employees to produce sworn affidavits that no dowry was exchanged. On 
November 23, the Supreme Court made it mandatory for all trial courts 
across the country to add the charge of murder against persons accused 
in dowry death cases.
    So-called honor killings continued to be a problem, especially in 
Punjab and Haryana, where as many as 10 percent of all killings were 
honor killings. Although statistics for honor killings are difficult to 
verify, on October 10, The Guardian reported police officially recorded 
19 honor killings in the northern part of the country between April 19 
and June 30. According to the same report, one recent study estimated 
more than 1,000 honor killings every year, most of them occurring in 
the northern states of Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh. The most 
common justification for the killings offered by those accused or by 
their relatives was that the victim married against their family's 
wishes. During the year a survey conducted by the NCW along with the 
NGO Shakti Vahini revealed that in 88.9 percent of the cases, the 
perpetrators of the honor killing were the girl's family members. In 
2009 the MHA issued an advisory to all state governments and union 
territories to review their policies and tackle the problem of such 
killings.
    On May 13, relatives of newlywed bride Gurleen Kaur killed Kaur and 
her mother-in-law and injured the groom, reportedly because the couple 
had married against the wishes of the bride's family. Police had 
registered cases against eight persons at year's end. The incident 
happened despite the couple being under the protection of the Punjab 
and Haryana High Court after their marriage.
    On June 22, two male cousins killed their sisters for marrying 
outside of their caste in New Delhi.
    On July 15, Aisha Saini's father and uncle beat Saini and Yogesh 
Kumar, both 19 years old, with rods and electrocuted them to death 
allegedly because they disapproved of the teenagers' relationship. At 
year's end police had arrested the girl's father and uncle, but three 
other accused remained at large.
    On March 30, five men were sentenced to death and one jailed for 
life for the 2007 murder of a young couple, Manoj Banwala and Babli, 
who married outside the wishes of village elders in Haryana.
    A 2009 nationwide study by NGO Gram Niyojan Kendra commissioned by 
the Ministry for Women and Child Development studied 68 places of 
tourist interest and found that sex tourism occurred in major cities 
and places for sightseeing and that pilgrim centers were a growing hub 
of sex tourism. The report said that domestic tourists were 
``overwhelmingly involved'' in sex with commercial sex workers and 
pointed to the lack of legislation at the state level or effective 
measures to control sex offenders from revisiting sites. In response to 
the study, the tourism ministry began working on a code of conduct for 
ethical tourism.
    There are no legislative enactments or statutory policies against 
sexual harassment and abuse at work places; all charges of sexual 
harassment use the guidelines set forth in a 1997 judgment. The 
guidelines are treated as law declared by the Supreme Court and 
enforceable. The law does not provide for penalties; it outlines what 
conduct is considered harassment and makes it incumbent on the employer 
to include a prohibition of sexual harassment in employees' rules of 
conduct and discipline. All state departments and institutions with 
more than 50 employees are required to have committees to deal with 
matters of sexual harassment. According to the NCRB, 11,009 cases of 
sexual harassment were reported in 2009, the latest year for which 
figures were released. In 2008 the NCW reported 153 cases of sexual 
harassment registered from 2006-08. The UN-Jagori survey report 
revealed that two of three women in Delhi had been victims of sexual 
harassment. Eighty percent of respondents reported incidents of verbal 
harassment, and 45 percent reported incidents of stalking. Fifty-four 
percent reported feeling unsafe and vulnerable in crowded public 
transports and at bus stops. Only 0.8 percent reported these incidents, 
due to lack of confidence in police.
    The Government permits health clinics and local health NGOs to 
operate freely in disseminating information about family planning. 
There are no restrictions on the right to access contraceptives. Laws 
favoring families that have no more than two children remained in place 
in seven states, but authorities seldom enforced them. The laws provide 
reservations for government jobs and subsidies to those who have no 
more than two children and reduced subsidies and access to health care 
for those who have more than two. National health officials noted that 
the central government did not have authority to regulate state 
decisions on population issues.
    In 2008 the World Bank estimated 53 percent of births were attended 
by skilled help. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated 49 percent 
of women did not receive prenatal care. According to 2008 UN estimates, 
the maternal mortality rate was 230 deaths per 100,000 live births.
    The Government and NGOs have advanced numerous initiatives to 
improve women and children's health, including providing financial 
incentives for women willing to give birth in a hospital, improving 
midwife training, and increasing prenatal care via SMS, which provide 
information on vaccinations, exercise, diet, medication, and how to 
deal with emergencies that may arrive during pregnancy.
    Female feticide (aborting a fetus after determining that its gender 
is female) occurred in some states, such as Punjab and Haryana, and 
there were reports of relatives forcing women to engage in female 
feticide.
    In May 2009 Mitu Khurana became the first woman to file formal 
charges against her husband under the Preconception and Prenatal 
Diagnostic Techniques Act. She accused her husband and his family of 
having tried to force her to abort her twin female fetuses. When she 
refused to abort the fetuses, she was harassed, starved, and beaten. 
After giving birth she left her husband's home when her mother-in-law 
physically harmed one of the twins. Khurana filed the complaint after 
her husband filed for divorce. Supporters of Khurana claimed that a 
high court judge asked her to drop the case and settle with her 
husband.
    There were no new developments in the June 2009 complaint by a 
woman in Gujarat against her husband and in-laws claiming that they 
forced her to abort five female fetuses.
    The Gujarat state government launched a ``Beti Bachao Andolan'' 
(Save the Girl Child movement) in the areas practicing female feticide. 
Security forces conducted raids of medical offices and seized medical 
equipment, and civil society leaders pledged to end the practice. 
During the year a survey conducted by the Gujarat State Health 
Department revealed that the sex ratio in the state had improved from 
883 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001 to 905 girls per 1,000 boys in 2009. 
Numerous NGOs throughout India had Save the Girl Child campaigns, and 
the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched a national Save the 
Girl Child campaign in 2007.
    The National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), which formulates and 
implements programs for the prevention and control of HIV and AIDS, 
reported that women accounted for approximately one million of the 
estimated 2.27 million citizens with HIV/AIDS. Women were equally 
diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections, including 
HIV; however denial of treatment occurred due to lack of access to 
medical facilities (particularly in rural areas), lack of money, and 
societal taboos on dispensing aid to members of other religions or 
other castes. Infection rates for women were highest in urban 
communities, and care was least available in rural areas. In 2007 NACO 
noted that traditional gender norms left women especially vulnerable to 
infection. NACO reportedly worked with NGOs to train women's HIV/AIDS 
self-help groups.
    Many tribal land systems, notably in Bihar, denied tribal women the 
right to own land. Sharia (Islamic law) determines land inheritance for 
Muslim women, allotting them less than men. Other laws relating to the 
ownership of assets and land accorded women little control over land 
use, retention, or sale. Several exceptions existed, such as in Ladakh, 
Meghalaya, and Himachal Pradesh, where women traditionally controlled 
family property and enjoyed full inheritance rights.
    The law prohibits discrimination in the workplace; in practice 
employers paid women less than men for the same job, discriminated 
against women in employment and credit applications, and promoted women 
less frequently than men.
    In March the Delhi High Court ordered the country's armed forces to 
grant permanent commissions to women in noncombat roles. Women would be 
eligible for permanent commissions as long as they are not in branches 
where there is the possibility of direct contact with the enemy. 
Previously women in the armed forces were granted short-term 
commissions and then forced to retire after a specified time frame. On 
July 17, the air force agreed to grant permanent commissions to women 
officers in nonmedical fields; however, at year's end no woman had been 
granted a permanent commission.

    Children.--The law establishes state governments' procedures for 
birth registration. According to the National Commission on Population, 
approximately 55 percent of national births were registered at year's 
end, and the registration rate varied substantially across states. Any 
person born in the country on or after January 26, 1950, but before 
July 1, 1987, obtained citizenship by birth. A person born in the 
country on or after July 1, 1987, obtained citizenship if either parent 
was a citizen at the time of the child's birth. Those born in the 
country on or after December 3, 2004, were considered citizens only if 
at least one parent was a citizen and the other was not an illegal 
migrant at the time of the child's birth. Persons born outside the 
country on or after December 10, 1992, were considered citizens if 
either parent was a citizen at the time of birth; however, those born 
outside the country since December 3, 2004, were not considered 
citizens unless their birth was registered at an Indian consulate 
within one year of the date of birth. Only in certain circumstances and 
with the permission of the central government was it possible to 
register after one year. Children lacking citizenship or registration 
may not be able to access public services, enroll in school, or obtain 
identification documents later in life (see also section 2.d.).
    The constitution provides free education for children from six to 
14 years of age, but the Government did not enforce this provision. 
According to the World Bank, the number of children reportedly enrolled 
in elementary education in the country increased from 57 million to 192 
million between 2003 and 2009; however, in 2009 8.1 million children 
between the ages of six and 14 did not attend school.
    On April 1, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education 
Act, passed by parliament in August 2009, became legally enforceable. 
The act makes education a fundamental right for children and enables 
every child between the ages of six and 14 years to demand free 
elementary education. At year's end the central and state governments 
were negotiating over funding mechanisms and regulations to implement 
the act.
    In a 2009 UNICEF report, UNICEF stated that school attendance among 
girls between the ages of six and 10 had increased from 61 percent to 
81 percent during 2005-06. Once girls reach puberty, their dropout rate 
increases, particularly in rural areas. Reasons include family 
pressure, lack of dedicated sanitation facilities for girls, and lack 
of secondary schools in rural areas.
    The law provides for protection against various forms of child 
abuse, but child abuse remained common, including in school and 
institutional settings, and the Government failed to educate the public 
adequately against child abuse or enforce the law. Although corporal 
punishment is banned, teachers often used it. According to the MHA 
2009-10 annual report, there were 22,500 cases of crime reported 
against children in 2008.
    According to a 2007 study by the Ministry of Women and Child 
Development, approximately 69 percent of children reported having been 
physically abused, 65 percent of schoolchildren reported receiving 
corporal punishment at school, 53 percent of children reported sexual 
abuse, 48 percent of children reported emotional abuse, and 71 percent 
of female children reported neglect.
    According to the NCRB, 5,368 cases of child rape were registered in 
2009. On October 26, a survey conducted by London-based Plan 
International estimated that 50 percent of children had faced sexual 
abuse. The survey covered 12,500 school children in 13 states between 
the ages of five to 18. The survey found corporal punishment was 
widespread in the country and 54 percent of boys and 45 percent of 
girls had been victims of such punishment. On October 31, the National 
Commission for Protection of Child Rights noted that it had received 
785 reports of child abuse, including cases of corporal punishment.
    On October 4, police arrested the principal and three teachers of 
Kolkata's La Martiniere School for Boys in connection with the death of 
an eighth-grade student who committed suicide in February after being 
caned by the principal. At year's end the four were free on bail but 
faced charges of voluntarily causing hurt, punishment without grave 
provocation, and negligence of duty.
    In April 2009 a female student, Shanno Khan, died after teachers 
from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Girls Primary School in New 
Delhi forced her to stand in the sun for more than one hour the 
previous day. The municipal commissioner ordered an inquiry and 
suspended the principal and teacher. There was no update at year's end.
    In September 2009 a teacher from Chhattisgarh's Koriya District 
reportedly forced primary school students to strip, dance, and play 
field games naked in a wooded area near the school. The children 
complained that the teacher slapped those who disobeyed. As of December 
2009, police had not arrested the teacher, who fled the area when angry 
parents stormed the school. There was no update at year's end.
    The Government sponsored a toll-free 24-hour helpline for children 
in distress in 72 cities. A network of NGOs staffed the ``Childline 
1098 Service'' number, accessible by either a child or an adult to 
request immediate assistance, including medical care, shelter, 
restoration, rescue, sponsorship, and counseling.
    The law sets the legal age of marriage for women at 18 years old 
and men at 21 years old. The law prohibits child marriage in any form 
and empowers courts to annul such marriages. It also sets penalties for 
individuals who perform, arrange, or participate in such marriages. 
However, in practice the law was not enforced. The law does not 
characterize a marriage between a girl below 18 years old and boy below 
21 years old as illegal but recognizes such unions as void and 
voidable, providing grounds for such unions to be challenged in court.
    A National Family Health Survey from 2006-07 reported that more 
than 50 percent of women were married before the age of 18. In 
comparison men married at a median age of 23.4 years. On February 20, 
media reports announced the latest demographic indicators provided by 
the Health and Family Welfare Ministry revealed that the national 
average age of marriage for women was 20.6 years in 2008, up from 18.3 
years in 2001. According to a 2005 UNICEF report, women married as 
children were often victims of domestic violence and often became 
mothers early, contributing to the country's high infant and maternal 
mortality.
    The law establishes a full-time child marriage prohibition officer 
in every state to prevent and police child marriage. These individuals 
have the power to intervene when a child marriage is taking place, 
document violations of the law, and remove a child from a dangerous 
situation in order to deliver them to local child protection 
authorities.
    While the country is home to a small population of Bohra Muslims, 
who practice various forms of female genital mutilation (FGM), there 
were no reported cases of FGM being practiced during the year. There is 
no national law addressing the practice of FGM.
    The law prohibits child pornography and states that the legal age 
of consent is 18 years old. According to the law it is illegal to 
procure a minor by any means and induce a minor into prostitution or 
any form of ``illicit sexual intercourse'' or to sell or buy a minor 
for the purposes of prostitution. Violators are subject to 10 years' 
imprisonment and a fine. Nevertheless, according to UNICEF 
approximately 1.2 million children were prostituted and enslaved 
throughout the country, and the country was a destination for child sex 
tourism. To prevent child sex tourism, the Ministry of Tourism advised 
all state governments to deploy tourist police; 13 state governments 
had done so by the end of the year. On July 1, the Ministry of Tourism 
adopted a code of conduct for safe tourism; the guide was later posted 
on their Web site and informed readers that human trafficking and 
sexual relationships with children are illegal.
    No information was available on how many persons under the age of 
18 were serving in the armed forces. There were unproven allegations 
that government-supported anti-Naxalite village defense forces 
recruited children. Armed groups, including Naxalites and groups in 
Jammu and Kashmir and in the Northeast, were reported to be using 
children (see section 1.g.).
    Displaced children, including refugees, IDPs, and street children, 
faced limits on access to government services (see also section 2.d.) 
and were often unable to obtain medical care, education, proper 
nutrition, or shelter. Such children were often physically and sexually 
abused and were forced to work in hazardous jobs such as rag pickers 
(sorting garbage for recyclable material).
    Weak enforcement of laws and lack of safeguards encouraged an 
atmosphere of impunity in group homes and orphanages. NGOs alleged that 
many such homes for children were operating without government 
oversight or approval. According to a 2007 study by the Ministry of 
Women and Child Development, approximately 56 percent of 
institutionalized children reported that staff physically abused them. 
In some states the percentage was higher; in Uttar Pradesh and Assam, 
for example, more than 80 percent of such children reported physical 
abuse. The reported incidence of abuse was also higher among children 
housed in special homes due to ``conflict with the law'' than among 
children institutionalized for other reasons.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html, as well 
as country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Jewish groups and the 1,500-person Jewish 
population cited no instances of anti-Semitism during the year.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 for persons 
with the following disabilities: blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured 
(those cured of leprosy but who still lack sensation in extremities or 
suffer from deformity), hearing impairment, locomotor disability, 
mental retardation, and mental illness. The law is weakened by a clause 
that links implementation of programs to the ``economic capacity and 
development'' of the Government. There were approximately 200 
government-run centers across the country that provided comprehensive, 
integrated rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities.
    During the year the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment 
(MSJE) launched its redesigned accessible Web site and called on states 
to do the same.
    Discrimination against persons with physical and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, and access to health care was 
more pervasive in rural areas. Despite legislation that all public 
buildings and transport be accessible to the disabled, there was 
limited accessibility. One notable exception was the recently 
constructed Delhi metro system, designed to be accessible to those with 
physical disabilities.
    On August 8, the Haryana state government announced free travel for 
persons with 100 percent physical disability on buses traveling on 
state roadways and on buses to Delhi or Chandigarh if traveling to a 
hospital for treatment.
    The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare estimated that 6 to 7 
percent of the population suffered from a mental disorder and that 25 
percent of the mentally ill were homeless. Continued lack of awareness 
about the symptoms of mental illnesses led many patients, particularly 
in rural areas, to seek treatment from traditional healers before 
seeking regular medical treatment. Most of the mentally ill were 
dependent on public health-care facilities, and fewer than half of 
those who required treatment received it. There was a severe shortage 
of trained staff; a World Health Organization report released in 
September estimated that the country had less than one psychiatrist for 
every 300,000 individuals; most psychiatrists worked in urban areas in 
this largely rural nation. In rural areas, the ratio shrank to less 
than one psychiatrist per one million persons.
    The PDA requires 3 percent of public-sector jobs be reserved for 
persons with physical, hearing, or visual disabilities. The Government 
continued to allocate funds to programs and NGO partners to improve the 
number of filled jobs. Private-sector employment of persons with 
disabilities remained low despite PDA benefits to private companies 
where persons with disabilities constituted more than 5 percent of the 
workforce.
    On November 27, in Lucknow, the Allahabad High Court stayed all the 
appointments in the state government for three months, until the 
backlog vacancies of the blind and persons with disabilities were 
filled.
    On December 4, the Karnataka State Commission for Persons with 
Disabilities announced that persons with disabilities accounted for 
3,650 of the estimated 525,000 state government employees.
    The law also stipulates that 3 percent of all educational places be 
reserved for persons with disabilities, but the MSJE stated that 
students with disabilities made up only an estimated 1 percent of all 
students. A survey by the NGO Child Relief and You (CRY) of 30 
prominent Kolkata schools found that the percentage of children with 
disabilities was only 0.16 in government schools and 0.31 in private 
schools. Some schools continued to segregate children with disabilities 
or deny their enrollment due to lack of infrastructure, equipment, and 
trained staff. UNICEF estimated that between 6 and 10 percent of all 
children in the country are born with disabilities.
    The MSJE offered 500 scholarships to persons with disabilities to 
pursue higher education. University enrollment of students with 
disabilities remained low for reasons including inaccessible 
infrastructure, limited availability of resource materials, 
nonimplementation of the 3 percent reservation, and harassment.
    The Government made efforts to increase enrollment during the year. 
For example, in January the Central Board of Secondary Education in 
Delhi issued a notice threatening to disaffiliate schools that used 
various pretexts to deny admission to children with disabilities, and 
the Minister of Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal, announced that 
the percentage of schools with access ramps increased from 27 percent 
in 2007 to 40 percent by the end of 2009.
    In May 2009 the Delhi High Court noted that 650 New Delhi 
government schools and 1,800 Municipal Corporation of Delhi schools had 
not hired any teachers dedicated for the 10,000 students with 
disabilities. The Delhi High Court directed the state government to 
develop an action plan to hire teachers and build facilities for 
students with disabilities. On February 18, the Ministry of Human 
Resource Development announced that every child with disabilities was 
entitled to an increased annual allocation of 3,000 rupees ($65). In 
February Delhi's Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA--Education for All) began 
training teachers to provide home tutoring for children with 
disabilities. Fifty teachers were deployed, and more were being hired 
at year's end. Home tutoring continued in Himachal Pradesh and Tamil 
Nadu.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The national census does not 
recognize racial or ethnic groups; population is categorized by 
language spoken. Society has traditionally been divided into castes or 
clans. Caste is a complex Hindu social hierarchy traditionally based on 
occupations. While caste was outlawed in 1949, the registration of 
scheduled caste and tribes remains for the purpose of affirmative 
action programs. Article 15 of the constitution prohibits 
discrimination on the basis of caste, and the Government continued to 
implement various programs to empower members of the low castes. The 
law gives the president the authority to identify historically 
disadvantaged castes and tribes (who are outside of the caste system) 
for special quotas and benefits.
    The term Dalit, derived from the Sanskrit ``oppressed'' or 
``crushed,'' refers to members of what are traditionally regarded as 
the lowest Hindu castes, which are the Scheduled Castes (SC). While 
discrimination based on caste is officially illegal, it remained 
prevalent, particularly in rural areas. Many SC members continued to 
face impediments to social advancement. According to the 2001 census, 
SC members comprised 16 percent (168.6 million) of the population. The 
MHA 2009-10 annual report noted 33,615 cases of registered crimes 
against SC members in 2008, compared with 30,031 cases in 2007.
    Although the law protects Dalits, in practice they faced violence 
and significant discrimination in access to services such as health 
care and education, attending temples, and marriage. Reports from the 
UN's Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination described 
systematic abuse of Dalits, including extrajudicial killings and sexual 
violence against Dalit women. According to credible NGOs, lower caste 
individuals were also accused of witchcraft.
    Many Dalits were malnourished. Most bonded laborers were Dalits. 
Dalits who asserted their rights were often attacked, especially in 
rural areas. As agricultural laborers for higher-caste landowners, 
Dalits often worked without remuneration. Crimes committed by upper-
caste Hindus against Dalits often went unpunished, either because the 
authorities failed to prosecute or because victims did not report the 
crimes for fear of retaliation.
    The Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF) held a 
state conference in May to highlight continuing caste-based 
discrimination in the state. According to the TNUEF, many Dalits were 
not permitted to walk on public pathways, wear footwear, access water 
from public taps in upper-caste neighborhoods, participate in some 
temple festivals, bathe in public pools, or use some cremation grounds.
    A June 2009 study by a domestic NGO reflected that Dalit children 
often dropped out of school due to discrimination. There were reports 
of school officials barring Dalit children from morning prayers, asking 
Dalit children to sit at the back of the class, or forcing Dalit 
children to clean school toilets while denying them access to the same 
facilities.
    The federal and state governments continued to implement various 
programs for scheduled caste members, ostensibly to provide better 
quality housing, reserve seats in schools and government jobs, and 
access to subsidized foods, but critics claimed that many programs 
suffered from poor implementation and corruption. For example, on 
December 15, Tamil Nadu officials announced the distribution of 20,000 
free color television sets to SC members. On December 21, the National 
Commission for Scheduled Castes announced a series of awareness camps 
across the country to educate Dalits about their rights and how to 
obtain benefits from the various government programs meant for them.
    On February 17, police inspector Kailashnath Dwiwedi beat a Dalit 
woman accused of murdering her husband in Uttar Pradesh. Authorities 
found the inspector guilty of misconduct and dismissed him.
    On April 21, members of the Jat community, the dominant caste in 
the village of Mirchpur, Haryana, burned 10 Dalit homes, killing 70-
year-old Tara Chand and his disabled daughter Suman and injuring more 
than a dozen other individuals. Approximately 150 Dalit families fled 
the village after the attacks. In response the Haryana government 
allocated four million rupees ($88,888) as compensation and provided 
jobs, housing assistance, and a permanent police post for victims' 
families. The district police arrested 27 persons, including a police 
officer and a revenue official, after an order from the court. After a 
series of hearings in which several witnesses turned hostile, the 
Haryana Supreme Court transferred the court cases to New Delhi. In 
November the Supreme Court heard allegations that members of the 
dominant caste that allegedly perpetrated the violence were 
intimidating witnesses who testified in the case. The Supreme Court 
directed the trial court to submit its orders and the affidavits to the 
Supreme Court for review. In response to continuing protests, the state 
government agreed to submit the case to the CBI for further 
investigation.
    On May 5, the Madras High Court directed the local Virudhunagar and 
Aruppukottai, Tamil Nadu, officials to assure that basic amenities were 
provided to Dalit residences and to restore their rights to live with 
dignity as provided by the constitution. The Dalits had been denied 
access to products sold at a local ration shop.
    On August 28, police in Rajasthan registered a case against five 
persons after a Dalit woman from Jhalara village complained they had 
accused her of witchcraft, tied her to a tree, and beaten her.
    On October 18, police and revenue officials dismantled a fence that 
had prevented eight Dalit families from using roads in a hamlet near 
Krishnagiri. Tamil Nadu police threatened the non-Dalits with severe 
action if they rebuilt the fence.
    District authorities coordinated peace meetings between Dalit and 
higher caste individuals in a village in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu. In 
October 2009 several Dalit families in the village questioned their 
exclusion from the state government's Kalaignar medical insurance 
scheme for the poor. Some higher caste individuals beat members of the 
families and evicted them from the village. Police, instead of helping, 
initially allowed the higher-caste members to file First Incident 
Reports (FIRs) against the Dalits, but they then also recorded FIRs 
against the higher-caste members.
    Police investigated the 2008 incident in which residents of a 
Jharkhand village accused Ghuchara Pahan, his son Kisun, and daughter-
in-law Mukta of practicing witchcraft and then beat them to death; 
however, the perpetrators continued to evade justice at year's end.

    Indigenous People.--The constitution provides social, economic, and 
political guarantees to disadvantaged groups of indigenous people, and 
the law provides special status for indigenous people, but authorities 
often denied them their rights. According to the Ministry of Tribal 
Affairs 2009-10 annual report, there are more than 700 Scheduled Tribes 
in the country, and the 2001 census revealed the population of 
scheduled tribes as 84.3 million, approximately 8 percent of the total 
population. Activists claimed that approximately half of the indigenous 
population lived in extreme poverty, compared to 27 percent of the 
total population.
    In most of the Northeast, where indigenous groups constitute the 
majority of the states' population, the laws provide for tribal rights, 
although some local authorities attempted to violate these provisions. 
The laws prohibit any nontribal person, including citizens from other 
states, from crossing an inner boundary without a valid permit. No 
rubber, wax, ivory, or other forest products may be removed from 
protected areas without prior authorization. Tribal authorities must 
approve the sale of land to nontribal persons.
    According to the MHA 2009-10 annual report, there were 5,582 
criminal cases reported against members of Scheduled Tribes in 2008, a 
slight increase over the 5,532 cases reported in 2007. Tribal women 
employed as domestic workers were often neither properly paid nor 
protected from sexual exploitation. Land encroachment on tribal lands 
continued in almost every state, despite limited efforts by the states 
to combat it, as businesses and private parties continued to exert 
political influence and pressure on local governments. Those displaced 
by the encroachments were typically not provided with appropriate 
relief and rehabilitation packages.
    Numerous tribal movements demanded the protection of tribal land 
and property rights. The Government created tribal-majority states in 
2000 from the Jharkhand area of Bihar and the Chhattisgarh region of 
Madhya Pradesh, and authorities provided local autonomy to some tribes 
in the northeast.
    On February 8, Anil Dubey, a former leader of the Hindu chauvinist 
political party Shiv Sena, raped and set on fire a 19-year-old tribal 
teacher in Barwani, Madhya Pradesh. The victim suffered serious burns 
and was hospitalized. Police arrested Dubey and charged him under the 
Scheduled Castes and Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. At year's 
end the trial continued.
    On August 25, the Ministry of Environment and Forests rejected the 
Vedanta firm's mining project in Orissa's Niyamgiri hills, home of the 
Dongria Kondh tribe, citing breach of environmental law and concerns 
over the rights of local tribes in his decision. Local activists 
claimed that the rights of tribal and rural groups under the Forest Act 
continued to be manipulated in other regions. Weak enforcement of the 
act often circumvented the free and informed consent of tribal and 
rural groups prior to development.
    On December 21, Rajasthan Gujjars began protesting delays in the 
implementation of a 5 percent quota for employment and educational 
positions. The protest continued at year's end, forcing the closure of 
major Rajasthani towns due to blocked roads, highways, and rail routes. 
The Rajasthan High Court prevented implementation of the quota, which 
had been approved by the previous state government, on the grounds that 
the new quota would exceed the 50 percent ceiling for total affirmative 
action quotas imposed by a 1992 Supreme Court judgment.
    According to media reports, the enmity between the Gujjar tribe and 
the Meena caste in the state of Rajasthan decreased during the year as 
politicians from both communities worked to improve relations. In 2008 
clashes with police killed 41 persons after the Gujjar tribe demanded 
affirmative action quotas via inclusion on the List of Scheduled 
Tribes. Members of the Meena caste had opposed the demand, which they 
saw as a threat to their own affirmative action quotas.
    Civil rights organizations working with indigenous people in Kodagu 
district of Karnataka alleged that more than 1,600 families had been 
evicted since 1972 in state efforts to promote tourism. The Karnataka 
state government initiated measures to identify households eligible for 
property restitution or remuneration for those families that did not 
want to be resettled in the area. However, civil rights organizations 
voiced concern that corrupt political party workers would use political 
influence and pressure to interfere with any distribution, preventing 
indigenous people from benefiting. At year's end no family had received 
compensation.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law permits consensual 
sexual activities between adults. In July 2009 the Delhi High Court 
overturned a portion of section 377 of the penal code, which prohibited 
same-sex relations. Section 377 still applies to cases involving minors 
or coercive sex. While a few groups and individuals challenged the 
ruling in the Supreme Court within a few days of the announcement, the 
Government decided not to oppose the verdict. At year's end the Supreme 
Court had not rendered a judgment on the appeal. The law was previously 
used to target, harass, and punish lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) persons.
    Although LGBT groups were active throughout the country, sponsoring 
events and activities including rallies, gay pride marches, film 
series, and speeches, they faced discrimination and violence in many 
areas of society, particularly in rural areas. Activists reported that 
transgender persons who were HIV-positive often had difficulty 
obtaining medical treatment. Activists also reported some employers 
fired LGBT persons who did not hide their orientations. LGBT persons 
also faced physical attacks, rape, and blackmail. Some police committed 
crimes against LGBT persons and used the threat of arrest to coerce 
victims not to report the incidents, although several states, with the 
aid of NGOs, had police education and sensitivity trainings.
    During the week of April 3, transgender activist Laxmi Tripathi was 
banished from the elite Bombay Gymkhana club in Mumbai. After the club 
CEO told the dinner party's organizer that Tripathi had to leave, the 
entire group walked out of the club.
    On April 10, a FIR was filed against six persons in the April 7 
death of Srinivas Ramachandra Siras, a professor at Aligarh Muslim 
University (AMU) who was found dead in his home. In February, shortly 
before his retirement, the professor was secretly filmed having 
consensual sexual relations with another man. AMU suspended him without 
an inquiry, which he challenged in the Allahabad High Court. On April 
2, the court ordered his reinstatement and stayed his unlawful removal 
from his official accommodation. On April 8, police claimed that 
preliminary investigations indicated suicide.
    On May 6, the country's first transgender television host, Rose 
Venkatesan, officially announced her new gender status after undergoing 
sex reassignment surgery.
    There were a few positive developments for transgender persons 
during the year. In April the state of Tamil Nadu hosted a weeklong 
transgender festival to facilitate the acceptance of transgender 
persons into mainstream society. The state, which established a 
transgender welfare board in 2008, continued to provide separate 
identity and ration cards to transgender persons. In November the 
central government announced that transgender persons would have the 
option to be counted as ``Other'' in the 2011 national census. On 
November 12, the state of Karnataka announced transgender persons would 
be included in the ``Backward Classes'' list, making them eligible for 
pensions, ration cards, and housing assistance through special 
programs.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--According to the 2009-
10 annual report of NACO, the Government agency responsible for 
monitoring HIV/AIDS, there were approximately 2.27 million persons with 
HIV/AIDS in the country, and according to the International Labor 
Organization (ILO), as many as 70 percent faced discrimination. HRW 
reported that many doctors refused to treat HIV-positive children; some 
schools expelled or segregated children because they or their parents 
were HIV-positive. Many orphanages and other residential institutions 
rejected HIV-positive children or denied them housing. Incidents of 
discrimination were more frequent in rural areas.
    In June 2009 in Rajkot, Gujarat, two government health 
functionaries put a label marked ``HIV positive'' on a female patient's 
forehead and paraded her through different wards in a government 
hospital. The two were found guilty of negligence, fined, and suspended 
from duty for several days.
    On October 11, approximately 800 participants attended a two-day 
summit in Bangalore supported by UNICEF to discuss the crisis of stigma 
and discrimination of those affected by HIV in the country. Social 
activists working with HIV-affected individuals claimed that they were 
being denied basic rights to education, employment, and nutrition.

Section 7. 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 Government generally respected this right. Public 
servants have limited organizing rights. Although there were more than 
400 million persons in the country's active workforce, only 30 million 
worked in the formal sector; the rest were informal agricultural 
workers and, to a lesser extent, urban nonindustrial laborers. Most of 
the country's estimated 13 to 15 million union members were in the 
formal sector; trade unions represented a small number of agricultural 
and informal sector workers. An estimated 80 percent of unionized 
workers were members of unions affiliated with one of five major trade 
federations. Unaffiliated unions generally were not able to secure the 
protections and rights the law provides. In practice legal protections 
of worker rights, including freedom of association, were effective only 
in the organized industrial sector, in which authorities generally 
prosecuted and punished persons responsible for intimidation or 
suppression of legitimate trade union activities.
    Employers are not legally obligated to recognize a union, and some 
employers established and recognized company unions or ``worker 
committees'' rather than allowing representational unions.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
interference, and the Government protected this right in the formal 
industrial sector, including the right to strike. The Essential 
Services Maintenance Act allows the Government to ban strikes in 
government-owned enterprises and requires arbitration in specified 
essential industries; the act is subject to varying interpretations 
from state to state. State and local authorities occasionally used 
their power to declare strikes illegal and to force adjudication. The 
Industrial Disputes Act prohibits retribution by employers against 
employees involved in legal strike actions, and this prohibition was 
observed in practice.
    On September 21, after weeks of negotiations, a group of Foxconn 
India employees went on strike at a facility in Chennai. They demanded 
wage increases and union recognition. On September 22, the Tamil Nadu 
Labor Department declared the strike illegal because no prior notice 
was given to Foxconn management. On October 6, more than 500 employees 
occupied the Foxconn facility; police arrested 319 of them, but they 
were granted bail almost immediately. At year's end Foxconn management 
had not recognized the union.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The Government 
protects collective bargaining under the law, but employers are not 
legally obligated to engage in collective bargaining. When parties 
cannot agree on equitable wages, the Government may establish a board 
of union, management, and government representatives to make a 
determination. Specialized labor courts adjudicated labor disputes, but 
there were long delays and a backlog of unresolved cases.
    The law prohibits discrimination against union members and 
organizers, and employers were penalized if they discriminated against 
employees engaged in union activities.
    The law provides workers in export processing zones (EPZs) the 
right to join trade unions and bargain collectively; however, unions in 
the EPZs faced restrictions, such as a 45-day notice-of-strike 
requirement due to the EPZs' designation as ``public utilities'' and 
employee-only restrictions on entry to the EPZs, which limited union 
organizers. EPZ workers often were employed on temporary contracts. 
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, but such practices remained widespread. 
Estimates of the number of bonded laborers in the country varied 
widely; several NGOs placed the number in the millions.
    Most bonded labor occurred in agriculture; according to NGOs, 
nonagricultural sectors that had a high incidence of bonded labor were 
stone quarries, brick kilns, rice mills, construction, and beedi 
production (hand-rolled cigarettes).
    Members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes lived and worked under 
traditional arrangements of servitude in many areas of the country. In 
Arunachal Pradesh the Nishi tribe traditionally subjugated Sulungs or 
Puroiks as customary slaves.
    Prison sentences for employers of forced laborers could be as long 
as three years, but successful prosecutions were rare. Enforcement and 
compensation for victims were the responsibility of state and local 
governments and varied in effectiveness due to inadequate resources and 
societal tolerance of forced labor. When inspectors referred violations 
for prosecution, long court backlogs and inadequate prosecution 
sometimes resulted in acquittals.
    Ministry of Labor and Employment statistics showed a large decrease 
in the number of bonded labor cases brought before the courts, although 
the extent to which this reflected a decrease in bonded labor was 
unclear.
    The Ministry of Labor continued to partner with the NHRC and NGOs 
to investigate allegations of bonded labor. In partnership with state 
governments (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, and Orissa) and the 
ILO, in 2009-10 the ministry launched a new approach to prevent bonded 
labor, targeting historically vulnerable populations. The initiative 
integrated existing government programs to target workers vulnerable to 
bonded labor, starting with the brick kiln and construction sectors. 
Since 1976 the Ministry of Labor has freed and rehabilitated 
approximately 270,000 bonded laborers from 18 states across the 
country. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
There is no overall minimum age for child labor. Child labor was 
widespread due to social tolerance of the practice, weak state and 
federal government enforcement of existing laws, and poverty. The 
absence of a minimum age for employment increased the risk of children 
falling victim to the worst forms of child labor.
    Children of any age may be employed, with some restrictions. In 
occupations and processes in which child labor is permitted, children 
may work only for six hours a day, between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., with one 
day's rest weekly. Employers who failed to abide by the law were 
subject to penalties specified in the Child Labor (Prohibition and 
Abolition) Act (CLPAA). The penalty for employers of children in 
hazardous industries is 20,000 rupees (approximately $454) per child 
employed. The fines go into a welfare fund for formerly employed 
children. The law requires the Government to find employment for an 
adult member of an unlawfully employed child's family or pay 5,000 
rupees ($114) to the family. NGOs noted that requiring the Government 
to pay the family of a child laborer or find the adult family member a 
job could be a disincentive to investigating violations. The law does 
not apply to family farms or family businesses, both large sectors of 
the economy.
    The minimum age for hazardous work is 14 years old; the 
international age standard for hazardous work is 18 years old. The 
Government defines hazardous occupations and processes and prohibits 
work by children under 14 years old in factories, mines, domestic 
service, carpet weaving, roadside eateries, and other areas. During the 
year the Government added circus work and elephant care to the list of 
occupations prohibited for children.
    Estimates of the number of child laborers varied widely. The 
Government's 2004 national survey estimated the number of working 
children between the ages five and 14 at 16.4 million. NGOs claimed the 
number of child laborers was between 55 and 87 million.
    The majority of child labor occurred in agriculture and the 
informal economy. The following industries also reportedly used child 
labor: leather goods, carpets, embroidered textiles, brassware, 
fireworks, footwear, hand-blown glass bangles, handmade locks, hand-
dipped matches, hand-quarried stones, hand-spun silk thread, hand-
loomed silk cloth, handmade bricks, roadside restaurants, roadside auto 
repair, illegal mining, rice milling, sorting trash for items to resell 
or recycle, and beedi production. A number of these industries exposed 
children to hazardous work conditions.
    Forced child labor, including as bonded labor, remained a serious 
problem. Children performed forced or indentured labor as factory 
workers, domestic servants, and beggars, as well as in gemstone 
cutting, quarrying, hybrid seed production, circuses, brick kilns, rice 
mills, garment assembly, silk thread production, and textile 
embroidery.
    According to the Carpet Export Promotion Council, the incidence of 
bonded child labor declined in formal sector carpet production due to a 
combination of changing market preferences and campaigns to end child 
labor by the Government and NGOs.
    According to a 2009 UNICEF report, private companies in Andhra 
Pradesh reportedly employed 200,000 children in the hybrid seed 
industry. Most were girls between the ages of seven and 14 years old; 
the children were predominantly Dalits and members of economically 
disadvantaged castes and tribal groups forced to work in debt bondage. 
They were routinely abused, exposed to dangerous pesticides, and denied 
access to education.
    State governments enforce labor laws and employ labor inspectors, 
while the Ministry of Labor provides oversight and coordination; 
however, enforcement was inadequate. During 2008-09, the ministry 
reported 12,244 labor prosecutions and 566 convictions nationwide. 
Employers in cottage industries often claimed child laborers were 
assisting their families, an exemption under the CLPAA. Labor 
inspectors also generally did not investigate family businesses, 
including farms, as these are not covered under the labor law. The 
ministry reportedly conducted 2,860 inspections for domestic child 
labor (that is, in a home) during 2008-09, noted 2,277 violations, and 
pursued two prosecutions, but there were no convictions.
    On February 1, police registered a case of domestic child labor 
against a senior bureaucrat in New Delhi for abusing an 11-year-old boy 
at his home. The boy was made to work from 5 a.m. until midnight every 
day. At year's end the case continued.
    The Ministry of Labor reported more than 40,000 child laborers 
rescued between January and December 2009. During the year New Delhi's 
state government rescued more than 100 children from forced labor, 
including the May rescue of 54 trafficked children found enslaved in 
six small factories making buttons under hazardous conditions with 
meager pay. During Child Labor Action Week in June, the NGO Bachpan 
Bachao Andolan--working with state governments and local police--
rescued more than 370 bonded child laborers from various parts of the 
country. All rescued children were entitled to rehabilitation packages 
of 20,000 rupees ($420) and priority access to government housing and 
education.
    In November local police and two NGOs rescued 27 children between 
nine and 14 years old from forced labor conditions in a circus company 
in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. Local police cooperated with two NGOs in 
the rescue. Nine of the children had been trafficked from Nepal.
    According to the Ministry of Labor, as of July 2009 states had 
provided welfare to 507,450 former child laborers during the year.
    The Ministry of Labor continued to raise awareness about child 
labor and coordinated its efforts with states. On July 31, the ministry 
launched a five-year, 308.25 million rupees ($6.85 million) child labor 
prevention program, with an emphasis on children vulnerable to 
trafficking, in the areas of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, 
Jharkhand, and Bihar. Some states were in the process of implementing 
action plans to eliminate child labor from hazardous industries.
    The Government and NGOs anticipated that the Right to Education 
Act, which came into force on April 1, would help reduce child labor 
and trafficking in the long term by increasing school enrollment among 
otherwise vulnerable children.
    See also the State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--State government laws set 
minimum wages, hours of work, and safety and health standards. During 
the year the federal government increased its floor minimum wages from 
80 rupees ($1.80) to 100 rupees ($2.20), suggesting it would pay a 
minimum of 100 rupees for any employment. Minimum wages varied 
according to the state and to the sector of industry, but generally did 
not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. 
However, most workers 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 effectively enforce it.
    In October the People's Union for Democratic Rights alleged that 
several contractors and government agencies had flouted labor laws by 
not paying minimum wages to many of the more than 70,000 laborers who 
built the infrastructure and buildings used for the October 3 to 14 
Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The Delhi High Court ordered various 
government agencies to submit by November 11 information related to the 
deaths of and injuries to workers at Commonwealth Games construction 
sites, as well as to the compensation paid to them; however, there was 
no information available at year's end.
    The Factories Act mandates a maximum eight-hour workday and 48-hour 
workweek, as well as safe working conditions, which include adequate 
provisions for restrooms, canteens, medical facilities, and 
ventilation. The law mandates a minimum rest period of 30 minutes after 
every four hours of work and premium pay for overtime. These standards 
generally were enforced in the modern industrial sector; they generally 
were not observed in the informal economy, which employed nearly 93 
percent of the workforce.
    Enforcement of safety and health standards was poor, especially in 
the informal sector but also in some formal sector industries. The 
country's undocumented foreign workers did not receive basic 
occupational health and safety protections.
    In a study conducted in 2009 and during the year, the National 
Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning Prevention in India found dangerous 
levels of lead in blood samples collected from a cross-company study of 
workers in the country's battery industry. The Government has not 
established biological exposure indices for lead or other hazardous 
chemicals for the workplace.
    Industrial accidents occurred frequently. Chemical industries had 
the highest number of accidents. Safety conditions were in general 
better in the EPZs than in the manufacturing sector outside the EPZs.
    Coal mines located in Jaintia District, Meghalaya, had poor working 
conditions. The privately owned mines employed mostly young adults who 
were not provided any protective gear. The mines had no safety systems 
or hardware, were unregulated, and did not fall under the ambit of the 
safety regulations.
    Members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, including children, often 
worked as rag pickers, recycling trash under hazardous and generally 
deplorable conditions. Workers from these groups also cleaned sewers 
and drains of human excrement without proper equipment and under 
extremely unsanitary conditions.
    The law does not give workers the right to leave workplaces that 
endanger health and safety without jeopardizing their continued 
employment.

                               __________

                               KAZAKHSTAN

    The Republic of Kazakhstan, with a population of approximately 15.6 
million, has a parliamentary system dominated by President Nursultan 
Nazarbayev's Nur Otan Party. 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 2007 national elections for the Mazhilis 
(lower house of parliament) fell short of international standards. Nur 
Otan received 88 percent of the vote, winning every seat in the 
chamber. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The following human rights problems were reported: severe limits on 
citizens' rights to change their government; military hazing that led 
to deaths; detainee and prisoner torture and other abuse; unhealthy 
prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; lack of an 
independent judiciary; restrictions on freedom of speech, the press, 
assembly, and association; pervasive corruption, especially in law 
enforcement and the judicial system; prohibitive political party 
registration requirements; restrictions on the activities of 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); discrimination and violence 
against women; trafficking in persons; and societal discrimination 
against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender persons, and those with 
HIV/AIDS.

                        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 February 9, the prosecutor general denied a request for an 
inquiry into the death of Azamat Karibayev, who died in prison in 
December 2009. Three months after authorities sentenced Karibayev on 
terrorism charges, his body was found in his prison cell with evidence 
of abuse. Karibayev's widow claimed that a stranger alerted her by 
phone that her husband had been killed and said that the Committee for 
National Security (KNB) tortured him to force him to abandon his 
``nonofficial'' form of Islam. Prior to his death, human rights 
activists considered his trial fraught with irregularities.
    On July 22, Maksim Kozhanov, an inmate of the Dolinka prison near 
Karaganda, reportedly committed suicide. Kozhanov had produced a video 
showing an inmate beaten by a prison officer, which prison authorities 
and independent NGO observers later proved to be falsified. To protest 
subsequent punishment, a group of inmates, including Kozhanov, cut open 
their abdomens as an act of group self-mutilation. Officials placed 
Kozhanov in the prison hospital, where he was found hanged the next 
day. On November 11, a court sentenced the inmates who helped 
orchestrate the video to an additional year in prison.
    Military hazing led to deaths, suicides, and serious injuries. The 
Government reported 93 incidents of nonlethal military hazing during 
the year. The Government did not publish statistics on the number of 
deaths linked to hazing during the year. The number of suicides in the 
army did not significantly change from the previous year. Authorities 
reported 17 suicides; there were 16 in 2009.
    On March 4, a contract-service sergeant in the Almaty-garrisoned 
Air Defense Brigade apparently beat several conscripts severely, 
causing the death of Azamat Orazbayev and seriously injuring two other 
conscripts. Authorities arrested the sergeant, fired the garrison 
commander, and initiated an ongoing investigation.
    On May 15, authorities found Yerlan Torebekov's body in a military 
hospital maintenance facility, where the main Military Prosecutor's 
Office alleged he had swallowed a needle while repairing his shirt. 
Officials later claimed he hanged himself. Torebekov's parents exhumed 
their son's body and discovered evidence of abuse. Authorities 
initiated an ongoing investigation into the death.

    b. Disappearance.--On August 14, Edgar Salduzi, a prominent 
businessman involved in a highly publicized business dispute with Maira 
Nazarbayeva, President Nazarbayev's sister-in-law, disappeared after 
leaving his home to meet with a business partner. Almaty police and the 
city department of the National Security Committee found the kidnapped 
businessman alive on September 27.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture; nevertheless, the police and 
prison officials regularly beat and abused detainees, often to obtain 
confessions. Human rights activists asserted that the legal definition 
of torture was too vague and did not meet UN standards and that the 
penalties for the crime were too lenient. The Prosecutor General's 
Office (PGO), the Presidential Human Rights Commission, and the human 
rights ombudsman acknowledged that some law enforcement officers used 
torture and other illegal methods of investigation. Human rights and 
international legal observers noted investigative and prosecutorial 
practices that overemphasized a defendant's confession of guilt over 
collecting other types of evidence in building a criminal case against 
a defendant. Courts generally ignored allegations by defendants that 
their confessions were obtained by torture or duress.
    From September 29 to October 1, Manfred Nowak, the UN special 
rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment 
or punishment, met with government officials and NGOs to discuss 
recommendations made during his May 2009 visit, during which he 
inspected several prisons and detention facilities. At an event hosted 
by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and 
several NGOs, Nowak stated that, in his six years in office, Kazakhstan 
was the only country that attempted to conceal the actual situation in 
its prisons. According to his assessment, torture was not widespread, 
although a culture of impunity allowed police to use extreme methods, 
such as heavy beating and asphyxiation, to obtain confessions. Nowak 
stated that police rarely investigated complaints of torture.
    The human rights ombudsman reviewed prisoner and detainee 
complaints. The ombudsman can either issue a recommendation directly to 
the relevant agency or release a public statement, though it legally 
cannot force compliance with its recommendations. The Coalition of NGOs 
against Torture received 263 complaints during the year. Local NGOs 
reported that, in contrast with past practice, the Government 
acknowledged publicly that torture was a problem.
    On March 20, according to a Coalition of NGOs report, a group of 
prison officers and prisoners severely beat Zhandos Sagatov, a convict 
in the Zarechniy prison near Almaty, for several hours. Responding to 
NGO pressure, prosecutors brought charges of torture against prison 
officials in an ongoing investigation. On October 6, prisoner Kanat 
Mukhambetkaliyev died in the hospital after experiencing kidney 
failure. Multiple NGOs reported that prison authorities severely beat 
him causing bruises on his body, which later resulted in his death. As 
of November 17, authorities had charged two prison officers, Nikolay 
Sidorovich and Gabit Baytishkin, with abuse of power in an ongoing 
investigation.
    At year's end authorities continued the case against three 
fishermen who were detained in April 2009 on suspicion of poaching and 
reportedly beaten in detention. The KNB asserted that they released the 
fishermen, although the fishermen told the media they escaped from the 
detention facility. All three were hospitalized for internal injuries, 
and one fisherman suffered from a concussion. The KNB denied any 
wrongdoing and opened a criminal investigation against the men for 
poaching.
    The Government charged 162 military service members with crimes 
related to military hazing and abuse of power during the year, compared 
with 167 in 2009.
    The Government investigated some allegations of conscript hazing 
and prosecuted soldiers who engaged in this abuse, forwarding 32 hazing 
cases to the courts. The Ministry of Defense continued unannounced 
inspections and required systematic reports from senior officers about 
hazing in their units.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and facilities did not meet international health standards. 
Scarcity of medical care continued to be a problem. NGOs reported that 
approximately half of the inmate population needed professional 
treatment, especially for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other infectious 
diseases. Abuse occurred in police cells, pretrial detention 
facilities, and prisons. Observers cited severe overcrowding, poor 
treatment of inmates and detainees, and the lack of professional 
training programs for administrators.
    According to observers prisoners and detainees generally had 
reasonable access to visitors, and there were no complaints concerning 
religious observance. The Coalition of NGOs against Torture reported an 
increase in the submission of all complaints from prisoners. Due to new 
regulations that mandate civil society engagement in torture 
complaints, Prison Reform International (PRI) representatives stated 
that authorities granted media and independent monitors increased 
access to report on prison conditions. PRI credited these monitors with 
ensuring prison officials' accountability in a handful of cases.
    During the year the Government reported 31 deaths in pretrial 
detention centers and police cells, compared with 43 in 2009, and PRI 
reported 351 deaths during the first 10 months of 2010 among both 
detainees and prisoners. The Government reported 40 suicides in 2010--a 
decrease from 2009--of which three occurred in pretrial detention 
facilities, 36 in prisons, and one in a police cell.
    According to the latest statistics available from prison monitoring 
NGOs, there were approximately 55,000 prisoners and detainees in 
pretrial facilities. Men, women, and juveniles were held separately. 
Detainees were lodged apart from prisoners. There were no reports that 
political prisoners were held separately from the rest of the prison 
population.
    Incidents of inmates' self-mutilation as a protest against harsh 
prison conditions and abuse continued, with 87 cases involving 174 
inmates reported during the year; 27 were group mutilations. NGOs 
reported that the increase of reports on prison abuse did not reflect 
worsening conditions but rather increased transparency throughout the 
prison system.
    On February 1, several inmates in Eastern Kazakhstan prison 156/17, 
designated for former law enforcement officers, committed self-
mutilation to protest the lack of heat and hot water during the winter.
    On July 3, 14 inmates from Stepnoy village prison 166/26 committed 
self-mutilation to protest abuse by prison personnel. The authorities 
pressed criminal charges of abuse of power and torture against two 
officials, including the deputy director of Akmolinsk regional 
penitentiary committee, whom they also fired. The prosecutor's office 
concluded its investigation, and a court hearing was pending. On July 
5, another group of inmates committed self-mutilation. The inmates' 
relatives and prisoners' rights advocates disseminated to the media 
images and videos of the mutilation taken with cell phones.
    On July 22, 37 inmates from prison 164/4 in Gorni village, North 
Kazakhstan, committed group self-mutilation to protest abuse. After an 
investigation authorities transferred 12 inmates to other prisons.
    On July 30, according to the Kazakhstan International Human Rights 
Bureau, four prisoners from the Almaty pretrial detention facility cut 
their abdomens. Following subsequent reports that authorities severely 
beat the four prisoners, their relatives protested in front of the 
detention facility. Approximately 40 prisoners submitted written 
complaints to the prosecutor general. According to Ardak Zhanabilova, 
leader of the Public Monitoring Commission, all reasonable complaints 
have been satisfied.
    On August 9, approximately 300 inmates from prison 166/25 in 
Granitni village, Akmolinsk region, engaged in a group self-mutilation 
protest. Because of an ensuing riot to which authorities dispatched 
troops, two inmates died, 100 were injured, and 70 were hospitalized.
    On August 24, Yermek Narymbayev went on a hunger strike in an 
attempt to urge the Almaty Court of Appeals to review his case. His 
initial 15-day sentence for holding an unsanctioned demonstration in 
May turned into four years when claims of violent behavior toward 
police surfaced.
    Civil society activists worked with the councils for public 
oversight of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs, as well as the human rights ombudsman's Countertorture Working 
Group, to monitor the situation in prisons and detention facilities. 
Many observers criticized the councils for lacking independence and 
clearly defined authority or power.
    The Government addressed systemic patterns that encouraged prisoner 
abuse by increasing access for regional penitentiary oversight 
commissions, training programs for prison officials, and police 
seminars. By year's end, authorities had investigated 48 law 
enforcement officials and prosecuted 15 for abuses. Courts convicted 
four law enforcement officers on torture charges.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but problems remained.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of 
Internal Affairs supervises the national police force, which has 
primary responsibility for internal security, including investigation 
and prevention of crimes and administrative offenses and maintenance of 
public order and security. The Agency for Combating Economic and 
Corruption Crimes (Financial Police) has administrative and criminal 
investigative powers. The KNB plays a role in border security, internal 
security, antiterrorism efforts, and the investigation and interdiction 
of illegal or unregistered groups, such as extremist groups, military 
groups, political parties, religious groups, and trade unions. In 
February 2009 the Government established a separate external 
intelligence service, Syrbar, which reports directly to the president. 
The Financial Police and the KNB report directly to the president.
    During the year the Government maintained Ministry of Internal 
Affairs hotlines and received more than 13,617 complaints about police 
corruption and abuse. The majority of ministers, including the prime 
minister, maintained personal blogs where citizens could submit their 
complaints.
    The prosecutor general chaired a council for coordination of law 
enforcement operations. Staff included heads of other law enforcement 
agencies. Among its many duties, the council reviewed complaints 
against law enforcement.
    The Ministry of Internal Affairs cooperated with NGOs to provide 
human rights training programs for local police. The Government 
cooperated with international organizations to provide limited law 
enforcement training courses aimed at decreasing abuse by emphasizing 
investigative skill development.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--In 2008 the 
Government passed legislation to transfer the power to sanction arrest 
from prosecutors to the judiciary. Independent observers reported that 
judges usually sanctioned prosecutors' requests. Of the suspects 
detained by police in 2009, 98 percent were arrested, compared with 
91.3 to 92 percent between 2006 and 2008.
    Prosecutors continued to have the power to authorize investigative 
actions, such as search and seizure. The law allows police to hold a 
detainee for 72 hours before bringing charges. Human rights observers 
criticized this period as too lengthy and said that authorities often 
used this detention to exert pressure and extract confessions. A bail 
system exists but was not widely used, and many individuals remained in 
pretrial detention until their trial. By law prisoners are granted 
prompt access to family members; however, prisoners sometimes are sent 
to facilities located far from their home and relatives, restricting 
access for those who could not afford the travel.
    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. The law does not require police to 
inform detainees that they have the right to an attorney, and in 
practice police did not do so. Human rights observers alleged that law 
enforcement officials dissuaded detainees from seeing an attorney, 
gathered evidence through preliminary questioning before a detainee'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 faces serious criminal 
charges. In practice public defenders often lacked the necessary 
experience and training to assist defendants.
    Some defendants were barred from freely choosing their defense 
counsel because the cases against them involved state secrets, and the 
law only allows lawyers who have special clearance to work on such 
cases. In the embezzlement case that resulted in the March 15 
conviction of the Mukhtar Dzhakishev, former manager of the state-owned 
uranium company KazAtomProm, the KNB barred Dzhakishev from meeting 
with his attorney because the lawyer lacked the necessary clearance. 
Dzhakishev eventually chose an attorney from the list of approved 
lawyers and was allowed to meet with him.
    Prosecutors reported continuing problems with arbitrary arrest and 
detention of citizens. During the first nine months of 2010, 
authorities released 1,000 persons from illegal pretrial detention and 
973 from illegal custody in police offices.
    The Government occasionally arrested and detained government 
opponents and critics, sometimes for minor infractions such as 
unsanctioned assembly. Nevertheless, there were no allegations of 
prolonged detention for political offenses.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law does not provide for an 
independent judiciary. The executive branch limited judicial 
independence. Prosecutors enjoyed a quasijudicial role and had 
authority to suspend court decisions.
    Corruption was evident at every stage of the judicial process. 
Although judges were among the most highly paid government employees, 
lawyers and human rights monitors alleged that judges, prosecutors, and 
other officials solicited bribes in exchange for favorable rulings in 
the majority of criminal cases.
    Military courts have jurisdiction over civilian criminal defendants 
allegedly connected to military personnel undergoing a criminal trial. 
Military courts use the same criminal code as civilian courts.

    Trial Procedures.--All defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence 
and are protected from self-incrimination. Trials were public except in 
instances that could compromise state secrets or when necessary to 
protect the private life or personal family concerns of a citizen. 
Nevertheless, there were several reported cases of journalists and 
observers denied access to open court hearings. Only defendants charged 
with capital crimes are entitled to trial by jury.
    Courts conducted jury trials for aggravated murder cases, pursuant 
to legislation enacted in 2006. Observers noted that the juror 
selection process was inconsistent and that judges, who deliberate with 
the jurors, tended to dominate the process. Through the first 11 months 
of 2010, courts conducted 206 jury trials involving 286 defendants; 
jurors acquitted 19.
    Defendants in criminal cases have the right to counsel and to a 
government-provided attorney if they cannot afford counsel. Under the 
criminal procedure code a defendant 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 of 
imprisonment. In practice defense attorneys reportedly participated in 
only half of all criminal cases, in part because the Government did not 
provide sufficient funds to pay them. The law also provides defendants 
the right to be present at their trials, to be heard in court, to 
confront witnesses against them, and to call witnesses for the defense. 
They have the right to appeal a decision to a higher court. According 
to observers, defense attorneys play a narrow role in trials, which are 
dominated by prosecutors.
    Kazakhstani and international human rights organizations reported 
numerous problems in the judicial system, including lack of access to 
court proceedings, lack of access to government-held evidence, frequent 
procedural violations, poor explanation of rights to defendants, denial 
of defense counsel motions, and failure of judges to investigate 
allegations that confessions had been extracted through torture or 
duress. Activists called for the use of juries for a wider range of 
trials. Lack of due process was a problem, particularly in a handful of 
politically motivated trials involving protests by opposition activists 
and in cases when improper political or financial influence was 
alleged.
    On April 26, the Supreme Court Panel for Procedural Review rejected 
a petition submitted by Vitaly Voronov, a lawyer for prominent human 
rights defender Yevgeniy Zhovtis, to review the lower-court ruling that 
convicted Zhovtis for vehicular manslaughter and sentenced him to four 
years in prison. The charge stemmed from a July 2009 accident in which 
Zhovtis struck and killed a pedestrian with his car. In December 2009 
an Almaty district court judicial review panel refused to review the 
appellate court's decision based on a request by Zhovtis' defense team. 
Local and international observers strongly criticized the trial for 
numerous procedural violations. Some observers alleged that the 
sentence imposed on Zhovtis, a critic of the Government, was harsh and 
politically motivated.
    On August 9, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Vremya 
journalist Tokhniyaz Kuchukov for a more lenient sentence for his 
involvement in a fatal vehicular accident in 2009.
    On December 6, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Aydos 
Sadykov, an opposition journalist found guilty of ``hooliganism'' and 
resisting police in July. There were reports the two-year sentence was 
politically motivated.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Local and international human 
rights NGOs asserted that the prison sentence imposed on Yevgeniy 
Zhovtis amounted to political persecution to silence the Government's 
most vocal critic in advance of the country's 2010 chairmanship of the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Although 
Zhovtis was closely monitored and was the only prisoner not allowed to 
work or spend weekends outside of his penal colony, he was allowed to 
publish articles and release statements.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Economic and 
administrative court judges handle civil cases 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 observers viewed civil courts as corrupt and unreliable. 
Observers noted that litigants experienced 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 privacy violations; 
however, the Government at times infringed on these rights.
    The law provides prosecutors with extensive authority to limit 
citizens' constitutional rights. The KNB, the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs, Financial Police, and other agencies, with the concurrence of 
the PGO, 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 of a prosecutor's decision but cannot issue an 
immediate injunction to cease an infringement. In June 2009 parliament 
amended the criminal procedure code to expand the range of cases in 
which police could wiretap and record communications without a warrant, 
allowing it in cases of medium gravity as well as in urgent and grave 
ones, which was previously the standard.
    Government opponents and their family members continued to report 
that the Government occasionally monitored their movements and 
telephone calls.

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, licensing 
regulations, Internet restrictions, 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 the 
suspension 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 prohibits insulting the 
president, the president's family, and other senior officials. The 
Government continued to characterize the distribution of pamphlets by 
Hizb ut-Tahrir, a prohibited extremist political organization, as 
incitement for political and terrorist purposes and beyond the bounds 
of constitutionally protected free speech.
    According to government statistics, approximately 20 percent of the 
2,973 media outlets were government-owned. Many privately owned 
newspapers and television stations received government subsidies. The 
majority of broadcast media that the Government did not own, including 
the larger outlets, nonetheless were owned by holding companies 
believed to be controlled by members of the president's family or by 
loyal associates. Media observers believed that most of the seven 
nationwide television broadcasters were owned wholly or partly by the 
Government. Regional governments owned several frequencies, and the 
Ministry of Communications and Information distributed them to 
independent broadcasters via a tender system.
    All media were required to register with the Ministry of 
Communications and Information, although Web sites were exempt from 
this requirement. In February 2009 the president signed amendments to 
the media law that removed requirements for media to reregister if 
their senior leadership changes and to obtain permission to record 
interviews. The State Commission on the Distribution of Television and 
Radio Frequencies did not meet in 2010, which made new licensing 
impossible. As a result of a 2009 government tender, all radio 
frequencies in major cities and regions went to one company that the 
Government favored. Similarly, in 2008 the Government conducted a 
tender for new licenses for television frequencies, but media monitors 
charged that the Government predetermined the results and awarded all 
new television frequencies to companies that it favored.
    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 programs, although the Government did not sanction 
any media outlet under this provision.
    Harassment of and violence against journalists remained a problem. 
During the year press advocacy NGO Adil Soz recorded eight attacks on 
newspaper offices and journalists, five threats to journalists, and 
three cases of forced suspension or discontinuance of a publication. 
Reporters were prevented from performing their professional duties in 
24 instances, and journalists were denied or given significantly 
restricted access to public information 210 times, according to the 
NGO. Journalists working in opposition media and those covering 
corruption reported harassment and intimidation by government officials 
and private actors.
    There were no developments in the January 2009 attack by unknown 
assailants on Yermek Boltay, Web site editor and part-time contributor 
to Radio Free Europe and Radio Azzatyk. Several men reportedly 
approached Boltay on the street and asked him for money; when he 
refused, they assaulted him. The police treated the case as a 
``hooligan attack.''
    On July 6, jailed and ailing Ramazan Yesergepov, owner and editor 
in chief of the Alma-Ata Info newspaper, went on a hunger strike to 
protest his imprisonment. In an August 2009 closed hearing, a Taraz 
city court found Yesergepov guilty of divulging classified documents 
and sentenced him to three years in prison. The charge stemmed from a 
2008 article in Alma-Ata Info on government corruption that contained 
ostensibly secret KNB documents. In August 2009 in a separate hearing, 
the Supreme Court ruled against Alma-Ata Info and upheld a lower 
court's ruling that suspended the newspaper for three months for 
publishing classified documents. In October 2009 the Zhambyl regional 
court denied Yesergepov's appeal and upheld the original conviction.
    On December 15, AKI Press news agency reported that the PGO 
provided Kyrgyzstani authorities with suspects in the case of 
Kyrgyzstani opposition journalist Gennadi Pavlyuk, who died in Almaty 
in December 2009 from injuries sustained after unknown assailants 
allegedly bound his hands and feet and pushed him from a sixth-floor 
window. On December 1, a court in Almaty issued an arrest warrant for 
one of the suspects, Aldayar Ismankulov, on charges of kidnapping and 
extortion. According to media reports, Pavlyuk intended to establish an 
opposition newspaper and Internet portal in Kyrgyzstan. In December 
2009 the Ministry of Internal Affairs claimed it had identified several 
suspects in the case, all of whom were Kyrgyz nationals. The Ministry 
of Internal Affairs did not provide further details on the suspects or 
their possible motives.
    Incidents of local government pressure on the media continued. On 
October 7, Adil Soz reported that the Ust-Kamenogorsk deputy akim 
advised Internet portal Stan.TV correspondent Alla Stepanova to refrain 
from covering a protest rally and threatened her with criminal charges. 
Following her publication of these allegations, the deputy threatened 
to sue Stepanova for defamation.
    There were no reports of forced closures under the restrictive 
media law enacted in 2006. The amendment to the media law included 
tightened government control, requiring media owners to reregister upon 
any change in editor, address, or frequency of publishing; a 
prohibition on persons convicted of libel to hold a managing editor 
position at another media outlet; a prohibition on registering an 
outlet under a name similar to one that had been closed by court 
action; and imposition of fines against broadcasters for failing to 
offer the required 50/50 mix of Kazakh- and Russian-language 
programming time.
    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 unless it came from an 
official source. The Government used this provision to limit media 
freedom. The law prohibits publication of any statement that promotes 
or glorifies ``extremism,'' a term that international legal experts 
said the Government had not clearly defined.
    The Government subjected media outlets willing to criticize the 
president directly to intimidation such as law enforcement actions or 
civil suits. Although these actions had a chilling effect on media 
outlets, criticism of government policies continued.
    The law on state secrets makes it a criminal offense to release 
information regarding the health, finances, or private life of the 
president as well as economic information, such as mineral reserves and 
government debt owed to foreign creditors. To avoid possible legal 
problems, media outlets often practiced self-censorship regarding 
information on the president or his family.
    Private parties could initiate criminal libel suits without 
independent action by 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 increasingly 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 liability for libel. The requirement that 
owners, editors, distributors, publishing houses, and journalists prove 
the veracity of published information, regardless of its source, 
promoted self-censorship at each level. In 2009 Respublika ceased its 
printing operations because it could not pay exorbitant libel claims.
    NGOs and monitors reported that libel cases against journalists and 
media outlets remained a problem. During the year, according to Adil 
Soz, seven local journalists were prosecuted for libel. A total of 54 
civil lawsuits, including 24 from state officials and 21 from private 
citizens, were brought against media outlets and claimed moral damages 
amounting to 7.5 million tenge ($5.14 million). During the year five 
journalists were serving prison sentences.

    Internet Freedom.--Observers reported that the Government monitored 
e-mail and Internet activity, blocked or slowed access to opposition 
Web sites, and planted progovernment propaganda in Internet chat rooms. 
The state regulated the country's three Internet service providers, 
including the state-owned Kaztelecom. Nevertheless, Web sites expressed 
a wide variety of views, including viewpoints critical of the 
Government. According to an independent marketing firm, there were 4.3 
million regular (primarily urban) Internet users in the country (26.5 
percent of the population).
    During the year Adil Soz reported that no media outlets or Web 
sites were shut down for inciting ethnic violence following a 2009 law 
that made it easier for the Government to shut down media outlets, 
including Web sites, for violations during electoral periods or for 
inciting interethnic violence. The law reclassified all Web sites, 
including chat rooms and blogs, as ``media outlets,'' making them 
subject to the media law. It broadened the definition of ``disseminated 
media products'' to include information posted on the Internet.
    The Government did not attempt to collect, request, obtain or 
disclose personally identifiable information of a person in connection 
with that person's peaceful expression of political, religious, or 
ideological opinion or belief.
    The Ministry of Communications and Information controlled the 
registration of .kz Internet domains. Authorities may suspend or revoke 
registration for failure to locate servers in the country. Observers 
criticized the registration process as unduly restrictive and 
vulnerable to abuse.
    Adil Soz reported 12 cases of government blocking or restricting 
access to Web sites and the Government's continuing intermittent 
blocking of the Web site LiveJournal throughout the year, although the 
site remained accessible through other servers. Bloggers reported 
anecdotally that their sites were periodically blocked.
    The opposition-oriented Web site zona.kz reported coordinated cyber 
attacks against it in February and April, and a 10-day attack in May.
    Throughout the year the Committee to Protect Journalists reported 
the Web site of opposition newspaper Respublika remained inaccessible 
by Kaztelecom users, the Government-owned Internet service provider. 
Users were able to access the newspaper online by use of alternative 
Web addresses. On February 2, an Almaty court prohibited the 
distribution of Respublika's printed newspaper due to the publication's 
inability to pay 60 million tenge (approximately $400,000) after it 
lost a 2009 lawsuit filed by BTA Bank.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government generally did 
not restrict academic freedom, although academics, as with other 
citizens, were prohibited from infringing on the dignity and honor of 
the president and his family.
    In August the administration of the Eurasian National University of 
Astana denied the appointment of Aleksander Ukhman as a permanent 
lecturer, reportedly because the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not 
want the job given to a Communist Party member. According to Ukhman, 
during a conflict with the local police in Karaganda city on July 10, a 
police officer, Major Kiril Korniyenko, threatened to jeopardize 
Ukhman's employment prospects at the university.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for limited freedom of assembly. There were 
significant restrictions on this right in practice, and police used 
force to disrupt peaceful demonstrations. The law defines national 
security threats to include unsanctioned gatherings, public meetings, 
marches, demonstrations, illegal picketing, and strikes that upset 
social and political stability.
    Under the laws governing public assembly, organizations must apply 
to local authorities for a permit to hold a demonstration or public 
meeting at least 10 days in advance. Opposition and human rights 
monitors complained that complicated and vague procedures and the 10-
day notification period made it difficult for groups to organize public 
meetings and demonstrations, and noted that local authorities turned 
down most applications for demonstrations. Authorities often detained 
briefly and fined organizers of unsanctioned gatherings, including 
political party gatherings. Authorities designated locations for 
sanctioned protests in less populous city outskirts.
    The National Human Rights Action Plan 2009-12 noted that the 
country's legal norms on public gatherings at times contradicted 
international standards.
    On March 16, a court fined Bakhytzhan Toregozhina, chairperson of 
the Ar.Rukh.Khak public fund, 56,520 tenge ($382) for holding a ``flash 
mob'' (a spontaneous demonstration organized using mobile technology) 
on March 11 in a public garden in Almaty. The representatives of the 
prosecutor's office who observed the event failed to warn her that the 
action was illegal.
    On March 26, a court sentenced the chairman of the unregistered 
Alga political party to 10 days in prison for distributing booklets 
with biographical information about the former head of the KazAtomProm 
Company, Mukhtar Dzhakishev. The courts considered booklet distribution 
an unsanctioned demonstration.
    On May 5, an Almaty court sentenced the leader of the Alga party, 
Vladimir Kozlov, to a 15-day sentence for organizing an unsanctioned 
rally. The Alga and Communist Parties organized the rally on May 1, 
with more than 500 activists in the yard of the Alga office in Almaty. 
Following the rally police blocked the yard entrance to prevent 
activists from marching en masse and detained a number of activists, 
including journalist Zhanna Baytelova and the leader of the Arman 
movement, Yermek Narymbayev.
    On June 21, journalist Yekaterina Belyayeva approached the Monument 
of Independence in Almaty alone and unfolded a poster to protest of the 
Leader of the Nation Law. Police seized the poster, tore it apart, and 
detained Belyayeva for five hours.
    On July 10, local police dispersed a gathering of residents in 
Karaganda. The district akim, who had promised to meet residents to 
discuss water supply problems, did not show up. The residents picketed 
his office, but local police reportedly provoked a scuffle, dispersed 
the gathering, and detained three activists, Andrey Tsukonov, A. 
Bomdarenko, and Aleksander Ukhman. Police reportedly beat Ukhman during 
questioning at the police station. On July 12, the Administrative Court 
of Karaganda City sentenced Tsukanov and Ukhman to a one-day jail term 
for disobedience to the police.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for limited freedom of 
association. There were significant restrictions on this right in 
practice. Any public organization set up by citizens, including 
religious groups, must be registered with the Ministry of Justice as 
well as with ministry branches in every region in which the 
organization conducts activities. The law requires public or religious 
associations to define their specific activities, and associations that 
act outside the scope of their charter may be warned, fined, suspended, 
or ultimately prohibited. 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 in order to register at the local level and must 
have branches in more than half of the regions for national 
registration. The Government considered political parties and labor 
unions to be membership organizations but had additional specific 
registration requirements for them. The law requires 40,000 signatures 
for registration. If authorities challenge the applications alleging 
irregular signatures, the registration process can continue as long as 
the total number of eligible signatures remains above the minimum. The 
law prohibits parties established on an ethnic, gender, or religious 
basis. 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.
    On June 28, Vladimir Kozlov, leader of the unregistered political 
party Alga, and his lawyer Sergey Utkin, received an Almaty Tax 
Committee letter stating that they owed an additional six million tenge 
($41,000). In calculating the tax, the tax committee included party 
branch office buildings in every region of the country as Kozlov's 
property. Kozlov stated that Alga party members could not legally 
conduct political party-related business during the year because the 
party had not been registered. The group continued its activities 
through public associations registered at a regional level. On October 
28, the Government began an investigation of Kozlov for a possible tax 
evasion charge, claiming he owed over three million tenge ($20,000).
    In July the Ministry of Justice refused to reregister the Azat 
National Social Democratic Party (ANSDP) due to discrepancies between 
the Russian and Kazakh versions of the party charter.
    NGOs reported that the NGO registration process was fairly 
straightforward, although corruption in the process was common. NGOs 
involved in human rights advocacy and political activities faced 
greater administrative delays and obstacles, although there were no 
reports that the Government denied registration or closed 
organizations.
    The 2005 extremism law criminalizes membership in certain 
prohibited organizations. Hizb ut-Tahrir was the only organization 
prohibited under this law. Although it maintained that it was committed 
to nonviolence, Hizb ut-Tahrir 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.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement, but there were some regulatory restrictions. The Government 
generally respected the right in practice, and citizens were able to 
move within the country with relative ease. The Government cooperated 
with the UNHCR and other organizations to provide some protection and 
assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, and other persons of concern.
    The Government required citizens and foreigners who remained in the 
country for more than five days to register with 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 occasionally 
requested bribes before completing registration. Migration police 
routinely checked the registration of foreigners, including labor 
migrants, and reportedly requested bribes. Some foreigners experienced 
problems travelling to regions outside their registration area.
    During the first nine months of the year, the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs deported 11,677 foreigners for alleged gross violations of the 
visitor rules; the majority of the foreigners were citizens of 
countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The 
Government required persons who were suspects in criminal 
investigations to sign statements that they would not leave their place 
of residence and detained individuals routinely for identity checks 
without suspicion of a criminal offense.
    Although the Government did not require exit visas for the 
temporary travel of citizens, there were certain instances in which the 
Government could deny exit from the country, including for travelers 
subject to pending criminal or civil legal proceedings, unfulfilled 
prison sentences, or compulsory military duty. Travelers who presented 
false documentation during the exit process could be denied exit, and 
authorities controlled travel by active-duty military. 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.
    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. The 
Government required a permanent exit visa for emigration; obtaining 
this visa required criminal checks, credit checks, and letters from 
parents and any dependents expressing no objection to exit visa 
issuance.
    Authorities required foreigners to obtain prior permission to 
travel to certain border areas with China and cities in close proximity 
to military installations. The Government continued to declare 
particular 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 
Ministry of Internal Affairs.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government provided protection against 
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. The Government did not forcibly return any refugees during the 
year.
    In April, the country temporarily closed its border with Kyrgyzstan 
following the unrest leading to the ouster of former Kyrgyz president 
Bakiyev.
    In January a new law on refugees came into force that outlines 
refugee status determination (RSD) procedures and access to state 
services, including the right to be registered and issued documents. 
With UNHCR encouragement, the Committee on Migration under the Ministry 
of Labor and Social Protection assumed responsibility for RSD 
procedures formerly performed by the UNHCR for CIS citizens and Chinese 
Uighurs. Former UNHCR mandate refugees had to reapply for refugee 
status through the Government beginning in April; if granted, 
applicants must reapply every year to maintain their refugee status. 
Observers stated that council representatives suffered from lack of 
expertise, which the UNHCR attributed to rushed implementation of the 
law. While the law stipulates that refugees have the right to education 
and social services, administrative regulations and prohibitive costs 
for services often precluded this right in practice. In January 
authorities formed an interministerial working group with the UNHCR to 
address these problems.
    In June the media reported that the Ministry of Internal Affairs 
and local Almaty law enforcement detained 30 Uzbek and one Uighur 
asylum seekers for security reasons. The UNHCR maintained regular 
access to all detainees and did not report abuse.
    During the year the KNB launched a probe into a September 2009 
incident in which armed and masked men, later identified as Almaty KNB 
officers, detained three Uzbek and Chinese Uighur national refugees and 
two asylum seekers, and held them for three hours. Some reported the 
KNB officers threatened them with deportation or put plastic bags on 
their heads. In response to the UNHCR's inquiry, the KNB said it was 
running checks on the detainees. The detainees reported that the KNB 
officers accused them of killing a police officer in Uzbekistan. The 
UNHCR had sent a formal protest letter to the Government. The KNB did 
not release results of the probe by year's end.
    The Government generally registered asylum seekers and determined 
their status in consultation with the UNHCR. In some cases the 
Government allowed asylum seekers and refugees to stay in the country 
while the UNHCR found third countries that would accept them. Although 
the Government registered refugees already present in the country, it 
did not accept any refugees for resettlement and naturalization. The 
Government also provided temporary protection to individuals, including 
some Afghans who would not qualify as refugees.
    During the year the UNHCR reported generally excellent cooperation 
from the Government in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The 
Government usually allowed the UNHCR access to detained foreigners to 
ensure proper treatment and fair determination of 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.
    The Committee on Migration in the Ministry of Labor and Social 
Protection continued to work with the UNHCR and a local NGO, Kazakhstan 
Refugee Legal Support, to review refugee claims. Consistent with the 
Minsk Convention on Migration within the CIS, the Government did not 
recognize Chechens as refugees. Chechens were eligible for temporary 
legal resident status for up to 180 days, as are any other CIS 
citizens. This temporary registration was renewable, but local 
migration officials have discretion over the renewal process. In some 
cases they solicited bribes, exploiting the vulnerability of Chechens 
due to their inability to return safely to Chechnya. The Government has 
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 about the effect of this agreement 
on Uighurs from China living in the country, especially following the 
transfer of RSD for Uighurs from the UNHCR to the Government.

    Stateless Persons--According to government statistics, 7,585 
documented stateless persons resided in the country. The UNHCR 
estimated that the number of stateless persons was 60-100,000. This 
group largely constituted holders of Soviet passports who failed to 
renew their documents since independence, ethnic Kazakh repatriates, 
and labor migrants. There was no reliable source of data on stateless 
persons. Although provided with the same rights as individuals with 
resident permits, stateless persons reported difficulty finding legal 
employment and limited access to education and health care.

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 older than 18 years of age; in practice, 
the Government severely limited the right of citizens to change their 
government.
    On December 23, a group of government supporters initiated, in 
accordance with Kazakhstani law, a petition process to replace two 
scheduled presidential elections with a 2011 referendum to extend 
President Nazarbayev's term until 2020. By the end of the year, the 
referendum movement collected approximately 2.5 million signatures--
well more than the required 200,000--although there were credible 
reports many were obtained by coercion. Although parliament expedited 
constitutional amendments to allow the referendum to take place, the 
referendum bid ultimately failed and was replaced by an early 
presidential election.
    Although the 2007 constitutional amendments increased legislative 
authority in some spheres, the constitution continues to concentrate 
power in the presidency. The president appoints and dismisses most 
high-level government officials, including the prime minister, the 
cabinet, the prosecutor general, the KNB chief, Supreme Court and 
lower-level judges, regional governors, and the chairman and two 
members of the Central Election Commission (CEC), which oversees 
presidential and parliamentary elections. The Mazhilis (lower house of 
parliament) must confirm the president's choice of prime minister, and 
the senate must confirm the president's choice of prosecutor general, 
chief of the KNB, Supreme Court judges, and head of the national bank. 
The parliament has never failed to confirm a presidential nomination. 
Modifying or amending the constitution effectively requires the 
president's consent. The 2007 constitutional amendments exempted 
President Nazarbayev from the two-term presidential term limit, and an 
amendment passed during the year gave him protection from prosecution.
    On June 15, two leader-of-the-nation laws came into force. The 
measures established President Nazarbayev as chair of the Kazakhstan 
People's Assembly, granted him lifetime membership on the 
Constitutional and Security Councils, allowed him ``to address the 
people of Kazakhstan at any time,'' and stipulated that all 
``initiatives on the country's development'' must be coordinated 
through him. Despite a public rejection of the law by Nazarbayev, the 
presidential administration failed to return the law to parliament, 
which brought it into force after 30 days.
    The Government took no further steps toward meeting the democratic 
reform commitments it made at the 2007 OSCE Ministerial. In February 
2009 the president signed into law amendments on political parties, 
parliamentary elections, and the media. Some civil society 
representatives and opposition party members criticized the legislation 
for not going far enough with reforms and claimed that the legislative 
process lacked transparency.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the 2007 elections for 
the Mazhilis, President Nazarbayev's Nur Otan party, the country's 
dominant political force, received 88 percent of the vote, winning 
every seat in the chamber. No other party received the necessary seven 
percent of the vote to obtain Mazhilis seats.
    An OSCE election assessment noted several areas of improvement in 
the conduct of previous national elections, including increased 
transparency on the part of the CEC. Nevertheless, the assessment 
criticized a number of legal provisions related to the election, 
including excessive requirements for registration of political parties; 
limitations on the right to seek public office, such as 10-year 
residency and party membership requirements; and a provision allowing 
the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan--an unelected body whose members 
President Nazarbayev appointed--to choose nine of the 107 members of 
the Mazhilis. Opposition leaders filed 400 court cases alleging 
violations. The courts dismissed or denied the majority of the cases.
    The Government permitted all registered parties that sought to 
compete in the 2007 elections to do so, although the system introduced 
by 2007 constitutional amendments makes no provision for independent 
candidates in parliamentary elections. 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 authorities pressured persons entering government 
service to join the Nur Otan party.
    At year's end there were 10 registered political parties, including 
the opposition parties Ak Zhol, Azat, the National Social Democratic 
Party, and the Communist Party of Kazakhstan.
    In order to register, a political party must hold a founding 
congress with minimum attendance of 1,000 delegates from two-thirds of 
the oblasts and the cities of Astana and Almaty. Parties must obtain at 
least 700 signatures from each oblast and the cities of Astana and 
Almaty, registration from the CEC, and registration from each oblast-
level election commission.
    The February 2009 amendments to the law on elections require that 
the party with the second-highest vote count automatically receives 
seats in the Mazhilis, even if it fails to reach the 7 percent 
threshold.
    The law prohibits parties established on an ethnic, gender, or 
religious basis.
    In May 2009 the Almaty District Court found Azat chairman Bulat 
Abilov, Shanyrak movement's Asylbek Kazhakhmetov, and oppositionist 
Tolen Tokhtasynov guilty of concealing the whereabouts of a suspect in 
a murder investigation. The court did not impose a sentence on the 
three oppositionists, because the statute of limitations on the case 
had run out. The three appealed the charges, claiming the allegations 
were politically motivated. In July 2009 the Almaty City Appellate 
Court denied the appeal. There were no further updates on this case.
    There were two women in the 47-seat senate and 19 women in the 107-
member Mazhilis. There were three women in the cabinet. Traditional 
attitudes sometimes hindered women from holding high office or playing 
active roles in political life, although there were no legal 
restrictions on the participation of women and minorities in politics. 
There were nine non-Kazakhs in the senate and 27 in the Mazhilis. There 
were two non-Kazakh cabinet members. Under the 2007 constitutional 
amendments, the president gained the ability to appoint 15 members of 
the senate, with the requirement that the appointments facilitate 
representation of different ethnic and cultural groups.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
Corruption was widespread in the executive branch, various law 
enforcement agencies, local government administrations, the education 
system, and the judiciary. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, Financial 
Police, the KNB, and the Disciplinary State Service Commission are 
responsible for combating corruption. Opposition leaders and human 
rights NGOs accused the Government of rampant corruption. According to 
the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators, corruption in the 
country was a problem.
    On February 24, the Akmola garrison military court sentenced the 
former deputy defense minister, Lieutenant-General Kazhimurat 
Mayermanov, to 11 years in prison for corruption and abuse of office. 
On April 29, Murat Zhumanbay claimed the Financial Police initiated 87 
criminal cases under the state program ``100 schools, 100 hospitals,'' 
which was designed to build schools and hospitals in disadvantaged 
communities. On May 7, the Special Interdistrict Court of Astana 
sentenced the former vice minister for emergency situations, Ablay 
Sabdalin, to 10 years in prison for bribery and abuse of power. On 
September 17, the head of the Financial Police, Kayrat Kozhamzharov, 
announced that the Government had convicted 473 individuals for 
corruption offenses, including one minister and five to six vice 
ministers and akims (mayors) since the beginning of the year. In a 
press release, the Customs Committee announced that the Government had 
filed 81 criminal cases against officials and 66 corruption offenses 
were uncovered during the year.
    On October 12, the Financial Police initiated two criminal 
investigations against former health minister Zhaksylyk Doskaliyev for 
abuse of power and accepting a bribe. At year's end Doskaliyev remained 
in detention as the investigation was ongoing.
    In March 2009 a court sentenced former aide to the president Serik 
Burkitbayev to six years in prison for committing economic crimes. In 
May 2009 the KNB arrested the chairman of the state uranium company, 
Mukhtar Dzhakishev, on charges of abuse of office. A court convicted 
him in March and sentenced him to 14 years in prison.
    Lower- and middle-ranking officials and minor political figures 
were penalized on corruption charges. The Government reported that 
during the first 11 months of the year, 1,852 corruption crimes were 
disclosed, and 662 government officials were convicted. In July the 
Customs Committee announced that 190 criminal cases had been opened 
against corrupt customs officials since the beginning of the year. On 
July 19, Supreme Court Chairman Musabek Alimbekov told the media that 
24 judges had been fired for incompetence since the beginning of the 
year. Two judges were convicted for corruption. Authorities dismissed 
61 law enforcement officers for corruption during the year.
    In September 2009 President Nazarbayev publicly ordered that all 
new legislation undergo an ``anticorruption examination'' to eliminate 
loopholes that could lead to bribery or embezzlement.
    The law mandates that the Government, public associations, 
officials, and media outlets provide citizens with information that 
affects their rights and interests; in practice citizens' requests for 
information were not fulfilled in a timely manner. In an NGO Poll, 70.7 
percent of respondents stated they could not get information from state 
agencies and cited red tape, poor content on official Web sites, and 
long lines in state agencies. Government and public employees, 
including parliamentarians and their spouses, are subject to financial 
disclosure requirements.
    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 could observe 
some parliamentary sessions via video link from a separate room. 
Transcripts of parliamentary sessions were not available to the public. 
During the year parliament closed public and media access to discussion 
of controversial legislation.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated effectively, with relative freedom to investigate 
and publish their findings on human rights cases. However, some 
government restrictions on domestic and international human rights NGO 
activities remained. International human rights groups reported that 
the Government continued to monitor the activities of NGOs that worked 
on sensitive issues and noted government harassment, including police 
visits and surveillance, of NGO offices and personnel.
    The Almaty Helsinki Commission, the Republican Network of 
Independent Monitors, the Charter for Human Rights, PRI, and Adil Soz 
were among the most active local human rights NGOs and occasionally 
faced difficulties in registering and acquiring office space and 
technical facilities. They also reported the Government audited their 
records and imposed various legal constraints. Roza Akylbekova, acting 
director for the Kazakhstan International Bureau of Human Rights 
(KIBHR), stated that KIBHR activists faced no government interference 
in their work during the year and that KIBHR participation in 
government meetings, workshops, and discussions on human rights issues 
increased.
    On September 27, Ayman Kurmanov, the head of the Talmas public 
association, stated that the investigation into the September 2009 
assault against him was still pending. Although he was not aware of any 
actions taken by the police, he was questioned by police early in the 
year. In September 2009 unidentified persons assaulted Kurmanov near 
his home. Kurmanov and Azat party representatives claimed that the 
attack directly related to his work with trade unions and alleged that 
the authorities were involved with the attack.
    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 and government 
officials. The Government cooperated with the OSCE and its field 
mission. The UN, the International Organization for Migration, and the 
Red Crescent Society also operated freely in the country.
    National security laws prohibit foreigners, international 
organizations, NGOs, and other nonprofit organizations from engaging in 
political activities. The law stipulates that a noncommercial 
organization must provide information to 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.
    The Presidential Commission on Human Rights is a consultative and 
advisory body that includes members from the public 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.
    The presidentially appointed human rights ombudsman investigated 
complaints by citizens of violations of their rights by state agencies, 
although the ombudsman was not authorized to investigate complaints 
concerning the president, heads of government agencies, the parliament, 
the cabinet, the Constitutional Council, the PGO, the CEC, or the 
courts. The Ombudsman's Office has 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 
visit certain facilities such as military units and prisons, and to 
publicize the results of investigations in the media. The Ombudsman's 
Office also published an annual human rights report. During the year 
the Ombudsman's Office occasionally briefed the media and issued 
reports discussing complaints it had investigated. According to the 
2009 ombudsman's report submitted on March 29, the office received 
1,348 complaints in 2009, 273 more than in 2008. Of the total 
complaints, 20 percent were directed against law enforcement agencies 
and 17.3 percent concerned court rulings. However, the Ombudsman's 
Office rejected complaints about court rulings because the office has 
no jurisdiction over the judicial system.
    Domestic human rights observers noted that, although government 
human rights investigators did some laudable work, particularly with 
less controversial social problems and issues involving lower-level 
elements of the bureaucracy, the Ombudsman's Office and the human 
rights commission were limited in their ability to stop human rights 
abuses or to punish perpetrators. Observers noted that the commission 
and the ombudsman avoided addressing underlying structural problems 
that led to human rights violations.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status; however, the Government did not effectively 
enforce the law. Violence against women, trafficking in persons, and 
discrimination against non-Kazakhs in government, persons with 
disabilities, and those involved with homosexual activity were 
problems.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape. The punishment for rape, 
including spousal rape, ranges from three to 15 years' imprisonment. 
Among 1,234 officially reported rape cases, authorities charged 540 
with criminal rape and convicted 372. Under the law a prosecutor 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 was intended to protect victims from coercion. There were 
anecdotal reports of police and judicial reluctance to act on rape and 
spousal rape cases.
    Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a problem. 
In December 2009 President Nazarbayev signed a new law on domestic 
violence. The law defines for the first time ``domestic violence'' and 
``victim;'' identifies various types of violence, such as physical, 
psychological, sexual, and economic; and outlines the responsibilities 
of the local and national governments and NGOs in providing support to 
domestic violence victims. The law also outlines mechanisms for 
issuance of restraining orders and provides for the 24-hour 
administrative detention of abusers. The criminal procedure code sets 
the maximum sentence for spousal assault and battery at 10 years in 
prison, which is the same as for any beating.
    NGOs allege that the domestic violence law does not have an 
effective mechanism for implementation. According to NGOs, domestic 
violence remained a serious problem. Although official statistics were 
scarce, activists assessed that one in four families experienced 
domestic violence. Among 16,197 official domestic violence reports, 
authorities initiated 1,311 criminal investigations. NGOs reported that 
40 percent of such crimes went unreported. In a May 5, interview to 
Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, Zhakyp Asanov, a Mazhilis member and former 
vice minister of justice, reported that police annually registered over 
10,000 domestic violence incidents, some of which resulted in deaths. 
According to Asanov, 715 women and 129 children died in 2008 as a 
result of domestic violence. The Union of Crisis Centers claimed that 
about 500 women died annually as a result of domestic conflicts.
    Police intervened in family disputes only when they believed the 
abuse was life-threatening. According to NGO estimates, police 
investigated approximately 10 percent of such cases. NGOs conducted 
training for police officers on how to handle victims of domestic 
violence.
    NGOs reported that women often withdrew their complaints because of 
economic insecurity. When victims pressed charges for domestic violence 
or spousal rape, police occasionally tried to persuade them not to 
pursue a case. When domestic violence cases came to trial, the charge 
was most often light battery, for which judges sentenced domestic 
abusers to incarceration at a minimum-security labor colony and 120 to 
180 hours of work. Sentences for more serious cases of battery, 
including spousal battery, range from three months to three years of 
imprisonment; the maximum sentence for aggravated battery is 10 years 
of imprisonment.
    According to the Government there were 25 crisis centers in the 
country providing assistance to women and two centers providing 
assistance to men. All the crisis centers received funding through 
government and international grants to NGOs. A number of smaller NGOs 
provided assistance to victims, and six of the crisis centers also 
provided shelter for victims of violence.
    Sexual harassment remained a problem. The law prohibits some forms 
of sexual harassment, but legal and gender experts regarded the 
legislation as inadequate. There were reports of incidents of 
harassment, but in no instance was the law utilized to protect the 
victim, nor were there reports of any cases prosecuted.
    According to the Population Reference Bureau (PRB), the birth rate 
in the country was 23 births annually per 1,000 members of the 
population, and the infant mortality rate was 26 infant deaths per 
1,000 live births, compared with 32 in 2009.
    Couples and individuals have the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children, and have the means to do so free 
from discrimination, coercion, or violence. Modern contraceptive 
methods were widely available. Less than 1 percent of women between the 
ages 15 and 24 and less than 1 percent of the adult population between 
the ages of 15 and 49 years had contracted or were living with HIV/AIDS 
between the years 2007 and 2009. Women and men received equal treatment 
for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Skilled personnel 
attended 100 percent of births, and 100 percent of women received at 
least one postnatal care visit, according to the PRB. According to the 
United Nations Population Fund, the maternal mortality ratio was 36.9 
deaths per 100,000 live births in 2009.
    The constitution and law provide for equal rights and freedoms for 
men and women. In December 2009 the president signed a new gender 
equality law that defines the terms ``gender,'' ``gender equality,'' 
``sexual discrimination,'' and ``equal opportunity'' and prohibits 
discrimination based on gender. The financial and economic crisis 
affected women more than men, with more women than men losing their 
jobs. According to observers, women in rural areas faced greater 
discrimination than women in urban areas and suffered from a greater 
incidence of domestic violence, limited education and employment 
opportunities, limited access to information, and discrimination in 
their land and property rights.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived both by birth within the 
country's territory and from one's parents. The Government has a duty 
to register all births immediately.
    Children's rights are governed by the Law on the Rights of the 
Child, the Marriage, and Family, the Law on Prevention of Juvenile 
Delinquency, the Law on Social and Medical Support to Children with 
Disabilities, and related UN conventions to which the country is a 
party. In 2006 the Government established a Committee on the Protection 
of Children's Rights within the Ministry of Education and Science.
    Education is mandatory through 16 years of age or secondary school; 
elementary schooling generally begins at age six. Primary and secondary 
education is free and universal. The law provides equal access to 
education for boys and girls. 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 enroll 
them for fear of discovery and deportation. According to the Ministry 
of Education, more than 10,000 children were identified as ``street 
children'' during the year. According to media reporting, homeless 
children found by police were placed in centers for temporary 
detention, where they received medical and psychological assistance 
before they were released or sent to orphanages. On August 17, 
President Nazarbayev issued a decree on Law Enforcement Reform, which 
includes the transfer of temporary detention centers for delinquent and 
street children from the police to the Ministry of Education.
    There were reports of child abuse, although there was no societal 
pattern. NGOs estimated that more than half of all children younger 
than 14 experienced at least one incident of physical or psychological 
abuse by adults. Abuse was more common in rural areas. During the year 
the Ministry of Internal Affairs permanently terminated custody rights 
of 1,054 abusive parents. Minors who are 16 or older have the right to 
file petitions related to their interests directly with a court.
    NGOs reported a high number of incidents of violence against 
children in orphanages, boarding schools, and detention facilities for 
delinquent children, and there were increased media reports on abuses 
in orphanages and other institutions. According to media reports, 
incidents of illegal placement of children in special correction 
facilities (prisons for underage criminals) and in facilities for the 
mentally ill occurred.
    On March 23, a group of orphans in Pavlodar filed a complaint 
against the institution's director, Bibigul Karimova, accusing her of 
abuse. A preliminary investigation confirmed their claims, and Pavlodar 
police initiated a criminal investigation against Karimova for failure 
to perform duties to raise an underage child. The investigation was 
ongoing at year's end.
    In June 2009 the courts convicted D. Seytkhanov, a teacher at the 
Zyrianovsk boarding school for children with mental disabilities, for 
``inappropriate performance of duties in the education of underage 
persons related to abusive treatment.'' The court sentenced Seytkhanov 
to one year of restricted freedom of movement and a two-year 
prohibition from teaching.
    The minimum age for consensual sex is not specified in any article 
of the criminal code, but an article provides for 5 to 10 years in 
prison as punishment for individuals who force underage (less than 18) 
boys or girls to have sexual intercourse.
    During the year the country introduced a criminal statute on the 
production and distribution of child pornography, and expanded 
administrative penalties to cover the sale of pornographic materials to 
minors. The country retains administrative penalties for child 
pornography.
    The country is a not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Approximately 30,000 to 40,000 Jews lived in the 
country. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts apart from the 
distribution of anti-Semitic literature by Hizb ut-Tahrir. Leaders of 
the Jewish community reported no cases of anti-Semitism by the 
Government or in society.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--According to the Ministry of Labor and 
Social Protection, there were 455,600 disabled persons (3 percent of 
the total population) in the country, although analysts argued that the 
real number was higher. The law prohibits discrimination against 
persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health 
care, and in the provision of other state services or other areas.
    The Law on Social Support to Disabled People protects access to 
information for persons with disabilities. The Government produced 
periodicals, scientific journals, reference literature, and fictional 
works that were either recorded on disk or in Braille. The law requires 
one national television channel to broadcast news programs with sign-
language translation. NGOs believed that implementation of the laws on 
disability was lacking, and the Nur Otan Party's Institute of 
Parliamentary Development assessed that access for disabled persons to 
information and communications was insufficient.
    The law requires companies to set aside 3 percent of their jobs for 
persons with disabilities. International and local observers noted some 
improvement regarding the rights of persons with disabilities. 
Nevertheless, there were reports that persons with disabilities faced 
difficulty integrating into society and finding employment. The law 
mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities. Vice 
Minister of Labor and Social Protection Assel Nusupova identified the 
two biggest problems facing persons with disabilities as poor 
infrastructure and lack of access to education. Persons with 
disabilities had difficulty accessing public transportation. The 
Government did not make a concerted effort to address these problems.
    Citizens with mental disabilities could be committed to state-run 
institutions without their consent or judicial review. In practice the 
Government committed persons at a young age with permission of their 
families. Institutions were poorly managed and inadequately funded.
    There are no regulations regarding the rights of patients in mental 
hospitals; human rights observers believed this led to mass abuse of 
patients' rights. NGOs reported that patients often were drugged and 
isolated for minor infractions, and experienced poor conditions and a 
complete lack of privacy. NGOs reported orphanages for children with 
physical and mental disabilities were overcrowded and unsanitary, with 
insufficient staff to care adequately for children's needs. The KIBHR 
observed that the Government provided almost no care for persons with 
mental disabilities.
    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 was the primary 
government agency responsible for protecting the rights of persons with 
disabilities; the Ministries of Health and Education also assisted in 
their protection. In 2009 the human rights ombudsman received five 
complaints from patients of mental hospitals who disagreed with their 
placement in these institutions or with treatment they received; the 
ombudsman did not report any further developments in the cases.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The Government continued to 
discriminate in favor of ethnic Kazakhs in senior government 
employment. Minorities experienced ethnic prejudice and hostility; 
encountered incidents of insult, humiliation, or other offenses; and 
were discriminated against in employment or job retention.
    Ethnic Kazakh migrants (oralmans) who returned to the country from 
abroad experienced domestic discrimination, including problems with 
housing, employment, and access to social services.
    Kazakh is the official state language, although organizations and 
bodies of local self-administration officially may use Russian on an 
equal basis with Kazakh. The language law was intended to strengthen 
the use of Kazakh without infringing on the rights of citizens to use 
other languages. By law the ability to speak Kazakh is not required for 
entry into the civil service, but most government agencies officially 
have switched to conducting business in Kazakh, which elicited protests 
from non-Kazakh speakers against language discrimination. The Election 
Law requires presidential candidates to be fluent in Kazakh.
    Among other forms of discrimination, critics mentioned a scarcity 
of representatives of non-Kazakh ethnicities in the Government, the 
fact that only two of the 20 cabinet members were non-Kazakhs, and a 
reduction in the number of Russian-language schools.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Although there were no 
official statistics on discrimination or violence based on sexual 
orientation, there were reports of such discrimination. Representatives 
of international organizations reported that negative social attitudes 
towards marginalized groups, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) persons, impeded these groups' willingness to come 
forward and consequently hindered their access to HIV/AIDS programs.
    LGBT individuals, particularly gay men, were among the most 
oppressed groups, although the country does not outlaw homosexual 
conduct. According to a 2009 Soros Foundation study, 64.1 percent of 
LGBT respondents said they did not face open discrimination in the work 
place, although LGBT individuals often concealed their sexual 
orientation to avoid such discrimination. LGBT individuals whose sexual 
orientation was known publicly risked physical and verbal abuse, 
possible loss of work, and unwanted attention from police and 
authorities. Several LGBT organizations operating in the country 
reported that government-run HIV clinics occasionally breached 
confidentiality and reported patients' sexual orientation to their 
families and employers. Attempts to report violence against gay, 
lesbian and transgender persons to law enforcement officers 
occasionally were met with resistance and hostility.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law prohibits 
discrimination against persons with HIV and AIDS. Observers reported 
that cultural stigmas against drug users and other at-risk groups 
continued to affect general access to information, services, treatment, 
and care.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right to 
organize and form unions. On March 1, officials reported that 47,362 
collective agreements were signed as a result of a prounion collective 
bargaining campaign initiated following a widely publicized 2008 mining 
accident in Satpayev. The campaign, designed to empower workers, 
increased the number of agreements by 2.4 percent since 2008. 
Independent union organizers described this campaign as a significant 
change in policy. During the year the Government began to encourage the 
signing of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in lieu of unionization. 
By May the Federation of Trade Unions' chairman claimed that more than 
8,000 large and medium-size businesses employing approximately one 
million persons had signed MoUs to guarantee jobs and labor rights. 
Nevertheless, organizers reported that the Government continued to 
restrict the right to organize, and most workers were not able to join 
or form trade unions of their choice.
    The Government exercised considerable influence on organized labor 
and favored state-affiliated unions over independent unions. At least 
one-third of the workforce was unionized. The largest trade union 
association, the Federation of Trade Unions, successor to formerly 
state-sponsored Soviet-era labor organizations, remained affiliated 
with the Government. The federation united 25 national unions and 13 
regional industrial unions. The industrial unions represented workers 
in a wide range of industries, including oil and gas, construction, 
textiles, education, and public health. Each union elects its own 
leader and has a representative on the General Council, which elects 
the 14-member Executive Committee. The committee runs the federation's 
day-to-day operations and deals with issues of social and economic 
protection, labor protection, organization, and international 
cooperation.
    To obtain legal status, a trade union must apply for registration 
with the Ministry of Justice. The registration procedure is broadly 
similar to that of other membership organizations.
    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. Foreign workers have the right 
to join unions.
    Workers are protected by law against antiunion discrimination, but 
in practice there were violations of this right. The violations ranged 
from threats of being fired, which would lead to the loss of social 
benefits to physical intimidation and assault.
    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, such 
as railway, civil aviation, military, law enforcement, fire services, 
health, and other services that provide for major life needs where 
strikes were permitted only under limited conditions. In general 
workers may strike only if a labor dispute has not been resolved 
through existing compulsory arbitration procedures. Striking workers 
must give 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 for firing employees who had attempted to organize 
strikes.
    The Miners' Family Public Organization, an association of miners' 
widows that has increasingly taken on traditional trade union 
functions, experienced several incidents of harassment during the year. 
On June 7, it cancelled a meeting in its Karaganda office to discuss 
labor issues with workers following a warning several days earlier from 
the city prosecutor to the organization's leader, Nataliya Tomilova, 
not to hold the meeting. On September 12, her landlord evicted Tomilova 
from her apartment, reportedly after local authorities pressured the 
landlord, and after authorities cut her water, electricity, and phone 
service. On October 11, the garage of the organization's deputy 
director exploded and caught fire, destroying a vehicle used by the 
organization to visit homes of workplace accident victims and to attend 
court hearings for victims' families. During October and November, 
local authorities pressured and threatened the landlord of the building 
in which the organization's offices were located, eventually convincing 
him to evict the organization. The group ultimately relocated.
    On June 15, 300 workers from a CNPC-Aktobemunaigas joint 
Kazakhstani-Chinese venture went on strike to demand a salary increase 
as well as equipment and vehicle improvements. The CNPC filed a lawsuit 
against the strikers and won the case because the court considered the 
strike illegal. Company management fired three organizers, Karlybay 
Tolybayev, Kosain Kulmuratov, and Serik Bitikbayev.
    On July 1, police detained a trade union leader, Asylkhan Musin, 
human rights activist M. Bokayev, and five other activists for an 
illegal strike in which over 200 workers of Dossrmunaigas and 
EmbasMunaiGas companies, branches of the national KazMunaiGas company, 
stopped operations in the Atyrau and Mangistau oil production 
facilities. The court sentenced Musin and Bokayev to seven days of 
administrative arrest, and all others were released with a reprimand. 
The company later fired Musin. Musin subsequently filed a lawsuit for 
reinstatement, which was still pending at year's end.
    On August 18, a coalition of NGOs and independent trade unions 
issued a statement to protest escalating pressure on Kazakhstan's 
independent labor movement. The statement accused the Government of 
contributing to the punishment of labor activists. NGOs expressed 
concern over the growing number of persons fired for labor union 
activity and over the persistent media campaign to discredit trade 
union leaders.
    In September the Almaty Electric Car Repair Plant fired Yessenbek 
Ukteshbayev, who organized a June 30-July 2 plant wide strike to demand 
increased salaries and nationalization of the enterprise.
    As of year's end the Government had not released its findings from 
an investigation into the 2008 attack on Confederation of Free Trade 
Unions (CFTU) vice president Mukhtar Umbetov. Umbetov, an active 
participant in many labor disputes, was beaten by two masked assailants 
after receiving threatening telephone calls.
    There were no further developments in the May 2009 public beating 
of two independent labor union activists by company managers at the oil 
company UzenMunaiGas in Aktau or the August 2009 shooting and wounding 
of Zhondeu company labor union leader Yklas Shangereyev by unknown 
attackers. Representatives of the independent labor union community 
unanimously believed that the shooting directly resulted from 
Shangereyev's activism.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
protects the rights of unions to conduct their activities without 
interference, and unions were free to recruit new members, conduct 
meetings, and bargain collectively with employers. The law permits 
collective bargaining and collective agreements; unions and 
associations engaged in collective bargaining in practice. The 
Government continued its efforts to encourage collective bargaining. 
Officials report 47,362 collective bargaining agreements. Activists 
stressed that political pressure was driving the rapid conclusion of 
agreements.
    Union demands unacceptable to management may be presented to a 
tripartite commission composed of government, employer association, and 
labor union representatives. The Government was supposed to be the 
neutral broker on the commissions, but there were cases in which it 
favored the interests of labor unions or employers. The tripartite 
commission is responsible for developing and signing annual agreements 
governing most aspects of labor relations. Through this mechanism, 
labor unions raised the minimal wage for several industries, including 
mining and metallurgy, and forced employers to pay back salaries in a 
number of industrial areas during the year.
    The labor law provides for an individual contract between an 
employer and each employee that sets the employee's wage and outlines 
the rights and responsibilities of the employee and the employer. 
Employers occasionally used individual contracts to weaken collective 
bargaining power.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, except at the sentence of the court or in 
conditions of a state of emergency or martial law; however, there were 
reports that such practices occurred. There were reports that some 
employers abused migrant workers by confiscating their passports or 
using debt bondage, violence, or threats of violence to compel them to 
work. The majority of migrant workers came from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, 
and Uzbekistan and were primarily employed in agriculture and 
construction. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection was 
responsible for dealing with issues of migrant workers.
    For further information, please see the Department of State's 
annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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; children who are between 14 to 16 years of 
age can perform, with parental permission, light work that does not 
interfere with their health or education. The law also restricts the 
length of the workday for employees younger than 18. The Government 
conducted labor inspections to enforce the minimum age for employment, 
but enforcement was uneven.
    The Government concluded an agreement with national employer 
associations that committed them to eradicate the use of forced labor 
and the worst forms of child labor and to develop alternative 
employment opportunities for children and their families. The Ministry 
of Education's 2007-11 Children of Kazakhstan program continued to 
address child labor problems. Nevertheless, NGOs contended that the 
Government's efforts were insufficient to address fully the use of 
child labor.
    The Government did not maintain statistics on child labor. NGOs and 
activists reported that child labor occurred in agriculture, especially 
during harvest season. Children were involved in growing cotton and 
tobacco. Past NGO studies have found that more than 70 percent of the 
children employed in this work were from migrant families, primarily 
Uzbek and Kyrgyz. Labor conditions frequently presented a physical 
health risk, and some children suffered from inadequate rest and 
nutrition. Many child workers lacked proper clothing to protect them 
from harmful chemicals used in agriculture and harsh weather 
conditions. In urban areas, the country's increasingly formalized labor 
market led to a decrease in many forms of child labor. Nevertheless, 
there were reports of children begging, unloading freight, delivering 
goods in markets, washing cars, and working at gas stations.
    The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection is responsible for 
enforcement of child labor laws and for administrative offenses 
punishable by fines. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible 
for investigating criminal offenses. During the year, the Government 
reported no crimes related to illegal child labor. The Government 
cooperated with trade unions, employers, and NGOs to raise awareness 
and promote interagency cooperation in eliminating child labor.
    For further information, please see the Department of State's 
annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national monthly minimum 
wage of 14,952 tenge (approximately $102) did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family. 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 law stipulates that 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 limits overtime to two hours in a day or one 
hour a day for heavy manual labor, and requires overtime to be paid at 
least a 50-percent premium. Overtime is prohibited for work in 
hazardous conditions. The law provides that labor agreements may 
stipulate the length of working time, holidays, and paid annual leave 
for each worker.
    The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection enforced minimum wages, 
work hours restrictions, and overtime. Ministry inspectors conducted 
random inspections of employers. Labor advocates reported that some 
employers regularly violated these laws.
    The law provides for the right to safe and hygienic working 
conditions, but working and safety conditions in the industrial, 
agricultural, and construction sectors were often substandard. Workers 
in factories usually lacked protective clothing and worked in 
conditions of poor visibility and ventilation.
    There were reports that management ignored regulations concerning 
occupational health and safety. In the first 11 months of the year, the 
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection reported 16,883 inspections and 
68,283 violations of occupational health and safety standards and 
rules. In addition to inspections by the ministry, unions conducted 
inspections of unionized enterprises and reported their findings to 
authorities for investigation. The law requires employers to suspend 
work that could endanger the life or health of workers and to warn 
workers about any harmful or dangerous work conditions or the 
possibility of any occupational disease. The law specifically grants 
workers the right to remove themselves from situations that endanger 
their health or safety without losing their job. In practice some 
workers, particularly in the construction industry, were not free to 
exercise this right without jeopardizing their employment.
    During the first 11 months of the year, the Government reported 
1,918 workplace injuries, compared with 1,811 during the first 11 
months of 2009. The Government reported 319 workplace deaths during the 
first 11 months of the year, compared with 298 deaths reported in the 
first 11 months of 2009. According to officials at the Federation of 
Trade Unions, many of the deaths were due to antiquated equipment, 
Soviet-era infrastructure, and disregard for safety regulations in the 
mining and metallurgy sectors.

                               __________

                            KYRGYZ REPUBLIC

    The Kyrgyz Republic's new constitution defines the country as a 
sovereign, democratic, secular, unitary, and social state governed by 
the rule of law. The country, with a population of approximately 5.4 
million, had a violent change of government on April 7 and then 
approved a new constitution and a temporary president in a June 27 
national referendum. Parliamentary elections took place on October 10, 
resulting in representatives from five political parties represented in 
the new parliament. According to independent election observers, the 
elections were generally free and fair. In mid-June, widespread 
violence occurred in the southern oblasts (provinces) of Osh and 
Jalalabad between ethnic Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks. There were instances 
in which elements of the security forces acted independently of 
civilian control.
    The following human rights problems were reported: arbitrary 
killings, torture, and abuse by law enforcement officials; impunity; 
poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; lack of 
judicial independence; pressure on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 
and opposition leaders, including government harassment; pressure on 
independent media; government detention of assembly organizers; 
authorities' failure to protect refugees adequately; pervasive 
corruption; discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, 
ethnic and religious minorities, and other persons based on sexual 
orientation or gender identity; child abuse; trafficking in persons; 
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 reports 
of indiscriminate killings during the year in connection with the 
overthrow of the Government in April and during the June interethnic 
violence in Osh and Jalalabad oblasts (see section 1.g.).
    On April 17, Omurbek Osmonov was found dead with multiple knife 
wounds in a village outside of Bishkek. In March 2009 Osmonov was 
implicated in the death of former presidential chief of staff Medet 
Sadyrkulov and two other men when he fled the scene after he crashed 
into their vehicle. Opposition activists claimed Osmonov was framed by 
officials to cover Sadyrkulov's assassination. On April 29, the 
Prosecutor General's Office announced that it would reopen the 
investigation into the deaths of Sadyrkulov and the two men; however, 
fires earlier in the month destroyed numerous files relevant to the 
case.
    On July 11, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Khairullo Amanbaev 
died in the hospital after reportedly falling out of the Osh City 
Police Department's second-floor window. Authorities detained him on 
June 30 in connection with the interethnic violence and severely beat 
him. Family members suspected he was hung by his feet and reported 
there were bruises on his body likely caused by a rifle butt.
    On September 11, the Supreme Court heard an appeal by Abdufarid 
Rasulov and upheld his 20-year prison sentence for killing journalist 
Alisher Saipov, who wrote articles critical of the Uzbek government in 
2007. Rasulov was detained in February 2009 after a police officer 
found on him a pistol that was used in the murder. The victim's father, 
Avas Saipov, claimed that authorities improperly targeted Rasulov and 
that he was innocent.
    On February 24, a court found two police officers guilty of beating 
to death Almaz Tashiev, a freelance journalist, in July 2009 and issued 
both a two-year suspension. Tashiev's attorney was not allowed to 
attend the trial.
    On October 6, Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry announced the arrest 
of two persons in connection with Gennady Pavlyuk's death in December 
2009. Pavlyuk, a prominent opposition journalist and government critic, 
died in the hospital after allegedly being thrown from a building in 
Almaty.

    b. Disappearance.--HRW documented several instances of hostage-
taking during and after the interethnic violence in June in Osh and 
Jalalabad oblasts. Reports of ethnic Uzbeks arrested and held by law 
enforcement agencies without any opportunity to contact their families 
or attorneys surfaced following the violence (see section 1.g.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or 
degrading treatment or punishment; however, police and State Committee 
on National Security (GKNB) forces employed them. At times police beat 
detainees and prisoners to extract confessions.
    According to the NGO Golos Svobody, there were 97 complaints 
alleging use of torture by law enforcement or GKNB officers filed with 
the Prosecutor General's Office during the year. In 71 of those cases, 
the Prosecutor General's Office did not open a criminal case.
    Following the interethnic violence in June in Osh and Jalalabad 
oblasts, there were multiple reports of detainees being tortured while 
in custody of police or other security agencies (see section 1.g.).
    On May 18, the provisional government issued a decree of amnesty 
for the 32 persons arrested and convicted in connection with the 2008 
Nookat protest (see section 1.e.).
    Starting July 2, police interrogated ``Akram A.'' (a false name 
used by the victim to protect his identity) for three days about the 
killing of an officer, according to HRW. Police suffocated him by 
putting a gas mask over his head and beat him multiple times. Due to 
fear for his own safety, Akram did not seek justice.
    On July 8, HRW reported 15 police officers detained ``Mokhamadzhon 
M.'' (a cover name used by him to protect his identity) and beat him 
with a rubber baton while interrogating him about a local killing. 
Police released Mokhamadzhon later that day after a relative, an 
official in the local administration, intervened.
    A commission formed by the Ombudsman's Office released a report in 
February 2009 that documented incidents of Ministry of Internal Affairs 
and GKNB officers beating detainees, removing their fingernails, 
burning their beards, and shaving female detainees' heads. In January 
2009 the Russian human rights organization Memorial published a report 
documenting similar abuses. At year's end the Government had taken no 
action to investigate the allegations further or reprimand the officers 
involved.
    The NGO Committee of Soldiers' Mothers reported one registered case 
of military hazing during the year, which involved physical abuse by 
three noncommissioned officers. Military authorities provided medical 
treatment to the victim. One of the perpetrators was sentenced to two 
years in prison, and the others received suspended sentences of one 
year.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor and included food and medicine shortages, substandard health care, 
and lack of heat and other necessities. Pretrial and temporary 
detention facilities were particularly overcrowded, and conditions and 
mistreatment generally were worse than in prisons. Nevertheless, 
morbidity and mortality rates continued to decline, particularly those 
resulting from tuberculosis (TB). Approximately 515 prisoners had TB, 
of whom 164 had multi-drug-resistant strains. In the first 11 months of 
the year, 84 prisoners died, 29 of them from TB.
    The prison population of 10,163 (including approximately 460 women) 
was substantially less than the Government's estimate of its total 
prison capacity of 14,000. However, some international organizations 
believed the actual capacity was significantly less and that prison 
overcrowding was a significant problem. Authorities generally held 
juveniles separately from adults but occasionally held them with adults 
in overcrowded temporary detention centers. At times convicted 
prisoners remained in pretrial detention centers while their cases were 
under appeal.
    Prisoners had reasonable access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. Prisoners have the right to file complaints with 
prison officials or with higher authorities. However, the NGO Citizens 
Against Corruption reported that complaints were not well documented 
and were not always passed along by prison staff.
    The Government continued to permit international and domestic human 
rights observers, including from the Office of Democratic Institutions 
and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
Europe (OSCE) and the NGO Penal Reform International, to visit 
detainees in Justice Ministry prisons and in temporary detention 
centers. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was able 
to conduct visits in accordance with its standard modalities.
    Following up on its 2008 reports of poor living conditions, 
corruption of prison personnel, drug activity, and excessive use of 
force by both prison and investigative officials in several prisons, 
the NGO Citizens Against Corruption worked with the Ministry of 
Justice's Public Council to provide food and toiletries to prisoners 
during the year.
    The ombudsman for human rights is empowered to request alternatives 
to incarceration for nonviolent offenders, improvements to pretrial 
detention, and proper release at the end of sentences.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, police arrested persons based on the 
fact that they could not provide proper identification documents. At 
times police used false charges to arrest persons and solicited bribes 
in exchange for their release. The NGO Golos Svobody reported it was 
aware of approximately 300 cases of arbitrary arrest that had taken 
place during the year.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Law enforcement 
responsibilities are divided between the Ministry of Internal Affairs 
for general crime, the GKNB for state-level crime, and the Prosecutor's 
Office for both types of crimes. In 2009 President Bakiyev signed into 
law measures that empowered the military to intervene in domestic 
political conflicts and gave the Presidential Security Service law 
enforcement powers, including authorization to conduct interrogations, 
intercept communications, and carry out surveillance and other covert 
activity.
    Police impunity remained a problem; however, Ministry of Internal 
Affairs officials were dismissed and prosecuted for various offenses, 
including corruption, abuse of authority, and police brutality. Unlike 
in previous years, the ministry's internal investigations unit did not 
provide statistics on citizen complaints, subsequent investigations, or 
officers dismissed after criminal convictions during the year, nor did 
the Ombudsman's Office track the number of Internal Affairs, GKNB, and 
Financial Police employees who were subjected to criminal investigation 
during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While In Detention--In 2008 
parliament passed amendments to the criminal procedure code that 
returned some judicial powers to prosecutors, primarily the authority 
to issue search and seizure warrants. Prosecutors have the burden of 
proof in persuading the judge that a defendant should be detained 
pending trial. In 2008 parliament approved amendments to the code that 
reduced the period that authorities can hold a detainee before charging 
him from 72 to 48 hours. The limit was generally enforced in practice. 
The law requires investigators to notify a detainee's family within 12 
hours of detention; however, often this requirement was not observed in 
practice. The courts have discretion to hold suspects in pretrial 
detention up to one year, after which the courts are legally required 
to release the suspect.
    All persons arrested or charged with crimes have the right to 
defense counsel at public expense. By law the accused has the right to 
consult with defense counsel immediately upon arrest, but in practice 
the first meeting often did not happen until trial. Human rights groups 
noted that authorities usually denied attorneys to arrested minors, 
often holding them without parental notification and questioning them 
without parents or attorneys present, despite laws forbidding these 
practices. Authorities often intimidated minors into signing 
confessions.
    The law authorizes house arrest for certain categories of suspects. 
There were also reports that 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.

    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. Low 
salaries for judges 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 a codefendant 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, which was dissolved by the 
June 27 referendum, was limited to constitutional questions and could 
not intervene with other courts except on the issue of 
constitutionality. Traditional elders' courts handle property, family 
law matters, and low-level crime. Elders' courts are under the 
supervision of the Prosecutor's Office but do not receive close 
oversight because of their location in remote regions. Their decisions 
can be appealed to the corresponding regional court. Military courts 
and elders' courts follow the same rules and procedures as general 
courts.
    Ethnic Uzbeks arrested for instigating or carrying out violence 
against ethnic Kyrgyz in June received trials that fell significantly 
short of requirements under local law. Reported problems included 
pressure on defendants to confess, including torture; no access to an 
attorney; threats and violence against defendants and defense 
attorneys, including within the courtroom; intimidation of trial judges 
by friends and family members of victims; and convictions in the 
absence of condemning evidence or in spite of exculpatory evidence.
    On September 15, a Jalalabad court sentenced human rights activist 
Azimjon Askarov to life imprisonment, following his arrest on June 13 
for the alleged killing of a police officer and inciting ethnic hatred. 
Four other codefendants received life sentences, two received 20-year 
sentences, and one received a nine-year sentence. On November 10, an 
appeals court upheld the sentences. Human rights organizations reported 
that Askarov was tortured while in custody and that trial sessions were 
marked by threats and abuse against defendants and assaults against 
their attorneys. At year's end authorities had moved Askarov to a 
prison hospital in Bishkek, and the Supreme Court had agreed to hear an 
appeal of the case.
    On October 29, a court sentenced five ethnic Uzbeks to life in 
prison and four others to various terms for killing a local police 
chief, Adylbek Sultanov, and his driver, Uran Shamurzaev, during the 
ethnic clashes in June. The trial process had significant shortcomings, 
including threats and abuse in the courtroom against defendants and 
their attorneys. The defendants claimed that they had confessed under 
torture and appealed their sentences. On December 27, the judge upheld 
the original sentences and increased the sentence of one defendant, 
Abdulaziz Azimov, from eight years to life imprisonment.
    On August 10, authorities charged Ulugbek Abdusalamov, editor of 
the Uzbek-language newspaper Didor, with ``organizing and participating 
in mass disorder,'' ``inciting ethnic hatred,'' and ``separatist 
activities aimed at destroying the territorial integrity of the 
state.'' According to human rights organizations, Abdusalamov had heart 
problems that may have resulted from beatings in prison and caused his 
trial to be postponed. At year's end Abdusalamov's attorney said that 
his client and his family were missing and that no one knew their 
whereabouts.

    Trial Procedures.--State prosecutors bring cases before courts, and 
judges direct criminal proceedings. A criminal case is conducted by one 
judge; appellate cases, by three judges. If a court renders a case 
indeterminable, it returns the case to the investigative bodies for 
further investigation, and suspects may remain under detention. As of 
year's end, the Government had not implemented a 2007 law allowing jury 
trials in the cities of Bishkek and Osh. The law provides for 
transparency of court proceedings. Trials are generally open to the 
public, unless state secrets or the privacy of defendants is involved; 
however, the verdict is publicly announced, even in closed proceedings.
    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 follow customs and 
practices that provided 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 during a trial. Official permission for such 
visits is required and was usually granted. Indigent defendants were 
provided attorneys at public expense, and defendants could refuse 
attorney support and defend themselves. The law permits defendants and 
counsel the right to access all evidence the prosecutor gathers, attend 
all proceedings, question witnesses, and present evidence; however, 
these rights often were not respected in practice. Witnesses generally 
have to present their testimony in court, but under certain 
circumstances testimony can be presented at trial via audio or video 
recording. Defendants and prosecutors have the right to appeal the 
court's decision.
    On May 18, the provisional government issued a decree of amnesty 
for the 32 prisoners convicted in 2008 in connection with a protest in 
Nookat, which followed a decision by local authorities to ban a public 
gathering for the Muslim holiday Orozo Ait (Eid al-Fitr).

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--On January 26, a court found 
political opposition leader Ishenbai Kadyrbekov, a former State Agency 
director, guilty of abuse of power and gave him a six-year suspended 
sentence. Police detained him for several months before releasing him 
in November 2009.
    On March 23, a court found political opposition leader Alikbek 
Jekshenkulov, a former foreign minister, guilty of misusing state funds 
and gave him a five-year suspended sentence.
    On April 7, a crowd of demonstrators freed Ismail Isakov from 
prison, and subsequently a military court retroactively acquitted him 
of charges on April 15. A court had sentenced him to eight years in 
prison on January 11 for illegally transferring an apartment to his son 
while he was serving as defense minister. Opposition leaders and human 
rights activists asserted that these charges were baseless.
    On April 9, the provisional government released from jail Green 
Party leader Erkin Bulekbayev, as well as Sapar Argymbayev and Uran 
Ryskulov, and dropped charges that they had instigated ethnic discord 
in the village of Petrovka, outside Bishkek, in April 2009.
    On May 14, the Supreme Court found not guilty 19 individuals who 
were sentenced in December 2009 for protesting in Balykchy against the 
flawed July 2009 presidential election. Human rights groups claimed 
that the detention and particularly severe charges facing the Balykchy 
protesters were politically motivated (see section 2.b.).
    On October 25, authorities charged Iskhak Masaliev, a former member 
of parliament and leader of the country's communist party, and Usen 
Sydykov, a former chief of staff for former president Bakiyev, with 
attempting to overthrow the Government. Officials detained both on May 
14, after the public release of a recording of a telephone conversation 
in which the two allegedly discussed plans for armed takeovers of 
government buildings.
    On November 9, a court sentenced Rustam Jeenbekov and Cholpon 
Aljanov to 20 and 25 years' imprisonment, respectively, for killing two 
Uzbeks on June 13. Jeenbekov and Aljanov's lawyer, Almaz Niyazov, 
stated that authorities pressured both men to confess.
    On November 17, the trial of 28 persons accused of complicity in 
the shooting deaths of protestors on April 7 opened in a Bishkek sports 
palace. Several persons were tried in absentia, including former 
president Bakiyev, his brother Janysh Bakiyev, the former head of the 
Presidential Guard Service, and former prime minister Daniyar Usenov. 
Other defendants included Oksana Malevanaya, the former head of the 
Presidential Secretariat, and several special GKNB operations officers. 
Human rights activists claimed that the charges against the defendants 
were arbitrary and that they were not allowed to see all of the 
evidence against them, as is required by law. During the first session 
of the trial, members of the audience surged onto the stage, 
threatening defendants and their attorneys, who subsequently refused to 
participate in the trial unless the Government ensured their security. 
At year's end, following the explosion of a bomb outside the trial 
site, the trial was on hold while authorities looked for a more secure 
venue.
    Prisoners arrested in connection with political activity received 
the same protections as other prisoners.

    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 influence from the outside, including by the Government. 
Local courts address civil, criminal, economic, administrative, and 
other cases. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority.

    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 
approval from the prosecutor general for wiretaps, home searches, mail 
interception, and similar acts, including in cases relating to national 
security.
    In July 2009 President Bakiyev signed into law an amendment to the 
Law on Defense and Armed Forces authorizing the military to confiscate 
private property for the purpose of state security. There were no 
reports of such confiscations during the year.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
Killings.--On April 7, government security forces on the roof of the 
presidential administration building fired repeatedly into a crowd of 
armed demonstrators. By nightfall the demonstrators forced government 
officials to flee the capital. As a result of the clashes between 
government forces and demonstrators, more than 80 persons were killed 
and more than 1,500 injured.
    Between June 10 and 14, widespread ethnic violence between ethnic 
Kyrgyz and ethnic Uzbeks in Osh and Jalalabad oblasts took place, with 
reports of deaths ranging from approximately 400 to 2,000 individuals. 
According to data released by an investigating commission, out of 426 
confirmed deaths, 276 were ethnic Uzbek and 105 were ethnic Kyrgyz. At 
year's end there had been no public finding regarding the causes of 
violence, nor any systematic investigation to establish guilt for the 
violence, but both a national and an international investigation were 
scheduled to deliver their findings in early 2011. Security forces, 
mainly composed of ethnic Kyrgyz, did not prevent the violence. 
Multiple reports surfaced that some units may have surrendered their 
vehicles, weapons, and uniforms to groups attacking ethnic Uzbek 
neighborhoods.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--Authorities claimed that 
they investigated the June violence without regard to ethnicity. 
However, human rights groups reported that the vast majority of those 
arrested in connection with the violence, on charges ranging from 
destruction of property to killing, were ethnic Uzbeks. Many of those 
arrested were tortured. According to a report by HRW, prolonged and 
extensive beatings by fist, club, or rifle butt were the primary form 
of abuse used. Victims also reported being suffocated with hoods or gas 
masks and burned with cigarette butts. Government officials in those 
oblasts denied that such abuses took place.
    Families of arrestees frequently had to pay law enforcement 
officers to obtain the arrestee's release or to stop the arrestee from 
being beaten.

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 following the April change of government, 
the Government took steps toward ensuring that those rights were 
respected in practice. However, there were some continued reports of 
intimidation of journalists and self-censorship, particularly in the 
south. All independent Uzbek-language media in the south stopped 
operating after the June violence, and at year's end had not resumed. 
In some of those cases, there were reports that the media outlets 
stopped operating because of local government pressure. On July 9, 
security agents raided Osh TV and briefly detained its director, Khalil 
Khudoyberdyev, who later sold the company to an ethnic Kyrgyz and fled 
the country.
    A 2008 law, yet to be fully implemented, places significant 
restrictions on television and radio broadcast companies and 
establishes new Kyrgyz-language and local content requirements. Human 
rights activists asserted that the law is unconstitutional because it 
conflicts with constitutional rights to freedom of speech and access to 
information. After the change of government in April, Kyrgyz National 
Television and Radio Broadcasting (NTRK) made significant steps towards 
becoming a public television station, including the establishment of a 
board of directors to oversee operations.
    During the April 6-8 violence in Bishkek, the Government 
temporarily closed access to independent Internet news sites and some 
print media.
    On June 11, the GKNB seized 158 copies of a book published by a 
local Uighur activist Tursun Islamov entitled China Threatens the 
World. On September 24, the GKNB shut down the public showing of a film 
about Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer.
    Individuals could criticize the Government publicly or privately 
without reprisal. There were 40 to 50 regularly printed newspapers and 
magazines, eight of which were state-owned with varying degrees of 
independence. The independent printing press run by the nongovernmental 
Media Support Center was the leading newspaper publisher in the 
country. Approximately 50 state-owned and private television and radio 
stations operated in the country, with two television stations, both 
state-owned, broadcasting nationwide. Government newspaper, television, 
and radio outlets continued to receive state subsidies.
    The Ministry of Justice requires all media to register and receive 
ministry approval in order to operate. The registration process 
nominally takes one month but in practice often took much longer. It 
included checks on the background of each media outlet's owner and its 
source of financing, including financing by international donor 
organizations.
    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-language television 
stations dominated coverage and local ratings. A number of Russia-based 
media outlets operated freely in the country; the Government treated 
them as domestic media. Although several broadcast media companies 
applied for new licenses and frequency assignments, the Government has 
not approved any requests for new broadcasters since 2006.
    There were continued reports of media harassment. Prior to the 
April change of government, the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists 
(CPJ), along with other media watchdog organizations and human rights 
groups, reported several incidents in which unknown attackers harassed 
journalists associated with opposition news media. The CPJ also 
reported that two ethnic-Uzbek Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) 
journalists in Osh received threats that forced them to stop working 
and leave the region temporarily. They had produced eyewitness reports 
of the ethnic unrest that differed from the reports produced by most 
domestic media outlets.
    On August 10, authorities charged Ulugbek Abdusalamov, editor of 
the Uzbek-language newspaper Didor, with crimes related to the June 
unrest (see section 1.e.).
    The Government allowed RFE/RL Kyrgyz service, known as Radio 
Azattyk, to resume broadcasting on NTRK after April 7. In 2008 NTRK 
ended transmissions of RFE/RL programming allegedly due to its failure 
to meet financial obligations, although it also criticized RFE/RL 
programs for favoring the political opposition.
    Under the new constitution, libel is no longer a criminal offense; 
however, at the end of the year, parliament had not passed legislation 
to change the previous law. Until it does, libel remains a criminal 
offense punishable by up to three years in prison. There were no 
reports of officials using libel lawsuits against opposition newspapers 
to suppress criticism.
    After the April change of government, Cholpon Orozobekova, former 
chief editor of the opposition newspaper De Fakto, returned from 
Switzerland, where she had fled after the Government raided the 
newspaper's offices and sued it for libel in 2008, forcing it to close.

    Internet Freedom.--On April 6, the Bakiyev government blocked 
Internet and cell phone access due to civil unrest in Talas and 
Bishkek. After the April 7 change in government, there were no official 
restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the Government 
monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could 
engage in peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including e-
mail, online forums, and blogs. According to 2009 International 
Telecommunication Union statistics, approximately 40 percent of the 
country's inhabitants used the Internet.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. Religious higher 
educational institutions must follow strict reporting policies.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law provides for limited freedom of assembly, and the 
Government generally respected this right in practice, although 
authorities imposed restrictions. A 2008 law prohibits protesters from 
gathering near government entities, including the parliament, 
presidential residences, schools, military establishments, motorways, 
and gas pipelines. The law also requires that organizers apply for 
permits at least 12 days prior to an event, thus making any spontaneous 
demonstrations illegal.
    On May 18, a court acquitted 19 persons found guilty of multiple 
charges after participating in a demonstration in Balakchy against 
electoral fraud during the July 2009 presidential election.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right. NGOs, 
labor unions, political parties, and cultural associations must 
register with the Ministry of Justice. NGOs are required to have at 
least three members, and all other organizations at least 10 members. 
The Ministry of Justice did not refuse to register any domestic NGOs 
during the year, and following the April 7 change of government, it 
allowed the Norwegian Helsinki Commission to operate in the country 
(see section 5). The law prohibits foreign-funded political parties and 
NGOs, including their representative offices and branches, from 
pursuing political goals.
    The Government continued its ban on five organizations--Hizb ut-
Tahrir (HT), the Islamic Party of Turkestan, the Organization for 
Freeing Eastern Turkestan, the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Party, and 
Tablighi Jamaat--that it alleged had ties to international terrorist 
organizations. Arrests and prosecution of persons accused of possessing 
and distributing HT literature continued. Although most arrests of 
alleged HT members in the past occurred in the south and involved 
ethnic Uzbeks, media reports tracked a continuing increase in 
detentions of ethnic Kyrgyz for HT-related activity in the north. The 
majority of those arrested were charged with distribution of literature 
inciting ethnic, racial, or religious hatred.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law on internal migration 
provides for freedom of movement. The Government generally respected 
the right in practice, and citizens were able to move within the 
country with relative ease. However, certain policies continued to 
restrict internal migration, resettlement, and travel abroad. The 
Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) and other organizations to provide some protection and 
assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern. The law requires all persons to possess an official 
residence registration 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 they have a place to live in the 
area. Individuals who do not register, or who are registered in a town 
other than where they live, can be denied access to subsidized health 
care or schooling.
    The law on migration prohibits travel abroad by citizens who have 
or had access to information classified as state secrets.
    The law neither provides for nor prohibits forced exile; there were 
no reports that the Government employed it.
    As in past years, several local citizens sought asylum in foreign 
countries, claiming they would face repression or legal persecution if 
they returned to the country.
    According to the UNHCR, the June violence in Osh and Jalalabad 
oblasts displaced approximately 300,000 persons internally, as well as 
75,000 persons who temporarily fled to Uzbekistan and later returned. 
The UNHCR announced on December 10 that all victims of the violence had 
been provided with temporary shelter. However, the UNHCR cautioned that 
significant numbers remained displaced and were living with other 
families or in temporary shelters on the plots of their destroyed 
homes, or had left the country.
    Some journalists were living in self-imposed exile during the year 
(see section 2.a.).

    Protection of Refugees.--The laws provide for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status, and the Government has established a system 
for doing so. During the year the Government cooperated with the UNHCR 
and other organizations to provide some protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. According to the UNHCR, Uighurs remained at risk of 
deportation or extradition, particularly if they were involved with 
political and religious activities in China or if the Chinese 
government requested their return. The Government also continued to 
deny Chechen refugees official refugee status, but it granted them 
asylum seeker status, which provided some legal protection. There were 
continued reports of Uzbek refugees hiding in the country due to fear 
of persecution by the Uzbek government.
    According to the State Committee for Migration and Employment 
(SCME), there were approximately 205 refugees and 130 asylum seekers in 
the country at year's end. Refugees were primarily from Afghanistan 
(194), along with several from Syria, Iran, and North Korea. Among the 
asylum seekers officially registered with the Government were 41 from 
Afghanistan, 116 from Uzbekistan, 15 from Russia, and 15 from other 
countries.

    Stateless Persons--A UNHCR-funded survey conducted by local NGOs in 
late 2008 exposed a problem of statelessness in the country. The report 
identified nearly 13,000 individuals living in the three southern 
oblasts who lacked any official documentation confirming their 
citizenship. The report listed several categories of stateless persons: 
Uzbek women who married Kyrgyz citizens but never received Kyrgyz 
citizenship (many such women allowed their Uzbek passports to expire, 
and regulations obstructed their efforts to gain Kyrgyz citizenship); 
individuals who continued to hold outdated Union of Soviet Socialist 
Republics (USSR) passports because they failed to exchange their 
passports or never applied for citizenship; children born to one or 
both parents who are stateless; and children of migrant workers who had 
renounced their Kyrgyz citizenship in the hope of becoming Russian 
citizens. Stateless persons were denied state social benefits and 
prevented from working in legitimate jobs. The UNHCR estimated the 
total number of stateless persons in the country (both de jure and de 
facto) at approximately 20,000.
    In September 2009 the UNHCR announced a plan of action for dealing 
with the problem of statelessness, including increasing public 
awareness and working with the Government to improve the process for 
applying for citizenship. The UNHCR estimated that as a result of the 
plan of action, approximately 10,000 persons had been documented as 
citizens 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, although this right remained restricted in practice until a 
violent change of government on April 7. A provisional government 
composed of opposition party leaders took power on April 8 and 
conducted a constitutional referendum on June 27 and parliamentary 
elections on October 10.
    Under the new constitution, the powers of the president, 
parliament, and government (headed by a prime minister), are divided. 
The president, who serves a six-year term, can veto legislation and 
appoint the heads of national security bodies. Members of parliament 
are elected to five-year terms on party lists and vote to approve a 
proposed government. Parliament can also vote to express no confidence 
in the Government, after which the president may dissolve it. The 
constitution does not provide any officeholder with immunity from 
prosecution after the individual leaves office.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On June 27, the country 
held a referendum, asking voters to approve the draft constitution and 
the law on its enactment, to confirm Roza Otunbayeva as interim 
president until December 31, 2011, and dismiss the Constitutional 
Court. With a 69 percent turnout, 91 percent voted ``yes'' and 8 
percent voted ``no.'' Security conditions prevented international 
bodies from observing the balloting in all parts of the country, but 
there were no reports of systematic fraud. International observers 
criticized the organization of the ballot, noting that it was only 
possible for voters to make one yes-or-no decision on all three 
questions.
    On October 10, 1.6 million of the three million registered voters 
cast ballots in parliamentary elections, resulting in five parties 
receiving seats in parliament out of the 29 parties competing. Local 
and international observers found that the balloting was generally free 
and fair. On December 17, three of the five parties represented in 
parliament formed a coalition government and announced a cabinet.
    There were no legal restrictions on the participation of women in 
politics; however, with the notable exception of President Roza 
Otunbayeva, traditional attitudes at times hindered women from holding 
high office or playing active roles in political life. Twenty-eight 
women representing five political parties occupied seats in parliament 
as a result of the parliamentary election code mandate that male and 
female candidates cannot be more than three spaces apart on party lists 
and that no more than 70 percent of candidates on a party list can be 
of the same gender.
    National minorities, which make up 35 percent of the population, 
were generally underrepresented in government positions, particularly 
Russians and Uzbeks, the two largest ethnic minority groups. Fourteen 
of the 120 parliament members belonged to a national minority. The law 
requires that at least 15 percent of party lists be made up of 
minorities.
    At the end of the year, there were no women or ethnic minorities 
represented in cabinet-level government positions.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Corruption remained endemic at all levels of society. The law 
provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the 
Government did not implement the law effectively, and officials engaged 
in corrupt practices with impunity. During the year the Government took 
limited steps to address the problem, including arrests of government 
officials on corruption charges.
    The payment of bribes to avoid investigation or prosecution was a 
major problem at all levels of law enforcement.
    On September 1, President Otunbayeva signed a decree on polygraph 
testing in the civil service system. The purpose of the decree is to 
screen for corruption within the civil service, especially with the 
Financial Police and the State Tax Service.
    In June the provisional government eliminated the National 
Anticorruption Agency. For the rest of the year, the Anticorruption 
Business Council, which separated from the National Anticorruption 
Agency in May 2009, performed as a public anticorruption institution. 
According to the Anticorruption Business Council, during the year more 
than two-thirds of the complaints they received dealt with the State 
Border Guard Service and the State Customs Service.
    On January 26, a court found former director of the State Agency 
for Architecture and Construction Ishenbai Kadyrbekov guilty of abuse 
of power and gave him a six-year suspended sentence. On March 23, a 
court found former foreign minister Alikbek Jekshenkulov guilty of 
misusing state funds and gave him a five-year suspended sentence.
    In May 2009 the Ministry of Internal Affairs, working with the 
National Anticorruption Agency and the Prosecutor General's Office, 
arrested Stalbek Momunaliev, a Leninski District police investigator, 
in Bishkek. Momunaliev allegedly had demanded a bribe of 8,000 soms 
($170) from a foreign citizen. At year's end no additional information 
was available regarding the case.
    In 2009 officials completed a criminal investigation on the judge 
of the Moscow District Court of the Chui Oblast and referred the case 
to the Jaiyl District Court for prosecution. In 2008 GKNB officers 
detained the judge for accepting a bribe of 98,545 soms ($2,100). At 
year's end no additional information was available regarding the case.
    The law gives persons the right to request information from the 
Government, and the Government generally complied with such requests; 
however, the process is generally slow, rendering the service less 
useful.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The new government lessened restrictions on the activities of 
domestic and international organizations that report on human rights in 
the country. However, local law enforcement agencies in the south 
harassed and threatened human rights activists who reported on abuses 
committed during and after the June ethnic violence. Although the 
central government regularly met with local and international 
organizations to discuss their activities and acknowledge their 
concerns, it failed to respond to some international organizations' 
questions, requests, or reports.
    On September 28, President Otunbayeva signed Terms of Reference for 
an International Independent Commission of Inquiry (COI), led by 
Special Representative for Central Asia of the OSCE Parliamentary 
Assembly Kimmo Kiljunen, to investigate the cause and circumstances of 
the June ethnic violence in the south. The Government and the National 
Commission of Inquiry cooperated with the COI. At year's end the COI 
had not finished its investigation.
    The Government permitted visits by representatives of the UN and 
other organizations, including the OSCE, ICRC, and International 
Organization for Migration (IOM). The ban prohibiting the Norwegian 
Helsinki Committee from entering the country, which had been in place 
since 2008, was lifted.
    A 2008 decree disbanded the State Commission on Human Rights and 
transferred its authority to the Office of the Ombudsman. The ombudsman 
acts as an independent advocate for human rights on behalf of private 
citizens and NGOs and has authority to recommend cases to courts for 
review. The Ombudsman's Office actively advocated for individual 
rights. The ombudsman told parliament that his office had received 
1,862 complaints during the year and had addressed all of them.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status; however, rights activists claimed 
authorities failed to apprehend or punish perpetrators of crimes of 
discrimination during the year.

    Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal; however, the 
Government failed to enforce the law effectively. Activists continued 
to note a growing number of rape cases, although this may have been due 
to increased reporting of attacks. NGOs claimed that rape cases were 
dramatically underreported and were rarely brought to court. No 
statistics relating to the number of cases or convictions during the 
year were available. Experts noted that defendants often used bribery 
to curtail rape investigations.
    The law specifically prohibits domestic violence and spousal abuse; 
however, violence against women remained a problem. According to a poll 
conducted in 2008-09 by the Association of Crisis Centers, 83 percent 
of respondents stated there was physical violence against women in the 
home. The UN Women's Development Fund also stated that from 40 to 50 
women and girls were hospitalized in the Bishkek city hospital every 
month because of domestic violence. According to the Ministry of 
Internal Affairs, police respond to almost 10,000 cases of family 
conflict annually, and nearly 15 percent of crimes committed during 
family conflicts result in death or serious injury. Many crimes against 
women were not reported due to psychological pressure, cultural 
traditions, and apathy among law enforcement officials. Furthermore, 
there were reports of spouses retaliating against women who reported 
abuse. Penalties for domestic violence ranged from fines to 15 years' 
imprisonment (if abuse resulted in death).
    Several local NGOs provided services for victims of domestic 
violence, including legal, medical, and psychological assistance, a 
crisis hotline, shelters, and prevention programs. In 2009, according 
to the Association of Crisis Centers, their 13 member shelters had 
6,620 women as clients. Organizations assisting battered women also 
lobbied to streamline the legal process for obtaining protection 
orders. The Government provided offices for the Sezim Shelter for 
victims of domestic abuse and paid its bills.
    Although prohibited by law, the traditional practice of kidnapping 
women and girls for forced marriage continued in rural areas. Cultural 
traditions discouraged victims from going to the authorities. 
Reportedly, some victims went to the local police and obtained 
protective orders, but the orders were often poorly enforced.
    According to an expert at the local NGO Shans, sexual harassment 
was widespread, especially in private sector workplaces and among 
university students, but was rarely reported or prosecuted. The law 
prohibits physical sexual assault but not verbal sexual harassment. 
Penalties for sexual assault range from three to eight years' 
imprisonment.
    Citizens--couples and individuals--are free to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and 
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. 
National health regulations require that family planning counseling and 
services are readily available through a range of health professionals, 
including not only obstetricians and gynecologists but also family 
doctors, paramedics, and nurse-midwives. At the level of primary health 
care, regulations require that women who request contraceptives can 
receive them regardless of ability to pay. The country's Essential Drug 
List (a list of drugs and other medical items that all government 
medical clinics should have in supply and available to patients) also 
includes different types of contraceptives. National health protocols 
require that women be offered postpartum care and counseling on methods 
and services related to family planning. The Government offers special 
programs to meet the needs of vulnerable target groups, such as 
adolescents, internally displaced persons, new urban migrants, persons 
in prostitution, and the very poor. No information was available 
relating to gender differences in diagnosis or access to treatment for 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    According to statistics provided by the Population Reference 
Bureau, access to contraception and maternal health care was widely 
available, and virtually all births in urban areas, and 96 percent of 
births in rural areas, were attended by skilled personnel. According to 
UN estimates, the maternal mortality ratio in the country was 81 deaths 
per 100,000 live births in 2008.
    In 2008 President Bakiyev signed a law providing for equal rights 
for men and women. According to the presidential press service, the 
``document establishes state guarantees in terms of providing equal 
rights and opportunities for persons of various sexes in political, 
social, economic, cultural, and other fields...and aims to protect men 
and women against discrimination on the basis of sex.'' Women have the 
same rights as men, including under family law, property law, and in 
the judicial system, although discrimination against women persisted in 
practice. According to an expert from the NGO Women's Educational 
Coalition for Equal Rights, Development, and Peace, the property rights 
of women from Muslim families were not protected, and those women were 
subject to discrimination when applying for jobs or entering 
educational institutions. The National Council on the Issues of Family, 
Women, and Gender Development, which reports to 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 particularly vulnerable to 
deteriorating economic conditions. In the countryside traditional 
attitudes toward women limited them to the roles of wife and mother and 
curtailed educational opportunities. Data from NGOs working on women's 
issues indicated that women were less healthy, more abused, less able 
to work outside the home, and less able than men to determine 
independently the disposition of their earnings. According to the UN 
Development Fund for Women and domestic NGOs, women did not face 
discrimination in access to credit or owning businesses.
    The annual government-sponsored media campaign to combat violence 
against women took place during the year. According to NGOs the 
campaign helped to coordinate the efforts of groups combating violence 
against women and give them a greater voice.

    Children.--According to articles 19 and 20 of the children's code, 
every child born in the country has the right to receive a birth 
certificate, local registration, and citizenship; however, some 
children were stateless (see section 2.d.).
    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 until age 17. However, financial constraints prevented 
the Government from providing free basic education for all students, 
and the system of residence registration restricted access to social 
services, including education, for certain children, such as refugees, 
migrants, and noncitizens. The law carries penalties for parents who do 
not send their children to school or who obstruct their attendance. 
This law was only sporadically enforced, particularly in rural areas. 
Families who kept children in public schools often had to pay 
burdensome and illegal administrative fees. The Government continued to 
fund two programs that provide school supplies and textbooks to low-
income children and children with mental or physical disabilities. 
Legally, all textbooks should be free of charge, but the Government was 
unable to provide them to all students.
    The Government provided health care for children; however, refugee, 
migrant, noncitizen, and internally displaced children had problems 
accessing health care due to the system of residence registration.
    Child abuse--including beatings, child labor, and commercial sexual 
exploitation of boys and girls--continued to be a problem. In addition 
gang-related child-on-child violence in schools was a growing trend.
    Although illegal, the practice of bride kidnapping continued, and 
many underage abductions during the year were likely not reported. 
Children who are 16 and 17 may legally marry with the consent of local 
authorities, but marriage before age 16 is prohibited under all 
circumstances. The Government did not have a program to address the 
problem of child marriage. Instead, local authorities handled reports 
of its occurrence on a case-by-case basis. According to a report by the 
UN Committee on Children, between 2003 and 2009 the Prosecutor 
General's Office initiated 27 cases against underage bride kidnapping 
and forced marriage.
    As in previous years, there were numerous reports of child 
abandonment due to parents' lack of resources, and large numbers of 
children lived in institutions, in foster care, or on the streets. 
Approximately 80 percent of street children were internal migrants. 
Street children had difficulty accessing educational and medical 
services. Police detained street children and either sent them home (if 
an address was known) or to a rehabilitation center or orphanage. The 
Rehabilitation Center for Street Children in Bishkek, maintained by the 
Ministry of Internal Affairs, continued to lack sufficient food, 
clothes, and medicine and remained in poor condition. In 2007 it 
provided rehabilitation assistance to approximately 400 children and 
sheltered 70, according to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). In 2008 the 
IOM, with foreign government funding and SCME assistance, renovated the 
Rehabilitation Center for Children in Osh, staffed it with personnel 
from an IOM-trained NGO, Ulybka, and stocked it with food and supplies. 
According to Ulybka employees, in 2009, 698 children received shelter, 
rehabilitation, and psychological counseling; 55 of the children were 
found to have been victims of child labor or sexual exploitation.
    State orphanages and foster homes lacked resources and often were 
unable to provide proper care. Some older children were transferred to 
mental health care facilities even when they did not exhibit mental 
health problems. According to data provided by the Presidential 
Administration, at the end of 2008 there were 5,390 children housed in 
the 39 state shelters, of whom 20 percent were orphans.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--On April 8, immediately following the April 7 
change of government, a banner hung in Bishek's main square which wrote 
``Dirty Jews and such like Maxim have no place in Kyrgyzstan.'' Maxim 
Bakiyev, former president Bakiyev's son, had been criticized by some 
media outlets for having Jewish advisors.
    On April 9, an unknown person set off three gasoline bombs on the 
grounds of the Bishkek Synagogue, and on September 9, an unknown person 
threw an apparently homemade bomb packed with nails and screws into the 
courtyard of the same synagogue. No one was injured in either incident. 
At year's end authorities were investigating, but no suspects had been 
identified in either case.
    Approximately 1,500 Jews live in the country.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at http://www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and intellectual disabilities, but in 
practice such persons faced discrimination in employment, education, 
access to health care, and the provision of other state services. The 
law mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities and 
requires access to public transportation and parking, and it authorizes 
subsidies to make mass media available to persons with hearing or 
visual disabilities and free plots of land for the construction of a 
home; however, the Government generally did not ensure that these 
provisions of the law were implemented. 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. Although children with 
disabilities have the right to an education, Gulbara Nurdavletova of 
the Association of Parents of Children with Disabilities stated that 
most were denied entry into schools. Parents sometimes established 
special educational centers for their children, but they did not 
receive government assistance.
    Serious problems continued within psychiatric hospitals. The 
Government did not provide basic needs such as food, water, clothing, 
heating, and health care, and facilities were often overcrowded. 
Inadequate funding played a critical factor. In 2008 a parliamentary 
commission reported violations of patients' rights in a number of 
mental hospitals, mainly due to lack of funding.
    Authorities usually placed children with mental disabilities in 
psychiatric hospitals rather than integrating them with other children. 
Other patients were also committed involuntarily, including children 
without mental disabilities who were too old to remain in orphanages. 
The Youth Human Rights Group monitored the protection of children's 
rights in institutions for children with mental and physical 
disabilities. The group noted gross violations by staff at several 
institutions, including depriving young patients of sufficient 
nourishment and physically abusing them.
    The Office of the Prosecutor General is responsible for protecting 
the rights of psychiatric patients and persons with disabilities. 
According to local NGO lawyers, the members of the Prosecutor's Office 
had no training and little knowledge of the protection of these rights 
and were ineffective in assisting citizens with disabilities. Most 
judges lacked the experience and training to determine whether persons 
should be referred to psychiatric hospitals, and the practice of 
institutionalizing individuals against their will continued.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Minorities alleged 
discrimination in hiring, promotion, and housing, but no official 
reports were registered with local authorities.
    On December 13, a court found five persons guilty when a mob 
attacked a settlement of ethnic Meskhetian Turks on April 19 in the 
village of Maevka, outside of Bishkek. The court sentenced four persons 
to probation and one person to four years and four months' 
imprisonment. Three ethnic Turks were killed, 40 persons injured, and 
four houses and seven cars set on fire. The ethnic Turks report 
continuing harassment, threats, and pressure to sell their property and 
leave the village.
    There were no reported incidents between ethnic Kurds and other 
groups during the year. In April 2009 an estimated 300 ethnic Kyrgyz 
and Russian residents of Petrovka village in Chui Oblast damaged 
Kurdish homes and vehicles and demanded that Kurdish residents leave 
the village. The riot followed a report that a Kurdish man had raped a 
four-year-old Russian girl but had bribed officials not to arrest him. 
Riot police ended the violence and detained 80 persons. Authorities 
released all but three detainees who were prominent opposition 
activists (see section 3). In August 2009 the court convicted the 
Kurdish man of rape and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
    The law designates Kyrgyz as the state language and Russian as an 
official language, and it provides for preservation, and equal and free 
development, of minority languages. Non-Kyrgyz-speaking citizens 
alleged that a ceiling precluded promotion beyond a certain level in 
government service. They also alleged that unfair language examinations 
disqualified some candidates for office. A government initiative to 
increase official use of Kyrgyz further raised concerns among non-
Kyrgyz ethnic groups about possible discrimination.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There is no law against 
homosexual practice; however, according to HRW and a local NGO, 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals faced severe 
oppression, and the Government failed to protect their rights. Persons 
whose nontraditional sexual orientation was publicly known risked 
physical and verbal abuse, possible loss of work, and unwanted 
attention from police and authorities. Inmates and officials often 
openly victimized incarcerated gay men. Doctors sometimes refused to 
treat LGBT individuals. Forced marriages for lesbian and bisexual women 
also occurred.
    A single NGO supported advocacy campaigns, conducted training, 
organized festivals, and operated a community center and shelter in 
support of LGBT individuals.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--In October 2009, during 
an interparliamentaryconference in Bishkek, local human rights 
organizations and government officials formally recognized that persons 
with HIV/AIDS in the country faced societal discrimination.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law permits citizens to form and 
join trade unions. The Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), with an 
unconfirmed membership of 200,000 workers, or 9 percent of the 
workforce, remained the only umbrella trade union in the country. 
Unions were not required to belong to the FTU, and there were several 
smaller unaffiliated unions. One of the largest of these was the Union 
of Entrepreneurs and Small Business Workers, with a claimed membership 
of approximately 60,000.
    There were no reported cases of government interference in unions, 
however, union leaders generally cooperated with the Government, and 
international observers judged that unions represented the interests of 
their members poorly.
    The law grants the right to strike, but the conditions required to 
receive formal approval made the procedure difficult and complicated. 
The law does not prohibit retaliation against strikers. The law on 
government service prohibits government employees from striking, but 
the prohibition does not apply to teachers, medical professionals, or 
members of the armed forces.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and there were 
no reports of external interference in union affairs during the year. 
However, according to labor experts, many unions still operated as 
quasi-official institutions and took state interests into account, 
rather than representing exclusively the interests of workers.
    The law recognizes the right of unions to organize and bargain 
collectively, and trade unions exercised this right on behalf of their 
members.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the free economic zones that function as 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, especially involving foreign 
laborers in agriculture. Unlike in previous years, there were no 
reports by the NGO Mental Health and Society during the year that 
psychiatric hospital patients were forced to work or provide domestic 
service for doctors and local farmers.
    For more information on forced labor, see the Department of State's 
annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 development; 
however, child labor remained a widespread problem. The minimum legal 
age for basic employment is 16, except for work considered by the 
Government to be ``light,'' such as selling newspapers. In addition, 
children as young as 14 years old may work with the permission of a 
parent or guardian. The law prohibits the employment of persons under 
18 at night, underground, or in difficult or dangerous conditions, 
including the metal, oil, and gas industries; mining and prospecting; 
the food industry; entertainment; and machine building. Children who 
are 14 or 15 years old may work up to five hours a day; children who 
are 16 to 18 may work up to seven hours a day. These laws also apply to 
children with disabilities.
    A UNICEF report covering the period 2003 through 2009 cited NGO 
reports of child labor used in coal mining in the village of Sulukta 
and in sifting uranium tailings in the village of Orlovka.
    According to a speech by the deputy minister of labor, employment 
and migration in June, 670,000 children between the ages of five and 17 
were working, primarily in agriculture on tobacco, rice, and cotton 
plantations, but also in car washes, trading, and other activities.
    Internal trafficking of children for the purposes of commercial 
sexual exploitation and forced labor remained a problem. A 2008 study 
funded by the International Labor Organization found an increase in the 
employment of trafficked children to sell and distribute illicit drugs.
    For more information on trafficking, see the Department of State's 
annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The Prosecutor General's Office and the State Labor Inspectorate 
are responsible for enforcing employers' compliance with the labor 
code. During the year inspectors conducted spot checks of child labor 
law compliance, but these were infrequent and ineffective. The 
Prosecutor General's Office identified 184 cases of illegal use of 
child labor in the first 10 months of 2009. The office dealt with most 
cases administratively but also opened two criminal cases. Since many 
children worked for their families or were self-employed, it was 
difficult for the Government to determine whether work complied with 
the labor code. Government enforcement efforts also suffered from a 
lack of resources. Although employers found violating the labor code 
could be charged with financial or criminal penalties, punishment was 
usually minimal.
    The Government supported several social programs to prevent the 
engagement of children in exploitative child labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There was no minimum wage. The 
Government used a nominal national minimum monthly wage of 340 soms 
($7.20) for administrative purposes, such as determining fines imposed 
by the courts; this amount did not provide a decent standard of living 
for a worker and family. Employers generally paid somewhat higher 
wages.
    The standard workweek is 40 hours, usually within a five-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 
four hours per day or 20 hours per week and must be compensated with 
compensatory leave or with premium pay of between 150 and 200 percent 
of the hourly wage. These provisions were mainly enforced at large 
companies and organizations with strong trade unions. Small and 
informal firms had no union representation.
    Safety and health conditions in factories were poor. The law 
establishes occupational health and safety standards, but the 
Government generally did not enforce them. The State Labor Inspectorate 
is responsible for protecting workers and carrying out inspections for 
all types of labor problems, but its activities were limited, and 
business compliance was uneven. The FTU and other trade unions are 
empowered to enforce all labor laws. Workers in all industries have the 
right to remove themselves from dangerous workplaces without 
jeopardizing their employment, and workers sometimes exercised this 
right in practice.
    Unregistered foreign workers in the country could not exercise the 
same rights as registered workers.
    Government licensing rules place strict requirements on companies 
recruiting Kyrgyz citizens to work abroad, and companies must be 
licensed by the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Migration before 
they can recruit. The Government regularly published a list of licensed 
and vetted firms. Recruiters are required to monitor employer 
compliance with employment terms and the working conditions of labor 
migrants while a work contract is in effect. Recruiters are also 
required to provide workers with their employment contract prior to 
their departure. The Government also took steps to streamline labor 
migration by adopting a program on the regulation of migration 
processes and collaborating with the Governments of Russia, South 
Korea, and Kazakhstan to improve the protection of rights of Kyrgyz 
labor migrants working abroad. The Ministry of Labor had 
representatives in several Russian cities to assist Kyrgyz labor 
migrants who sometimes encountered discrimination, poor working 
conditions, or violence.
    The Ministry of Labor, with IOM support, operated a hotline to 
provide information to potential migrants and to help victims of labor 
trafficking. According to the ministry, in 2009 and 2010 more than 
3,000 persons used the hotline. On April 1, the ministry and IOM began 
a campaign to raise awareness of the hotline and other information 
resources for potential labor migrants.

                               __________

                                MALDIVES

    The Republic of Maldives is a multiparty constitutional democracy 
with a population of approximately 395,000. In 2008 parliament ratified 
a new constitution that provided for the first multiparty presidential 
elections. In October 2008 Mohamed Nasheed became the country's first 
directly elected president in relatively free and fair elections. The 
constitution establishes a bill of rights and mandates a strict 
separation of powers among all the branches of government. Since the 
first multiparty parliamentary elections in May 2009, the parties in 
parliament have had difficulty working together, although the 
parliament functioned. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Human rights problems included allegations of arbitrary arrest, 
unauthorized recording of telephone conversations, harassment of 
journalists, restrictions on religious rights, unequal treatment of 
women, and violations of worker 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 January 27, Mohamed Nooz died while in police custody. There 
were media reports of an undertaker who said he witnessed injuries and 
scars on Nooz's body. The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) evaluated 
the case in which one undertaker claimed a small white mark on Nooz's 
back was a sign of injury, while two undertakers stated that there were 
no signs of injury on Nooz's body, and ruled the death was due to a 
heart attack resulting from drug withdrawal. The PIC did not file a 
case with the prosecutor general and the case was closed.
    In August the PIC found the Maldives Police Service was responsible 
for the death of Ibrahim Afzal on June 4, while he was in custody, 
after he self-immolated in the Gahdhoo police station. However, the PIC 
did not file a case with the prosecutor general for police negligence 
due to a lack of evidence, and at year's end, the case was closed.
    On February 6, the Maldives Democracy Network (MDN) reported that 
Hassan Ahmed, convicted of drug charges, died in Maafushi Prison. 
Several inmates alleged that Ahmed complained of chest pain but doctors 
failed to diagnose him. The Department of Penitentiary and 
Rehabilitation Services (DPRS) denied the charge. There have been no 
further developments in this case 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, although there were 
reports of mistreatment of persons by security forces.
    According to the PIC, records show that between July 15 and 20, 
police forcibly detained 21 juvenile detainees. Some of those detained 
were as young as 14 years of age. While in detention, police shaved 
their heads and confiscated their personal items. The Maldives National 
Defense Force detained the men as part of continued joint operations 
with Maldives police to curb gang violence, and 10 of the detainees 
were formally arrested. PIC sent the case to the prosecutor general in 
November, asking the prosecutor general to press criminal charges 
against Maldives Police Service (MPS) for causing injuries to 
detainees. At year's end, the prosecutor general was evaluating the 
case.
    On October 29, police reportedly assaulted a group of journalists 
reporting on a protest organized by the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge 
Party (DRP) in Male. According to the police, the journalists were 
``moved away by force'' because some journalists refused to stay in the 
security zone and tried to break through police lines. No journalists 
were jailed.
    The law permits flogging as a form of punishment. During the year 
there were no public reports of flogging. According to sources, the 
practice continued and targeted women accused of adultery. In July 2009 
local and international media reported authorities sentenced an 
estimated 180 persons to public flogging for engaging in extramarital 
affairs. Abdulla Mohamed, head of the country's Criminal Court, told 
the local media then that flogging was meant as a deterrent and not 
designed to cause injury, as regulations prohibit those carrying out 
the sentences from raising their arms above their shoulders.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally met international standards, and the Government permitted 
visits by independent human rights observers. Officials did not hold 
pretrial detainees separately from convicted prisoners. The DPRS 
oversees the operation of three prison facilities: Maafushi Prison, 
Asseryi Prison, and Male Prison. Male Prison is located in the capital 
city, and the other prisons are located on separate islands within a 
one-hour boat ride from the capital city. DPRS incarcerates only 
convicted prisoners. Pretrial detainees are held in separate jails 
under jurisdiction of the MPS. Women are held separately from men in 
the Maafushi prison. Juveniles awaiting sentencing are held in a 
juvenile correctional facility on Feydhoofinolhu Island run by police 
under the Ministry of Home Affairs' jurisdiction. Most juveniles 
convicted are held under house arrest because there are no juvenile 
detention centers in the country.
    The DRPS prison system has an estimated capacity of 765 prisoners, 
and the total prison population is 830. Of this population, 790 are men 
and 40 are women. Drug-related offenses account for 80 percent of the 
DPRS prisoners, although many of those offenses are simple possession 
(three grams or less) or drug-use sentences.
    In late February, a temporary jail, established in 2009 on Addu 
atoll Gan following the October 2009 prison riots at Maafushi jail, 
closed. A report on the temporary jail published by the Human Rights 
Commission of Maldives (HRCM) reported that prisoners had been locked 
in metal cages, some of which were not accessible to toilet facilities.
    On April 20, a riot occurred at Maafushi prison and 15 inmates were 
injured, none seriously. In a press release, the HRCM reported that 
DRPS had lost control of Maafushi Prison, and that the lack of proper 
prisoner control supplies left prison officials vulnerable.
    In July, according to the MDN, 236 inmates at Maafushi Prison sent 
a petition to President Nasheed complaining that the conditions in the 
prison had deteriorated. Inmates claimed that while the capacity for 
each unit was 35 persons, there were 90 to 100 inmates in each unit. 
Inmates alleged that they were not given opportunities to conduct 
Islamic prayers or Friday prayers; there was an increase in hygiene-
related issues; there was a shortage of doctors working in the prison 
system to attend to drug users suffering from withdrawal and to examine 
patients before prescribing medication; pillows, mattresses, and bed-
sheets were not provided; and light bulbs, fans, and other electrical 
equipment were restricted, leaving inmates in complete darkness at 
night. The DRPS took steps to correct the situation, and in September a 
foreign embassy-sponsored humanitarian team conducted an assessment of 
DPRS and associated prison facilities. The assessment team reported 
they were granted unlimited access at all of the facilities, and all of 
their questions were answered in a candid, forthright manner. Prisoners 
did not hesitate to speak to the assessors in the presence of DPRS 
staff, even when they criticized various aspects of their 
incarceration.
    The team concluded that facilities were clean, sanitary, and 
orderly. Prisoners appeared to receive ample food and water, sufficient 
recreation opportunities, visitation rights, religious observance, 
phone calls, mail access, and legal representation. Education and 
vocational training was available. The team noted a lack of bed space 
capacity and overcrowding, especially at the Male Prison, where there 
were as many as 10 prisoners in cells designed for four. Many of the 
prisoners in a cell slept on the floor. The team did not observe signs 
of systematic prisoner abuse or mistreatment.
    The foreign assessment team identified shortcomings as the lack of 
a formal prisoner classification system; lack of a formal and effective 
internal affairs process; management challenges due to civil service 
regulations that did not support the discipline, integrity, and 
professionalism of the corrections force; and inconsistently applied 
correctional practices and procedures, such as poor key control. The 
team reported also that prison officers lacked essential communication 
equipment, such as radios, which inhibited their ability to respond 
quickly and effectively to disturbances.
    The Government generally permitted regular prison visits by the 
HRCM, the MDN, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). 
In its 2009 annual report, the ICRC stated that it visited detainees 
regularly and shared its findings and recommendations confidentially 
with authorities.
    The National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) established by the HRCM 
monitors any death or other allegations related to prisons or prison 
authorities. The HRCM maintains a Web site in which reports on 
occasional jail visits, other human rights investigations, and annual 
reports are available.
    During the year the NPM visited five police custodial centers: 
Maafushi Prison; the temporary jail that was opened in Gan that has now 
been closed; a drug rehabilitation center in Himmafushi; a drug 
rehabilitation center in Villingili; and two centers for persons with 
disabilities.
    The HRCM operates a complaints department to address prisoner 
complaints about conditions, and until this year, they released their 
findings in an annual report. In addition the NPM makes a visit plan a 
year ahead, conducts visits throughout the year according to this plan, 
and publishes an annual report of its findings. However, during the 
year the NPM decided not to make full detention reports available to 
the public. It now publishes a short summary of each visit and sends 
the full detention report to the president, parliament, and other 
relevant stakeholders, depending on the case. HRCM shared its Prison 
Visit and Complaints Report 2010 in November with relevant authorities, 
Ministry of Home Affairs, and the DPRS. The HRCM decided not to publish 
full detention reports in order to reduce public backlash against the 
relevant authorities and to facilitate constructive dialogue and good 
relations with them. According to the HRCM, following this decision, 
relations have improved between the HRCM and other stakeholders and the 
HRCM is better able to persuade the relevant authorities to improve 
detention facilities and practices.
    By August the Government had partially completed construction of a 
new jail for 300 persons adjacent to Maafushi prison. The new facility 
was designed to relieve overcrowding at Maafushi, and prisoners were 
transferred to the facility in early August. Men and women are held 
separately and there are currently 40 women at the Pentagon prison. 
Conditions in the women's area are similar to the men's area, although 
the women are guarded by female prison officers and there are fewer 
cellmates per cell.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions. The constitution also provides compensation for those 
detained without legal justification.
    Amnesty International (AI) reported that police arbitrarily 
arrested and detained opposition member of parliament (MP) Abdullah 
Yameen on July 14 without charge. He was released on July 24. According 
to AI, authorities failed to respect a court order to produce Yameen 
before a judge or charge him with a recognizable criminal offense. 
President Nasheed argued that Yameen was in custody to protect him from 
threats of violence from political mobs. Yameen alleged that the crowd 
of people who attacked his house July 14 consisted of government 
activists.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MNDF is responsible 
for external security and also handles disaster relief operations and 
national emergencies. The director of the MNDF reports to the minister 
of defense. The president is commander-in-chief of the MNDF and since 
December holds the portfolio of minister of defense. In 2008 the Majlis 
enacted a new Armed Forces Act that established legal parameters for 
the MNDF's role. The MNDF also provides defense force reporting to the 
president. The MNDF has a program of human rights-type awareness 
courses for personnel.
    The MPS, which is responsible for internal security, public safety, 
and law and order, was separated from the MNDF in 2004 and is 
subordinate to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The president appoints the 
MPS commissioner, who reports to the minister of home affairs. The MPS 
generally has functioned effectively to fulfill its responsibilities 
and has established internal organs and mechanisms with a human rights 
focus. These include: the Professional Standards Directorate, which is 
mandated to promote police compliance with the highest ethical and 
human rights standards; and a designated Human Rights Liaison Officer, 
who is responsible for mainstreaming human rights issues within the 
service. It is now mandatory for all new police personnel to undergo 
human rights training.
    The prosecutor general referred cases to the appropriate court 
based on the results of police investigations. The authorities 
generally kept the details of a case confidential until they were 
confident that the charges were likely to be upheld. Three units under 
the Special Operations and Security Department of the MPS replaced the 
Star Force, formerly an elite unit of the MPS. These units are the 
Special Weapons and Tactic Team, the Industrial and Personal Security 
Unit, and the Riot Police.
    The PIC, established in 2006 to investigate allegations of police 
corruption and impunity, is the primary mechanism available to 
investigate security force abuses. During the year the PIC investigated 
136 complaints, of which 74 have been concluded; they made 
recommendations on 12 cases. The PIC is limited to making 
recommendations. In general the recommendations have been followed.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law of 
arrest requires that no person be arrested unless the arresting officer 
observed the offence, had reasonable evidence, or had an arrest warrant 
issued by a court. 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. The law also requires that an arrestee be 
informed of the right to a lawyer at the time of arrest. Prisoners had 
the right to a ruling on bail within 36 hours; however, reports 
indicated that bail procedures were not publicized adequately, 
explained, or implemented consistently. Under the 2008 constitution, a 
lawyer may be appointed by the court in serious criminal cases if the 
accused cannot afford one. According to the Attorney General (AG), 
police normally informed the arrestee's family of the arrest within 24 
hours, although the law does not require that police inform the family 
of the grounds for the arrest. Authorities generally permitted 
detainees to have counsel present during police questioning.
    The law provides for investigative detention. Once a person is 
detained, the arresting officer must present evidence to a court within 
24 hours to justify continued detention. Based on the evidence 
presented, the prosecutor general has the authority to determine 
whether charges will be made. If law enforcement authorities are unable 
to present sufficient evidence within 24 hours, the prisoner is 
eligible for release. Judges have the authority to extend detention 
upon receiving an arresting officer's petition, citing factors such as 
the detainee's previous criminal record, the status of the 
investigation, the type of offense in question, and whether the 
detainee would pose a threat if released.
    Sources reported that police held suspects under the investigative 
detention provision without formal arrest for a few hours to a few 
days. Such a procedure allegedly has been used to remove groups from 
the streets and control gang activities. There is no formal record of 
investigative detentions as there would be with an arrest.
    On June 29, two opposition MPs were detained on treason and bribery 
charges and released to house arrest several days later on Supreme 
Court orders. A third opposition MP was arrested several days later. 
Over the next several weeks, a series of conflicting court rulings was 
made determining the arrests as valid under the constitution and later 
invalid. The courts ultimately ruled the police did not follow proper 
procedures, and the arrests were invalid. On July 24, the last detainee 
was released.
    On February 4, President Nasheed announced clemency to Himandhoo 
prisoners in Maafushi Jail and offered amnesty to help them become 
productive citizens. There were about 50 individuals arrested in 2007 
on charges of resisting police efforts to find suspects responsible for 
Sultan Park bombings and for inciting violence. Police imprisoned 16 of 
those arrested. The Islamic Ministry assumed the responsibility of 
rehabilitating these prisoners.
    The president reduced the sentences for two prisoners involved in 
the Sultan Park bombing under the Clemency Act, and these prisoners 
were released in August.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law and constitution provide 
for an independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected 
judicial independence in practice.
    Prior to 2008, the president was the highest legal authority 
responsible for settling appeals from lower courts. In 2008 President 
Gayoom established an interim Supreme Court and appointed five interim 
judges to serve during the two-year transitional constitution period. 
In August the transitional period ended, and the Government made final 
appointments to the Supreme Court. The seven-member court is 
independent from the executive. It hears appeals from the High Court 
and considers constitutional matters brought directly before it.
    In 2008 the Supreme Court reported only 31 percent of cases filed 
in 2008 were completed that year. The Judicial Services Administration 
published a 2008 report that identified a backlog of 2,676 cases in 
lower courts, with 78 percent of cases filed in the lower courts having 
been completed by year's end. There have not been any updated reports 
since 2008.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides that an accused person is 
presumed innocent until proven guilty. There were no jury trials. Most 
trials were public and were conducted by judges and magistrates, some 
of whom were trained in Islamic, civil, or criminal law. Regulations 
rather than laws govern trial procedures. 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. An 
accused person has the right to defend himself or herself ``in 
accordance with Sharia.'' During a trial, the accused may call 
witnesses and has the right to be represented by a lawyer. Under the 
constitution, a lawyer may be appointed by the court in serious 
criminal cases if the accused cannot afford one. The judiciary 
generally enforced these rights.
    Both defendants and their attorneys have full access to all 
evidence relating to their case, they have opportunity to cross examine 
any witnesses presented by state, and can present their own witnesses 
and evidence.
    Under the constitution, the prosecutor general is a separate and 
independent body subject only to general policy directives by the AG on 
the conduct of criminal proceedings. The prosecutor general's mandate 
includes supervising prosecution of all criminal cases and determining 
whether charges should be pursued based on evidence presented by 
investigating authorities.
    Civil law was subordinate to Sharia, which was applied in 
situations not covered by civil law, as well as in family matters such 
as divorce and adultery. Courts adjudicating matrimonial and criminal 
cases generally did not allow legal counsel in court because, according 
to local interpretation of Sharia, all answers and submissions should 
come directly from the parties involved. The High Court, however, 
allows legal counsel in all cases, including those in which the right 
to counsel was denied in a lower court. Those convicted had the right 
to appeal. The testimony of women is equal to that of men for finance 
and contract matters. The testimony of women is not equal to that of 
men for inheritance cases, but in practice witness testimony is seldom 
required as most of the property of the deceased such as land, estates, 
boats, vehicles, shares, and bank accounts is registered. Male heirs 
get twice the share of female heirs, but the most valuable property 
(that is, land) of the deceased is usually shared equally as most of 
the land is owned by the state and not privately owned. If the land is 
privately owned, then Sharia applies. The right to defend is not 
related to Sharia. The right to defend, as it is in chapter two of the 
constitution, is in accordance with international human rights 
instruments.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees. Local nongovernmental organizations 
(NGOs) confirmed that no one had been arrested solely for his or her 
political beliefs since the inauguration of the new government. As for 
previous political prisoners, government observers claimed that they 
had been released after the charges against them were withdrawn or 
found to be without merit. AI stated that ``it continues to be 
concerned about the detention of Prisoners of Conscience who have been 
imprisoned solely for their political beliefs'' but did not cite 
specific cases or provide a number of political detainees.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--A civil court addressed 
noncriminal cases. In February 2009 Mariyam Manike filed a civil suit 
against the ministry of defense over the killing of her son Evan Naseem 
in 2003 by eight former security officers at Maafushi prison. The case 
was closed because Mariyam Manike failed to appear for the hearing.

    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.'' In practice the 
Government generally respected privacy rights. Security forces may open 
the mail of private citizens and monitor telephone conversations if 
authorized to do so by a court during a criminal investigation.
    The constitution provides that residential premises and dwellings 
should be inviolable and can be entered without consent of the resident 
only under exigent circumstances or under the authorization of a court.
    On July 4, three recordings of personal telephone calls were posted 
on the Internet. The Government claimed the recordings provided 
evidence of a corruption conspiracy and proposed using them as evidence 
for corruption charges. Due to the absence of an Evidence Act, there is 
uncertainty as to whether the recording will be accepted as evidence in 
court. The source of these recordings was not determined. The 
telecommunications authority claimed that only the police or the MNDF 
had the capability to make recordings. At year's end, there had been no 
determination on the legality of the recordings.

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 in most cases. However, 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.
    There are almost 200 independent newspapers and periodicals, and 
government ministers owned several of the daily publications. The 
Maldives Media Council Act established the Media Council as an 
independent, self-regulatory body. In April the Government enacted a 
bill establishing the Maldives Broadcasting Corporation as a 100 
percent government-owned company. The Government wanted the corporation 
to be free from political and commercial influence and to televise 
public service announcements and matters of the state (such as 
President Nasheed's speeches) at no cost to the Government. There have 
been ongoing unresolved disputes between parliament and the executive 
over which institution should have jurisdiction over the state 
broadcasters. In November 2009 the Government passed amendments to the 
penal code making defamation a civil rather than criminal offence.
    Criticism of the Government and debates on difficult societal 
issues are commonplace, but there were a few incidents of journalists 
being threatened or attacked by both government and opposition 
supporters. In March the Department of Information withdrew five out of 
100 points from the broadcast license of the radio station DhiFM 
following its coverage of the protest outside the president's residence 
on January 28. Every six months the Department of Information grants 
100 points to all license holders. If a broadcaster loses more than 50 
points during the allocated six month period, license can be revoked 
from six to 30 days and a fee of Rf 6,000 ($469) to Rf 30,000 ($2,344) 
can be charged depending on the number of points deducted. Also in 
March a group tried to enter the FM radio station Dhifm, threatened and 
attacked Dhitv Television Station's staff, and stabbed a staff member 
of Haveeru daily newspaper. These attacks followed the arrest of 
Ibrahim Nafiz, known as ``Chika,'' a known figure in the local world of 
illegal narcotics; according to sources, the instigators were gang 
members loyal to Chika.
    In September the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) 
issued a press statement expressing alarm at increasing hostile actions 
against independent media. The IFJ cited incidents of vandalism by 
unknown persons against the private broadcaster VTV, which coincided 
with threats against the station made by MP ``Reeko'' Moosa Manik. In 
addition IFJ expressed concern that the head of the Male municipality 
reportedly attacked a cameraman with private broadcaster DhiTV and 
confiscated his camera. The Maldives Journalists' Association (MJA) 
stated that these actions contributed to ``a climate of intolerance'' 
against the broadcaster.
    NGO sources also stated that in general the media practiced self-
censorship on issues related to Islam due to fears of being labeled 
``anti-Islamic'' and subsequently being harassed.
    In June the Government held a Commonwealth media development 
workshop, a four-day event conducted by the Commonwealth in 
collaboration with the MJA. 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.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail, 
which was widely available in the capital and increasingly present in 
outlying atolls.
    The Ministry of Islamic Affairs continued to block Web sites 
considered anti-Islamic or pornographic. In March 2009 the 
Telecommunications Authority of Maldives announced that it had blocked 
nine Web sites with anti-Islamic and pornographic content at the 
request of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. The Ministry also blocked 
Web sites with information on Christianity and another Web site 
containing information on Islam. One of the Web sites posted an audio 
clip of a Ministry of Islamic Affairs official reportedly threatening 
an imam. Such blocks continued at year's end.
    Statistics from the Internet regulator of Maldives indicated that 
there were approximately 12,000 broadband Internet subscribers in 
October.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The law prohibits public 
statements contrary to government policy or to the Government's 
interpretation of Islam. In response to the law, there were credible 
reports that academics practiced self-censorship. The Government 
censored course content and curriculum. Islam is the only religion 
taught in the schools.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides for ``freedom of peaceful assembly 
without prior permission of the State,'' and the Government generally 
respected this in practice.
    There were allegations by reporters that the MNDF and police at 
times used force to disperse protestors. According to Minivan News, 
some reporters claimed that during the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP)-
led demonstrations calling for Yameen and Gasim's arrest, the MNDF and 
police beat the gathered protestors with their batons. Police 
spokesperson reported that nine police officers and six civilians were 
injured during the riots.
    A journalist from Miadhu, three journalists from DhiTV, two 
journalists from VillaTV, one from newspaper Miadhu, and a photographer 
from Haveeru reported they were attacked by police during a DRP-led 
protest in October.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for freedom of 
association; however, the Government imposed some limits on this 
freedom in practice. The Government registered clubs and other private 
associations only if they did not contravene Islamic or civil law.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. Employers often housed foreign workers at their worksites.
    The law allows for banishment to a remote atoll as a punishment, 
but the provision was seldom practiced.
    There were no known cases of the Government discovering converts 
and rescinding citizenship as a result of conversion.
    There are no government restrictions on free movement within the 
country or for foreign travel.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 protocol, and 
the Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees or persons seeking asylum. The Government has cooperated in 
the past with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR). In practice the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. There have been no reports of abuse of refugees or 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 May 2009 the country 
held its first multiparty parliamentary elections. Although there were 
sporadic confrontations and reports of electoral irregularities, 
including allegations of bribery and intimidation, election observer 
groups, such as Transparency Maldives and the Commonwealth, reported 
the elections to be generally free and fair. Political parties operated 
without restriction or outside interference.
    On October 9, the island consolidation plan went to referendum. 
Voters rejected the Government's proposal for administrative 
consolidation and the creation of city councils.
    There are five women in the 77-member Maldivian Parliament. There 
are three women in the 10-person cabinet. These include the Minister of 
Health and Family, Minister of Education, and Minister of Tourism, 
Arts, and Culture. Parliament approved a woman as commissioner of the 
Human Rights Commission, but the female nominee for vice commissioner 
was not approved by parliament because parliamentarians expressed 
concern about having two women leading the commission.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials occasionally engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. In 
2008 the Government established an independent Anti-Corruption 
Commission (ACC) to investigate corruption charges involving senior 
government officials.
    Approximately 150 cases from the previous board were transferred to 
the new commission. In May 2009 President Nasheed established a 
presidential commission to investigate allegations of widespread 
corruption by high-level officials from the previous government, 
including former president Gayoom. The Government created the 
commission after the ACC and independent audit reports revealed 
cronyism and misappropriation of state funds. The commission has 
authority to summon, interrogate, and take statements that may be used 
as evidence in court. At year's end, the investigation continued, and 
no additional information was available.
    There are no laws that provide for access to government 
information.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
often were cooperative and responsive to their views.
    The HRCM was fully functional, with Ahmed Saleem serving as interim 
president. On October 4, the Government confirmed Mariyam Azra as 
commissioner of the HRCM.
    In 2009 the HRCM established an NGO Network to support and assist 
human rights NGOs and to secure the cooperation of NGOs. There are 
currently 48 NGOs in this network. The commission provides technical, 
financial, and other forms of assistance to NGOs that have joined the 
Human Rights NGO Network; the commission's objectives are to assist and 
provide encouragement in their work as human rights defenders and also 
to seek their assistance in the work of the HRCM.
    The Maldives Democracy Network (MDN) is one of the largest human 
rights NGOs and has established a network of human rights defenders to 
train a volunteer network of dedicated individuals to advocate for and 
monitor human rights across the country. This network gives MDN the 
ability to promote human rights, assess the human rights situation, and 
monitor specific violations on a nationwide scale.

Section 6. 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, gender, 
religion, disability, or social status. Women traditionally were 
disadvantaged, particularly in the application of Sharia in matters 
such as divorce, education, inheritance, and testimony in legal 
proceedings.

    Women.--In 2008 the Government changed the Ministry of Gender and 
Family to the Ministry of Health and Family to pursue a policy of 
gender mainstreaming to provide for gender equality. The empowerment of 
women was a key aspect of all government policy initiatives, 
activities, and planning.
    Rape is not classified as a separate offence in the current penal 
code and cannot be prosecuted under any act. Other provisions of the 
law are used to criminalize rape. For example, the Prosecutor General's 
office uses sexual assault or misconduct charges depending on the 
gravity of the offence. A man can be convicted of rape in the absence 
of a confession only if there are two male witnesses or four female 
witnesses willing to testify. In March 2009 Mazeena Jameel, Permanent 
Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family, stated that out of 10 
rape cases reported, only two led to convictions, partly due to the 
difficulty of proving rape.
    Under the law, spousal rape is not a crime.
    The Domestic Violence bill was proposed during the year and is 
currently in parliament. The bill is the first effort to pass 
legislation criminalizing domestic violence in the country. There are 
currently no laws regarding domestic violence against women or 
workplace sexual harassment, nor were there recent firm data on the 
extent of violence against women. However, a 2006 Ministry of Gender 
and Family study on women's health and life experiences noted that one 
in three women between the ages of 15 and 49 years reported some form 
of physical or sexual violence at least once in their lives. One in 
five women between the ages of 15 and 49 years reported physical or 
sexual violence by a partner, and one in nine reported experiencing 
severe violence. One in six women in Male and one in eight countrywide 
reported experiencing childhood sexual abuse under the age of 15 years. 
Of those women between the ages of 15 and 49 years who had ever been 
pregnant, 6 percent reported having been physically or sexually abused 
during pregnancy. The survey reported that many respondents perceived 
women to be subordinate to men, and that men used Islam to justify 
restrictions and violence against women.
    Media reports of violence against women and rape are common. In 
January a woman in Foah Mulaku was gang raped in front of her husband 
while he was tied to a tree. Police apprehended suspects and conducted 
an investigation. Also in January, a woman in G.A. Villingilli reported 
an attempted rape. In February a group of men in Laamu Atoll allegedly 
broke into a house, tied electrical wires to the feet of a woman, and 
gave her electric shocks. In March on S. Hitadhoo, a group of 15 men 
drugged and raped a 20-year-old girl. There were several other rapes 
reported over the summer in Male but no follow-up information on 
arrests or prosecution was published. On July 12, the Prosecutor 
General submitted the 2009 murder case against the boyfriend of Mariyam 
Shereen, whose body was found under a pile of sandbags in a 
construction site. At year's end, the case continued at the Criminal 
Court.
    The Police Annual Report for the year listed 455 cases of sexual 
assault (under which rape is included) reported in 2008, 563 cases 
reported in 2009, and 523 cases in during the year. There were 172 
cases of domestic violence reported to police in 2008, 156 cases were 
reported in 2009, and 135 cases during the year. Information on the 
number of cases sent to the prosecutor general's office and to court 
for prosecution is not available. However, in March a coalition of NGOs 
condemned the performance of the judiciary and the Government for its 
treatment of criminal cases, especially those concerning rape, citing a 
``failure of the state and responsible authorities to convict those 
responsible for these crimes.'' The statement noted the number of 
crimes such as murder, rape, child abuse, assault with sharp weapons, 
and threats to journalists and others that are reported in the media 
far outnumber the number of crimes investigated by police, sent to the 
prosecutor general's office, and tried in the Criminal Court.
    In 2008 the Ministry of Gender and Family released data showing an 
increase in the reported cases of violence against women, although NGOs 
believed that most cases remained unreported. Several reasons were 
cited for the silence on the issue, including fear of reprisals from 
abusers, losing custody of children, lack of economic independence, 
insensitivity of police when dealing with victims, absence of 
regulation in media concerning the privacy of the victim, dealing with 
the stigma attached to being a victim, and low conviction rates.
    In May 2009 an official of the Ministry of Health and Family, 
formerly the Ministry of Gender and Family, stated to the local media 
that access to justice was one of the biggest obstacles to eliminating 
gender-based violence.
    The Department of Gender and Family Protection Service (DGFPS), 
under the Health Ministry, provides a range of services from 
protection, rehabilitation programs, vocational skills development, and 
legal services to imparting coping strategies; these are designed to 
enhance victims' knowledge and skills, to empower themselves and 
others, and assist them to be reintegrated into the society at large. 
According to the Health Ministry, at the end of the year, four rape 
cases were referred to DGFPS requesting assistance, three of which were 
gang rapes. Support services are also available from the Society for 
Health Education, an NGO focusing on women and health care issues, 
which provides professional counseling for abused women. At present 
there are no safe houses for abused women, although provisions for 
their creation are included in the Domestic Violence bill that is 
before parliament.
    There are Family and Children's Centers (FCSC) on every atoll in 
the country. They are intended to help streamline the process of 
reporting abuse against women and children. The centers had a shortage 
of trained staff and faced legal challenges, such as collecting 
evidence about abuse cases.
    In May 2009 the Government in partnership with the UN launched a 
two-year program to deal with gender-based violence. The program's 
objectives include raising awareness of gender-based violence, 
developing social support and counseling, providing women with legal 
options, and advising them on economic opportunities that would empower 
them to leave abusive relationships. The action plan was to involve 
various stakeholders in government including police, health ministry, 
religious leaders, and the judiciary to ensure cooperation and 
accountability. As part of this project, the UN has drafted guidelines 
on operating a separate women's shelter next to the orphanage on the 
island of Villingili. This would be a safe house for women who suffer 
from domestic violence and abuse. The UN held a week-long training 
session for 25 people on how to analyze gender-based violence cases and 
held a one-day workshop with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs with the 
goal of informing key actors in the field how domestic violence is 
treated in Islam.
    Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children, and to have 
the information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, 
and violence. Access to information on contraception and skilled 
attendance at delivery and in postpartum care was widely available. 
Women and men were given equal access to diagnostic services and 
treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    According to the 2009 Demographic and Health survey conducted by 
the Ministry of Health and Family, 99 percent of women received 
prenatal care from a skilled provider (92 percent saw a gynecologist, 7 
percent received care from a doctor other than a gynecologist, and less 
than 1 percent received care from a trained nurse or midwife, a 
community health worker, or a traditional birth attendant). According 
to the survey, 95 percent of births in the five years preceding the 
survey were assisted by a skilled health worker (gynecologist, doctor, 
nurse, midwife, or community and family health worker). The maternal 
mortality rate in the country is 37 deaths per 100,000 live births. 
Only 6 percent of women did not receive any postnatal care. Women who 
live in Male have the highest rate of care (96 percent) from a 
gynecologist, doctor, nurse, or midwife versus 90 percent in rural 
areas.
    Although women traditionally played a subordinate role in society, 
they participated in public life. Women constituted approximately 40 
percent of government employees. The literacy rate for women was 
approximately 98 percent. In 2007 the Government appointed the first 
female judges.
    The minimum age of marriage for women was 18 years old, but 
marriages at an earlier age occurred. Some of these marriages occurred 
in Pakistan and India, and those that occurred in Maldives were usually 
not registered in the court. As a result, it was difficult to know how 
many cases there were during the year. According to the Ministry of 
Health, if a minor wished to marry, the ministry would undertake an 
assessment to ensure the physical and mental well-being of the child. 
These children can then marry with their parent's consent. Most 
applications were from girls between the ages of 16 and 18, but the 
ministry did not provide a count of how many applications they 
considered. In addition the ministry stopped accepting applications to 
consider underage marriages. Under Islamic practice, husbands may 
divorce their wives more easily than vice versa, absent mutual 
agreement to divorce. Sharia also governs estate inheritance, granting 
male heirs twice the share of female heirs. In practice the country's 
inheritance laws are complex. According to the prosecutor general's 
office, unless the men in the family demand a larger share, property is 
divided equally among siblings.
    During the year a Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic 
Forum found women who worked for wages received about 65 percent of 
what men in the same positions received. According to an HRCM report 
published in August 2009, despite provisions in the constitution and 
the 2008 Employment Act, there were no policies in place that provided 
equal opportunities for women's employment. The absence of childcare 
facilities made it difficult for women to remain employed after they 
had children; it was socially unacceptable for women to stay on resort 
islands for extended periods, which discouraged women from working at 
tourist resorts. The HRCM also received reports that some employers 
discouraged women from marriage or pregnancy, as it could result in 
termination or demotion.
    In March 2009 the Government established an Rf 10 million 
($780,000) Fund for the Economic Development of Women. Provided by the 
Asian Development Bank as part-loan and part-grant, the project 
encouraged economic independence by assisting women to establish small- 
and medium-sized enterprises.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived through one's parents. A child 
born of a citizen father or mother, regardless of the child's place of 
birth, can derive citizenship.
    Education is not compulsory, but there was universal access to free 
primary education. In many instances, parents curtailed education for 
girls after the seventh grade by not allowing them to leave their home 
island to attend secondary school on another island.
    Government policy provides for equal access to educational and 
health programs for both male and female children.
    The law sought to protect children from physical and psychological 
abuse, including at the hands of teachers or parents. The Ministry of 
Health and Family has the authority to enforce the law and receives 
strong popular support. The ministry reported child abuse, including 
sexual abuse. In November 2009 parliament passed the Child Sex Abuse 
Act, which codified child sex offenses for the first time and outlined 
sentences of up to 25 years for those convicted. However, under article 
14 of the act, if a person is legally married to a minor under Islamic 
Sharia, none of the offences specified in the legislation would be 
considered a crime. There were reports that, although the courts had 
the power to detain perpetrators, most were released pending sentencing 
and were allowed to return to the communities of their victims.
    In March 2009 the FCSC stated that the biggest challenge it faced 
in efforts to protect children's rights was the release of pedophiles 
into the communities of their victims.
    According to statistics from the MPS, police received 162 cases of 
child sexual abuse during the year, and 104 of these were forwarded to 
the Prosecutor General's Office after investigation. In addition police 
arrested 117 pedophiles during the year compared to 23 in 2009. Of the 
117 arrested, two were females.
    In February DGFPS reported the cases of child abuse in 2009 had 
doubled compared with 2008. The department stated that cases of sexual 
abuse were increasing, and underage marriage and pregnancy was a major 
concern. The increase in the cases reported appeared to be due to 
increased public awareness.
    DGFPS reported 1,042 cases of abuse during the year, including 246 
cases of child sexual abuse cases, 111 cases of physical abuse, 126 
cases of neglect, 175 disciplinary cases, 45 cases of emotional abuse, 
131 custody and family issues, and two cases of child prostitution. 
There are no laws or regulations dealing with cases of neglect.
    The former Bangladeshi High Commissioner reported a case of a 
Bangladeshi girl who was forced into prostitution in Maldives and noted 
cases of young boys working in guest houses who were physically 
assaulted. These crimes were not reported due to fears of retaliation, 
but the Bangladesh High Commission has ceased attesting work permits 
for Bangladeshi women.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no known Jewish citizens or residents, 
and there were anti-Jewish protests in response to an Israeli 
humanitarian mission.
    When it was announced a team of Israeli doctors was due to arrive 
in the country to treat eye patients in December, the Islamic 
Foundation of the Maldives called on the Government to break off all 
diplomatic ties with Israel. The Islamic Foundation claimed that it was 
against Islam to have ``relationships with Jews'' and called on the 
president to ``shun all medical aid from the Zionist regime.'' When the 
medical team arrived, there were protests against the eye doctors and 
Israeli flags were burned. The protests were fairly small and Minivan 
News reported that over 200 Maldivians registered for eye care with the 
Israeli team.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution provides for the 
rights and freedom from discrimination of persons with disabilities and 
a Special Needs Act was put in place in July. The purpose of the act is 
to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and to provide them 
with financial assistance. The president created the Council to Protect 
the Rights of People with Disabilities in August. As mandated in the 
act, anyone with disabilities is entitled to Rf 2,000 ($156) every 
month. The Ministry of Health and Family maintains a list of persons 
with disabilities. By December 26, the ministry received 3,384 
applications. The ministry planned to start disseminating the allowance 
in January 2011. Government programs provided services for persons with 
disabilities, including special educational programs for persons with 
sensory disabilities. Inadequate facilities made it difficult for 
persons with disabilities to participate in the workforce.
    There were multiple NGOs working to improve the rights of persons 
with disabilities, including Hand in Hand, the Association of 
Disability and Development, Handicap International, and the Care 
Society.
    In April the HRCM, in conjunction with the United Nations 
Development Program, released a report on the rights of persons with 
disabilities. The report found that most schools only took children 
with very limited to moderate disabilities and not those with more 
severe disabilities. There virtually was no access to or transition to 
secondary-level education for children with disabilities. Additionally 
there was no mental healthcare available in Male; there were only two 
psychiatrists working in the country who dealt mostly with drug 
rehabilitation. There also was a lack of quality residential care. 
There were more than 31 persons with disabilities waiting for a place 
at the Home for People with Special Needs as of March.
    In July 2009 the Maldives Deaf Association received funding from 
the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth, and Sports to facilitate arts 
and crafts courses for persons with auditory disabilities between the 
ages of 18 and 35 years old.
    In October 2009 President Nasheed launched the country's first 
sign-language dictionary. The objective of the book was to serve as a 
bridge between persons with auditory disabilities and the rest of 
society. Handicap International funded the project.
    The Government established disability awareness and empowerment 
campaigns on some of the more populous islands. 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 Health 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 on the islands, but follow-up care was infrequent. The 
Government also provided assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, 
crutches, spectacles, hearing aids, and special seats for children with 
cerebral palsy.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits homosexual 
conduct, and it was considered socially unacceptable. The punishment 
for men includes banishment for nine months to one year or 10 to 30 
lashes. For women the punishment is house arrest for nine months to one 
year. There were no organizations concerned with lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) issues in the country. There have not 
been any reports of officials complicit in abuses against the LGBT 
community. Due to societal intolerance of homosexual conduct, there are 
few openly homosexual individuals acknowledged in the country. Thus 
there is no information on official or societal discrimination based on 
sexual orientation in employment, housing, access to education, or 
health care.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The country had a very 
low prevalence of HIV (approximately 0.01 percent). Of 14 HIV-infected 
Maldivians, 12 are male, two are female, 11 have developed AIDS, and 10 
have died. Since 2008 no new HIV cases were reported in the country, 
but during the year 19 foreign workers were reported with HIV. Maldives 
did not systematically collect statistics on HIV infection, indicating 
that these numbers likely underrepresented the actual situation.
    According to a 2009 Demographic and Health survey, most women 
surveyed were willing to care for a relative with AIDS at home (86 
percent), buy fresh vegetables from a shopkeeper with AIDS (79 
percent), allow a female teacher with AIDS to continue teaching (61 
percent), or allow a male teacher with AIDS to continue teaching (59 
percent). Three of four women said that they would be open about having 
an HIV-positive family member. Only 37 percent of women expressed 
accepting attitudes on all four indicators, indicating some stigma 
associated with HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The 2008 constitution recognizes the 
right to freedom of association and states explicitly that all rights 
and freedoms in the statute apply to ``everyone'' in the country, 
including migrant workers.
    The 2008 Employment Act does not address the formation of trade 
unions, and the law does not specify protection against antiunion 
discrimination. Some workers' organizations have been established, 
particularly in the tourism and education sectors, although these 
function more as associations rather than real unions. Among the most 
active: Teachers Association of the Maldives, the Tourism Employees 
Association of the Maldives (TEAM), and a fishermen's association. 
According to a report by the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives 
(HCRM), worker associations' ability to defend employee rights was 
hampered by the uncertainties surrounding their status and mandate and 
a lack of laws defining their role and the procedures by which they may 
negotiate with employers. In the absence of real trade unions, the 
concept of collective bargaining remains unknown.
    The constitution states that every person employed in the country 
has the freedom to stop work and to strike. This right was exercised 
frequently during the year, particularly in the construction and 
tourism sectors. TEAM organized work stoppages to protest against 
unfair working conditions, low wages, and long working hours. Police 
sometimes employed force to suppress strikes.
    The Employment Act does not cover emergency workers, air and sea 
crews, police, armed forces, and executive staff of any company, and 
workers who are on call.
    In February the parliament passed an Employment Tribunal 
Regulation, which details procedures for revising and adjudicating 
employment matters, and other matters to do with the functioning of the 
Employment Tribunal under the Employment Act. The Employment Tribunal 
was established in 2009 to examine and adjudicate legal matters arising 
between employers and employees and other employment issues. In its 
first four days, the tribunal received over 400 cases. Of the 137 valid 
claims filed in 2009, the tribunal completed 54 cases and resolved 19; 
64 cases continued at the end of the year. During the year the tribunal 
received 276 cases, of which 110 were completed at year's end. A 
completed case is one in which the tribunal delivers a verdict and 
provides recommendations but does not know whether the defendant acted 
upon the recommendation. Twenty-two cases were resolved, meaning that 
the complainant and the defendant came to an agreement or the defendant 
abided by the tribunal's recommendations. Eleven cases were withdrawn, 
and 21 cases were cancelled due to absence of complainants at hearings 
or due to lack of necessary information. There were 38 cases during the 
year that were not resolved by year's end. Most cases dealt with unfair 
dismissal in the private sector, including tourist resorts, utility 
companies, and other businesses. The tribunal also received some cases 
of unfair dismissal in the civil service.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The 
constitution and Employment Act do not address workers' rights to 
collective bargaining. In practice informal collective bargaining 
involving employee associations, primarily in the tourism sector, began 
shortly after both laws took effect. Wages in the private sector were 
commonly set by contract between employers and employees and were based 
on rates for similar work in the public sector.
    TEAM, a resort workers association, claimed resort workers were 
systematically denied recognition by employers, employers refused to 
negotiate collectively, and employers threatened workers.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that 
forced labor occurred. The HRCM reported that some domestic workers, 
especially migrant female domestic workers, were in some cases trapped 
in forced labor situations, in which employers used threats and 
intimidation to prevent them from leaving.
    The expatriate worker population of Maldives is estimated at 
80,000, which is an estimated 25 percent of the population. The 
Maldives Immigration Controller estimates there are a minimum of 30,000 
illegal foreign workers; over half of these workers come from 
Bangladesh with others from India and other south Asian countries. 
Department of Immigration statistics state 18,000 new foreign workers 
came to the country between January and October. These workers were 
predominantly employed in the construction and tourism sectors, where 
some experienced forced labor and even debt bondage. Most victims of 
forced labor were reportedly coerced to work through one or more of the 
following practices: holding of passports by employers, fraudulent 
offers of employment, not being paid the promised salary, and not being 
paid at all.
    Under the law, foreign workers arriving in the country must have a 
work permit issued by the Immigration Department. This is obtained 
through an employer or agent, who must first request a foreign worker 
quota stating the number of employees needed from the Ministry of Human 
Resources, Youth, and Sports. These quotas are easy to obtain, and 
there is little enforcement. In an effort to control the flow of 
workers into the country, the Bangladeshi High Commission also requires 
that work permits for their nationals be attested by the local 
commission before they are considered valid. However, forged 
documentation is common. In June the Human Resources Ministry and the 
Maldives Police Service conducted operations to find and deport illegal 
workers in the atolls. The outcome of these operations had not been 
reported at year's end.
    The Ministry of Human Resources blacklists companies who violated 
the provisions of the Employment Act, precluding violators from 
bringing in new workers until violations were rectified. The law allows 
for a fine of not more than Rf 5,000 ($397) for forced labor and other 
violations of the Employment Act. During the year 16 employers were 
blacklisted.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
Employment Act sets 16 years of age as the minimum age for employment, 
with an exception for children who voluntarily participate in family 
businesses. The Employment Act also prohibits employment of children in 
``any work that may have a detrimental effect on health, education, 
safety, or conduct.'' Child labor, however, was a problem in the 
fishing sector, small commercial activities, and family enterprises. 
Adolescent children who were sent from islands with inadequate 
education facilities to Male or other areas for educational purposes 
sometimes worked as domestics in exchange for food and lodging. The 
HRCM reported the domestic work of children living with host families 
while attending school was sometimes coerced.
    DGFPS of the Ministry of Health and Family was responsible for 
monitoring compliance with the law regarding child labor. Based on the 
limited information available, the ministry's enforcement appeared to 
be effective. The Ministry of Health and Family, the Ministry of Human 
Resources, Youth, and Sports, and the Family and Child Protection Unit 
of Maldives Police Service received complaints of child labor, 
conducted inquiries, and initiated legal action. According to the Labor 
Relations Authority, none of the 477 claim/complaint forms that it 
received last year related to child labor or employment of minors. 
Additionally no cases of child labor were found during its regular 
labor inspections during the year.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The 2008 Employment Act 
establishes maximum hours of work, overtime, annual and sick leave, 
maternity leave, and guidelines for work-place safety. In 2008 the 
Government established a Labor Relations Authority and an Employment 
Tribunal to implement the Employment Law. The Labor Relations 
Authority, under the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth, and Sports was 
not staffed until September, when 15 people were hired. The office 
conducted investigations and provided dispute resolution mechanisms to 
address complaints from workers. Since September the authority had 
completed an estimated 100 inspections.
    The act provides a mechanism to establish a minimum wage in the 
private sector. The minimum wage in the Government sector was 
approximately Rf 3,100 ($241) per month, which was inadequate for a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family. Because of the tight 
labor market, private sector employers generally offered competitive 
pay and conditions to attract skilled workers.
    The Employment Act provides for a 48-hour per week limit on work 
with a compulsory 24-hour break if employees work six days 
consecutively. Overtime is possible; for example, employees in tourist 
resorts may work an additional two hours per day paid at overtime 
rates. The Employment Act states that employees working overtime shall 
be paid 125 percent of their hourly working wage and, if working on a 
Friday or a public holiday, they shall be paid 150 percent of their 
hourly working wage. The public sector provides a seven-hour workday 
and a five-day workweek. According to a rapid assessment done by the 
HRCM on the employment situation in the country during 2009, the 
enforcement of the Employment Act was poor. Government corporations 
were working to reconcile their employment agreements according to the 
act and many private companies had not started to sign employment 
agreements with their employees. Furthermore, HRCM alleged that many 
small employers did not show any intention of entering into agreements 
with their employees. The notable achievements of the act have been the 
creation of an Employment Tribunal and a Labor Relations Authority.
    Migrant workers were particularly vulnerable to exploitation and, 
upon arrival in the country, often found unacceptable work conditions, 
but they were forced to accept work at whatever wage was offered for 
debt repayment to the employment agency. The HRCM found many instances 
of nonpayment of wages to migrant workers and inadequate housing. 
Former Bangladeshi High Commissioner Selina Mohsin reported that 110 
Bangladeshi migrant workers died in 2009 from construction-related 
injuries such as falls, heart attacks, extreme tension and stress, and 
the effects of working in hazardous environments without proper 
ventilation. There is no indication that conditions have improved 
during the year. The status of migrant workers employed in the 
categories of senior management, professionals, and skilled workers was 
generally better.
    Under the Employment Act, workers have the right to refuse work 
that is dangerous; it was unclear whether workers exercised this right 
in practice. The Employment Act mandates the implementation of a safe 
work place; procurement of secure tools and machinery; ensuring the 
continued safety of the equipment, provision of protective equipment to 
eliminate health hazards, and training of employees in the use of 
protective gear; and the provision of appropriate medical care. 
Currently all employers are obliged to buy a health insurance scheme 
for foreign workers. Regulatory requirements in certain industries, 
such as construction and transport, require employers to provide a safe 
working environment and ensure the observance of safety measures. 
According to an HRCM report in August 2009, there were no national 
standards for safety measures and, as a result, such measures were at 
the discretion of employers. Some employers that produce for export 
have adopted health and safety standards. Employers in other sectors, 
most notably the tourism and construction industries, however, have 
reportedly not taken similar measures. The Employment Act grants 
workers the right to compensation if fired without cause. The act 
specifically bans discrimination based on race or color, but it notes 
that ``any preference given to Maldivians by an employer in granting 
employment shall not be deemed discrimination.''
    The 2009 HRCM report stated the highest number of job-related 
complaints, 139, came from resort workers. Most of these complaints 
related to employers disregarding workers' rights included in the 2008 
Employment Act. The three most common types of cases were nonpayment of 
wages, unfair and illegal dismissal, and nonpayment of due benefits and 
allowances.
    In 2009 the HRCM heard labor disputes because the Employment 
Tribunal was not in place, and the courts refused to hear labor cases. 
Since the Labor Relations Authority (LRA) was staffed in September, the 
HRCM now refers all labor disputes to the Employment Tribunal. The LRA 
reported that of the 477 complaints made during the year, 80 percent 
were from workers in the construction industry, and most complaints 
were about nonpayment of wages, termination without notice, lack of 
written contracts, expiration of employment approval, and employers not 
providing food and accommodation. According to the LRA, 50 percent of 
the cases reported during the year were resolved and 45 percent of the 
cases continued, while the remaining 5 percent of the cases were 
pending due to the absence of the employer or the employee. In cases 
where the employer or the employee failed to show up for three months, 
the case was closed.
    In May 2009 the Government acceded to the International Labor 
Organization (ILO). The country continued to work with the ILO to 
implement the ILO Work Plan for 2009-10, which included strengthening 
labor administration, promoting tripartism and social dialogue, 
ratifying selected international labor standards, and developing a 
social security floor to provide vulnerable and socially excluded 
groups with systematic benefits. At year's end, these efforts were 
still in process.

                               __________

                                 NEPAL

    Nepal, with a population of approximately 29 million, is a federal 
democratic republic. The political system is based on the Interim 
Constitution of Nepal 2063 (of 2007), with a prime minister as the 
chief executive, and the 601-member Constituent Assembly (CA), which is 
responsible for drafting a new constitution. After failing to deliver a 
new constitution on May 28, as required by the interim constitution, 
the CA extended its deadline for one additional year. Prime Minister 
Madhav Kumar Nepal, of the Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist 
Leninist (UML), tendered his resignation on June 30, but after numerous 
rounds of voting the parliament had not elected a new prime minister by 
year's end. Domestic and international observers generally 
characterized the 2008 election results as credible, although there 
were reports of political violence, intimidation, and voting 
irregularities. Security forces reported to civilian authorities, but 
there were frequent instances in which elements of the security forces 
acted independently of civilian control.
    Members of the security forces committed human rights abuses. 
Members of the Nepal Police (NP) and Armed Police Force (APF) committed 
extrajudicial killings and tortured numerous persons. Security forces 
used arbitrary arrest and detention. Impunity for human rights 
violators continued. The Government continued to restrict the freedoms 
of Tibetans. Societal discrimination against women, persons of lower 
castes, some ethnic groups, and persons with disabilities remained a 
problem. Violence against women and children continued.
    The Sanyukta Jatiya Mukti Morcha (SJMM), an armed group, used 
threats to force the en masse resignations of Village Development 
Committee secretaries (VDCs) from various parts of the country. Members 
of the Maoist militias, the Maoist-affiliated Young Communist League 
(YCL), and members of other small, ethnically-based armed groups 
engaged in arbitrary and unlawful use of lethal force. Numerous armed 
groups, largely in the Terai region in the lowland area near the Indian 
border, attacked civilians, government officials, members of particular 
ethnic groups, each other, or Maoist militias. Armed groups, criminals, 
and political parties used threats of violence to intimidate 
journalists throughout 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 numerous 
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings. The Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), a local 
human rights organization, reported that security forces or other armed 
groups killed 140 persons during the year. Security forces killed at 
least 27 individuals; the Maoist party and its affiliate, the YCL, were 
believed to have killed three persons; armed groups operating in Terai 
killed more than 21 persons; and unidentified groups killed 86 persons.
    On March 10, members of the Nepal Army (NA) killed two Dalit 
(``untouchable'' lower-caste) women--Devisara BK and Amrita BK--and a 
12-year-old girl, Chandrakala BK, inside the Bardiya National Park in 
Surkhet District. Although the NA alleged that the group was armed and 
involved in poaching, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) 
investigation concluded that the three women were shot in the back from 
a distance. The NHRC recommended action against those involved in the 
incident, including 15 army personnel of the Jwala Dal Batallion led by 
Captain Subodh Kunwar. The NHRC also recommended compensation to the 
families of 300,000 rupees ($4,152) for each of those killed and free 
education for the children of the deceased women. The NA had not taken 
action against those involved by year's end.
    In its report on extrajudicial killings, the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented 39 credible 
allegations of extrajudicial killings, which resulted in 57 deaths, 
attributed to the NP from 2008 until June 2010. In most cases, the NP 
alleged that the person killed was a criminal and was fleeing the 
police. The NHRC expressed concern about the ``extreme use of force'' 
in the cases of extrajudicial killings.
    On February 12, police in Panchthar District arrested four men on 
suspicion of theft. A reliable NGO reported that police tortured the 
men, killing Dal Bahadur Gyanmi Magar and Bikram Gyanmi Magar, a father 
and son (see section 1.c.).
    On May 28, Sanu Sunar of Lalitpur died while in police detention, 
according to the NHRC. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was 
blunt force head injury. The NHRC recommended legal action against 
those police personnel in charge of the Kalimati police circle, 
including Bhola Bahadur Raut, who had taken Sunar into custody without 
following proper procedure. The police department suspended assistant 
police inspector Madhusudan Bista and constables Roshan Bista and 
Krishna Khatiwada but took no action against Bahadur Raut.
    On July 4, 15-year-old Dharmendra Barai of Puraini, Rupendehi 
District, died while in police custody. Eyewitnesses reported seeing 
blue and black marks, allegedly from electric shocks, on the feet, 
shoulders, and other parts of the boy's body. The Home Ministry formed 
a high-level team to investigate the matter. A district-level 
investigative committee concluded that Dharmendra died due to police 
negligence and recommended departmental action against the 
perpetrators. According to a respected human rights group, the case was 
being registered in the Morang appellate court at year's end. There 
were also reports that police offered a financial settlement to the 
victim's father.
    In August Sujit BK, a former district leader in the YCL, was 
arrested for the March 2009 killing of UML-affiliated Youth Force (YF) 
leader Prachanda Man Thaiba in Butwal. The Maoist leadership suspended 
Sujit BK from party membership following news of his involvement in the 
killing. He remained in detention awaiting trial at year's end.
    There were no further developments in the April 2009 case of YCL 
members who allegedly killed YF member Anuj Thapa Magar in Biratnagar. 
The First Information Report (FIR) filed by his family members named 
three persons and noted another 10 to 12 unidentified persons who were 
involved. YCL district leadership denied involvement.
    There were no further developments in the July 2009 case of 
villagers from Dhunchepakha and Chapacho who killed three persons for 
allegedly trying to kidnap village children. Three persons were 
arrested and sent to the central jail in Nakkhu, where they remained 
under pretrial detention at year's end.
    The November 10 hearing in Chitwan district court for the 2008 
killing of Ram Hari Shrestha was postponed indefinitely. Five United 
Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) members were charged in 
connection with the killing but at year's end had not submitted their 
response. A hearing date had not been set. Beginning on July 12, the NP 
investigated one of the suspects, Kali Bahadur Kham, a senior Maoist 
leader, in connection with a robbery of three Chinese businessmen in 
Kathmandu. Police raided Kham's residence and found incriminating 
evidence, including ammunition and counterfeit government stamps. The 
Kathmandu District Court issued an arrest warrant for Kham on charges 
of robbery, but Kham remained at large at year's end.
    No one has been held responsible in the 2004 killing of 15-year-old 
Maina Sunuwar, one of the emblematic cases identified by human rights 
groups. The Kavre District Court reported that the NA had partially 
cooperated with the court's order to hand over documents, although the 
NA did not suspend or hand over one of the accused, Major Niranjan 
Basnet. An internal military investigation found Basnet innocent. 
According to statements given during the NA investigation, Basnet was 
present during Sunuwar's detention and interrogation, which included 
``water pouring'' and ``electric shock'' interrogation techniques.
    According to INSEC, land mines and improvised explosive devices 
(IEDs) injured 40 persons, including 20 children, during the year. 
During the year the UN Mine Action Team (UNMAT) cleared 16 
antipersonnel minefields, bringing the total cleared to 33 of the 53 
the NA laid, and 33 IED fields, bringing the total to 138 of the 312 
the NA laid.
    The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the 2006 agreement on 
Monitoring of the Management of Arms and Armies called for all 
landmines to be identified and located within 30 days and removed 
completely within 60 days. According to UNMAT, more square meters of 
minefield land were cleared from January to June than had been cleared 
in the previous three years combined. According to UNMAT, out of a 
total 304 IEDS, the NA cleared 33 of the 53 land mines it was scheduled 
to clear during the fiscal year. Twenty additional mines are 
anticipated to be cleared by July 2011.

    b. Disappearance.--According to INSEC, there were 185 total 
abductions during the year. Most abductions were for ransom and 
occurred in the Terai, where armed groups operated with relative 
impunity.
    The fate of most of those who disappeared during the 10-year Maoist 
insurgency (1996-2006) remained unknown. According to NHRC estimates, 
there were 861 unresolved cases of disappearances at year's end, 614 
believed to involve the state and 201 believed to involve the Maoists. 
Disappearances involving unknown groups totaled 46. The International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) estimated the number of persons who 
disappeared during the conflict at more than 1,348, although this 
included only persons whose families had met with ICRC representatives. 
A significant number of those who disappeared were young, married men 
who were the primary income earners for their families. At year's end, 
the Government had not prosecuted any government officials or Maoists 
for involvement in disappearances, nor had it released any information 
about the whereabouts of the 614 persons the NHRC identified as 
disappeared with state involvement.
    The Government did not respond to a 2006 OHCHR report on 49 
disappeared persons who had been arrested and detained at the 
Maharajgunj barracks in Kathmandu in 2003 on suspicion of being linked 
to the Maoists, nor did it respond to the 2008 OHCHR report on the 
Bardiya District, where at least 170 persons disappeared between 2001 
and 2004. Human rights organizations repeatedly called on the 
Government to investigate the human rights violations at Maharajgunj 
barracks, including the responsibility of those within the chain of 
command. On January 24, the Supreme Court vacated a stay order issued 
following a legal challenge to the December 2009 promotion of Major 
General Toran Bahadur Singh, who was the commander of the 10th Brigade 
and had chain of command responsibility for the Maharajgunj barracks, 
to the rank of lieutenant general and second in command of the NA.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the interim constitution prohibits torture, the 
law does not clearly criminalize torture, and no one has been 
prosecuted for torture. Some police tortured and otherwise abused 
citizens. The Torture Compensation Act (TCA) provides for compensation 
to victims of torture; the victim must file a complaint and pursue the 
case through the courts. During the year Advocacy Forum-Nepal (AF) 
filed 13 new cases under the TCA. At year's end, the cases were pending 
in the district court. At year's end, of the 30 TCA cases filed since 
2009, two cases had been withdrawn due to out of court settlement, five 
cases had been dismissed because the victim failed to appear before the 
court within the time permitted, and the remaining cases were still 
pending before the courts.
    During the period between January and July 31, AF documented 497 
cases of torture by both state and nonstate actors. AF attributed 
responsibility for more than 387 cases to the NP, 25 cases to the NA, 
and more than 14 cases to the APF. AF attributed responsibility for 36 
cases to the Maoists and one case to the YCL. The Government failed to 
conduct thorough and independent investigations of reports of security 
force or Maoist/YCL brutality and generally did not take significant 
disciplinary action against those involved.
    A credible nongovernmental organization (NGO) reported that, of the 
4,198 detainees interviewed between January and December in 57 
detention centers, 811 claimed that they had been tortured. Some 
detainees were afraid to bring cases against the police due to fear of 
reprisal. The 15.8 percent of detainees who claimed that they had been 
tortured during the period from June to December represented an 
increase of 6.7 percent compared with the same period in 2009. The data 
showed that those held under certain charges, such as attempted rape, 
kidnapping, possession of arms and ammunitions, and theft, had a higher 
chance of being mistreated.
    Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Center (CWIN), a credible local 
child rights NGO, reported that between January and March, 34 of 255 
juveniles interviewed claimed that they were subjected to torture and 
ill-treatment by law enforcement personnel. In the past, such abuses 
have included kicking, punching, inserting metal objects under 
toenails, and beating with bamboo sticks and plastic pipes. Police 
harshly mistreated children more frequently than adults. Among the 
juveniles interviewed, 138 were between 10 and 16 years of age and one 
juvenile was under age 10.
    There were two cases of persons who died in police custody, 
reportedly after torture or other abuse (see section 1.a.).
    According to reliable eyewitnesses, during a February 9 meeting 
between the deputy superintendant of police in Kavre Police Station, 
Dhulikhel District, and the father of a crime victim, the deputy 
superintendant offered to bring the 17-year-old criminal suspect to the 
police station to ``torture him'' for three days. When asked to clarify 
what he meant, the official reiterated that he had indeed offered to 
``torture'' the suspect.
    In March police beat journalists (see section 2.a.) and injured 
protesters (see section 2.b.).
    On December 9, a hearing in Morang District Court was held on the 
January 2009 case where uniformed police arrested and tortured Narayan 
Thapa. A decision was expected after the results of a medical report 
are submitted to the court.
    In July 2009 the OHCHR investigated allegations of torture and ill-
treatment of Sushan Limbu and Bhakta Rai in the Urlabari DPO (District 
Police Office) in Morang. The OHCHR reported that one of the detainees 
had undergone surgery for injuries he suffered while in detention. The 
NP Human Rights Directorate investigated and, on August 20, found four 
police personnel guilty of committing abuses: Inspector Chakra Bahadur 
Basnet, Head Constable Netra Bahadur Magar, and police officers Bhesh 
Raj Acharya and Seman Khatri. On August 24, NP headquarters issued a 
formal warning to the four and closed the case. After the human rights 
directorate of the NP completed its investigation, Basnet returned to 
the Urlabari DPO and resumed work despite the serious allegations 
against him. According to sources, Limbu did not file a case under the 
torture law because police pressured him and offered him money not to. 
Limbu never received any money and was later arrested for violating a 
law relating to arms and ammunition.
    In 2009 APF personnel allegedly tortured 10 Bhutanese refugees at 
the APF camp in Beldangi-2 refugee camp and at the Pathibara Gan APF 
camp in Padajungi, Jhapa District; 13 persons in Dhanusha District; and 
nine persons in Udayapur District. According to a reliable NGO, no 
cases were filed under the TCA related to these cases.
    On February 12, police in Panchthar District arrested four men on 
suspicion of theft. Police tortured the men, killing two of them (see 
section 1.a.), while a third was physically abused until he confessed 
to the crime. Police also reportedly allowed villagers to abuse the 
men. The family of the deceased filed FIRs; however, the FIRs do not 
name all of the alleged perpetrators, reportedly due to political 
pressure. At year's end, the cases had not gone to trial, and a 
reliable human rights NGO reported that the family of the victims had 
been pressured by police not to proceed further with the cases.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
extremely poor and did not meet international standards, while 
conditions at detention centers were worse. The Government generally 
allowed visits by independent human rights observers.
    According to the Department of Prison Management, as of December 
15, 10,739 prisoners--10,002 men, 737 women, 76 dependent children of 
imprisoned parents, and 648 foreign nationals--remained in custody. 
Although there generally were separate facilities for men and women, in 
some overcrowded prisons men and women were in the same prison but in 
segregated cells. In January the OHCHR observed that the detention cell 
in the Kaski District Police Office held almost a hundred detainees 
while the capacity was estimated at 30. Sanitation provisions were 
inadequate and medical care was poor for prisoners with serious 
conditions.
    Due to a lack of adequate juvenile detention facilities, children 
occasionally were incarcerated with adults or were allowed to remain in 
jails with their incarcerated parents.
    There is only one functional government-run juvenile reform home, 
Sano Thimi in Bhaktapur. According to the Department of Jail 
Management, pretrial juvenile detainees are sent to the sole juvenile 
correction home and are not kept with convicted prisoners. Adult 
pretrial detainees were kept with convicted prisoners due to inadequate 
pretrial detention space.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. There were also procedures in place for 
prisoners to submit complaints, although the authorities were quicker 
to respond to allegations when NGOs or international organizations were 
aware of the complaints.
    The Government generally permitted the NHRC, ICRC, and OHCHR to 
make unannounced visits to prisons and detainees in army and police 
custody. Although the NHRC is authorized to request government action, 
the Government often denied the NHRC the right to intervene.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but security forces arbitrarily arrested persons 
during the year. Police routinely abused their 48-hour detention 
authority by holding persons unlawfully (i.e., without proper access to 
counsel, food, and medicine, or in adequate facilities), often at the 
behest of the chief district officer (CDO) or assistant CDO. It was not 
unusual for CDOs to direct police to arrest individuals for minor, 
petty infractions (e.g., unpaid taxes), and many of those orders (which 
were frequently verbal) were undocumented and appeared politically 
motivated.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The NP is responsible 
for enforcing law and order across the country, and the APF provides 
back-up support. Police did not respond to most incidents of violence, 
particularly events involving Maoists and armed groups in the Terai. 
There were multiple incidents in which police detained persons for 
illegal acts, but political leaders sometimes pressured the NP to 
release detainees.
    The NP, APF, and NA have human rights cells to investigate cases of 
abuse, although they tend to limit their activities to training and 
capacity building rather than investigating cases; corruption and 
impunity remained problems. The NP is generally unarmed and has the 
role of preventing and investigating nonterrorist criminal behavior.
    At the district level, the NP often operated without significant 
guidance from superiors, allowing considerable discretion in the 
enforcement of laws. There continued to be many reports of police abuse 
and bribery. The NP, APF, and NA have mechanisms for investigating 
abuses by security forces; however, the investigations are internal and 
not fully transparent.

    Arrest Procedure and Treatment While in Detention--The law 
stipulates that, except in cases involving suspected security and 
narcotics violations, authorities must obtain a warrant for arrest and 
arraign or release a suspect within 24 hours of arrest. There were 
still instances in which detainees were kept in illegal detention for 
several days after their arrest.
    If the court upholds a detention, the law authorizes police to hold 
the suspect for up to 25 days to complete an investigation, with a 
possible extension of seven days, although security forces occasionally 
held prisoners for longer periods. 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. The interim constitution provides for 
access to a state-appointed lawyer or one of the detainee's choice even 
if charges have not been filed; however, few detainees could afford 
their own lawyer.
    Detainees have the legal right to receive visits by family members. 
In practice, however, family access to prisoners varied from prison to 
prison. 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. Time 
served is credited to a prisoner's sentence.
    Under the Public Security Act (PSA), security forces may detain 
persons who allegedly threaten 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 as long as 12 months without charging them 
with a crime, as long as the detention complies with PSA procedural 
requirements. The court does not have any substantive legal role in 
preventative detentions under the PSA.
    Other laws, including the Public Offenses Act, permit detention 
without charge for as long as 25 days. This act 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 frequently arrested citizens under this act 
and detained them for short periods without charge.
    According to AF, in some cases detainees were brought before 
judicial authorities well after the legally mandated 24-hour limit, 
allegedly to allow injuries from mistreatment by police to heal.
    NGOs expressed concern about police use of private houses to hold 
detainees after arrest.

    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 showed 
independence and impartiality in many cases, although they remained 
susceptible to political pressures.
    The judicial system consists of three levels: district courts, 
appellate courts, and the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Council, 
chaired by the prime minister, nominates the chief justice of the 
Supreme Court. After an advisory hearing before the Parliamentary 
Special Hearing Committee, the president may then appoint the new chief 
justice. After advisory hearings the chief justice, on recommendation 
of the Judicial Council, appoints other Supreme Court justices. The 
council also is responsible for the assignment of judges, disciplinary 
action, and other administrative matters. A special court has 
jurisdiction over corruption, but other cases are heard by the district 
court.
    Delays in the administration of justice were a severe problem. As 
of December 15, the Supreme Court reported a backlog of 10,023 cases. 
There was no indication that this backlog lessened during the year.

    Trial Procedures.--Although 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 applied equally, except in a few 
security and customs cases. Defendants enjoy the presumption of 
innocence except in some cases, like human trafficking and drug 
trafficking, where the burden of proof is on the defendant. 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. Persons who are unaware of their rights may 
be deprived of legal representation. Defense lawyers may cross examine 
accusers. By law they are entitled to have access to government-held 
evidence, but it was very difficult to obtain this access.
    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. The NA has argued that military personnel are 
immune from prosecution in civilian courts for conflict-era violations, 
an interpretation of law that is not shared by the human rights 
community and inconsistent with Supreme Court decisions. Military 
courts cannot try civilians for crimes, even if the crimes involve the 
military services; civilian courts handle these cases.
    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.
    Although the Maoists announced the dissolution of their parallel 
government structures and courts in 2007, according to police and NGO 
reporting, they continued to function in some districts, particularly 
in rural areas. In areas where they no longer functioned, the Maoists 
often expected previous decisions and sentences to be carried out. 
These courts had no due process and handled both criminal and civil 
cases. According to the OHCHR, these courts did not provide minimum 
guarantees of due process and fair trials.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--During the year there were 
some allegations of government abuses of civil procedures, including 
bribery and intimidation by political leaders.

    Property Restitution--The Maoists returned some previously seized 
property as the CPA requires but kept other illegally seized lands and 
properties in their possession; they also seized additional properties.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law allows police forces to conduct searches and 
seizures without a warrant if there is probable cause that a crime has 
been committed. In that case, a search may be conducted as long as two 
or more persons of ``good character'' are present. If an officer has 
reasonable cause to believe that a suspect may have material evidence 
present, then the officer must submit a written request to another 
police office, and there must be another official present who is at 
least at the rank of assistant subinspector when searching a person or 
place.
    Security personnel frequently conducted vehicle and body searches 
at roadblocks in many areas of the country.
    On February 25, the Supreme Court ordered the Government and 
private sector to end discriminatory maternity leave restrictions 
against mothers on the basis of number of children.
    There were no reports of the Government forcing civilians to 
resettle. Some persons who had resettled to escape Maoist extortion, 
recruitment, or retaliation could not return home.
    The YCL occasionally conducted illegal forced searches of 
businesses, civilian homes, and property. On January 22, YCL members 
raided a hotel in Chitwan and turned over to police 13 couples they 
believed to be involved in ``illicit'' activities there. The police 
later released the couples, and the CDO called the YCL's actions 
``condemnable.''

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts--
There was continuing conflict in the Terai. Numerous armed groups, many 
ethnically based, clashed with each other and with the local 
population. Police were unable fully to promote law and order. Members 
of the Maoists, the Maoist-affiliated YCL, and other ethnically based 
splinter groups in the Terai frequently committed acts of violence, 
extortion, and intimidation throughout the year.
    On February 6, an IED exploded in front of the district court in 
Janakpur, Dhanusha District, and on February 7, two IEDs exploded in 
Birgunj, Parsa District. Another IED, discovered near a temple in 
Janakpur, was defused by a bomb disposal team from the NA. On March 28, 
an IED exploded at the UCPN-M party office in Nepalgunj, Banke 
District, injuring three persons, including a child.
    According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian 
Affairs (OCHA), VDC secretaries from various parts of the country 
resigned, citing insecurity after receiving threats from the 
underground group SJMM. The SJMM demanded the resignation of the 
secretaries, stating that it would establish a parallel administration 
in villages. Since January, 1,239 VDC secretaries in 23 districts 
received threats; as a result, 514 VDC secretaries in 11 districts 
reportedly resigned. Local administration officials stated that 
secretaries would be requested to withdraw their resignation after 
consultations with political parties and others concerned.

    Killings.--On June 26, Kashinath Tiwari, the chairman of Hindu Yuva 
Sangh, was killed in Birgunj. A complaint was lodged against seven 
UCPN-M activists. However, the Maoists in the district denied their 
involvement in the incident.
    On July 9, a group of unidentified persons killed Chhabi Lal Karki, 
district leader of the UML from Okhaldhunga. The UML accused the 
Maoists of the killing. On August 20, a joint report prepared by 
Campaign for Human Rights and Social Transformation Nepal and Joint 
Forum for Human Rights concluded the murder was motivated by politics 
and family rivalries.
    There were no developments in the 2007 killing of Ram Babu Sharma 
Neupane by cadres of the Janatantrik Terai Mukti Morcha-Goit faction.

    Child Soldiers.--The 2006 Agreement on the Monitoring of the 
Management of Arms and Armies forbids the use of children younger than 
18 as soldiers in the armies of either side. In addition the Maoists 
agreed to release Maoist army personnel who were found to be child 
soldiers during the verification process. On January 7, the Maoist army 
started the official discharge of the 2,973 child soldiers that were in 
the Maoist army cantonments. The discharge process was completed on 
February 9. During the year the OHCHR and UN Children's Fund monitored 
the former child soldiers to ensure that Maoist militant groups did not 
recruit them again or attempt to recruit new child soldiers.

    Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--Maoists and Maoist-affiliated 
organizations continued to commit abuses during the year in 
contravention of the CPA. Maoists regularly extorted money from 
businesses, workers, private citizens, and NGOs. When individuals or 
companies refused or were unable to pay, Maoists retaliated violently 
or threatened violence.
    Maoists attacked political opponents on several occasions. On May 
6, according to the OHCHR, YCL members allegedly attacked the president 
of the Nepal Teachers' Union and member of political party the Nepali 
Congress (NC), Rup Narayan Jabegu, in Panchthar District. While he took 
refuge in the district headquarters, the armed group reportedly 
vandalized his house, assaulted him with a knife, and shot at him. The 
group left when villagers gathered to protest. On May 7, approximately 
100 to 150 NC members surrounded the houses of the YCL cadres who were 
allegedly involved and vandalized one of the houses.
    There were no developments in the May 2009 case in which a group of 
27 YCL cadres allegedly attacked the NC's Kalikot district president, 
Mukti Prasad Neupane.
    In preparation for its May protests, the UCPN-M increased its 
collection of funds from local residents and provided combat training 
to its cadres in Dang and Baglung districts. YCL members in Dang 
District trained using lathis (sticks) and khukuris (knives). The OHCHR 
received information that in several instances UCPN-M cadres forced 
people to make monetary contributions before, during, and after the 
nationwide May protests. Throughout the protest there were reports that 
Maoists vandalized and destroyed property, including shops and other 
businesses, that did not comply with Maoist orders to remain closed. 
The threat of violence by protesters armed with sticks intimidated many 
to make ``donations.'' On May 10 and 12, UCPN-M cadres in Megu and 
Achham districts forced local teachers and businessmen to pay money to 
the party, while in Surkhet District, Maoists solicited ``support'' 
from VDC secretaries and government staff.

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's failure to 
effectively enforce the law undermined such freedoms. In one case, 
police beat journalists.
    Citizens often voice critical opinions in the media via letters to 
the editor and by posting comments on Web sites. Generally, citizens 
felt they could voice their opinions freely. The Home Ministry's 
efforts to block Internet sites considered obscene were met with mixed 
reactions from the public and raised concerns about freedom of 
expression among some members of the press and free speech advocates 
(see Internet Freedom).
    On March 21, in the southern Nepali town of Janakpur, police beat 
13 journalists reporting on demonstrations by local residents demanding 
action against a police officer for raping a newlywed bride (see 
section 6, women). Three journalists were seriously injured and had to 
be brought to Kathmandu for treatment. The police hit the journalists 
with the butt of their guns and kicked them, according to the 
Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ). The FNJ organized rallies in 
Janakpur and Kathmandu on March 22 and 23 to protest the police action.
    The interim constitution protects media licenses from revocation 
based on the content of what is printed or broadcast. The Government 
owned two television stations, Nepal TV and Nepal TV Metro, and 
controlled one radio station that broadcast both AM and FM signals. 
Radio remained the primary source of information, with more than 150 
independent radio stations reaching more than 90 percent of the 
population.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views. Hundreds of independent vernacular and English-language 
newspapers were available, representing various political viewpoints.
    Foreign publications were widely available, and none were banned or 
censored during the year. Foreign print media were present, and 
reporting on the country was allowed without restrictions.
    Armed groups, criminals, and political parties deliberately 
targeted media owners and journalists throughout the country, killing 
three media owners and attacking or threatening more than 50 others. 
Three media owners were killed within a period of six months, from 
February to July. Armed groups and persons claiming to be members of 
political parties attacked journalists and printing presses. There were 
frequent reports that Maoist protesters threatened and attacked 
journalists during the nationwide protests in May. The Government 
promised action against those targeting journalists; however, it failed 
to identify and punish the perpetrators. This impunity encouraged 
others to resort to threats of violence to silence critics in the 
media.
    On February 7, unknown gunmen shot and killed Jamin Shah, the 
chairman of a popular news and current affairs channel and the largest 
cable operator in the country, Space Time Network.
    On March 1, Arun Singhaniya, the chairperson of Janakpur Today 
Publications, was shot and killed in Janakpur, Dhanusha District. Two 
armed groups--the Terai Janatantrik Party (Madesh) and the Janatantrik 
Terai Mukti Morcha--claimed responsibility for the killing. A FIR was 
registered by the police, and the case remained under investigation at 
year's end.
    Excessive force was often used against journalists. For example, on 
May 18, employees of Unity Life International (ULI), a large-scale, 
illegal business network, beat up reporters of Kantipur Television, 
Rajanish Bhandari, and Bikash Adhikary as they were reporting the 
police crackdown on the offices of ULI. Police arrested three persons 
in connection with the assault, but the case had not been prosecuted as 
of year's end.
    On June 30, a journalist was abducted by an unidentified group in 
Pyuthan District, reportedly for criticizing a political party's 
activities. He was released on July 1, but no arrests were made in the 
case.
    On July 22, an unidentified group of five men in the midwestern 
Dang District killed the chairperson of Tulsipur Radio, Devi Prasad 
Dhital (also known as Hemraj). The authorities were not able to 
identify or arrest the perpetrators.
    On July 26, in Bhaktapur, former king Gyanendra Shah's security 
personnel physically assaulted journalists and destroyed camera 
equipment after they asked the former king political questions.
    The Maoists also influenced media outlets through their powerful 
trade unions. In the Terai and the eastern hills, armed groups coerced 
journalists, resulting in self-censorship and fear for personal safety. 
Armed groups and political parties burned copies of newspapers that 
they found objectionable.
    Numerous armed groups in Terai and three armed ethnic groups in the 
hills--the Kirati Janawadi Workers' Party, the Unified Limbuwan State 
Council, and Khambuwan--extorted money from journalists, according to 
the FNJ, although victims did not report these cases due to concerns 
for their personal safety.
    On January 22, in Kathmandu, a group of masked men entered the 
apartment of Yashoda Timsina, a journalist who reportedly was 
investigating the killing of Uma Singh. When they determined Timsina 
was not at home, they threatened her housekeeper. Timsina decided not 
to pursue this matter further.
    On April 9, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum cadres torched copies of 
Kantipur, Nagarik, and Naya Patrika dailies in the southern Nepali town 
of Birgunj. They accused the newspapers of not properly highlighting 
their two-day Terai strike.
    On May 9, Maoists attacked photojournalist Prabin Maharjan in 
Kathmandu and harassed several media representatives who were covering 
a Maoist protest program in front of Singha Durbar, the Government 
complex where the prime minister's office and most ministries are 
located. Maharjan received 13 stitches for skull injuries. Similarly, 
Maoist cadres harassed Shruti Niroula, a reporter for Sagarmatha Radio, 
for an hour. Maoists also attacked Rabindra Shrestha, a reporter for 
Avenues Television, hitting him with metal rods and sticks, and 
destroyed his camera.
    On May 28, UCPN-M cadres torched copies of Nagarik and Republica, 
reportedly over prior unfavorable reporting. Maoist cadres later called 
local journalists to take responsibility for the torching. On May 29, 
Maoists cadres in the southern Terai district of Chitwan set fire to a 
van along with 9,500 copies of the same two dailies, allegedly over the 
same matter.
    There were no further developments in the January 2009 killing of 
Uma Singh, a female journalist who reported on women's rights and 
against the caste system for Janakpur Today Radio, an FM radio station. 
The Government also failed to produce any significant leads in two 
other 2009 attacks against female journalists Manika Jha and Tika 
Bista.
    The country limited freedom of expression for the Tibetan 
community.
    On February 14, police seized Tibetan flags from Tibetans and did 
not allow them to wear T-shirts displaying the flags during a 
candlelight program in Kathmandu, according to reports received by the 
OHCHR.

    Internet Freedom.--There were some government restrictions on 
access to the Internet but no reports that the Government monitored e-
mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail, 
although the Home Ministry's threat to use the Electronic Transmission 
Act to prosecute violators of its antiobscenity decrees further raised 
concerns about Internet censorship. As of June approximately 625,800, 
or 2.2 percent of the population, used the Internet.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
    The country's media continued to report instances of abduction, 
extortion, and intimidation of school officials by armed groups.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and association; however, the Government 
sometimes restricted freedom of assembly.

    Freedom of Assembly--The law provides for freedom of assembly, and 
it was generally respected for citizens and legal residents of the 
country, despite some restrictions. The law authorizes CDOs to impose 
curfews if there is a possibility that demonstrations or riots may 
disturb the peace.
    According to the OHCHR, the NP and APF occasionally responded to 
provocations and protests with excessive and lethal force. For example, 
on March 31, according to the OHCHR, police injured nine members of 
Women Security Pressure Group (WSPG) during a clash in Chitwan District 
when the group tried to organize a protest on the highway. Police 
arrested 10 WSPG members but released them without charges the same 
evening.
    In May the Maoist party held a nearly week-long nationwide strike 
during which Maoist protesters blocked roads, limited vehicular 
movement, and forced businesses to remain closed during much of the 
day. Although the Government allowed the protests, there were some 
confrontations between business owners, private citizens, and 
protesters. Security forces largely stayed away from the protesters.
    The country limited freedom of assembly for the Tibetan community.
    On March 9 and 10, the NP and APF arrested 28 Tibetans who staged 
protests to mark the 51st anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against 
the Chinese in Tibet. On July 6, police set up checkpoints at different 
locations, stopping members of the Tibetan community and other vehicles 
heading toward the birthday celebrations of the Dalai Lama in 
Kathmandu. More than 100 persons reportedly were detained at the 
Lalitpur District Police Office. On October 3, the Government seized 
ballot boxes from at least three locations in Kathmandu during an 
election held by the Central Tibet Administration; at year's end, the 
Government continued to hold the boxes.

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

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement except for most refugees, whose freedom of movement within the 
country is legally limited. Constraints on refugee movements were 
enforced unevenly and more often against the Tibetan than the Bhutanese 
refugee population. The Government did not always cooperate with the 
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other 
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to 
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, stateless 
persons, and other persons of concern. In contrast to 2009, the 
Government detained some newly arrived Tibetans, rather than releasing 
them to the UNHCR.
    Numerous political groups restricted freedom of movement within the 
country, including forcing transportation strikes, known locally as 
``bandhs,'' to bring attention to political issues. Ethnic groups in 
the Terai called most bandhs.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it 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 voluntary return in safety and dignity of 
IDPs to their homes following the 10-year civil war, in practice the 
agreement was not implemented. Several UN agencies, including the 
UNHCR, the OHCHR, and the UN Development Program, continued working 
with the Government to develop an IDP policy consistent with 
international principles. Civil society and international organizations 
estimated there were as many as 70,000 IDPs in the country. The 
Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction estimated that 78,689 people were 
displaced from 1996 to 2006. Unrest in the Terai region led to more 
displacement during the year.
    The Government allowed several international organizations, such as 
the Norwegian Refugee Council, the ICRC, Caritas, International Relief 
and Development, and Action Aid Nepal to initiate programs to assist 
IDPs. Middle- and lower-caste IDPs faced severe problems in obtaining 
adequate shelter and food. According to UN agencies and international 
NGOs, the main obstacles preventing most IDPs from returning to their 
homes continued to be fear of Maoist reprisal, local Maoist commanders' 
noncompliance, and conflict with those occupying the houses and lands 
of the IDPs. According to the Nepal IDP Working Group, most of the IDPs 
in the country were unwilling to return to their homes, due not only to 
a lack of security but also to economic concerns, primarily involving 
property, housing, and employment opportunities.
    Children of people who were killed or displaced during the conflict 
were often unable to access government benefits because they were 
unable to register with local authorities because of fear of 
retribution by Maoists or inability to confirm the death of a family 
member who disappeared during the conflict. According to Caritas, the 
Government made little effort to aid or monitor the movement of 
postconflict IDPs.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or the 1967 Protocol 
relating to the Status of Refugees, and federal laws do not provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status. The Government has in place 
ad hoc administrative directives that provide some protection for 
Bhutanese and Tibetan refugees.
    The Government officially restricted freedom of movement and work 
for the approximately 75,000 Bhutanese refugees living in the country 
during the year, but those restrictions were largely unenforced for 
this population. In 2007 the Government agreed to permit third-country 
resettlement for Bhutanese refugees. Since resettlement began, more 
than 40,000 Bhutanese refugees have been resettled.
    Tibetans who arrived in the country after 1989 are not recognized 
as refugees. Consequently, most Tibetans who arrived since then have 
transited to India, although an unknown number of such Tibetans 
remained in Nepal or returned to the country after visiting India. 
After the People's Republic of China heightened security along its 
border and increased restrictions on internal freedom of movement in 
2008, the number of Tibetans who transited the country dropped 
significantly. On May 11, the Government notified the UNHCR that it 
would refuse to issue exit permits to new arrivals until the Department 
of Immigration conducted a full investigation into individual cases. 
Following negotiations with the UNHCR, the Government resumed issuing 
exit permits.
    There continued to be reports of harassment by Chinese officials 
within Nepal's borders, including a credible report that Chinese police 
crossed the border into Nepal on August 3 or 4 and arrested three 
Tibetan persons. There were instances in which local police assisted 
and protected Tibetans who were found along the border region; however, 
there were other reports of newly arrived Tibetans who were pushed back 
to the border and/or were detained and charged for illegal entry into 
Nepal. In early June, there was an incident in which seven Tibetans, 
including four minors, hid in the woods to evade Chinese police 
searching for them inside Nepal.
    In practice the Government did not provide full protection against 
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. In June there was a confirmed forcible return of three 
Tibetans, the first since 2003. According to reports received by the 
UNHCR, two of the three Tibetans forcibly returned to China are now in 
prison.
    Many of the Tibetans who live in the country did not have legal 
resident status. Many who arrived after 1990, and their Nepal-born 
children, were without legal status and had no documentation. Even 
those with acknowledged refugee status had no legal rights beyond the 
ability to remain in the country, and the Nepal-born children of 
Tibetans with legal status often lacked documentation. Tibetan refugees 
had no entitlement to obtain access to higher education, business 
ownership or licenses, or legal transactions, including documentation 
of births, marriages, and deaths, although bribery often made these 
possible.
    There were numerous reports that police and other local officials 
harassed Tibetans engaged in daily activities. Police reportedly 
conducted random checks of identity documents of Tibetans, including 
monks. These checks sometimes included threats of deportation, followed 
by requests for bribes. On February 17, 13 Tibetan youths were arrested 
in Thamel while they were celebrating the Lhosar festival. In April 
nine Tibetans were charged and sentenced to long-term detention for 
entering the country illegally. On October 29, a local NGO reported 
that members of the Tibetan community were prevented from participating 
in a religious celebration held at Namgyal Middle School in Swoyambhu. 
Five Tibetans were arrested on November 11 in Boudha. Police claimed 
the arrests were prompted by reports that the Tibetans were planning to 
protest outside the Chinese Embassy.
    The country also hosted approximately 250 refugees from other 
countries, including Somalia, Burma, and Pakistan. The Government 
continued to deny these groups recognition as refugees and required 
prohibitive fines to obtain permission to exit. However, the Government 
permitted the waiver of the fines in a few instances in which there 
were compelling humanitarian concerns. The Government also allowed the 
UNHCR to provide some services for these refugees. These refugees did 
not have legal access to education or the right to work.

    Stateless Persons--In 1995 the Government-established Dhanapati 
Commission estimated that 3.4 million individuals in the country were 
de facto stateless. Although the Government acknowledged that these 
individuals were Nepalis, they did not hold the citizenship certificate 
(issued to citizens at the age of 16 if born to a Nepali parent) needed 
to obtain many rights of citizenship (see section 6, women and 
children). Although the 2006 Citizenship Act allowed more than 2.6 
million persons to receive certificates, NGOs estimated that 
approximately 800,000 de facto stateless persons remained in the 
country. There was no further progress during the year on this issue.
    Nepal employs discriminatory gender laws that prevent women married 
to foreign men from transmitting citizenship to their spouse. According 
to the law, citizenship is conferred to children if either the mother 
or father is a citizen. Despite the law, in practice local officials 
have generally refused to issue citizenship documents to children on 
the basis of their mother's citizenship certificate alone. The issue of 
citizenship rights was under review in the Constituent Assembly during 
the year.
    Stateless persons did not experience violence; however, they did 
experience discrimination in employment, education, housing, health 
services, marriage, birth registration, access to courts/judicial 
procedures, and land or property ownership.

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. Domestic and international observers generally 
characterized the 2008 election results as credible, although there 
were reports of political violence, intimidation, and voting 
irregularities.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2008 citizens elected 
members for the Constituent Assembly (CA) to serve as both a 
legislature and constitution drafting body. Domestic and international 
observers found the election results credible, although there were 
reports of political violence, intimidation, and voting irregularities. 
The most recent local elections, held in 2006, were not considered free 
and fair.
    The CA consists of 601 members, with 240 elected by a first-past-
the-post system; 335 by proportional representation; quotas for Dalits, 
oppressed caste/indigenous ethnic groups, Madhesis, women, and other 
underrepresented groups; and 26 nominated by the cabinet. CA members 
classified as oppressed or members of minority ethnic groups 
constituted 35 percent of the total, and 33 percent were women. The 
president and vice president belong to the historically disadvantaged 
Madhesi ethnic community.
    Political parties generally operated without restriction or outside 
interference, although there were some allegations that activists from 
the UCPN-M do not allow other political parties to organize and 
campaign freely in certain districts.
    There are no specific laws that restrict women, indigenous people, 
or minorities from voting or participating in government or in 
political parties, but tradition limited the roles of women and some 
castes and ethnicities in the political process. Members of certain 
castes traditionally held more power than others. There are 195 women 
out of a total of 596 currently serving as members of the CA. Of the 
44-member cabinet, seven members were from ethnic minority communities, 
five were women, and four were Dalits. Most of the larger political 
parties had associated youth wings, trade unions, and social 
organizations.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively. The 
Commission for the Investigation of the Abuse of Authority (CIAA), 
mandated to investigate official acts of corruption, claimed a 75 
percent success rate concerning corruption cases it filed, but some 
cases involving politicians were not filed or were defeated in court. 
Most civil society organizations believed the CIAA was not an effective 
commission. Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws; 
however, according to the National Vigilance Center (NVC), 77 CA 
members and 34,000 civil servants have not submitted their property 
details as required by law. The law requires civil servants to submit 
their property details within 60 days of the end of each fiscal year. 
Those who do not may face a fine of up to 5,000 rupees ($69).
    There were numerous reports of corruption by ministers and CA 
members. For example, on April 21, the CIAA directed the Nepal 
Investment Bank to freeze the account of the financial relief fund 
being operated by the minister of women, children, and social welfare, 
Sarvadev Ojha, after suspecting malfeasance. According to the CIAA, 
Ojha had been depositing amounts received from foreign donors and also 
using the account according to his discretion without approval from the 
ministry or the CA. The CIAA asked Ojha to submit an explanation; as of 
year's end, there was no response. There were reports that the CIAA 
secretary faced political pressure not to prosecute ministers.
    On August 31, the CIAA arrested CA member Dol Bahadur Karki and his 
accomplice, Brahmananda Udaseen, after Karki allegedly received a 
100,000 rupee ($1,384) bribe to help a man get appointed to the NP. A 
special court remanded Karki to temporary custody to investigate the 
charges, and a court hearing was set for January 2011.
    On July 15, the Supreme Court stayed the Government's attempt to 
withdraw pending criminal cases due to the Government's failure to 
provide sufficient reason to justify the withdrawals. Almost two dozen 
accused persons were affected by the decision. All the cases were 
forwarded to the district attorneys' offices for evaluation of the 
individual cases' merits and were pending at year's end.
    In December the UN expressed concern about the effectiveness of the 
NP unit in Darfur, since the unit was unable to use its armored 
personnel carriers (APCs). A Parliamentary Investigation Committee 
report stated that a lack of transparency, including possible 
embezzlement, during the procurement process resulted in the 
procurement of nonfunctional APCs.
    Corruption and impunity remained problems within the NP. According 
to international observers, there was a severe shortage of senior-level 
officers. At the district level, this shortage resulted in untrained 
constables making policies and decisions outside of their authority and 
without supervision, creating space for bribery, corruption, 
misinterpretation, and abuse of authority.
    In 2007 the interim parliament passed the Right to Information Law, 
which mandated that public organizations provide citizens with 
information as quickly as possible and respond within 15 days. In 
practice the Government generally met this requirement. If authorities 
deny individuals access to information, officials must provide a valid 
explanation. The law provides five exemptions for withholding 
information: to facilitate the investigation and filing of criminal 
cases, to protect the economic and commercial interests of the country, 
to preserve banking and commercial secrecy, to prevent disruption of 
communal harmony, or to prevent disruption to personal life or 
security.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were somewhat cooperative and responsive to their views.
    Many independent domestic human rights NGOs operated in the 
country. 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, and ethnic minorities.
    According to OCHA, there were occasional credible claims that 
Maoists interfered with the operations of international NGOs.
    On June 26, Agni Sapkota, a senior Maoist leader, was denied 
participation in a leadership training program due to serious and 
specific human rights allegations associated with his conduct during 
the insurgency. The UCPN-M party publicly castigated some lawyers and 
human rights defenders for their possible role in informing the 
decision to exclude Sapkota. Members of the Maoist party made threats 
against specific human rights defenders. On July 16, the OHCHR released 
a press statement that stressed the importance of respecting the 
professional freedoms of lawyers and human rights defenders.
    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 were not granted access to courts 
martial and military investigations.
    As set out in the 2006 CPA, the OHCHR continued its work with the 
Government to formulate and implement policies and programs for the 
promotion and protection of human rights. The OHCHR's mandate was 
extended until June 2011, although the Government required the OHCHR to 
close all its regional offices.
    During the year the OHCHR issued 28 press releases. The media 
covered all reports freely.
    The NHRC investigates past and current allegations of abuses. 
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 488 complaints of human 
rights violations from July 2009 to June 2010. The NHRC also 
investigated the illegal detention and arrest of acquitted persons and 
reported that it had open access to government detainees across the 
country.
    The NHRC stated that the Government had helped promote impunity in 
the nation by not implementing its recommendations. Of 386 
recommendations the NHRC made during the previous 10 years, the 
Government implemented 34 fully and 138 partially. The Government had 
not acted on 214 recommendations at year's end.

Section 6. 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 rigid caste system continued to operate throughout the country in 
many areas of religious, professional, and daily life. Societal 
discrimination against lower castes, women, and persons with 
disabilities remained common, especially in rural areas.

    Women.--Under the civil code, sentencing provisions for rape vary 
between five and 12 years, depending on the female victim's age. The 
sentencing provisions also mandate five years' additional imprisonment 
in the case of gang rape or rape of pregnant women or women with 
disabilities. The victim's compensation depends on the degree of mental 
and physical torture. Under the law, the definition of rape includes 
marital rape, and the husband can be jailed for three to six months. 
Most incidents of rape went unreported, although in those rape cases 
reported, the police and the courts were responsive. During fiscal year 
2009-10, 376 cases of rape and 101 cases of attempted rape were filed 
in the court, according to the Women's Police Cell, a special unit of 
the NP that investigates crimes against women.
    On March 20, a police subinspector allegedly raped an 18-year-old 
Indian woman in the railway police station in Janakpur, Dhanusha 
District. Large crowds clashed with police after hearing the news of 
the rape, and more than 280 persons were injured (see section 2.a.). 
The victim of the rape filed a FIR with the Dhanusha DPO, and the 
subinspector was initially suspended but was later cleared of the 
charges because the victim failed to appear before the court. According 
to the Women's Police Cell, the medical report did not provide any 
evidence in support of the case.
    On June 10, a group of five persons allegedly accosted a 52-year-
old woman outside the Vishwa Hindu Mahasangh (VHM) office in the 
capital, dragged her to the fourth floor of the office building, and 
raped her. Police arrested and planned to charge the 70-year-old 
caretaker of the VHM office and others involved with rape. Two men were 
jailed, and three others were released on bail. As of year's end, the 
case had not come to trial.
    In September 2009 police interrogated a 14-year-old rape victim in 
front of a large crowd outside the Sunsari Police Station in Dharan. 
One of the alleged rapists was a police officer who offered the family 
30,000 rupees ($415) to withdraw the case against him. According to 
district police, the case was dismissed.
    Domestic violence against women remained a serious problem; while 
few cases were reported, there was much anecdotal evidence that 
physical and verbal abuse was common. However, during the year the 
Government passed regulations to implement the Domestic Violence Act 
(2009) and in November endorsed a national action plan for the 
implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820, which 
address issues of women in conflict, peace, and security and gender-
based violence.
    Educational programs by NGOs for police, politicians, and the 
general public aimed to promote greater awareness of domestic violence. 
Police claimed to have women's cells in all of the country's 75 
districts, although this claim could not be confirmed. Female officers 
in the cells received special training in dealing with victims of 
domestic violence and trafficking. Police directives instruct all 
officers to treat domestic violence as a criminal offense, but the 
directives were difficult to enforce because of entrenched 
discriminatory attitudes among police. Even if police made arrests, 
often neither the victim nor the Government pursued prosecution. 
Shelters are provided in all districts, and usually not inside the 
police station. There are toll-free hotlines for various services.
    The law imposes a fine of 3,000 to 25,000 rupees ($41 to $346), six 
months' imprisonment, or both on persons who commit domestic violence. 
Repeat offenders receive twice the punishment. Any person holding a 
position of public responsibility is subject to 10 percent greater 
punishment than is a person who does not hold such a position. Anyone 
who does not follow a court order is subject to a fine of 2,000 to 
15,000 rupees ($28 to $208), four months' imprisonment, or both.
    A reliable study published in March found that suicide was the 
leading cause of death among women of reproductive age (between the 
ages of 15 to 49). Analysts suggested that family issues, including 
domestic mental and physical abuse, were key factors in the high 
suicide rate among women.
    Although the law prohibits polygamy, it persisted. Polygamists are 
subject to a two-month prison term and fine, but the second marriage is 
not invalidated. Violence surrounding polygamy remained a problem.
    The dowry tradition was strong in the Terai districts bordering 
India, and there were sporadic incidences of bride killing over dowry 
disputes. More often, husbands or in-laws seeking additional dowry 
physically abused wives or forced women to leave so the men could 
remarry.
    In April 2009 Bishnu Bhatta of Daiji Champapur was arrested for 
severely beating his daughter-in-law, Laxmi Devi Bhatta, for not 
providing sufficient dowry. As of year's end, there was no additional 
information available about the case.
    Traditional beliefs about witchcraft negatively affected elderly 
rural women and widows. Shamans or other local authority figures 
publicly beat and physically abused alleged witches as part of an 
exorcism ceremony. The media and NGOs reported numerous cases of this 
violence during the year. For example, on July 12, a couple was killed 
in Satbariya, Dang District, after a local faith healer branded them 
witches. Police arrested three persons, including the faith healers, in 
connection with the killing. Similar incidents occurred in other parts 
of the country. There was no government mechanism to prevent such 
abuses or to provide compensation to the abused.
    There were no significant developments in the March 2009 case in 
which residents of Pyutar village in Lalitpur District accused Kalli 
Biswokarma of practicing witchcraft, alleging that she cast evil spells 
on a teacher who had fallen ill. Villagers forcibly took Biswokarma 
from her home, physically abused her, and forced her to eat human feces 
until she confessed. Members from civil society organizations 
successfully rescued Biswokarma and her family from the village, 
although villagers protested and attempted to resist the rescue. 
Efforts by the chief district police officer and superintendent of 
police failed to result in any arrests by year's end; however, a 
working committee of civil society and human rights organizations was 
formed to help the victim. Maiti Nepal, an NGO that does anti-human 
trafficking work, provided shelter to the victim and her family who 
later returned to their village.
    There were no developments in the July 2009 case in which villagers 
in Tengar beat and forced Patambari Devi Das to eat human excrement 
because they believed her to be a witch. According to traditional 
beliefs, witches lose their power after this treatment.
    An estimated 7,500 women from the country were forced into 
commercial sexual exploitation in other countries and increasingly 
within the country.
    The law contains a provision against sexual harassment, the maximum 
penalty for which is a one-year prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 
rupees ($138). Government enforcement was weak. Sexual harassment was a 
problem, but lack of awareness as to what constitutes sexual harassment 
caused victims to not report most incidents.
    Couples and individuals generally may decide freely the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children and were not subject to 
discrimination, coercion, or violence regarding these choices. 
Contraception was available to both men and women, and 45 percent of 
married women used a modern contraceptive method. According to a 
reliable health survey published in March, 55 percent of married women 
had an unmet need for family planning. Forty-eight percent of mothers 
received antenatal care from a doctor, nurse, or midwife. Most births 
(73 percent) were at home, and approximately 70 percent of mothers 
received no postnatal care. According to a survey of eight districts 
from mid-2008 to mid-2009, the maternal mortality rate was 229 deaths 
per 100,000 live births.
    Uterine prolapse, which occurs when a woman's uterus falls into the 
vaginal canal, is thought to affect roughly 10 percent of all women of 
reproductive age. Studies by the Women's Reproductive Rights Program, a 
domestic women's advocacy group, suggest that the high prevalence of 
this problem is due to medical, social, and economic pressures that 
affect women in the country and amount to serious and systematic abuse, 
including poor birthing practices, early marriage, pressure to return 
to work soon after giving birth, domestic violence, and other 
traditional practices, including the practice of women ``portering'' 
bricks and stones in baskets on their backs. Many women with uterine 
prolapse were abandoned by their husbands or physically abused, 
especially among the Muslim community in Terai.
    Men and women generally were diagnosed and treated equally for 
sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. According to a 
2009 survey by the National Center for AIDS and STI Control, 63,528 
persons tested positive for HIV. The total included females in 
prostitution (605), ``low risk'' (nondrug user and nonsex worker) women 
(16,800), labor migrants (17,653), and ``low risk'' males (15,697).
    Although the law provides protections for women, including equal 
pay for equal work, the Government did not implement those provisions, 
even in many state industries.
    Women faced systemic 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 one's 
own name.
    According to the law, citizenship is automatically conferred 
through either Nepali parent (see section 6, children). In practice, 
however, government officials often refused to grant citizenship 
documents based on the mother's citizenship if a father's identity was 
unknown or when he was a foreign national.
    Women may register birth and death information. Women did not need 
permission from their husband or parents to get a passport. Unmarried, 
widowed, and divorced women were able to inherit parental property. 
Women did not need the permission of their husband, son, or parents if 
they wished to sell or hand over ownership of property.
    Despite the 2006 Gender Equality Act, discriminatory provisions 
remain in the law. According to INSEC, 62 laws have discriminatory 
provisions 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 a woman to get 
permission from the Government and her guardian before seeking work 
through a foreign employment agency. The law encourages bigamy by 
allowing men to remarry without divorcing the first wife if she becomes 
incapacitated or infertile.
    According to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination 
against Women, there are limitations to women's access to fixed 
property and credits.
    According to the Nepal Labor Force Survey 2008, the female literacy 
rate was 43 percent, compared with 71 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.--According to the 2006 Nepal Citizenship Act, citizenship 
is derived from one of the parents with Nepali nationality. Despite the 
Supreme Court's 2009 decision that the right to choose whether to seek 
citizenship through one's father or mother rests on the applicant, many 
were still denied citizenship due to lack of access to local 
authorities or lack of awareness of the law by applicants or government 
officials. This has led to problems in attaining citizenship and 
difficulty in school admissions. Children living without parents, such 
as street children whose parents' whereabouts are not known, faced many 
hurdles, although children in institutional care can attain citizenship 
with the guardianship of their respective institutions. Children found 
within the borders of the country without parental identity are 
considered citizens on the basis of lineage until the parents of the 
child are identified (see section 2.d., stateless persons.). According 
to a fiscal year 2009-10 economic survey by the Ministry of Finance, 
approximately 20 percent of births were registered.
    Although the law provides for the welfare and education of 
children, its implementation was uneven. Education was not compulsory. 
Government policy provided free primary education for all children 
between the ages of six and 12, although in a majority of cases 
students have some costs for examinations and they must buy uniforms 
themselves. Approximately 70 to 75 percent of boys who worked went to 
school, compared to 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. The Government reported that 91.9 percent of 
school-age children were attending public schools but that girls were 
the majority of those deprived of basic education. A reported 1,058 
legally registered madrassas functioned throughout the country.
    The Government provided basic health care free to children and 
adults, but government clinics were inaccessible for a majority of the 
population and often poorly equipped, with serious deficiencies in 
facilities and medical supplies. Although access to medical services 
was available on an equal basis, prevalent parental discrimination 
against girls often resulted in parents giving priority to their boys 
when seeking medical services.
    Violence against children was widespread, though rarely prosecuted. 
The Government established some mechanisms to respond to child abuse 
and violence against children, such as the Central Child Welfare Board, 
which has chapters in all 75 districts.
    The law forbids discrimination based on gender; however, in 
practice there was considerable discrimination against girls.
    The law prohibits marriage for girls before the age of 18; however, 
families in many parts of the country sometimes forced their young 
children to marry. In some areas in the eastern part of the country, 
many young girls were married off to escape large dowry payments, which 
increase with the age of the girl. Social, economic, and religious 
values promoted the practice of child marriages. According to the 
Ministry of Health, girls' average age of marriage was 16 years and 
boys' average age was 18. An age difference in marriage often was cited 
as a cause of domestic violence. The incidence of child marriage did 
not significantly increase during the year.
    Commercial sexual exploitation of children remained a serious 
problem. There were reports of boys and girls living on the streets who 
survived through prostitution and of underage girls employed in dance 
bars, massage parlors, and cabin restaurants. Prostitution rings that 
brought underage girls from villages to work in brothels in urban areas 
were often sustained by complicit public officials. The minimum age for 
consensual sex is 16 years, and the penalties for rape vary according 
to age of the victim and relation. Conviction for rape can result in 
six to 10 years' imprisonment if the victim is under 14 years of age, 
or three to five years' imprisonment if the woman is 14 or older. 
Attempted rape may be punished with half the sentence of a convicted 
rapist.
    Child pornography is against the law. However, ambiguous 
interpretation of the law made it difficult to prosecute pornographers. 
Children's rights advocates considered the penalty for such offenses--a 
fine of up to 10,000 rupees ($138), imprisonment for up to one year, or 
both--inadequate as a deterrent.
    Internal displacement due to the decade-long Maoist conflict 
continued to be a problem, with estimates of the number displaced 
ranging widely (see section 1.g., child soldiers). As IDPs, children 
experienced poor social reintegration, with inadequate access to food, 
shelter, and health care, and limited access to education. Security 
forces often abused and arrested street children in order to ``clean 
up'' the streets.
    According to CWIN, 223 boys and 87 girls were reported missing. 
Many of the missing children were presumed to have been trafficked. Of 
the 174 missing children, police records indicated that 104 boys and 70 
girls were later found. Cases of ``abandoned'' children put up for 
adoption by orphanages despite lack of verifiable parental consent 
raised concerns of fraud. Information regarding how children arrived at 
orphanages was consistently inadequate, and documents presented to 
establish that a child was found abandoned were unreliable.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at http://www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The interim constitution does not 
address the rights of persons with disabilities. The Government's 
inability to enforce laws and regulations has limited the effectiveness 
of efforts to improve rights and benefits for persons with 
disabilities.
    According to Handicap International, persons with physical and 
mental disabilities faced discrimination 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. The Government did not implement effectively or 
enforce laws regarding persons with disabilities. The Ministry of 
Women, Children, and Social Welfare was responsible for the protection 
of persons with disabilities; the Ministry of Education provides 
scholarships for children with disabilities; and the Ministry of Local 
Development was responsible for allocating 5 percent of the budget of 
local development agencies for disability programs. 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 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 in the country who 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 and some ethnic groups, 
particularly Madhesis and ethnic minorities, was especially common in 
the Terai and 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 disadvantaged castes. 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 is illegal; however, Dalits occasionally 
were barred from entering temples and sharing water sources. Progress 
in reducing discrimination was more successful in urban areas.
    In March a group of persons in Darchula District physically 
mistreated a Dalit man because of his caste. After filing a complaint 
of caste-based discrimination at the DPO, the court issued its first-
ever verdict in a caste-based discrimination case and imposed a fine of 
2,000 rupees ($28) against the main perpetrator.
    On June 21, 12 villagers in Kailali District beat a Dalit woman and 
forced her and her daughters to leave the village. The Dalit woman, who 
is a human rights defender, filed an FIR under the Public Offenses Act. 
The National Women's Commission investigated the case, and a fact-
finding mission report was made public.
    In a March court ruling in Baitadi District, a man was fined and 
sentenced to two years' imprisonment for a caste-based discrimination 
offense in July 2009; he did not serve the sentence and was believed to 
have fled the country.
    Resistance to intercaste marriage (upper and lower caste) remained 
high and in some cases resulted in forced expulsion from the community. 
Dalits who participated in wedding ceremonies traditionally reserved 
for non-Dalits, such as riding a horse, were sometimes assaulted; 
however, the courts have shown a willingness to prosecute such cases of 
discrimination.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The country has no laws that 
specifically criminalize homosexuality; however, government 
authorities, especially police, sometimes harassed and abused 
homosexual persons. According to Blue Diamond Society, a local NGO, 
harassment of such persons was common by both government and citizens.
    On August 17, the Government granted permission for the first gay 
pride parade in the country during the Gai Jatra Festival.
    In a series of rulings in 2007 and 2008, the Supreme Court directed 
the Government to enact laws to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons' fundamental rights, enable 
third-gender citizenship, and amend all laws that are sexually 
discriminatory. Nevertheless, many mainstream political parties 
included pro-LGBTI legislation in their party manifestos, and LGBTI 
activists continued to press for protections for sexual minorities in 
the new constitution.
    In May the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Sergeant Bhakti 
Shah, who had been fired by the NA for being a lesbian while serving as 
an instructor at the military academy in 2007.
    NGOs working on LGBTI issues reported that police harassment of 
sexual minorities occurred in rural areas of the country, especially in 
the Terai.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--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. Discrimination against 
women infected with HIV/AIDS was greater than for men, even though men 
who traveled to other countries for work were at higher risk of 
contracting the disease and spreading it to their wives.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law grants workers, including 
noncitizens, the freedom to establish and join unions and associations, 
but the Government protected these rights unevenly in practice. The law 
permits the prohibiting of unions only in cases of subversion, 
sedition, or similar conditions. Members of the armed forces and the 
police are not permitted to form a union, and members of the management 
of private or public enterprises are not permitted to take part in 
union activities. In the public sector, employees under the level of 
undersecretary can join a union. Trade unions developed administrative 
structures to organize workers, bargain collectively, and conduct 
worker education programs. The three largest trade unions were 
affiliated with political parties.
    Only 10 percent of the total work force was in the formal sector; 
the remaining 90 percent worked in the informal sector. Of the formal 
sector work force, 75 percent participated in unions. The law contains 
enabling regulations; however, the Government did not fully implement 
acts protecting trade unions. The law defines procedures for 
establishing trade unions, associations, and federations.
    The Government enforced some barriers to the participation in union 
federations through minimum required thresholds for the formation of 
trade union federations and confederations. The Government did not 
restrict unions from joining international labor bodies. Several trade 
federations and union organizations maintained a variety of 
international affiliations. Seven trade unions, including UCPN-M-
affiliated trade unions, united to establish the Joint Trade Union 
Coordination Committee.
    The law provides the right to strike except by employees in 
essential services, and workers regularly exercised this right. The 
Government used the legislation to ban strikes in sectors, including 
several that go beyond international standards for essential services, 
such as banking, hotels, and restaurants. The law empowers the 
Government to halt a strike or to suspend a union's activities if the 
union disturbs the peace or if the strike adversely affects the 
nation's economic interests. The process for conducting a legal strike 
is cumbersome, as 60 percent of a union's membership must vote in favor 
of a strike in a secret ballot, and the union is required to give 
notice 30 days before a strike.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for collective bargaining, but the Government did not 
effectively enforce these provisions. The law also provides for 
protection of unions and union 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.
    Collective bargaining agreements covered an estimated 10 percent of 
wage earners in the organized sector. Labor leaders faced challenges in 
reaching collective bargaining agreements due to political infighting 
among trade unions, and the Government did not effectively enforce 
protections regarding antiunion retaliation due to legal obstacles to 
striking, insufficient capacity, and employer resistance. According to 
the General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions, collective bargaining 
was not effective in new factories and industries, but it was 
successful in some of the well-established factories and industries. 
Workers often faced threats or dismissal for attempting to organize a 
union, and the Government did not effectively enforce protections 
regarding antiunion retaliation.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor. In practice there were reports that forced 
labor occurred, especially in domestic servitude, in factories, food 
services, and the embroidered textiles and pornography industries, and 
in begging and in circus entertainment. Many citizens migrated 
willingly for work but subsequently faced conditions of forced labor.
    Bonded labor remained a problem primarily in the agricultural 
sector as well as the small formal sector, which included brick and 
kiln works and food services, such as tea shops and restaurants.
    The Kamaiya system, a form of bonded labor, was formally outlawed 
in 2002, but government enforcement of the law was uneven, and social 
reintegration remained difficult. During the year the Government 
rehabilitated an additional 6,870 Kamaiyas, bringing the total number 
of rehabilitated persons to 22,402 out of a total Kamaiya population of 
27,570, most of whom lived in Dang, Banke, and Kanchanpur districts. 
Most unrehabilitated Kamaiyas lived in Bardiya and Kailali districts. 
On March 30, freed Kamaiyas staged a demonstration to ask the 
Government for appropriate rehabilitation and implementation of past 
agreements.
    In April a man beat unconscious his renter, a young Kamalari (minor 
female Kamaiya), in Tikapur, Kailali District. Civil society 
organizations in the district staged protests and demanded legal action 
against the landlord. The case remained under investigation at year's 
end.
    The Ministry of Labor enforced laws against forced labor only in 
the small formal sector.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law establishes a minimum age of 16 for employment in industry and 14 
for employment in agriculture and mandates acceptable working 
conditions for children. Employers must maintain records of all 
laborers between the ages of 14 and 16. The law also establishes 
specific penalties for those who unlawfully employ children, but 
regulations to enforce the law have not been fully implemented. 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 between 
6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and six days a week). The Child Labor Act of 2000 
applies only to formal sectors of the economy, such as tourism, 
cigarette or carpet factories, and mines.
    Child labor was a significant problem, particularly in the large 
informal sector, including agriculture, domestic service, portering, 
rag picking, transportation, and rock breaking. Depending on the 
sector, children work long hours, carry heavy loads, are at risk of 
sexual exploitation, or suffer from ear, eye, or skin disorders or 
musculoskeletal problems. Forced child labor was reported in the brick, 
carpet, embroidered textile, and stone industries. Children working in 
textiles and embroidery faced hazards, as they were confined to small, 
poorly ventilated rooms where they worked with sharp needles.
    Resources devoted to enforcement were limited. According to the 
International Labor Organization (ILO), the agricultural sector 
accounted for fewer than 87.7 percent of all working children. 
According to the Nepal Labor Force Survey 2008, which was the most 
recent survey available, the labor force participation rate was 13.4 
percent for children aged five to nine and 52.7 percent for children 
aged 10 to 14. Of those, 1.6 million children worked full time. 
According to the ILO and the Ministry of Labor, inspectors found no 
children working, and no legal action was taken in the formal sector. 
At the same time, an estimated 89.5 percent of children who worked also 
attended school.
    The Ministry of Labor, responsible for enforcing child labor laws 
and practices, had a mixed enforcement record, and a significant amount 
of child labor occurs in sectors not covered by national labor laws. 
According to the ministry, there were 12 labor inspectors employed 
during the year. The ministry reported that it carried out 600 labor 
inspections across the country during a 10-month period. The Home 
Ministry raided restaurants and brothels and rescued and rehabilitated 
68 children.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage for unskilled 
laborers was approximately 4,600 rupees per month (approximately $63). 
The wage for semiskilled workers was set at 4,650 rupees ($64), for 
skilled workers at 4,760 rupees ($66), and for highly skilled workers 
at 4,950 rupees ($68). None of these minimum wages was sufficient to 
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family, and 
inflation in the cost of food and other household expenses magnified 
the difficulties for low-wage workers. Wages in the informal service 
sector and in agriculture ranged from 170 to 250 rupees per day ($2.35 
to $3.46). The law calls for a 48-hour workweek, with one day off per 
week and one-half hour of rest per eight hours worked, and limits 
overtime to 20 hours per week with a 50 percent overtime premium per 
hour. In practice these laws were effectively enforced. Labor 
regulations also apply to foreign and migrant workers.
    The Government sets occupational health and safety standards, and 
the law establishes other benefits such as a provident fund and 
maternity benefits. Implementation of the law was slow, as the 
Government did not create the necessary regulatory or administrative 
structures to enforce the law's 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.
    The Government regulated labor contracting, or ``manpower'' 
agencies that recruited workers for overseas jobs. However, according 
to several credible NGOs, government officials were often complicit in 
falsifying travel documents and overlooking recruiting violations by 
labor contractors.

                               __________

                                PAKISTAN

    Pakistan is a federal republic with a population of approximately 
176 million. In 2008 democratic rule was restored in the country 
through elections that international observers deemed competitive and 
reflective of the people's will. Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of 
assassinated Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto, 
became president and head of state on September 6, 2008. Syed Yousuf 
Raza Gilani was the prime minister and head of government. The PPP and 
its federal coalition partners controlled the executive and legislative 
branches of the national government and three of the four provincial 
assemblies. Security forces did not report to civilian authorities and 
operated independently from the civilian government.
    The major human rights problems included extrajudicial killings, 
disappearances, and torture. Although the Government initiated an 
investigation into an Internet video showing men in military uniforms 
apparently committing extrajudicial killings, a failure to credibly 
investigate allegations, impose disciplinary or accountability 
measures, and consistently prosecute those responsible for abuses 
contributed to a culture of impunity. Poor prison conditions, instances 
of arbitrary detention, lengthy pretrial detentions, a weak criminal 
justice system, insufficient training for prosecutors and criminal 
investigators, a lack of judicial independence in the lower courts, and 
infringements on citizens' privacy remained problems. Harassment of 
journalists, some censorship, and self-censorship were problems. There 
were some restrictions on freedom of assembly. Corruption was 
widespread within the Government and lower levels of the police forces, 
and the Government made few attempts to combat the problem. Rape, 
domestic violence, sexual harassment, honor crimes, abuse, and 
discrimination against women remained serious problems. Religious 
freedom violations, as well as violence and discrimination against 
religious minorities continued. Child abuse and exploitive child labor 
were problems. Widespread human trafficking, including exploitation of 
bonded laborers by land owners; forced child labor; and commercial 
sexual exploitation of children remained problems, as did lack of 
respect for worker rights.
    A new law to increase protection against sexual harassment was 
passed, and more than 40 ministries and departments incorporated the 
new code of conduct into their policies, although women's rights groups 
sought more effective implementation. The minister for minorities took 
an active role in assisting victims of religiously motivated attacks on 
Christians and Ahmadis; the Government allocated four reserved Senate 
seats for religious minorities, one from each province; and police 
freed more than 1,000 bonded laborers.

                        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 several 
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings. Politically motivated killings and societal 
violence, including killings by angry mobs, continued. There were 
reports of extrajudicial killings in connection with conflicts in the 
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP, 
formerly known as the North West Frontier Province) (see section 1.g.).
    Some killings of individuals accused of crimes allegedly resulted 
from extreme physical abuse while in official custody. During the year 
the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Society for Human Rights and 
Prisoners' Aid (SHARP) reported 72 civilian deaths after encounters 
with police and 168 deaths in jails, an increase from the previous 
year. The police stated that these deaths occurred when suspects 
attempted to escape, resisted arrest, or committed suicide. Human 
rights observers, family members, and the media reported that security 
forces staged many of the deaths. Lengthy trial delays and failures to 
discipline and consistently prosecute those responsible for abuses 
contributed to a culture of impunity.
    On March 7, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported that the Pasrur city 
police in Punjab registered a case against the station's former station 
house officer (SHO) and other officers for allegedly torturing a 
suspect in custody. The suspect, Ghulam Farid, died in jail on February 
26.
    On March 29, Dawn reported that Naveed Shah was tortured to death 
by police at the Sangi police station in Sindh. The Government 
immediately responded, and on March 30, the Sindh High Court Bench 
ordered that a murder case be filed against the SHO and other officers.
    On May 26, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that Farman Ali, a 
resident of Swat who had surrendered to the army in March, was found 
dead in a field with a gunshot to the head.
    In mid-January HRW reported that 12 corpses were found near the 
Swat River riddled with bullets and bearing marks of torture. The dead 
were believed to include missing villagers whom the army picked up 
earlier.
    January 2, HRW reported the body of ``Humanyun'' (an alias) was 
found dumped outside his house. The remains showed visible marks of 
torture and broken bones. The military allegedly detained him and his 
brother on October 27 on their return to Swat. According to HRW, 
Humanyun's brother was released on December 29. He had been tortured, 
and both of his legs had been broken.
    HRW reported on January 10 that the body of Ghani was found in a 
field in Kuza Bandi with one bullet wound in the head and three in the 
chest. He was allegedly picked up and publicly beaten by the army in 
July 2009.
    HRW reported that on February 21, the bodies of Mohammad Aalim 
(alias Mullah Banorey), Shams ul Hadi (alias Mullah Shanko), Murad, and 
Saleem were found in the Maidan subdistrict. According to HRW, all four 
men were rounded up four months earlier in a military raid and 
transferred to an unknown military detention center upon arrest. 
Residents reported that the corpses of Mullah Banorey and Mullah 
Shanko, who locals reported to be Taliban commanders, were tied behind 
military vehicles and dragged publicly, as persons were encouraged to 
spit at and throw garbage on the men. Military commanders claimed that 
all four men were killed in an ``encounter.''
    The Human Rights Commission Pakistan (HRCP) called upon the Punjab 
government to hold an inquiry into the death of Hafiz Abdullah in Dera 
Ghazi Khan (DG Khan). It was alleged that after killing Hafiz Abdullah, 
the police officers involved threw his body outside and set it on fire 
in front of a crowd that had gathered outside the police station in 
Mian Chowk Choti Zareen. Senior civil judge Fayyaz Ahmad Zaheer of DG 
Khan appointed a one-man inquiry tribunal to probe an alleged 
extrajudicial killing by police officers in DG Khan on August 18. The 
Government had not brought any charges against the perpetrators by 
year's end.
    On September 25, the Daily Times reported that Abdul Sattar was 
allegedly tortured to death by the Burki Investigation Police in 
Lahore. The police termed the killing a suicide, although the police 
officer in charge was discharged soon after the incident. Family 
members of the victim stated that police officials killed Sattar 
despite receiving money for his release.
    According to the Express Tribune, on September 26, Muhammad Akram 
Thaheem was arrested by police on betting charges and died later that 
day while in custody at Mumtazabad Police Station. Police officials 
alleged that he died of cardiac arrest, whereas medical reports suggest 
he died after being castrated. The 10 police officers wanted in the 
case fled from the Mumtazabad police station soon after the 
registration of First Information Reports (FIRs) against them.
    During the year extrajudicial killings from 2009 came to light, 
including in September a video posted on the Internet of men in 
military uniforms executing six young men in civilian clothes. The 
young men were shown blindfolded and lined up with their hands tied 
behind their backs. On October 8, Chief of Army Staff General Kayani 
issued a statement ordering the establishment of a board of inquiry to 
determine the identities of the uniformed personnel seen in the 
Internet video. By the end of the year, the military had not publicly 
announced the conclusions of its investigation into the video, and no 
one had been held accountable. The video appeared to have been taken in 
the Swat Valley during the 2009 military counterinsurgency campaign.
    Days after this video surfaced on the Internet, another video 
emerged on the Internet showing men in military uniforms beating 
prisoners in a remote location.
    The HRCP and HRW reported that the army was responsible for more 
than 200 extrajudicial killings in the Swat region during the past 
year. The HRCP reported that residents described mass graves in Kukarai 
village and in areas between the villages of Daulai and Shah Dheri.
    In total, according to the HRCP, approximately 2,600 suspected 
militants were detained in Swat during the military's operational 
phase, but none of them were charged or produced before a court. The 
HRCP also believed that an additional 2,800 cases were lodged against 
suspected terrorists after the military operation in Swat concluded, 
but they also were not brought before a court of law.
    There were no developments in the April 2009 killings of Baloch 
National Movement (BNM) President Ghulam Muhammad Baloch and Baloch 
Republic Party (BRP) members Sher Muhammad Baloch and Lala Munir Baloch 
in Turbat, Balochistan. They were abducted by men in civilian clothing 
from their lawyer's office on the same day that the antiterrorism court 
cleared them of charges of causing unrest. They were reportedly taken 
away in Frontier Corps vehicles. They were later found dead on April 8.
    On August 23, in Uthal, Balochistan, assailants abducted and killed 
Central Joint Secretary of the BNM Rasool Bakhsh Mengal. According to 
the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the BNM and other nationalist 
groups suspected that armed Frontier Constabulary or intelligence 
officials abducted Mengal and tortured him in military cells. His body 
was found hanging from a tree in Bela on August 31, with signs of 
apparent torture, including cigarette burns and words carved into his 
skin. His death sparked violence in Khuzdar and Makshay.
    In September 2009, after two days of police questioning, Robert 
Fanish, a Christian detained on blasphemy charges, was found dead in 
his cell in a jail in Sialkot, Punjab. His family members and NGOs 
alleged that he died of police torture; the police maintained Fanish 
hanged himself. The Joint Action Committee for People's Rights, an 
alliance of more than 30 human rights groups, stated that witnesses saw 
marks of torture on his body. Activists staged numerous demonstrations 
across the country, and two days after Fanish's body was found the 
chief minister of Punjab Province ordered an inquiry into the death. At 
the end of the year, the inquiry remained pending.
    HRW reported that in November 2009 the army picked up Ayub Khan at 
his home in Lunday Kase, Mingora (Swat), beat him in front of his 
family, and took him away in a military vehicle. In December 2009 local 
residents reportedly heard a shot, found his body covered with marks of 
torture, and saw an army vehicle driving away.
    HRW also reported that in October 2009 Islam Khan was picked up 
from his house in Imam Dheri, Swat, in an army raid. His body was found 
15 days later near the Swat River with extensive marks of torture. His 
hands and legs were broken. Reportedly, shortly after the body was 
recovered, a team of soldiers and police came to his house, told his 
family not to mention the incident or their house would be demolished, 
and took the body away.
    According to the media, in August 2009 the corpses of individuals 
who had been killed extrajudicially began appearing in Swat, Khyber 
Pakhtunkhwa, formerly the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). 
According to Dawn, on August 24, residents found 15 bodies in a town 
east of Mingora, and on August 15, residents discovered 18 more bodies 
in different parts of Swat. At year's end responsible parties had not 
been identified.
    The New York Times reported that on September 1, a group of 
soldiers arrested Akhtar Ali in his electrical shop in Mingora. Family 
members went to army headquarters the day after his arrest, and 
authorities assured them that Ali would be released. The family filed a 
petition stating that on September 5, security forces dropped Ali's 
body on their doorstep. According to his family, ``there was no place 
on his body not tortured.'' There were no developments or arrests in 
this case.
    There were no developments in the following 2008 cases: the death 
of Allah Bakhsh while in custody in Khanewal, Punjab; the deaths of 
Irfan Khan and John Masih in custody; the alleged torture of Rafique 
Masih by Jafar Husain in a Lahore police station; the death of Idris 
Ahmad while he was in Sihala Jail near Rawalpindi; the alleged torture 
of Falak Sher in Sheikhupura by Punjab police in August; or the killing 
of four inmates at Karachi's Malir District Jail.
    During the year there were numerous reports of politically 
motivated killings by political factions or unknown assailants in the 
city of Karachi, Sindh. According to a report by Dawn, 1,981 persons 
were killed in political violence in Karachi, of which 748 were 
targeted killings. Nationalist leaders in Balochistan also remained 
targets of attacks during the year. Balochistan National Party (BNP) 
President Akhtar Mengal accused the Government and its functionaries of 
carrying out targeted killings of Baloch leaders and activists. 
According to HRW, militant groups increased attacks against non-Baloch 
civilians.
    The Daily Times quoted police sources as saying that targeted 
killings in Balochistan claimed 87 lives and injured 303 persons in 168 
incidents between January and May.
    According to Dawn, on March 3, two students of Khuzdar Engineering 
University were killed and nine others injured when a bomb exploded on 
the university premises during a Balochi cultural performance by the 
students.
    On March 7, a local leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and 
his guard were killed and two guards injured when armed men on a 
motorbike opened fire on their car in Khuzdar town.
    On March 18, a retired superintendent of police, Usman, alias 
Tikkah Khan Rodani, was killed in Quetta as he exited his house. Dawn's 
sources said the assailants were on a motorbike, and the incident was 
considered another targeted killing.
    On March 22, Professor Fazal Bari was shot and killed by unknown 
assailants, prompting the Tameer-i-Nau Trust to close its newly 
established school in the Quetta city's Takhtani eastern bypass area.
    According to Dawn, on April 27, Nazima Talib, a professor at 
Balochistan University, was killed when two masked men on a motorcycle 
opened fire on her. A spokesman for the Baloch Liberation Army claimed 
responsibility for Nazima's killing. Teachers and educators from 
different institutions termed her killing a conspiracy to discourage 
female teachers from performing their duties.
    On May 24, Mohammad Ashfaq, vice principal of the Pak-German 
Technical Training Centre in Hub, was shot and killed in a targeted 
killing.
    On July 12, National Party (NP) leader Maula Bukhsh Dasti was shot 
and killed by unknown assailants in Turbat, Balochistan. Only two days 
later former senator and secretary-general of the Balochistan National 
Party-Mengal(BNP-M) Habib Jalib Baloch was killed in Quetta. On July 
21, another BNP-M leader, Liaquat Ali, was shot and killed in Kalat 
District in Balochistan. These incidents led to widespread protests 
across the province. On July 27, unidentified gunmen killed the son of 
NP central leader Tufail Sabir in Khuzdar.
    According to the Daily Times, on August 31, BNP-M leader Nawabuddin 
Nechari and two friends were traveling on a national highway when 
unidentified assailants opened indiscriminate fire on their vehicle, 
killing Nechari and one of his friends.
    On September 6, the dead body of a kidnapped lawyer Zaman Marri was 
found in Mastung. According to sources at the hospital, the victim was 
shot in the head, and his body bore marks of torture.
    On September 8, three persons, among them a political leader and a 
police officer, were killed and five others injured in a bomb blast in 
Hub. Hundreds of persons, mostly women and children, were shopping in 
Rind Market when the explosive device placed in a shop exploded. Abdul 
Khaliq, a leader of BNP, and Police Inspector Abdul Sattar were killed.
    On September 9, Balochistan finance minister Mir Asim Kurd had a 
narrow escape when a suicide bomber detonated himself inside the 
minister's residence in Quetta, killing five persons and injuring four 
others. The blast occurred moments after Kurd, the Pakistan Muslim 
League-Quaid's parliamentary leader in the Balochistan Assembly, left 
for his office.
    On September 28, three persons were shot and killed in the 
Hazarganji area, and a kidnapped trader was found dead in Sariab area.
    On September 30, Interior Minister Rehman Malik reported that 
security in Balochistan had improved to a great extent and that 
targeted killings in Quetta had stopped. He stated that 97 individuals 
involved in the killings had been arrested. In Panjgur 28 persons were 
arrested, and FIRs were lodged against them.
    On October 3, two local leaders of the Balochistan National Party-
Awami (BNP-A) and two other persons were shot and killed in separate 
incidents in Turbat and Quetta. BNP-A leaders Mullah Abdul Latif and 
Mohammad Aslam were travelling in a pick-up when gunmen on a motorbike 
opened fire on them near Tutak area of Turbat. Mohammad Ishaq Lehri and 
Mansoor Lehri were shot and killed by unidentified attackers near 
Irrigation Colony on Sariab Road in Quetta.
    On October 4, the Express Tribune reported that 21 bullet-riddled 
bodies of missing persons, including two lawyers, were found across 
Balochistan including in Quetta, Mastung, and Khuzdar since July 4. All 
of the victims were Baloch, and all were killed in a similar manner.
    On October 4, Abdul Aziz Rahi Mengal, former director-general of 
middle education in Balochistan, was killed in Khuzdar. Sources said 
that Mengal was in his van when he was attacked by gunmen on a 
motorcycle at Azadi chowk.
    According to the Daily Times, on October 13, unidentified 
assailants shot and killed BNP-M senior leader Mir Nooruddin Mengal 
near his residence in Kalat.
    According to Dawn, on October 25, Sheikh Mohammad Ayub Khan, the 
Zhob district chief of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, was shot and killed.
    On October 31, the president of Baloch Students Organization-Azad, 
Multan chapter, Asim Karim Baloch, was found dead in Khanozai-Ziarat 
cross area.
    On November 9, three persons were killed when gunmen on motorbikes 
attacked a vehicle in Quetta. In Turbat armed men entered a house and 
opened fire on the residents.
    On November 22, the HRCP and Dawn reported the killing of six 
persons missing from various parts of Balochistan over the Eid 
holidays. According to the BBC, Nawab Aslam Raisani, the chief minister 
of Balochistan, stated that extrajudicial killings in Balochistan were 
carried out by security agencies.
    According to the Daily Times, on December 16, another BNP activist, 
Rais Ali Ahmed Langou, was shot and killed in Kalat, approximately 90 
miles from the provincial capital. No one claimed responsibility for 
the killing, but the BNP blamed a government ``death squad'' for the 
assassination.
    On December 17-19, three bullet-riddled bodies were found in 
different parts of Balochistan. Sources said that two bodies were found 
in Pidrak area in Turbat. According to sources, the victims were 
kidnapped near Shahraq area some three days before the recovery of 
bodies. ``The victims were shot in the head, and there were also marks 
of torture on their bodies,'' hospital sources said.
    On December 26, the bodies of four missing Baloch were found in 
Quetta and Mastung. The two bodies found in Quetta were shot in their 
heads with their hands tied behind their backs, according to hospital 
sources. Police recovered the other two bodies from the Dasht area of 
Mastung District.
    The elected civilian government, especially the coalition partner 
Awami National Party (ANP) in KP Province, remained the target of 
attacks. On July 24, the son of KP information minister Mian Iftikhar 
Hussain, Mian Rashid Hussain, was shot and killed. Three days later, a 
suicide bomber blew himself up near Hussain's home in Peshawar, killing 
at least eight persons and injuring 15. The Tehrik-ie-Taliban Pakistan 
(TTP) claimed responsibility for the blast and warned of more attacks 
on leaders and workers of the ANP. On March 13, Lal Badshah, chief of 
the Peace Committee of Baizai Tehsi, and his two official guards were 
killed in Bakhshi Pul area on the outskirts of Peshawar, KP. On August 
2, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader and member of the Sindh 
Assembly, Raza Haider, and his security guard were shot and killed by 
unidentified assailants inside a mosque in Karachi, Sindh. More than 
100 persons died in the ensuing riots between supporters of MQM, the 
PPP, and the ANP.
    On November 30, Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Magsi escaped 
harm from a targeted remote-controlled bomb attack in Kalat. The 
Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the 
attack. On December 7, Balochistan chief minister Nawab Aslam Raisani 
narrowly escaped harm, but 10 others were injured, during an attack on 
his motorcade in Quetta. The Baloch Liberation United Front claimed 
responsibility.
    There were no developments in the August 2009 abduction and killing 
of Central Joint Secretary of the BNP-M Rasool Bakhsh Mengal in Uthal, 
Balochistan. In November his younger brother, Nisar Baloch, was 
abducted from Lasbela district.
    There were no developments in the following 2009 incidents: the 
February 11 remote-control bomb attack in Peshawar which killed Alamzeb 
Khan, an ANP member of the provincial assembly, and injured seven 
others; the March 11 suicide bombers' assassination attempt against 
Bashir Bilour, a senior ANP leader and senior minister in the KP 
government, which killed four persons; or the December 1 suicide blast 
in Swat which killed ANP provincial assembly member Shamsher Ali Khan 
and injured 11 others.
    On June 22, the Daily Times reported that the Karachi Police and 
Antiextremism Cell arrested Asmatullah of the TTP in connection with 
the case of two suicide bombers who killed more than 130 civilians and 
11 police officers in Karachi during a procession to welcome former 
prime minister Benazir Bhutto's return in 2007. Asmatullah's brother, 
Wahab, was the alleged organizer of the attack.
    On April 15, a three-member UN commission presented its 
investigation report of the 2007 assassination of former prime minister 
Bhutto. The report stated that the former government led by Pervez 
Musharraf failed to protect Bhutto and that intelligence agencies 
hindered the subsequent investigation. The widely publicized report 
concluded that the suicide bombing that killed Bhutto ``could have been 
prevented'' and that police action, including the hosing down of the 
crime scene and failure to collect and preserve evidence, inflicted 
irreparable harm on the investigation.'' As of September five suspects 
were in custody for the 2007 assassination.
    Mob violence remained a problem. On August 15, a mob beat to death 
two young brothers, Hafiz Mughees, age 15, and Hafiz Muneeb, age 19, 
and hung their bodies up in Sialkot, Punjab. It was reported that the 
young men were mistaken for robbers. The brothers died in the presence 
of dozens of onlookers and police officers, who took no action to stop 
the violence. The Supreme Court, acting on its own, ordered an inquiry, 
and according to the press, 17 persons were arrested for the killings, 
including a subinspector of police and several police officers. The 
head of the Sialkot District police was also jailed on the basis of 
judicial remand.

    b. Disappearance.--During the year politically motivated 
disappearances continued. There were reports of disappearances in 
nearly all areas of the country. Some police and security forces held 
prisoners incommunicado, refusing to disclose their location. Human 
rights organizations reported many Sindhi and Baloch nationalists were 
among the missing. There were reports of disappearances during the year 
in connection with the conflicts in FATA and KP (see section 1.g.).
    The Supreme Court continued its hearings on missing persons cases. 
In March the federal government formed a three-member judicial 
commission headed by a retired supreme court judge to look into the 
issue of disappearances. The commission's mandate included preparing a 
comprehensive list of missing persons, suggesting ways to trace the 
missing persons, and finding those responsible for their disappearance. 
In May the commission held several meetings and recorded statements of 
family members and government officials. The HRCP reported that the 
creation of a commission on enforced disappearances did not appear to 
satisfy the hopes for an early resolution of the matter for the 
families of those who disappeared.
    In some cases children also disappeared. According to the AHRC, on 
October 18, a 14-year-old boy, Adbul Majeed, son of a well-known 
trader, was abducted, allegedly by the Frontier Corps. On October 24, 
his body was found in the Koshak River in the Khuzdar District. There 
were bullet wounds in his head and chest. He was an activist of the 
Baloch Student Organization Azad.
    Amnesty International reported on August 18 that the army stated it 
was holding 900 prisoners arrested in Swat who would be handed over to 
relevant agencies. Their identity, whereabouts, and fate remained 
unknown.
    Disappearances from Balochistan remained a problem during the year, 
with Baloch political groups demanding greater political and human 
rights. In February Balochistan chief minister Nawab Aslam Raisani told 
the Daily Times that 999 persons from Balochistan were missing. 
According to the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), more than 785 
persons disappeared since January; the bodies of 35 of them were found 
in different areas in Balochistan. The VBMP estimated that more than 
11,000 persons had disappeared in Balochistan since 2001. Ghulam 
Mohammad Baloch was a member of a committee formed to ascertain the 
identity of some 800 victims of enforced disappearance. The Balochistan 
High Court set up a judicial inquiry in April and in September called 
on the intelligence agencies to assist the investigation of the 
killings after police complained about their lack of cooperation.
    Amnesty International reported that according to family members, 
Zakir Majeed Baloch, a social worker and vice-chairman of the Baloch 
Students Organization, was picked up on June 8 by intelligence agency 
personnel near Mastung, Balochistan. Police refused to register the 
family's complaint. His fate and whereabouts remained unknown.
    There was no update in the case of Jaleel Rakei, a member of the 
BRP. According to the HRCP, security forces arrested Rakei in February 
2009 during a raid on his house in Sariab Kechi Beg. the HRCP also 
reported that in August 2009 armed law enforcement personnel abducted 
Saadullah Baloch in Khuzdar, Balochistan. At year's end both men 
remained missing.
    There were reports of disappearances in Sindh Province, where 
nationalist political parties claimed that some of their members were 
in the custody of intelligence agencies. Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) 
leader Sikander Aaksh Mallah and his aide, Noor Mohammad Khaskheli, 
allegedly were picked up from Hyderabad, Sindh, in October 2009 by the 
police and intelligence agencies and never seen again. On May 29, JSQM 
workers held a protest in Karachi over their disappearance.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or 
degrading treatment, but there were reports that security forces, 
including intelligence services, tortured and abused individuals in 
custody. During the year the NGO SHARP reported 4,069 cases of torture 
by police, of which 2,690 allegedly occurred in Punjab alone. During 
the year a significant increase in the total number of torture and rape 
cases was observed, almost double the number compared with 2009. Human 
rights organizations reported that methods of torture included beating 
with batons and whips, burning with cigarettes, whipping soles of the 
feet, prolonged isolation, electric shock, denial of food or sleep, 
hanging upside down, and forced spreading of the legs with bar fetters. 
Torture occasionally resulted in death or serious injury. Observers 
noted the underreporting of torture throughout the country.
    The country ratified the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention Against Torture in 2010. 
Concerns have been raised over the number and breadth of its 
substantive reservations, as well as its reservation to the authority 
of the Human Rights Committee to request and receive periodic reports 
on the country's implementation of the ICCPR.
    There were accusations of security forces raping women during 
interrogations. The Government rarely took action against those 
responsible. According to the Women's Action Forum, although the 2006 
Women's Protection Act (WPA) amended the Hudood Ordinance, women were 
still in prison awaiting trial under these laws; however, there was a 
decline with the passage of the WPA.
    On January 24, Dawn reported that relatives of a man police say 
committed suicide while in custody alleged that he was tortured to 
death after his detention for suspected involvement in a kidnapping 
case. The relatives rejected the claim that Liaquat Ali Bughio hanged 
himself with a belt. Rasheed Bughio, a cousin of Liaquat, told 
journalists that police arrested Liaquat four days before his death. He 
said his cousin had told him that police were torturing him to force 
him to confess his involvement in the kidnapping.
    On March 3, news channels across the country showed footage of 
police publicly humiliating seven robbery suspects at the Bhawana 
police station in Chiniot, Punjab. The victims were first stripped and 
then tortured in front of a large number of persons. Five police 
officials, including the SHO, were arrested after the Supreme Court 
initiated action and called for strict action against the officials.
    On May 19, The News reported that a 13-year-old girl named Natasha 
allegedly was raped for 21 days by police after they illegally detained 
her at the Wah Cantonment Police Station in January. On its own 
authority the Lahore High Court ordered an inquiry. After the initial 
investigations by the Rawalpindi police, police arrested the two 
accused police officials; two others remained at large.
    On May 25, Dawn reported that a female prisoner, Abida Hameed, 
allegedly was tortured by police officials in the Sialkot central jail 
after being sexually harassed. An inquiry was initiated on the orders 
of the Supreme Court, after which a case against 31 persons, including 
police officers, was lodged for torturing the woman.
    On August 10, the AHRC reported, that Ruby Masih of Karachi 
allegedly was raped in a private police detention center for more than 
50 days by police officers. The victim and her family reportedly were 
currently in hiding because of continual police threats.
    On October 11, the HRCP criticized the torture and humiliation of 
several death row prisoners at the Singh District prison. Three 
prisoners allegedly were stripped naked and were not allowed to urinate 
for hours, despite being forced to drink several liters of water. The 
HRCP brought this incident to the attention of the Punjab prison chief 
but never received a response.
    By year's end the Government had not taken steps to prosecute 
Subinspector Shujat Ali Malhi and other police officers responsible for 
the 2008 alleged torture and rape of an unnamed 17-year-old girl in 
Faisalabad. There were no developments in the 2008 case of Agha Mahboob 
Ahmed, who was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a bank robbery 
and allegedly tortured at the Hyderabad Criminal Investigation Agency 
center.
    On March 1, The Nation reported that Faisalabad remained tense as 
factions belonging to two different sects clashed over the issue of a 
disputed mosque. The angry mob burned dozens of cars and bikes and the 
local police station in Usman Town, Mithopura, within Sargodha Road 
Police Station's area. The clashes erupted when unknown armed men 
resorted to indiscriminate firing on the procession near Goll Mosque, 
critically injuring three persons.
    On August 4, Dawn reported that a hand grenade attack inside a 
North Nazimabad mosque in Karachi during prayers left five persons 
injured, followed by day-long violence that included arson attacks and 
shooting incidents claiming at least 22 lives in and around Karachi.
    The 2009 the HRCP annual report stated there were ``592 cases of 
kidnapping for ransom in the NWFP, 241 in Balochistan, 244 in Punjab, 
and 163 in Sindh.''

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
often extremely poor and failed to meet international standards. 
Overcrowding was common, except for the cells of wealthy or influential 
prisoners. Prisons and detention centers were largely managed by the 
provincial governments. Human rights groups that surveyed prison 
conditions found sexual abuse, torture, and prolonged detention 
prevalent. Prisons in could not be classified as correctional 
institutions, because the conditions in many of the prisons are so 
inhumane that criminals often leave more hardened than before their 
arrest.
    Inadequate food and medical care in prisons led to chronic health 
problems and malnutrition for those unable to supplement their diet 
with help from family or friends. In many facilities provisions for 
sanitation, ventilation, temperature, lighting, and access to potable 
water were inadequate.
    Most prison facilities were of antiquated construction, without the 
capacity to control indoor temperatures. A system existed for basic and 
emergency medical care; however, in practice it did not always function 
effectively. Prisoners sometimes also had to pay bribes, and 
bureaucratic procedures slowed access to medical care. Foreign 
prisoners often remained in prison long after completion of their 
sentences because they were unable to pay for deportation to their home 
countries. There were various reports of prison riots during the year. 
Grievances that provoked the riots included overcrowding, deprivation 
of legal rights, slow disposition of cases, behavior of the jail 
administration, and lack of facilities.
    Christian and Ahmadi communities claimed that their members were 
more likely to be abused in prison facilities. Minority prisoners 
generally were afforded poorer facilities than Muslim inmates and often 
suffered violence at the hands of fellow inmates. Police reportedly 
sometimes tortured and mistreated those in custody and at times engaged 
in extrajudicial killings.
    According to SHARP, more than 100,000 prisoners occupied 73 jails 
originally built to hold approximately 36,000 persons. According to an 
estimate, the prisoner per capita ratio is 50 per 100,000. According to 
an August 17 Dawn report, all 32 jails in Punjab Province faced acute 
overcrowding. According to official figures, these jails operated at 42 
percent over capacity. According to Punjab Prisons Department 
officials, overcrowding not only caused security, accommodation, and 
health problems for inmates but also adversely affected the general 
administration of jails. The report noted that as of June 30, 
approximately 52,162 prisoners were in Punjab's prisons, which had an 
authorized capacity of 21,527 inmates. Of these, 696 were women, and 
708 were juveniles.
    An official from the Sindh Prison Department noted that in his 
province the jails were overcrowded but that the department had noted a 
drop in the number of prisoners. As of the end of the year, a total of 
12,908 prisoners were imprisoned in jails with a capacity of 10,450. 
This indicated a decline from August statistics, which showed an 
occupancy of 13,886 prisoners in 25 jails across the province. Central 
Jail Larkana and Malir Jail Karachi were the most crowded in the 
province. Central Jail Larkana had the highest number of AIDS patients 
in Sindh. In Sindh jails there were 118 female prisoners and 277 
juvenile prisoners.
    Police often did not segregate detainees from convicted criminals. 
Prisoners with mental illness usually lacked adequate care and were not 
segregated from the general prison population. Prison officials often 
kept juvenile offenders in the same facilities as adults, but in 
separate barracks. Despite keeping juveniles in separate barracks, at 
some point during their imprisonment, children would be mixed with the 
general prison population. Often children were subject to abuse, rape, 
and violence from other prisoners and prison staff.
    On July 2, the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the 
Child (SPARC) issued a report on the 10th anniversary of the 2000 
Juvenile Justice System Ordinance (JJSO), under which jails that held 
at least 1,300 juvenile prisoners, and as many as 10,000 children, were 
facing criminal litigation. SPARC noted that the number of juvenile 
prisoners represented a significant decline from more than 5,000 when 
the JJSO was issued in 2000. SPARC stated that juvenile prisoners, the 
majority of whom were awaiting trial, were among the worst off in the 
country. The jail conditions in which they were held were extremely 
poor, and they were subject to a slow process and lack of special 
juvenile courts or judges. Many spent longer periods behind bars 
because they were unable to pay bail. A fair and just juvenile justice 
system does not exist in the country, according to SPARC. SPARC's 
regular visits to juvenile sections across the country revealed that 
little had changed since the introduction of the JJSO in 2000.
    According to SPARC, child prisoners languished in prison, victims 
of an overburdened, undercommitted, and uncaring justice system and the 
circumstances that brought them in conflict with the law. Rather than 
being rehabilitated, the majority of child prisoners became hardened 
criminals by spending long periods in the company of adult prisoners.
    Women were held in separate spaces from men in some, but not all, 
prisons. There were many reports of violence against women and rape in 
the prisons.
    The 18th amendment to the constitution, passed in April, mandates 
that religious-minority prisoners be given places to worship inside 
jails. There is an ombudsman for detainees, with a central office in 
Islamabad and one in each province. It was unlikely that this office 
would work on alternatives to incarceration or bail. A complaint system 
existed for prisoners to submit grievances; however, in practice it did 
not function effectively. Inspectors general of prisons visit prisons 
and detention facilities to monitor conditions, but visits were not 
regular. According to government officials, this system was based on 
complaints filed by individuals reporting misbehavior of civil 
servants.
    According to SHARP, by law prison authorities must permit prisoners 
and detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without 
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. After submitting the complaint, the inmates must 
remain in the same prison with the same prison authorities. Therefore, 
although there were many problems and an available channel for 
complaints, the prisoners remained silent to avoid confrontation with 
the jail authorities.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported great 
difficulties in accessing detention sites, in particular those holding 
security-related detainees. In mid-year the ICRC suspended prison 
visits in Punjab, as access to detainees was no longer conducive to 
ICRC working modalities. Despite ongoing dialogue with the Government, 
ICRC visits were not authorized in any detention sites in the provinces 
most affected by violence, namely KP, FATA, and Balochistan. The 
Governments of Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Pakistan-administered 
Kashmir permitted the ICRC to conduct independent monitoring in civil 
prisons. ICRC delegates made confidential reports on their findings and 
offered recommendations to authorities and, where relevant, initiated 
water-sanitation improvement projects.
    Authorities at the local, provincial, and national level permitted 
some human rights groups and journalists to monitor prison conditions 
for juveniles and female inmates.
    According to SHARP, the Government did little to improve conditions 
in detention facilities and failed to monitor existing conditions. As a 
result the situation appeared to deteriorate. Reports of torture 
increased during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibited arbitrary 
arrest and detention, but authorities did not always comply.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Police have primary 
internal security responsibilities for most of the country. By law 
control of local police falls under the Ministry of Interior. The 
Rangers are a paramilitary organization under the authority of the 
Ministry of Interior, with branches in Sindh and Punjab. The armed 
forces are responsible for external security. At times during the year 
they also were assigned domestic security responsibilities.
    Law and order in FATA is administered under the Frontier Crimes 
Regulations (FCR) through a political agent, who reports to the 
president through the KP governor. In lieu of police, multiple law 
enforcement entities operated in FATA. These included the paramilitary 
Frontier Scouts, which report to the Ministry of Interior in peacetime 
and the army in times of conflict; the Frontier Constabulary, which 
patrols the area between FATA and the KP; levies, which operate in FATA 
and report to the political agent; khassadars (hereditary tribal 
police), which help the political agent maintain order; and lashkars 
(tribal militias), which are convoked by tribal leaders and political 
agents to deal with temporary law and order disturbances.
    Police effectiveness varied greatly by district, ranging from 
reasonably good to ineffective.
    Police often failed to protect members of religious minorities, 
including Christians, Ahmadis, and Shia Muslims, from attacks (see 
section 2.c.). Some members of the police committed human rights abuses 
or were responsive to political interests.
    Frequent failure to punish abuses created a climate of impunity. 
Police and prison officials frequently used the threat of abuse to 
extort money from prisoners and their families. The inspectors general, 
district police officers, district nazims (a chief elected official of 
a local government or mayor equivalent), provincial interior or chief 
ministers, federal interior minister, prime minister, or 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. These mechanisms were sometimes 
used.
    The court system remained the only mechanism available to 
investigate abuses by security forces.
    There were improvements in police professionalism during the year. 
As in previous years, the Punjab provincial government conducted 
regular training and retraining in technical skills and protection of 
human rights for police at all levels.
    In March the Islamabad Capital Police established a human rights 
cell to encourage persons to report cases of human rights violations 
either in person, through a telephone hotline, or via e-mail. Islamabad 
police also decided to appoint human rights officers (HROs) and members 
of the community at all police stations. HROs could visit police 
stations at different times and had authority to interview arrested 
individuals. If a police officer was reported to be involved in 
torturing or detaining persons at police stations without 
justification, HROs could recommend disciplinary action against the 
officer involved. Provincial and federal law enforcement officers also 
attended a training course that included human rights, victims' rights, 
and women's rights. Since 2008 SHARP has provided training to more than 
2,000 police officers in human rights.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A FIR is the 
legal basis for any arrest. For certain crimes the police may initiate 
an FIR. Police ability to initiate an FIR is limited. Often a different 
party must file the FIR, depending on the type of crime, not whether 
there is reasonable proof of a crime. An FIR allows police to detain a 
suspect for 24 hours, after which a magistrate can order detention for 
an additional 14 days if police show that such detention is material to 
their investigation. In practice some authorities did not observe these 
limits on detention. There were reports that authorities filed FIRs 
without supporting evidence to harass or intimidate detainees or did 
not file them when adequate evidence was provided unless the 
complainant paid a bribe. There were reports that some police detained 
individuals arbitrarily without charge or on false charges to extort 
payment for their release. There were reports that some police also 
detained relatives of wanted individuals to compel suspects to 
surrender.
    Police routinely did not seek a magistrate's approval for 
investigative detention and often held detainees without charge until a 
court challenged the detention. Some women in detention were sexually 
abused. When requested, magistrates approved investigative detention 
without determining its cause. In cases of insufficient evidence, 
police and magistrates sometimes colluded to issue new FIRs, thereby 
extending detention beyond the 14-day period.
    Courts appointed attorneys for indigents only in capital cases. 
Individuals frequently had to pay bribes to visit a prisoner. Foreign 
diplomats could meet with prisoners when they appeared in court and 
could usually meet with citizens of their countries in prison visits.
    The district coordination officer may recommend preventive 
detention for as long as 90 days to the provincial home department and, 
with the approval of the Home Department, can extend it for an 
additional 90 days.
    The law stipulates that detainees must be brought to trial within 
30 days of their arrest. Under both the Hudood Ordinance and standard 
criminal codes, there are bailable and nonbailable offenses. The Hudood 
Ordinance was a law enacted in 1979 by the then military ruler Zia-ul-
Haq to implement Islamic Sharia law by enforcing punishments mentioned 
in the Qur'an and Sunnah for zina (extramarital sex), qazf (false 
accusation of zina), offense against property (theft), and prohibition 
(the drinking of alcohol).
    Bail pending trial is required for bailable offenses and permitted 
at a court's discretion for nonbailable offenses with sentences of less 
than 10 years. Judges sometimes denied bail at the request of police or 
the community or upon payment of bribes. In some cases trials did not 
start until six months after the FIR, and in some cases individuals 
remained in pretrial detention for periods longer than the maximum 
sentence for the crime with which they were charged. In detention 
facilities, individuals frequently had to pay bribes to visit a 
prisoner. SHARP estimated that approximately 55 percent of the prison 
population was awaiting trial. This situation remained unchanged due to 
lack of change in the judicial system. The high number of inmates 
awaiting trial remained a large burden on the country's jails. In some 
cases detainees were informed promptly of charges brought against them.
    Special rules apply to cases brought to court by the National 
Accountability Bureau (NAB), which under the 2009 NAB Ordinance 
established courts for corruption cases. Suspects may be detained for 
15 days without charge (renewable with judicial concurrence) and, prior 
to being charged, may be deprived of access to counsel. During the year 
the NAB rarely exercised this power. All offenses under the NAB are 
nonbailable, and only the NAB chairman has power to decide whether to 
release detainees. In 2009 the Government removed the NAB's authority 
to prosecute politicians on new charges.
    Under the FCR in FATA, political agents have legal authority to 
impose collective punishment, preventively detain individuals for as 
long as three years, and require ``bonds'' to prevent undesired 
activity. Assistant political agents, overseen by political agents and 
supported by tribal elders of their choosing, are legally responsible 
for justice in FATA and conduct hearings according to Islamic law and 
tribal custom.
    Accused persons have no right to legal representation or bail, and 
relatives or members of the same tribe sometimes were detained. Under 
section 40 of the FCR, even minors can be detained for up to three 
years. The FCR assigns collective punishment without individual rights, 
contrary to accepted judicial principles of individual responsibility. 
Militants in FATA and briefly in Swat imposed their version of Sharia 
law in makeshift courts; their punishments included public beheadings, 
stonings, lashings, and fines (see section 1.g.). Antiterrorism courts 
had the discretion not to grant bail for some charges if the court had 
reasonable grounds to believe the accused was guilty.
    In FATA and the less-governed areas of the Provincially 
Administered Tribal Areas (PATA), security forces may, under the FCR, 
restrict the activities of terrorism suspects, seize their assets for 
up to 48 hours, and detain them for as long as one year without 
charges. Human rights and international organizations reported that an 
unknown number of individuals allegedly affiliated with terrorist 
organizations were held indefinitely in preventive detention and were 
tortured and abused. In many cases these prisoners were held 
incommunicado and were not allowed prompt access to a lawyer of their 
choice; often times family members were not allowed prompt access to 
detainees.
    On January 16, the Government filed a petition challenging the 
Supreme Court's 2009 decision to rule the 2007 National Reconciliation 
Ordinance (NRO) unconstitutional. Then president Musharraf promulgated 
the NRO to provide an amnesty mechanism for public officeholders who 
were charged, but not convicted, in cases filed between 1986 and 1999. 
During the year the hearing of the review petition against the 
judgment, as well as petitions challenging the NRO, continued.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; in practice the judiciary was often subject to 
external influences, such as fear of reprisal in terrorism cases. In 
nonpolitical cases, the media and the public generally considered the 
high court and the Supreme Court credible.
    There were extensive case backlogs in the lower and superior 
courts, as well as other problems that undermined the right to 
effective remedy and the right to a fair and public hearing. According 
to the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan, as of May more than 1.1 
million cases were pending with the country's lower courts, 150,000 
cases awaited the four provincial high courts, and 17,500 cases awaited 
the Supreme Court. Delays in justice in civil and criminal cases arose 
due to antiquated procedural rules, weak case management systems, 
costly litigation to keep a case moving in the system, and weak legal 
education.
    The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the high courts does not 
extend to several areas that operated separate judicial systems. In 
FATA, under the FCR accused persons have no right to legal 
representation or bail. In specific areas noted in the Nizam-e-Adl 
regulation (often informally called the Sharia law) in PATA, Sharia law 
is imposed, and judges, known as qazis, are assisted by religious 
scholars. Azad Kashmir has its own elected president, prime minister, 
legislature, and high court. The Gilgit-Baltistan Self Governance Order 
of 2009 instituted a separate judiciary, legislature, and election 
commission for the region.
    Informal justice systems that lack the legal protections of 
institutionalized justice systems continued, especially in rural areas, 
and often resulted in human rights violations. Lower courts remained 
corrupt, inefficient, and subject to pressure from prominent wealthy, 
religious, and political figures. The politicized nature of judicial 
promotions increased the Government's control over the court system. 
Unfilled judgeships and inefficient court procedures continued to 
result in severe backlogs at both the trial and appellate levels. 
Feudal landlords and other community leaders in Sindh and Punjab and 
tribal leaders in Pashtun and Baloch areas continued to hold local 
council meetings (known as panchayats or jirgas), at times in defiance 
of the established legal system. Such councils settled feuds and 
imposed tribal penalties on perceived wrongdoers, including fines, 
imprisonment, or even the death penalty. Women often were sentenced to 
violent punishments or death for honor-related crimes (see section 6). 
In Pashtun areas such councils were held under the outlines of the FCR. 
Under the code a man, his family, and his tribe are obligated to take 
revenge for wrongs, real or perceived, to redeem their honor. 
Frequently disputes arose over women and land and often resulted in 
violence.
    The traditional settling of family feuds in tribal areas, 
particularly those involving killing, could result in giving daughters 
of the accused in marriage to the bereaved. Many tribal councils 
instituted harsh punishments, such as the death penalty, ``honor 
killings,'' or watta-satta marriages (exchange of brides between clans 
or tribes). The Sindh minister for human rights, Nadia Gabol, called 
for a ban on jirgas in July. Over the past few years, there were a 
growing number of reports of militants running their own courts in 
several tribal agencies and briefly in Swat, dispensing quick justice 
with little due process or transparency in their deliberations.
    The AHRC reported that since 2002 more than 4,000 individuals, two-
thirds of them women, have died by order of jirga courts in the 
country. Although the superior courts declared these rulings illegal, 
the AHRC reported that some of those involved in implementing jirgas 
were members of parliament. Militants in the Malakand Division enforced 
their own form of Islamic justice until the start of military 
operations in April.
    In March 2009 a video was released on national and international 
media outlets showing militants flogging a teenage girl in Swat. 
According to press reports, militants flogged the girl as punishment 
for being seen in a public bazaar with a man who was not her husband. 
Although it was not shown in the video, the militants also flogged the 
man who accompanied her to the market. In response a spokesman for the 
militants defended their right to flog female shoppers who were 
inappropriately dressed, stating that it was permitted under Islamic 
law. The video's release was instrumental in building national support 
against militants in the Malakand Division. In April 2009 the chief 
justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry, ordered police and 
government officials from KP's Swat District to bring the girl to the 
court and called for a court hearing into the public flogging. Prime 
Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the ``shameful'' 
incident in a statement issued by his office. Gilani stated that it was 
contrary to Islamic principles, which teach men to treat women politely 
and gently.

    Trial Procedures.--The civil, criminal, and family court systems 
provide for public trial, presumption of innocence, cross-examination 
by an attorney, and appeal of sentences. There are no jury trials. 
Defendants have the right to be present and to consult with an 
attorney. Defendants bear the cost of legal representation in lower 
courts, but a lawyer can be provided at public expense in session and 
appellate courts. Defendants can confront or question witnesses brought 
by the prosecution and present witnesses and evidence on their behalf. 
Defendants and attorneys have legal access to government-held evidence 
relevant to their cases. Due to the limited number of judges, a heavy 
backlog of cases, lengthy court procedures, frequent adjournment, and 
political pressure, cases routinely took years, and defendants had to 
make frequent court appearances.
    The Anti-Terrorism Act allows the Government to use special 
streamlined courts to try persons charged with violent crimes, 
terrorist activities, acts or speech designed to foment religious 
hatred, and crimes against the state. After arrest, suspects must be 
brought before the antiterrorism courts within seven working days, but 
the courts were free to extend the period. Under normal procedures, the 
high court and the Supreme Court heard appeals from these courts. Human 
rights activists criticized the expedited parallel system, charging it 
was more vulnerable to political manipulation.
    Cases under the Hudood Ordinances are first appealed in the Federal 
Shariat Court. The Supreme Court has ruled that in cases in which a 
provincial high court decides in error to hear an appeal in a Hudood 
case, the Shariat courts lacks authority to review the provincial high 
court's decision. The Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court is 
the final court of appeal for Shariat court cases. A 2005 ruling allows 
the Supreme Court to bypass the Shariat bench and assume jurisdiction 
in such appellate cases. The Shariat courts may overturn legislation it 
judges inconsistent with Islamic tenets, but such cases are appealed to 
the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court and ultimately may be 
heard by the full bench of the Supreme Court.
    Under the FCR in FATA, residents may appeal judgments within the 
civil bureaucracy. Some observers faulted the procedures for not 
allowing cases to be heard on appeal by the judiciary. Human rights 
NGOs expressed concern about the concept of collective responsibility, 
as authorities used it as a pretense 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.
    Courts routinely failed to protect the rights of religious 
minorities. Judges were sometimes pressured to take strong action 
against any perceived offense to Sunni orthodoxy. Laws prohibiting 
blasphemy continued to be used discriminatorily against Muslims, 
Christians, Ahmadis, and members of other religious groups. 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.
    During the year an Ahmadi man, Iqbal, was acquitted of charges of 
blasphemy after spending six years in prison. NGOs reported that bail 
was sometimes denied in blasphemy cases under the premise that, because 
defendants faced the death penalty, they were likely to flee.
    In 2009 the Muslim colleagues of a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, 
accused her of blasphemy after a dispute at work. Police arrested Bibi, 
and she was denied bail under the blasphemy laws. In November Bibi was 
sentenced to death for her crime, becoming the first woman sentenced to 
death for blasphemy. The verdict in the case touched off a massive 
debate within the country about the blasphemy laws, with religious 
extremists calling for her execution and more moderate voices calling 
for her pardon or an appeal to the guilty verdict. At year's end Bibi 
was awaiting her appeal to the Lahore High Court (also see the 2010 
International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt).
    There were many changes in PATA's judicial administration during 
the year. PATA, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including parts of the former 
princely states of Swat, Dir, and Chitral, are governed under Sharia 
law. Due to the country's military intervention in Swat, religious 
extremists and militants were no longer administering parallel judicial 
and administrative processes in the Malakand Division (which 
encompasses the district of Swat.) In addition, in 2009 the country's 
parliament and president formally enacted the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 
2009. The interpretation and enforcement of the law was sufficiently 
flexible that it was criticized by the Taliban that was formerly 
located in Swat. Contrary to Taliban desires, judges were appointed 
from the existing cadre of the country's judiciary and not from among 
``religious scholars.''
    In combination with a new judicial policy originated by the Supreme 
Court, which provided strict time frames for the initiation of both 
criminal and civil prosecutions, as well as significant efforts by 
lawyers and judges to meet the new time lines, the backlog of cases in 
the Malakand Division was reduced dramatically, in some areas up to 90 
percent. In turn this reduced the amount of time that accused 
individuals spent in jail without benefit of active court process.
    Azad Kashmir has a court system independent of the country's 
judiciary.
    Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly known as the Northern Areas) also has a 
separate judicial system. The Gilgit-Baltistan Self-governance Order 
2009 instituted a separate judiciary, legislature, and election 
commission for the region. Formerly the laws of the country were 
extended to the Gilgit-Baltistan at the discretion of the Ministry for 
Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. The Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Court did not 
have all the powers of a high court.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Some Sindhi and Baloch 
nationalist groups claimed that their members were marked for arrest 
and detained based on their political affiliation or beliefs. Under the 
November 2009 Aghaz-e-Huqooqe Balochistan package (which addressed the 
province's political, social, and economic problems), the Government 
announced a general amnesty for all Baloch political prisoners, 
leaders, and activists in exile as well as those allegedly involved in 
``antistate'' activities, dropping all cases against Baloch leaders. 
Despite the amnesty some Baloch groups claimed that the illegal 
detention of nationalist leaders by state agencies continued. The 
Karachi-based Baloch Rights Council claimed that as of September, there 
were 1,600 Baloch political prisoners in the custody of security and 
intelligence agencies.
    Some nationalist parties in Sindh, including the JSQM, claimed that 
their members remained in the custody of government agencies. In a 
statement issued in August, the Asian Legal Resource Center claimed 
that in Sindh Province, more than 100 Sindhi nationalists had been 
arrested or had disappeared and were believed to be held by the 
military.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Persons may petition the 
courts to seek redress for various human rights violations, and courts 
often take such actions. Individuals may seek redress in civil courts 
against government officials, including on grounds of denial of human 
rights in civil courts. Observers reported that civil courts seldom, if 
ever, issued official judgments in such cases, and most cases were 
settled out of court. Although 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 for persons. Police sometimes ignored this requirement 
and at times stole items during searches. Police were seldom punished 
for illegal entry. Sometimes police detained family members to induce a 
suspect to surrender (see section 1.d.). In cases pursued under the 
Antiterrorism Act, security forces were allowed to search and seize 
property related to the case without a warrant.
    Several domestic intelligence services monitored politicians, 
political activists, suspected terrorists, and the media. These 
services included the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the police 
Special Branch, and Military Intelligence. Credible reports indicated 
that authorities routinely used wiretaps and intercepted and opened 
mail without the requisite court approval. NGOs suspected that 
authorities were monitoring mobile phones and electronic 
correspondence.
    Although the Government generally did not interfere with the right 
to marry, local officials on occasion assisted influential families in 
preventing marriages to which the families were opposed. The Government 
also failed to prosecute cases in which families punished members 
(generally women) for marrying or seeking a divorce against the wishes 
of other family members. In some cases authorities detained relatives 
to force a family member who was the subject of an arrest warrant to 
surrender. NGOs alleged that intelligence personnel often harassed 
family members of Baloch nationalists. Collective punishment, which 
involved detention of relatives or members of the same tribe, took 
place in FATA under the FCR.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts--
During the year militant and terrorist activity continued in different 
areas of KP and FATA, and there were numerous suicide and bomb attacks 
in all four provinces and FATA. Militants and terrorist groups, 
including the TTP, the main Taliban militant umbrella group in the 
country, targeted civilians, journalists, schools, progovernment 
community leaders, security forces, and law enforcement agents, killing 
hundreds and injuring thousands with bombs, suicide attacks, and other 
forms of violence. Militant and terrorist groups often attacked 
religious minorities (see section 2.c.). A low-level insurgency 
continued in Balochistan.
    The Government implemented measures to protect the population. The 
military engaged in active combat operations to clear militants or 
security operations to restore security in Khyber, Bajaur, Kurram, 
Mohmand, Orakzai, and South Waziristan agencies in FATA, and Swat and 
the Malakand Division in KP. The Government also took actions to shut 
down and weaken terrorist ties around the country and prevent 
recruitment into militant organizations. Police arrested Karachi gang 
members and TTP commanders who provided logistical support to militants 
in the tribal areas. The Government shifted 100,000 troops from the 
Indian frontier to spearhead a crackdown on the Taliban along the 
Afghanistan border. Police arrested would-be suicide bombers in major 
cities of the country, confiscating arms, suicide vests, and attack 
planning materials. The Government continued to operate a center in 
Swat to rehabilitate and educate former child soldiers.
    Due to poor security, intimidation by security forces and 
militants, and the control the Government and security forces exercised 
over access by nonresidents to FATA, human rights organizations and 
journalists continued to find it difficult to report on military abuses 
in the region.
    In August and September, there was a spate of sectarian violence 
around the country as government agencies, including the military, 
dealt with massive flooding.

    Killings.--During the year there were reports of civilian 
casualties and extrajudicial killings committed by government security 
forces during operations against militants. The human rights situation 
in KP and FATA did not improve. As many as 977 persons were killed 
there, while another 1,765 were injured in suicide attacks and 
bombings. Militants in KP and FATA blew up 85 boys' and 55 girls' 
schools.
    In July HRW released an article about extrajudicial killings in 
Swat. Since February HRW researched alleged human rights violations in 
Swat based on a list of more than 200 suspicious killings provided by 
local sources and the independent HRCP. HRW corroborated 50 of the 
cases. In no case examined by HRW was a killing falsely reported, 
suggesting that the total number of killings was as high as or greater 
than that reported.
    In April HRW reported that approximately 200 persons were killed 
extrajudicially by the Pakistan Army in Swat between August 2009 and 
March 2010. On May 27, an HRCP fact-finding mission reported that 
security forces had restored peace in Swat and that there were no 
reports of any Taliban presence. However, it also found that there were 
approximately 28 extrajudicial killings in Swat after the military 
operation ended in July 2009 and that dead bodies had typically been 
found in the hours at the end of curfew.
    Militant and terrorist bombings in all four provinces and in FATA 
resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. As of 
September 5, according to data collected by the South Asia Terrorism 
Portal, the media had reported 473 bombings in all four provinces and 
in FATA that killed more than 1,500 persons and injured 3,500 others. 
Of these, 49 were suicide attacks that killed 1,100 persons and injured 
more than 2,100.
    There were also reports of attacks on civilians in Balochistan by 
groups prohibited by the Government. According to the report, terrorist 
and extremist attacks and operations to combat terrorism and extremism 
resulted in 7,400 deaths, of which nearly 1,800 were civilians, more 
than 450 were security forces, and more than 5,100 were terrorists or 
insurgents.
    There were numerous militant and terrorist attacks during the year. 
For example, on January 8, eight persons were killed and 11 injured 
when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gate of the headquarters 
of the militant group Ansar-ul-Islam in the Tirah area of the Khyber 
Agency in FATA. The bomber was reportedly a member of the rival 
militant group Lashkar-e-Islam.
    On February 3, four female students were among nine persons killed 
when a bomb targeted a military-led convoy in Lower Dir of KP. At least 
115 persons, including 95 schoolgirls, also were injured in the attack. 
The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack.
    On March 9, a suicide bomber blew up a vehicle outside the 
Government interrogation center of the Special Investigation Agency in 
Lahore, killing at least 14 persons and injuring 89 others.
    On March 12, militants in Lahore targeted the military in a twin-
suicide attack that killed at least 50 persons. The bombers targeted an 
area that was home to army officials and military installations, as 
well as hospitals and schools run by the military.
    On April 19, two members of a progovernment village defense 
committee were shot and killed and three others, including a woman, 
were injured by assailants in the Koza Bandai area of Swat District.
    On April 27, Nazima Talib Mehdi, an assistant professor at 
Balochistan University, was shot and killed in Quetta, Balochistan. The 
BLA, a group banned by the Government and fighting for an independent 
Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the killing, threatened more 
killings, and accused security forces of mistreating Baloch women.
    On July 9, 108 persons, including women and children, were killed 
and 69 injured when two suicide bombers attacked political offices in 
Yakka Ghund in FATA.
    On August 4 in Peshawar, Frontier Constabulary Chief Safwat Ghagyer 
and three bystanders were killed by a teenage suicide bomber. The TTP 
took responsibility for the attack, which was widely seen as part of a 
militant campaign to target high- profile law enforcement and political 
leaders.
    On August 23, 26 persons, including a former member of the National 
Assembly, were killed and 40 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself 
up inside a mosque in Wana town of South Waziristan in FATA.
    On September 6, nine police officers and four students were among 
those killed by an attack in Lakki Marwat, KP. The TTP claimed 
responsibility and stated that it would continue to target security 
forces with suicide attacks.
    On September 7, at least 20 persons were killed and more than 90 
injured in a remote-controlled bomb explosion, allegedly by the 
Taliban, inside a police colony in Kohat, KP.
    On September 15, four persons were killed in Bajaur Agency, FATA, 
in a militant attack on the home of a progovernment tribal elder.
    In September a video appeared on the Internet of Taliban militants 
gathering around a woman with a black hood over her head. The video, 
which was allegedly taken in KP, shows the militants stoning the woman 
to death.
    On October 3, Mohammad Farooq Khan, a moderate religious scholar 
and vice chancellor of Swat Islamic University, was shot and killed in 
his clinic in Mardan along with one of his assistants.
    On October 7, two suspected suicide bombers blew themselves up at 
Karachi's Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine, killing at least eight persons 
and leaving more than 60 injured.
    On October 18, militants shot a peace committee chief in Doaba 
Bazaar of Hangu district and put the heads of two other persons on 
display in Orakzai agency as a warning against resisting the militants.
    According to the Daily Times, on October 22, unidentified 
assailants killed the ANP's former district president, Khogh Badshah, 
in Hangu. Unknown gunmen reportedly opened fire upon Badshah and his 
security guard in the Doaba area of Hangu.
    On November 30, Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi 
escaped unharmed when his convoy was targeted with a remote-controlled 
bomb. The bomb exploded minutes after the convoy passed in Mongechar 
area of Kalat District, approximately 75 miles from Quetta.
    On December 7, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani was 
unharmed by a suicide bomb attack on his motorcade in Quetta that 
killed one of his bodyguards.
    According to the Daily Times, on December 15, the Taliban attacked 
a shrine in Peshawar and killed three of its custodians. Police said 
terrorists attacked the shrine of Ghazi Baba at Badabher and shot the 
custodians. Three of them died on the spot, while the fourth sustained 
injuries. In a separate incident, three persons were injured when a 
police vehicle was targeted with a remote-controlled improvised 
explosive device in Nagman area of Peshawar.
    According to the Daily Times, on December 25, a female suicide 
bomber attacked a gathering of conflict-affected persons waiting to 
receive food in Bajuar Agency, killing at least 42 persons, including 
women and children, and injuring scores of others. A local official 
reported that the suicide attack took place at a World Food Program 
(WFP) food distribution center in Khar. The bomber was a woman who 
appeared in full veil and blew herself up while being searched at the 
center. Witnesses said she threw hand grenades before detonating the 
bomb. TTP spokesman Azam Tariq claimed responsibility for the attack 
and stated that it was in retaliation for the Salarzai tribe's 
activities against the Taliban. The WFP temporarily stopped its food 
distribution operation in Bajaur following the attack.

    Abductions.--During the year there were reports of civilians 
kidnapped or taken hostage by militant groups in FATA, KP, and 
Balochistan.
    On February 20, The News reported that four officials of the 
international NGO Mercy Corps were kidnapped by unidentified armed men 
at gunpoint in the Shankai area of District Qillah Saifullah. On June 
15, one of the officials, the driver, was killed. The three other 
officials were released in July.
    Dawn reported that on March 7, a progovernment tribal elder was 
found dead in Ferozkhel Mela area of Orakzai tribal region. Malik Taj 
Mohammed was kidnapped a few days before he was found. According to 
family sources, the kidnappers never demanded a ransom. At least 23 
elders have been killed in Orakzai for supporting government action 
against militants, and as a result more than 500 elders have moved to 
other areas.
    On May 16, Dawn reported that militants ambushed a convoy being 
escorted by security forces and kidnapped 60 passengers, including 
women and children, in the Toor Ghar area of Hangu district, KP. After 
talks with tribal leaders, militants freed 40 of them; 10 remained in 
the custody of the militants, and another 10 escaped.
    On September 7, Ajmal Khan, vice chancellor of the Islamia College 
University of Peshawar and a cousin of ANP leader Asfandyar Wali Khan, 
was kidnapped by alleged terrorists in Peshawar.
    In April the Government successfully negotiated the release of 
Thanasis Lerounis, a Greek volunteer for a humanitarian organization in 
KP, who had been kidnapped by the Afghan Taliban in September 2009.

    Child Soldiers.--Nonstate militant groups, including the TTP, 
kidnapped boys and girls and coerced parents with fraudulent promises 
into giving away children as young as age 12 to spy, fight, or die as 
suicide bombers. The militants sometimes offered parents money, often 
sexually and physically abused the children, and used psychological 
coercion to convince the children that the acts they committed were 
justified.
    In September 2009 the Government opened a rehabilitation center and 
school in Swat to assist former child soldiers rescued from militants. 
The center included a team of doctors, psychiatrists, and teachers. As 
of August there were more than 120 boys, some as young as age 12, 
attending school and receiving psychological counseling.

    Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--Militants bombed government 
buildings and attacked and killed female teachers. The TTP particularly 
targeted girls' schools, pronouncing its opposition to girls' 
education; however, the TTP also destroyed boys' schools. As of July, 
93 schools were destroyed in Bajaur Agency in FATA. Military operations 
created hardships for the local civilian population when militants 
closed key access roads and tunnels and attacked communications and 
energy networks, disrupting commerce and food and water distribution.
    In KP elected civilian government officials and their families were 
major targets of attacks, especially those representing the ANP party. 
On July 24, the son of KP's information minister, Mian Iftikhar 
Hussain, was shot and killed. Three days later, during the funeral a 
suicide bomber blew himself up near Hussain's home in Peshawar, killing 
eight persons and injuring 15.
    As a result of militant activity and military operations in KP and 
FATA that began in 2008 and continued throughout the year, large 
population displacements occurred. Although an estimated 1.9 million 
conflict-affected persons returned home during the year, there were 
still more than one million internally displaced persons (IDPs) living 
with host communities, in rented accommodation, or in camps. The 
Government and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR) collaborated to provide assistance and protection to those 
affected by the conflict and to assist in their return home (see 
section 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, and the Government respected these rights in 
practice. Citizens generally were free to criticize the Government 
publicly or privately without reprisal; however, they were restricted 
when criticizing the military. The Government impeded criticism by 
monitoring political activity and controlling the media, and security 
forces at times harassed journalists. There were instances of the 
Government shutting down private television channels and blocking 
certain media outlets from broadcasting. Journalists and their families 
were arrested, beaten, kidnapped, and intimidated by militants and 
criminal elements, leading many to practice self-censorship.
    The independent media were active. Previously unreported events, 
such as persecution of minorities, were covered; however, the media 
faced some restrictions. There were numerous independent English and 
Urdu daily and weekly newspapers and magazines. The Ministry of 
Information and Broadcasting controlled and managed the country's 
primary wire service, the Associated Press of Pakistan, the official 
carrier of government and international news to the local media. The 
NGO Intermedia reported that the state broadcaster, Pakistan Television 
(PTV), did not operate under the purview of the law and benefitted from 
a monopoly on broadcast license fees. The military had its own media 
monitoring wing, Inter Services Public Relations.
    The few small, privately owned wire services and privately owned 
media outfits generally practiced self-censorship, especially on news 
reports involving the military. To publish within Azad Kashmir, owners 
of newspapers and periodicals had to obtain permission from the Kashmir 
Council and the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs. The Government-owned and 
government-controlled PTV and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation 
operated radio stations throughout the country. The Pakistan Electronic 
Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance did not extend to FATA or the 
PATA, and independent radio stations were allowed to broadcast in FATA 
with the permission of FATA Secretariat.
    Foreign magazines and newspapers were available, while 
international press agencies maintained in-country correspondents who 
operated freely, although some had difficulty receiving journalist 
visas. There were few restrictions on international media, with the 
important exception of a complete blockade of Indian television news 
channels. Private cable and satellite channels broadcast domestic news 
and were critical of the Government, despite some self-censorship. 
Private radio stations existed in major cities, but their licenses 
prohibited news programming. Some channels evaded this restriction by 
discussing news in talk shows. International radio broadcasts, 
including the BBC and the Voice of America, were available, but 
sometimes were shut down for periods of time by the Pakistan Electronic 
Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA).
    In December 2009 the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting 
issued PEMRA Rules 2009, which contained regulations regarding 
television channels and a code of conduct for media channels as well as 
cable operators. The broadcasters asserted that the language of the 
broadcast laws had been kept vague, leading to instances of abuse and 
arbitrary broadcast restrictions by PEMRA. According to a September 20 
PEMRA press release, ``PEMRA has undertaken a series of crackdown 
against cable operators relaying channels that are not in consonance 
with PEMRA Laws. This action is in addition to the 50 cable networks 
seized by PEMRA Authority last week on account of similar violation 
(unlicensed and unauthorized channels).'' In the month of August alone, 
PEMRA shut down 43 television channels that did not comply with the 
rules.
    On August 8, the transmissions of two of the country's private 
television news channels, Geo TV and ARY News, were blocked. According 
to the Daily Mail, the Government prohibited the media from covering an 
August shoe-throwing incident against President Zardari during a 
meeting with British Pakistanis in the United Kingdom. The two 
Pakistani television channels managed to secure footage of the 
incident, but they had their transmission blocked. According to the 
Guardian, when some cable operators refused to obey the prohibition and 
broadcast the footage, gunmen fired at their staff and offices. The 
offices of two cable operators in Karachi were set on fire when 
operators refused to shut down transmissions of feeds from GEO TV and 
ARY News. The Government denied any role in the attacks and termed them 
a result of a clash between cable operators and the television networks 
in question. However, a private company blocked the television 
channels' news signals. In addition, copies of The News and the Daily 
Jang newspapers were burned, allegedly by activists of the ruling PPP, 
because they printed news about the shoe incident. According to The 
Nation, on October 17, the ruling PPP announced a decision to boycott 
Geo and Jang Group for distributing propaganda against the party since 
it assumed control of the Government. On October 23, the PPP issued a 
show-cause notice to former minister of information and current PPP 
member of the National Assembly Sherry Rehman and suspended Safdar 
Abbasi, a close confidant of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, for 
appearing on Geo TV programs. PPP party supporters later launched 
violent protests outside Rehman's house in Karachi.
    The Government continued to restrict and censor some published 
material. Foreign books needed to pass government censors before being 
reprinted, but there were no reports of book bans during the year. 
Books and magazines could be imported freely but were subject to 
censorship for objectionable sexual or religious content. Obscene 
literature, a category the Government defined broadly, was subject to 
seizure.
    During the year media outlets and journalists and their families 
were subject to violence and harassment by security forces, political 
parties, militants, and other groups. Journalists also were abducted. 
Media outlets that did not practice self-censorship were often the 
targets of retribution.
    According to a report published in December by the Committee to 
Protect Journalists (CPJ), eight journalists were killed during the 
year. There were no reports that authorities had identified suspects in 
any of the cases, which included the following:
    The Daily Times reported that on September 14, journalist Misri 
Khan was killed in Hangu District, KP, by militants from the TTP, who 
claimed that ``he twisted facts whenever we gave him any reports'' and 
``leaned towards the army.''
    On September 16, journalist Mujeebur Rehman Saddiqui, a Daily 
Pakistan correspondent, was killed by gunmen in Dargai, KP.
    According to the CPJ, on November 18, the body of journalist Lala 
Hameed Baloch, who had been kidnapped in late October, was found along 
with the body of a second journalist, Hameed Ismail, with gunshot 
wounds outside of Turbat, Balochistan Province. Baloch's family, local 
journalists, and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists believed 
that he was seized by security officials and targeted for his political 
activism.
    During the year there were also a number of reports of journalists 
being subjected to physical attack, harassment, intimidation, or other 
forms of pressure, which included the following:
    On July 7, the Taliban threw a grenade at the home of Din News 
television reporter Imran Khan in Bajaur, FATA, injuring eight members 
of his family. He and his sister had been hospitalized earlier for 
injuries sustained in a kidnapping attempt.
    On July 22, Sarfraz Wistro, the chief reporter of the Daily Ibrat 
newspaper, was attacked and beaten unconscious by five men near his 
home in Hyderabad, Sindh.
    On September 4, Umar Cheema--the senior member of the investigation 
cell of a leading media group, The News--was abducted and taken to an 
unknown location, where he was blindfolded and beaten, had his hair 
shaved off his head, and was hung upside down and tortured. His 
abductors threatened more torture if ``he didn't mend his ways'' and 
told him the editor of investigations, Ansar Abbassi, would be next. He 
was dropped outside of Islamabad six hours later. Cheema went public 
with the abuse, and The News covered his abduction in detail in print, 
as did television channels. Police filed a case immediately against the 
accused, the Government formed a joint investigation team to probe the 
incident, and the Lahore High Court took notice of the case. As of 
year's end, and after nearly four months of investigation, the team had 
not issued any conclusive findings.
    On July 9, the Punjab Assembly unanimously passed a resolution 
criticizing certain sections of the media for their ``irresponsible 
role'' against political and nonpolitical personalities in the wake of 
reporting on parliamentarians allegedly holding fake or nonrecognized 
higher education degrees. After widespread criticism and protest 
rallies by the media and civil society organizations, another promedia 
resolution was passed by the Punjab Assembly on July 13, acknowledging 
``journalists' role in the movements for restoration of democracy and 
supremacy of judiciary.'' Media groups continued to demand the 
withdrawal of the July 9 resolution.
    In August 2009 Daily Asaap, the most widely circulated Urdu-
language newspaper in Balochistan Province, suspended publication, 
citing harassment from security forces. At year's end the Daily Asaap 
remained closed.
    In December 2009, according to the New York Times, Kamran Shafi, a 
leading columnist and a former army officer who wrote critically of the 
military, was harassed and his house allegedly was attacked by elements 
linked to the security establishment.

    Internet Freedom.--Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. However, 
there were reports of some restrictions on access to the Internet and 
reports that the Government monitored the Internet, some e-mail, and 
Internet chat rooms. There were also reports that the Government 
attempted to control some Web sites, including extremist and 
proindependence Baloch Web sites.
    The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance of 2008, promulgated 
by President Zardari, is in effect. The ordinance created a number of 
offenses involving the misuse of electronic media and systems and the 
use of such data in other crimes. It also stipulated that 
cyberterrorism resulting in a death would be punishable by the death 
penalty or life imprisonment.
    In June the Government announced monitoring of major Web sites for 
anti-Islamic content. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) 
was given the responsibility by the Ministry of Information and 
Broadcasting to monitor major Web sites, including Google, Yahoo, 
Amazon, and MSN, while 17 Web sites containing ``blasphemous material'' 
were also blocked. The actions were taken after the Lahore High Court, 
which was hearing private petitions against blasphemous Web sites, 
ordered the Government to monitor or block such sites. PTA officials, 
however, contended that it was not possible to monitor all such Web 
sites and that such ``interference'' could affect businesses and 
discourage on-line commercial activities.
    The International Telecommunication Union estimated that there were 
more than 18.5 million Internet users in the country as of June, and 
service existed in nearly all of the country's urban and semiurban 
areas. Intermedia reported that broadband Internet was accessible in 
170 cities and towns. Lack of infrastructure limited public access in 
rural areas.
    There were no reports that the Government attempted to obtain or 
disclose the personally identifiable information of a person in 
connection with that person's expression of beliefs.
    In May the PTA blocked the popular social networking Web site 
Facebook nationwide for 10 days after the Lahore High Court ordered its 
closure when members utilized the site for a competition to draw 
caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government generally did 
not restrict academic freedom. However, members of student 
organizations, typically with ties to political parties, fostered an 
atmosphere of violence and intolerance that limited the academic 
freedom of fellow students. On some university campuses in Karachi, 
armed groups of students, most commonly associated with the All 
Pakistan Mutahidda Students Organization (affiliated with the MQM) and 
the Islami Jamiat Talaba (affiliated with Jamaat-e-Islam,), 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 influenced the 
hiring of staff, admissions to universities, and sometimes the use of 
institutional funds. They generally achieved such influence through a 
combination of protest rallies, control of campus media, and threats of 
mass violence. In response university authorities prohibited political 
activity on many campuses, but the ban had limited effect.
    There was no government interference with most art exhibitions or 
other musical or cultural activities. However, the Ministry of Culture 
operated the Central Board of Film Censors, which previewed and 
censored sexual content in foreign and domestic films before exhibition 
in the country.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedom of assembly and freedom of association, subject to 
restrictions imposed by law.

    Freedom of Assembly--Although the constitution provides for this 
right, in practice the Government placed selective restrictions on the 
right to assemble. By law district authorities can prevent gatherings 
of more than four persons without police authorization. Under the 
criminal procedure code, the Government can place a ban on all kinds of 
rallies and processions, except funeral processions, based on security 
considerations.
    There were reports that police beat demonstrators and shelled them 
with tear gas. For example, on May 27, police charged teachers 
protesting in front of the Governor's House in Karachi, Sindh, 
resulting in injury to approximately 30 persons and dozens of arrests. 
Ahmadis also were prohibited from holding conferences or gatherings.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of 
association subject to restrictions imposed by law. According to the 
Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education, there were more than 
100,000 NGOs working in the country; however, due to the fragmented 
legal and regulatory framework, the exact number of NGOs was not known.
    During the year threats to civil society continued, with ``softer 
targets'' such as schools, becoming more frequent focuses of attacks. 
Toward the end of the year, a trend emerged, particularly in the 
vicinity of Peshawar, of bombs being planted and detonated at schools 
during times when children could be expected to be present. During the 
year five such bombings killed 13 students and injured 112.
    Security was a problem for NGO workers due to the instability in 
the FATA and the KP and threats to organizations that promoted women's 
rights. By year's end seven NGO workers had been killed, seven had been 
kidnapped but later released, and several others had received threats.
    International NGOs faced difficulties in obtaining visas for staff 
members. There were reports that security agencies blocked the issuance 
of visas for international staff members due to concerns about their 
activities and links to foreign governments.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, and for uninhibited foreign travel, 
emigration, and repatriation; the Government limited these rights in 
practice. The law prohibits travel to Israel, and the country's 
passports include a statement that they are ``valid for all countries 
except Israel.'' Government employees and students must obtain ``no 
objection certificates'' from the Government before traveling abroad. 
This requirement rarely was enforced for students.
    The Government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to IDPs, refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, and other persons of concern. 
However, the Government's restrictions on access to certain areas of 
FATA, KP, and Balochistan, often due to security concerns, hindered the 
ability of humanitarian assistance providers to deliver aid to 
vulnerable populations.
    Persons on the Exit Control List (ECL) were prohibited from foreign 
travel. Although the ECL was intended to prevent those with pending 
criminal cases from traveling abroad, no judicial action was required 
for the Ministry of Interior to add a name to the ECL. The ECL 
sometimes was used to harass human rights activists or leaders of 
nationalist parties. Those on the list had the right to appeal to the 
courts for removal of their names.
    There were no reports of restrictions on emigration or prohibition 
against repatriation. The law prohibits forced exile, and no case of 
forced exile was reported during the year.

    Internally Displaced Persons.--The Government does not have laws to 
protect IDPs, but implemented policies to assist them, meeting some of 
the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. The National 
Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) registered most IDPs and 
provided them with identity cards in 2009 and early 2010. Registration 
of women and Ahmadis continued to be a problem. In more conservative 
regions within the country, particularly rural areas, a women's right 
to vote or be registered is not recognized. As Ahmadis are not 
recognized as Muslims in the country, they must declare themselves to 
be non-Muslim in order to receive a NADRA identity card. For this 
reason many Ahmadis refused to register. The registration served as a 
basis for the distribution of cash assistance for many IDPs displaced 
by conflicts. However, the registration process did not reach all IDPs, 
since the Government denied registration to IDPs from specific 
geographical areas that it did not consider conflict areas.
    During the year the number of IDPs fluctuated due to militant 
activity and military operations in KP and FATA, as well as nationwide 
flooding during the months of August and September.
    Population displacement due to militant activity in FATA and KP 
began in 2008 and a larger population displacement from Lower Dir, 
Buner, and Swat districts of the KP occurred as a result of military 
operations beginning in April 2009. The total number of conflict IDPs 
at its peak in April/May 2009 rose to 3.4 million nationwide. In July 
2009 the KP government and the humanitarian community came to an 
agreement for a voluntary, informed, dignified, safe, and sustainable 
return of the IDPs. KP authorities, in coordination with the 
international humanitarian assistance community, implemented a phased, 
facilitated return plan.
    Military operations in FATA at the beginning of the year led to 
approximately 20,000 new IDPs coming from the Orakzai Agency and the 
Kurram Agency. Continuing sectarian violence in Kurram further 
increased the number of displaced families, possibly by an additional 
2,000. The military operation launched in September 2009 in Bara 
(Khyber Agency, FATA) created hundreds of thousands of IDPs, 
approximately 30,000 of whom continued to be sheltered in Jalozai Camp. 
A sizeable number continued to live with host families and rented 
houses away from Bara.
    As of mid-December, approximately 1.2 million persons remained 
displaced in KP. The majority of conflict-affected IDPs resided with 
host families, in rented accommodations, or, to a lesser extent, in 
camps. The Government continued to consolidate and close IDP camps 
during the year. Of the few remaining, Jalozai camp in Nowshera 
District of KP hosted the largest in-camp conflict-affected IDP 
population, with an estimated 96,000 residents, mostly from Bajaur 
Agency.
    A survey conducted in October by the UNHCR among IDPs from South 
Waziristan sheltering in Dera Ismail (DI) Khan and Tank districts 
revealed that 85 percent of those surveyed wanted to return to their 
areas of origin; of this number, 44 percent felt comfortable returning 
immediately. The Government continued to facilitate voluntary returns 
to Orakzai and South Waziristan agencies with support from the 
international humanitarian community. As of December 23, the UN 
reported that 4,664 families had returned to Orakzai and 307 families 
had returned to South Waziristan.
    The Government severely restricted humanitarian organizations' 
access to parts of FATA and KP, particularly to South and North 
Waziristan and DI Khan and Tank districts, during the year. With the 
onset of the flooding, however, some humanitarian space opened in 
northwest Pakistan, with the Government easing access requirements, 
such as temporarily waiving certain requirements for visas and no-
objection certificates.
    The HRCP invited the Government to develop a template for 
protection and assistance of IDPs. In its report, Internal Displacement 
in Pakistan: Contemporary Challenges, the commission recommended 
proactive measures for averting displacement, mainly by early 
identification of threats, close and continued assessment and 
monitoring of risks, and adoption of appropriate responses. The report 
noted that ``provisions must be made for individuals who face 
additional vulnerabilities on account of their age, gender, religious 
beliefs, health condition and physical and mental disabilities.'' 
Referring to the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the 
report also noted that prior to any decision requiring the displacement 
of persons, authorities should ensure that all feasible alternatives 
are explored to avoid displacement altogether. Where no alternatives 
exist, all measures shall be taken to minimize displacement and its 
adverse effects. The report underlined the need for making efforts to 
mitigate the impact on the affected population in cases where 
displacement is unavoidable, adding that there must be greater 
recognition of the importance of assisting the displaced persons beyond 
the immediate emergency response and of assessing and responding to the 
needs of the affected population throughout the various phases of 
displacement.
    According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), nearly 50 percent of 
the estimated two million IDPs from Swat in July 2009 were children, 
many of them in urgent need of health and educational services, 
nutritional support, access to clean water and sanitation, in addition 
to protection.
    According to The News, children in KP were most vulnerable to the 
effects of the insurgency before, during, and after their displacement. 
Loss of family members and exposure to horrific violence left many 
struggling with a sense of uncertainty, insecurity, and fear.
    On July 29, floods of unprecedented proportions began. By the end 
of August, approximately 61,800 square miles were flooded. The flooding 
created a humanitarian crisis throughout the country, killing more than 
1,900 persons and affecting approximately 20 million others. The number 
and location of citizens displaced fluctuated as the waters moved 
downstream, overflowing both banks of the Indus River. According to the 
UNHCR, as of December 14, the number of camps for flood-affected 
persons in Sindh Province had dropped significantly from 4,800 at the 
height of the crisis to 340, with dozens of camps being closed daily; 
the camp population in Sindh in mid-December stood at 128,000. In 
Balochistan Province, an analysis conducted by the Balochistan Rural 
Support Program indicated that 7,759 families were residing in camps in 
the province during the first week of the emergency, while the number 
had dropped to 4,315 families in week eight. The UNHCR reported that 
only 12 IDP camps remained operational in Balochistan as of mid-
December. In KP Province in mid-December, the UNHCR was profiling 3,300 
families scattered in 39 spontaneous camps. In Punjab Province, more 
than 95 percent of the flood-affected persons had gone back to their 
homes by mid-December.
    The Government (including provincial governments) launched rescue 
and relief operations conducted by the National Disaster Management 
Authority (NDMA) at the federal level and by relevant agencies at the 
provincial level, assisted by the country's military, foreign military 
units, various UN agencies, the Pakistani Red Crescent, and the ICRC. 
More than 20,000 army troops including medical teams, along with dozens 
of helicopters, several C-130 aircraft, and over 1,000 boats, were 
mobilized to undertake flood relief and search and rescue operations 
throughout the country and distribute relief supplies to displaced and 
isolated populations. Simultaneous work was undertaken to strengthen 
banks vulnerable to floods. In some places breaches were engineered to 
control floods and disrupted communication networks were quickly 
restored by temporary structures.
    On September 8, the NDMA announced the registration and 
compensation process for flood-affected families. The program called 
for providing 20,000 rupees (approximately $235) to each of the 
approximately 3.4 million flood-affected families. The compensation 
registration process was to be led by provincial social welfare 
departments, with assistance from the UNHCR and the NADRA.
    As of late October, the NDMA reported the distribution of more than 
1.1 million blankets, 184,035 tons of food items, and the rescue of 
almost 1.4 million persons. A broad range of NGOs also worked with the 
Government to provide emergency relief and early recovery support to 
the affected populations throughout the country, including clean water, 
food, shelter, and basic health care.
    The country's media and humanitarian assistance providers reported 
instances of alleged discrimination in the distribution of food and 
relief items on ethnic, nationality, religious, social, or other 
grounds, including gender. The Government asked humanitarian 
organizations to report any such instances to NDMA. In Balochistan, the 
UNHCR reported cases where beneficiaries were charged money to receive 
Watan cards (government-provided cash cards) and instances of gender-
based violence related to the abduction of girls, forced marriages, and 
domestic violence.
    The Government coordinated with the Office of the High Commissioner 
for Human Rights for the voluntary and safe return of IDPs. For IDPs 
that were not ready to return, the Government coordinated support for 
IDP camps with the UNHCR and other international organizations. The WFP 
distributed food rations to the IDPs displaced by conflict.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 UN 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. 
There is no legislation that provides for asylum or refugee status. 
Although there is no legislation excluding asylum seekers and refugees 
from the provisions of the Foreigners Act regarding illegal entry and 
stay or conferring legal status, the Government in most cases provided 
protection against the expulsion or involuntary return of refugees to 
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened. The country 
is a member of the UNHCR's governing executive committee and cooperated 
with the UNHCR in protecting, assisting, and repatriating Afghan 
refugees.
    Since 1979 the Government has provided temporary protection to 
millions of refugees from Afghanistan. According to the UNHCR, at the 
end of the year, an estimated 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees 
remained in the country, while another 104,331 voluntarily repatriated 
to Afghanistan during the year. There were no credible estimates of how 
many Afghans were undocumented or unregistered, but rough estimates put 
the number at more than one million. At the end of December 2009, 
Afghan refugees' proof of registration (PoR) cards expired; however, on 
March 24, Prime Minister Gilani extended PoR status through December 
2012. The new PoR cards were more durable and had features that made 
duplication more difficult (i.e., holographic lamination). In addition, 
as of September the NADRA agreed to issue Afghan birth certificates at 
PoR card renewal centers to all Afghan children under the age of 18 
born in the country (as opposed to only issuing birth certificates to 
Afghans born in refugee camps).
    On May 7, the UNHCR-Afghanistan-Pakistan Tripartite Agreement 
governing the voluntary repatriation of registered Afghan refugees was 
extended until the end of 2012. Under the agreement the three parties 
reaffirmed their commitment to the voluntary, gradual, and dignified 
return of Afghan refugees. However, from January to July, the 
Government deported 240 Afghans with PoR cards. There were also 
credible allegations that the Government deported between 50 and 60 
unregistered Afghans per week.
    According to the UNHCR, less than half of registered Afghan 
refugees lived in 84 refugee villages in KP (71), Balochistan (12,) and 
Punjab (one). Close to 60 percent of the registered Afghans lived in 
urban areas. More than half of this population came from five provinces 
in Afghanistan: Nangarhar, Kabul, Kunduz, Logar, and Paktya.
    Refugees were not allowed to work legally. Refugees often were 
exploited in the informal labor market. Refugee women and children were 
particularly vulnerable, accepting underpaid and undesirable positions 
in workplaces such as morgues.
    Police in some cases demanded bribes from refugees. There were 
credible reports that members of the intelligence services also 
harassed refugees. Refugees faced societal discrimination and abuse 
from local communities, which resented economic competition and blamed 
refugees for high crime rates and terrorism. Single women, female-led 
households, and children working on the streets were particularly 
vulnerable to abuse and trafficking.
    The floods did not affect refugee access to services, except in the 
case of the Afghan refugee village of Azakhel, KP, where the Government 
did not authorize the former residents to return to their destroyed 
village to rebuild it. At the end of the year, 3,000 refugee families 
were still displaced, living in tents in the proximity of the village, 
or staying with relatives or in rented rooms. The UNHCR was assisting 
these families until the Government authorized them to return to the 
village, which stands on valuable land over which there are competing 
property claims.
    Afghan refugees could avail themselves of the services of police 
and courts, but some, particularly the poor, were afraid to do so. 
Every refugee who registered with both the UNHCR and the Government-run 
Commission for Afghan Refugees was granted admission to public 
education facilities after filing the proper paperwork. In practice 
there were no reports of refugees being denied access to health 
facilities.
    The country lacks a legal and regulatory framework for the 
management of refugees and migration.
    In many instances the rights of refugees and services to which 
Afghans can or cannot have access were open to local government or even 
individual interpretation. For example, the State Bank governor decided 
that Afghans could not have bank accounts, but NADRA regularly verified 
for banks the identity of refugees who wished to open accounts.
    Although there is no legislation specifically permitting Afghans to 
obtain a driver's license, Afghans drove a large percentage of the 
trucks in the KP. Although there were a number of Afghan schools funded 
by foreign assistance, Afghan children usually had no problem attending 
the country's primary schools. For older students, particularly in 
cities, access was harder. Even Afghans who grew up in the country 
needed a student visa to attend the country's universities, but they 
qualified for a student visa on the basis of their PoR card. In some 
cases of particularly serious crimes, the UNHCR took up legal cases on 
behalf of refugee victims.
    The Government did not accept refugees for resettlement from other 
countries or facilitate local integration. While the Government did not 
have a system to confer refugee status or asylum, it generally 
abstained from forcibly returning Afghans and other foreigners with PoR 
cards.

    Stateless Persons--The UNHCR reported that statelessness emerged as 
an issue in the country during the year. There is no national 
legislation on statelessness. The stateless persons in the country were 
primarily individuals with links to Bangladesh. The UNHCR reported that 
while accurate data was not available, various sources put the number 
of affected persons in the thousands.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides the majority of citizens with the right to change 
their government peacefully, and the country held national and 
provincial elections in 2008 that brought opposition parties to power. 
Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir, and FATA had different political 
systems, and of these only FATA had representation in the national 
parliament. Under the 18th amendment to the constitution, adopted in 
April, the president's power to dissolve parliament was relinquished 
and shifted to the prime minister.
    Residents of Gilgit-Baltistan did not have representation in the 
national parliament. In September 2009 President Zardari signed the 
Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order, under which the 
portions of the country known as the Northern Areas were afforded 
attributes of a province and renamed Gilgit-Baltistan (although still 
without parliamentary representation).
    Residents of FATA were represented in the national parliament but 
did not have a voice in federal decision-making over the tribal areas, 
an authority that belongs to the president. Tribal residents did not 
have the right to change their local government, since unelected civil 
bureaucrats nominally ran the tribal agencies. The elected councils in 
FATA, set up in 2007 to provide local representation within the tribal 
areas, have not been given an active role in governing the tribal 
areas. The Political Parties Act does not apply to FATA, and no 
political party can legally campaign or operate an office there. In 
March Prime Minister Gilani announced the Government's intention to 
extend the act to FATA after peace is restored there; by year's end he 
had not signed the necessary order. Some political parties asserted 
that this prohibition on political party activity was void because 
religious-based parties openly campaigned in FATA, despite the law.
    Azad Kashmir did not have representation in the national 
parliament. Azad Kashmir has an interim constitution, an elected 
unicameral assembly, a prime minister, and a president who is elected 
by the assembly. Both the president and legislators serve five-year 
terms. Of the 49 assembly seats, 41 are filled through direct 
elections, and eight are reserved seats (five for women and one each 
for representatives of overseas Kashmiris, technocrats, and religious 
leaders). However, the federal government exercises considerable 
control over the structures of government and electoral politics. Its 
approval is required to pass legislation, and the federal minister for 
Kashmir affairs exercises significant influence over daily 
administration and the budget. The Kashmir Council, composed of federal 
officials and Kashmiri assembly members and chaired by the federal 
prime minister, also holds some executive, legislative, and judicial 
powers. The military retains a guiding role on issues of politics and 
governance. Those who do not support Azad Kashmir's accession to the 
country were barred from the political process, government employment, 
and educational institutions. They were also subject to surveillance, 
harassment, and sometimes imprisonment by security services. The 2006 
legislative elections in Azad Kashmir were marred by allegations of 
rigging.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2008 the country held 
national parliamentary elections that brought former opposition parties 
into a coalition government led by the PPP under the leadership of 
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Gilani. The elections were postponed 
multiple times, the last time due to the assassination of PPP leader 
Benazir Bhutto in 2007. In the 2008 indirect presidential election, 
Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Bhutto, became president, succeeding 
Pervez Musharraf, who had resigned. The broad coalition government was 
dissolved in 2009, leaving the PPP to govern with a smaller majority in 
league with several partners.
    For the 2008 elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) 
reportedly accredited approximately 25,000 domestic observers, the 
majority of whom were from the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). 
The EU and Democracy International also observed. In 2008, for the 
first time in the country's history, the ECP released the certified 
results of the elections broken down by polling station, a step toward 
greater transparency.
    The Government permitted all existing political parties to contest 
the elections; although several boycotted, the largest parties 
participated. The Government required voters to indicate their religion 
when registering to vote. The Ahmadi community rejected the country's 
legal prohibition on the Ahmadis being called Muslims. In order to 
register to vote, the Government required Ahmadis to declare themselves 
as non-Muslims; as a result, the Ahmadis boycotted the elections. 
International and domestic observers found the 2008 parliamentary 
election competitive and noted that the results appeared to reflect the 
will of the voters, despite significant flaws in the process.
    Security services and feudal landlords intimidated voters and 
political parties throughout the country, according to FAFEN. In 
particular, observers noted that some police pressured candidates and 
political party workers by threatening to register cases against them. 
Police often reportedly did not allow rallies for opposition parties 
and pressured individuals to vote for certain parties. FAFEN documented 
cases in which intelligence services pressured candidates to withdraw.
    The International Foundation for Electoral Systems noted that 
formal adjudication of challenges of disputed election results was weak 
and that the high courts did not meet statutorily prescribed deadlines 
for adjudication in the majority of cases.
    There are no laws that prevent women from voting; however, cultural 
and traditional barriers in tribal and rural areas impeded some women. 
Women participated in political life. There were 60 seats in the 
National Assembly reserved for women, and an additional 16 women won 
directly elected seats in the 342-seat National Assembly. The reserved 
seats were apportioned on the basis of total votes secured by the 
candidates of each political party contesting elections to the general 
seats. There were five women in the federal cabinet. In 2008, for the 
first time in the country's history, the National Assembly elected a 
female speaker, Fahmida Mirza. Of the 758 seats in provincial 
assemblies, there were 128 reserved for women. One-third of the seats 
in local councils were reserved for women. Provincial chief ministers 
named women to serve in their cabinets. In some districts, social and 
religious conservatives prevented women from becoming candidates. Women 
also participated actively as political party members, but were not 
always successful in securing leadership positions within parties, with 
the exception of in the women's wing.
    The 18th amendment to the constitution that passed in April 
reserved four seats to the Senate for religious minorities. There were 
10 religious minority members in reserved seats in the National 
Assembly, and one served in the cabinet as the federal minister of 
minorities. Such seats were apportioned to parties based on the 
percentage of seats each won in the assembly. Under the law minorities 
held 23 reserved seats in the provincial assemblies: eight in Punjab; 
nine in Sindh; three in the KP; and three in Balochistan.
    The first elections in Gilgit Baltistan were held in November 2009 
for a 24-member legislative assembly, with the PPP winning the majority 
of the votes. Syed Mehdi Shah of the PPP was chosen as the first-ever 
chief minister, replacing direct rule by the federal government. 
According to a preelection analysis by FAFEN, government interference, 
weak administration, procedural irregularities, and erroneous voter 
lists affected the election results. Although the election was largely 
peaceful, two persons were killed and at least 40 were injured in 
several incidents of violence. On March 23, Shama Khalid took the oath 
as governor of Gilgit-Baltistan, becoming the country's second-ever 
female governor of a province; however, she died from cancer on 
September 15.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides for criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The 
NAB established accountability courts to consider corruption cases (see 
section 1.d., arrest procedures). Some human rights groups charged that 
the NAB was a deviation from the normal justice system and that the 
Government influenced the NAB. However, the NAB took on cases of 
embezzlement, bank loan defaults, pension scams, and illegal kickback 
schemes, among others.
    Corruption was pervasive in politics and government and various 
politicians and public office holders faced allegations of corruption, 
including bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and 
embezzlement. According to a July Transparency International report, 
corruption perception worsened compared with 2009. The report indicated 
a rise in corruption, to 223 billion rupees ($2.6 billion) during the 
year from 195 billion rupees ($2.3 billion) in 2009. The police and the 
bureaucracy continued to be seen as the two most corrupt public sector 
institutions.
    A 2007 NRO, promulgated under President Musharraf, provided an 
amnesty mechanism for public officials who were charged, but not 
convicted, in cases filed between 1986 and 1999. In December 2009 the 
Supreme Court declared the NRO null and void, reopening all 8,000 cases 
against those who had received amnesty, including the president, 
ministers, and parliamentarians. However, on January 16, the Zardari 
government filed a petition challenging the Supreme Court's 2009 
decision, requesting its review. As of year's end, the issue remained 
unresolved.
    In light of the NRO being struck down, the Supreme Court ordered 
the Government to request that Swiss authorities reopen the money 
laundering case in Switzerland that had been brought against President 
Zardari. As of year's end, the Government had not complied with the 
order. In addition, Swiss judicial authorities reportedly cited 
presidential immunity and did not independently reopen the case. Both 
President Zardari and the late PPP leader Benazir Bhutto had been 
convicted by a Geneva court in 2003 of laundering $13 million linked to 
kickbacks, but the verdict was overturned on appeal. In 2008 Swiss 
judicial authorities stated that they had closed the money laundering 
case against Zardari and had released $60 million frozen for a decade 
in Swiss accounts.
    In another high profile case in May, the NAB assisted in 
extraditing former Punjab Bank president Hamesh Khan. He was accused in 
a nine-billion-rupee ($105 million-dollar) scam. His case was pending 
at year's end.
    Corruption within the lower levels of the police was common. The 
July survey by Transparency International noted that the major cause of 
corruption was lack of accountability, followed by lack of merit and 
low salaries. Some police were known to charge fees to register genuine 
complaints and accepted money for registering false complaints. Bribes 
to avoid charges were commonplace. Critics charged that SHOs' 
appointments were politicized.
    Anecdotal reports persisted about corruption in the district and 
sessions courts, including reports of small-scale facilitation payments 
requested by court staff. Lower-court judges lacked the requisite 
independence and sometimes were pressured by superior court judges how 
to decide a case. Lower courts remained corrupt, inefficient, and 
subject to pressure from prominent wealthy, religious, and political 
figures. Government involvement in judicial appointments increased the 
Government's control over the court system.
    The 2002 Freedom of Information Ordinance allows any citizen access 
to public records held by a public body of the federal government, 
including ministries, departments, boards, councils, courts, and 
tribunals. It does not apply to government-owned corporations or 
provincial governments. The bodies must respond to requests for access 
within 21 days. Certain records are restricted from public access, 
including classified documents, those that would be harmful to a law 
enforcement case or an individual, or those that would cause grave and 
significant damage to the economy or the interests of the nation. NGOs 
criticized the ordinance for having too many exempt categories and for 
not encouraging proactive disclosure.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Other groups that 
reported on issues implicating the Government, military, or 
intelligence services faced restrictions on their operations. There 
were very few NGOs with access to KP, the FATA, and some areas in 
Balochistan. While government officials were sometimes cooperative, 
they were only somewhat responsive to these groups' views. The PPP-led 
government delayed or blocked issuance of visas to international staff 
members of organizations whose work challenged the image of the 
Government.
    The Government sometimes sought NGO technical cooperation, 
especially from international NGOs, in the fields of humanitarian 
relief, development, environment, election operations, and human 
trafficking. Human rights groups reported they generally had access to 
police stations and prisons.
    The Government permitted international nongovernmental human rights 
observers to visit the country. The ICRC and many agencies of the UN 
had offices in the country, including the UNHCR, UNICEF, and the UN 
Development Program.
    The Senate and National Assembly Standing Committees on Law, 
Justice, Minorities, and Human Rights held hearings on a range of 
problems, including honor crimes, police abuse of the blasphemy law, 
and the Hudood Ordinance. The committees served as useful forums in 
which to raise public awareness of such problems, but their final 
decisions generally adhered to government policy. The committees did 
not have the resources to do more than conduct broad oversight. The 
Parliamentarians' Commission for Human Rights, an interparty caucus of 
parliamentarians, lobbied for reform in several areas.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution provides for equality for all citizens and broadly 
prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, caste, residence, or 
place of birth; in practice there was significant discrimination based 
on each of these factors.

    Women.--Rape, other than by one's spouse, is a criminal offense, 
with punishment that ranges from a minimum of 10 to 25 years in prison 
and a fine to the death penalty. The penalty for gang rape is either 
death or life imprisonment, but sentences were often less severe. 
Although rape was frequent, prosecutions were rare.
    The 2006 WPA brought the crime of rape under the jurisdiction of 
criminal rather than Islamic courts. Previously, under the rape 
provision of the Hudood Ordinance, a woman was compelled to produce 
four male witnesses to corroborate her charge. Under the WPA police are 
not allowed to arrest or hold a woman overnight at a police station 
without a civil court judge's consent. A provision in the WPA also 
modified the complaint procedure in rape cases. Instead of a FIR, it 
requires a complaint to be made directly to a sessions court. After 
recording the victim's statement, the sessions court judge officially 
lodges a complaint, after which police can then make any arrests. While 
this procedure was meant to eliminate problems relating to social norms 
that make it difficult for women to go to the police, NGOs reported 
that this created other barriers for rape victims who did not have 
money or access to the courts. A February 2009 ruling by the Federal 
Shariat Court invalidated a 25-year-old legal provision allowing a man 
accused of rape to question the credibility of the victim by offering 
evidence that she was ``of generally immoral character.''
    There were no reliable national statistics on rape due to the 
underreporting and the lack of a central law enforcement data 
collection system. However, based on media reports, the NGO Aurat 
Foundation reported that 928 women were raped during the year.
    Prosecutions of reported rapes were rare. Police and NGOs reported 
that false rape charges sometimes were filed in different types of 
disputes, reducing the ability of police to assess real cases and 
proceed with prosecution. NGOs reported that police at times were 
implicated in rape cases. NGOs also alleged that police sometimes 
abused or threatened victims, demanding that they drop charges, 
especially when police received a bribe from suspected perpetrators. 
Some police demanded bribes from some victims before registering rape 
charges, and investigations were sometimes superficial. While the use 
of postrape medical testing increased during the year, medical 
personnel in many areas did not have sufficient training or equipment, 
which further complicated prosecutions.
    On June 27, the Daily Times reported that the body of Sabir Soomro, 
the brother of Kainat Soomro, a 2007 gang rape victim, was found near 
Khuzdar, Balochistan. He had disappeared in March on his way to his 
sister's hearing. The family alleged that the perpetrators kidnapped 
him with the help of police to pressure the family into withdrawing the 
case. All four accused men previously had been acquitted and released. 
On June 28, President Zardari took notice of the case and ordered a new 
inquiry; at year's end there was no new information on the inquiry.
    There were no developments in the July 2009 case of Assiya Rafiq, 
who allegedly was held for eight months, repeatedly raped, and then 
handed over to the Khanewal, Punjab, police, who allegedly raped her 
over the course of 14 days.
    According to a report by the Interior Ministry, during the previous 
three years, the number of cases of torture and rape by police 
officials increased by 60 percent. The report stated that 178 police 
officers in Punjab were involved in rape and other human rights 
violations, of which 89 were sent to jail. The report found that, 
during the previous two years, 10 police officers in Balochistan were 
found guilty of human rights violations and violence against women.
    On February 21, the HRCP reported that a 17-year-old Hindu girl, 
Kasturi Kohli, from Nagarparker, Sindh, was kidnapped on January 24 and 
gang-raped by an influential landlord, Ramzan Khoso, and his 
accomplices. Community members protested police reluctance to register 
the case and approached the Sindh High Court, which then ordered the 
police to file a FIR. Four persons were charged: Habibullah Khoso, 
Ramzan Khoso, Ghulam Nabi Khoso, and Veroo Mehraj. No arrests had been 
made by year's end.
    According to the AHRC, on October 26, 13-year-old Naveeda Kalhoro 
of Sindh Province allegedly was abducted and gang-raped by two lawyers 
from the Peoples Lawyer Forum, a legal body affiliated with the ruling 
PPP. Charges were later dropped by police due to pressure from the 
ruling party and a member of the provincial assembly from the area.
    The AHRC reported that Ruby Masih was picked up by police officers 
and taken to a private detention center, where she was gang-raped for 
more than 50 days (from August 10 until September 30). Masih's case 
against the accused officers was dropped due to a jurisdictional issue.
    There were no new developments reported in the June 2009 case of 
the alleged gang rape and killing of a 15-year-old girl by Iftikhar 
Ahmad and other hospital staff in Sheikhupura, Punjab, or in the 
October 2009 case of 16-year-old Ruby Perveen, who was allegedly 
kidnapped and gang-raped by five men, including Qiaser Shahzad, Adeel 
Shahzad, and Irshad Shahzad, sons of a political party leader. The 
girl's family disputed the police claim that an out-of-court settlement 
was arranged.
    In November 2009 three of the five alleged perpetrators in the 2008 
gang rape case of an 18-year-old woman in Mazar-e-Quaid, Karachi, 
Sindh, were arrested. According to reports, two were released by 
police. There were no other updates on the case.
    There were no developments in the 2008 rape case of a seven-year-
old girl by two men in Lahore; the 2008 case in which a group of men 
kidnapped, raped, and killed a 13-year-old schoolgirl in Rawalpindi; or 
the 2008 case of a woman in Mandi Bahauddin, who was kidnapped, gang-
raped, and severely burned with acid before being killed.
    During the year there were no developments in the Supreme Court 
case brought against the men involved in the 2002 gang rape of Mukhtar 
Mai. In 2005 the Supreme Court ordered that five men, whose original 
conviction the Lahore High Court overturned, be rearrested and held 
without bail. During the year Mai lived in her village in Punjab with 
police protection, and the 13 men allegedly involved in the gang rape 
were in prison.
    Domestic violence was a widespread and serious problem. Husbands 
reportedly beat and occasionally killed their wives. Other forms of 
domestic violence included torture, physical disfigurement, and shaving 
the eyebrows and hair off women's heads. In-laws abused and harassed 
the wives of their sons. Dowry and family-related disputes often 
resulted in death or disfigurement by burning or acid.
    According to the Aurat Foundation, the cases of reported violence 
against women increased 12.5 percent from the previous year. The 
foundation reported that during the year 1,436 women were killed, 2,236 
were abducted, 486 were victims of domestic violence, 74 were sexually 
assaulted, 32 were victims of acid attacks, and 633 women committed 
suicide. The HRCP reported that there were 371 incidents of domestic 
violence against women, including 82 attempted killings, 62 being set 
on fire, 12 burned by kerosene stoves, and 30 acid attacks. In 
addition, 655 women committed suicide, and another 382 women attempted 
suicide.
    According to a 2008 HRCP report, 80 percent of wives in rural 
Punjab feared violence from their husbands, and nearly 50 percent of 
wives in developed urban areas admitted that their husbands beat them.
    Women who tried to report abuse faced serious challenges. Police 
and judges were sometimes reluctant to take action in domestic violence 
cases, viewing them as family problems. Instead of filing charges, 
police typically responded by encouraging the parties to reconcile. 
Abused women usually were 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 hesitant to report abuse due to fear of 
dishonoring the family.
    To address societal norms that frown on victims who report gender-
based violence and abuse, the Government established women's police 
stations, staffed by female officers, to offer women a safe haven where 
they could safely report complaints and file charges. There were at 
least eight women's police stations in the country, located in Quetta, 
Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana, Lahore, and 
Faisalabad. The first was established in 1994 in Karachi. However, they 
were poorly staffed and equipped.
    There is no specific law against domestic violence.
    The Government operated the Crisis Center for Women in Distress, 
which referred abused women to NGOs for assistance. A total of 26 
government-funded Shaheed Benazir Bhutto centers for women across the 
country provided women with temporary shelter, legal aid, medical 
treatment, and psychosocial counseling. These centers served women who 
were victims of exploitation and violence. Victims were later referred 
to ``darul aman'' (approximately 200 centers for women and child 
victims established under the Provincial Women Development Department 
funds). These centers provided shelter, access to medical treatment, 
limited legal representation, and some vocational training. Many 
government centers were full beyond capacity and lacked sufficient 
staff and resources. In some cases women were abused at the Government-
run shelters. Women were victims of various types of societal violence 
and abuse, including ``honor killings,'' mutilation, forced marriages, 
imposed isolation, and being used to settle disputes. Women often were 
treated as the property or goods of their families, and perpetrators 
were often husbands and other male family members.
    Every year hundreds of women reportedly were killed in the name of 
honor. Many cases went unreported and unpunished. The News reported 
that in 2009, 29 women and 15 men were killed in 25 honor-killing 
incidents in KP. During the year 39 women and 29 men were killed in 20 
incidents of honor killing. The HRCP reported that during the year 
there were790 honor killings in the country. The practice of ``karo-
kari,'' which occurred in Sindh Province, continued across the country. 
Karo-kari is a form of premeditated honor killing that occurs if a 
tribal court or jirga determines that adultery or some other ``crime of 
honor'' occurred. Karo-kari means ``black male'' (karo) and ``black 
female'' (kari), metaphoric terms for someone who has dishonored the 
family or is an adulterer and adulteress. Once a woman is labeled as a 
kari, male family members have the self-authorized justification to 
kill her and any coaccused karo to restore family honor. In many cases 
the karo is not killed or is able to flee.
    The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2005 increased penalties for 
karo-kari and other forms of honor killing. However, human rights 
groups criticized the act because it allows the victim or the victim's 
heirs to negotiate physical or monetary restitution with the 
perpetrator in exchange for dropping charges, known as ``qisas'' and 
``diyat.''
    Police in Sindh have established karo-kari cells with a toll-free 
telephone number in the districts of Sukkur, Ghotki, Khairpur, and 
Nausharo Feroze for persons to report karo-kari incidents. Because 
honor crimes generally occurred within families, many went unreported. 
However, police and NGOs reported that increased media coverage enabled 
law enforcement to take action against perpetrators.
    Many young girls and women were victims of forced marriages 
arranged by their families. Forced marriage was made a criminal offense 
in 2007; while many cases were filed, prosecution remained a problem. 
There were reports of citizens abroad bringing their daughters back to 
the country, taking away their legal documents, and forcing them into 
marriage against their will.
    The practice of buying and selling brides also continued in rural 
areas, although prohibited by law. Many tribes, communities, or 
families continued the practice of sequestering women from all contact 
with men other than their relatives. Despite prohibitions on handing 
over women as compensation for crimes or as a resolution of a dispute 
(also known as ``vani'' or ``swara''), the practice continued in Punjab 
and the KP. In rural Sindh landowning families continued the practice 
of ``marriage to the Qur'an'' to avoid division of property. Property 
of women married to the Qur'an remains under the legal control of their 
father or eldest brother, and such women are prohibited from contact 
with any man older than 14. These women are expected to stay in the 
home and not contact anyone outside their family.
    There continued to be cases of societal violence and abuses 
directed at women. For example, in September a Dubai-based television 
station, Al-Aan, released a video of a veiled woman being stoned to 
death in the northwest by Taliban militants. It was reported that she 
was punished because she was seen with a man.
    On January 19, a 12-year-old Christian housemaid named Shazia Masih 
was tortured in Lahore by her employers and died three days later from 
her injuries. A case was filed against her employers, including the 
main person accused, Chaudhry Naeem, a former head of the Lahore Bar 
Association. Prior to the trial, more than 300 lawyers reportedly 
mobbed preliminary court hearings and threatened to burn the home of 
any prosecution lawyer for Masih's family. According to The Nation, on 
November 25, Judge Chaudhry Ameer Muhammad Khan acquitted Naeem, as the 
prosecution failed to prove charges against the accused. The court also 
acquitted Naeem's son, Haris Naeem, and wife, Ghazala Naeem. The judge 
exonerated another individual accused of taking Masih to the lawyer's 
family as a child laborer.
    In May the AHRC reported that a tribal court in Khaipur Mirs, 
Sindh, determined 21-year-old Azra Ali Drigh to be a kari and sentenced 
her to death for wanting to marry outside of her tribe. The court 
allegedly was chaired by the bride's uncle, a police officer, and her 
father, also an officer. Sindh Minister for Human Rights Nadia Gabol 
ordered the inspector general of police to investigate the case and 
take action against officials who had refused to register the case. At 
year's end the sentence had not been carried out.
    On July 1, the Express Tribune reported that 17-year-old Sania Bibi 
was killed by her uncle near Islamabad for allegedly marrying a person 
of her own choice and going against the family's will. Earlier, Bibi's 
family had lodged a kidnapping case against the man she decided to 
marry; however, Bibi told the court that no kidnapping had occurred.
    On July 5, Dawn reported that a group of 14 persons stripped naked 
a 50-year-old woman, Allah Wasai, and her 14-year-old daughter, Ashraf 
Mai, in Shehr Sultan, Punjab, while a crowd of onlookers offered them 
no assistance. According to police, the accused claimed that their 
actions were in retaliation for an earlier dispute with another group 
(with which the women were associated) over irrigation water. Several 
persons from both groups were injured during the dispute. After the 
Lahore High Court initiated action, police arrested three of the 
accused, while the others remained at large.
    On July 20, the Express Tribune reported that 13-year-old Sadia 
fled her home in Sheikhupura, Punjab, the night before her father and 
uncle could force her to marry a 55-year-old man in exchange for 70,000 
rupees (approximately $800). The Lahore High Court ordered the police 
to provide her with protection and to have her summoned on July 27. 
However, on July 25, she was kidnapped, allegedly by other male 
relatives, and remained missing at year's end.
    There were no developments in the June 2009 case of a woman who had 
married against her family's wishes and was later killed, along with 
her husband's father, mother, and sister, in Charsadda, KP.
    There were no developments in the 2008 case of two teenage girls 
and three women in Baba Kot, Balochistan, who allegedly were buried 
alive in an honor killing. After the case prompted media controversy 
and criticism by politicians and human rights groups, the federal 
government and the provincial government initiated an investigation, 
and police arrested seven suspects. At year's end the case was pending 
in court.
    Sexual harassment was a widespread problem. Press reports indicated 
that harassment was especially high among domestic workers and nurses. 
In a survey conducted by the Daily Times in August, female government 
and private-sector employees complained about the abusive behavior of 
their male colleagues as well as senior officials. They said that some 
officers sought ``undue favors'' by blocking salaries, benefits, 
promotions, as well as transfers and postings.
    In March the Government passed two laws against sexual harassment 
in the workplace. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act amended the penal 
code and the code of criminal procedure, making workplace harassment 
against women punishable with imprisonment of up to three years or a 
fine of 500,000 rupees ($5,880) or both.
    The second, more comprehensive law, the Protection against 
Harassment at the Workplace Act of 2010, includes a more detailed 
definition of harassment and proposes a code of conduct as a guideline 
for workplace behavior. The law requires every institution, public or 
private, to form a committee to receive complaints of sexual harassment 
and to institute a code of conduct prescribed by the law as a part of 
its human resource policies. On July 5, the National Commission on the 
Status of Women informed the media that 40 ministries and departments 
working under the federal government had complied with the law and 
incorporated the code of conduct into their policies. However, women's 
rights groups demanded further implementation.
    According to the AHRC, in May 2009 Maheen Usmani, a senior 
anchorperson for Dunya Television News in Islamabad, allegedly received 
two late-night telephone calls from Yusuf Baig Mirza, the channel's 
managing director, in which he made inappropriate comments. Usmani 
informed the channel's director of news and chief executive officer, 
but no action was taken. She claimed that she experienced professional 
setbacks; on June 15, she resigned, citing ``continued harassment, 
coercion, and highly unethical conduct of the top management of Dunya 
News.'' An internal investigation committee and the National Press Club 
investigated the claim, but there was no progress by year's end. Mirza 
filed two defamation lawsuits against Usmani, who was approached with 
offers of money and jobs in exchange for dropping the case.
    According to The Nation, M. Zar Nigar Ali of PTV accused the head 
of the current affairs department, Tahir Mahmood, of sexual harassment 
and threatening behavior. Ali allegedly received late-night telephone 
calls from Mahmood in which he made threats if she did not reciprocate 
his advances.
    Couples and individuals have the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children but often lacked the information and 
means to do so. Young girls and women were especially vulnerable to 
problems related to sexual and reproductive health and rights and often 
lacked information and means to access care. Spousal opposition also 
contributed to the challenges women faced in obtaining contraception or 
delaying pregnancy.
    According to the UN Population Fund's (UNFPA) 2007 data, 22 percent 
of women between the ages 15 and 49 used modern contraceptive methods. 
Access to contraception remained very low in the rural areas compared 
with urban areas (18 percent and 30 percent, respectively). Only 39 
percent of births took place in the presence of a skilled birth 
attendant. An assessment by the Population Council of postpartum care 
in low socioeconomic-level settlements, where few women attended the 
recommended six weekly postpartum visits, indicated that spousal 
opposition was the main reason for not opting to delay the next 
pregnancy and use contraception. According to the 2006-2007 Demographic 
and Health Survey, 35 percent of women received no prenatal care.
    According to a 2007 UNFPA estimate, only 17 percent of the 
country's women between the ages of 15 and 24 knew that a person could 
reduce HIV risk through condom use. According to UNICEF's 2009 State of 
the World's Children Report, the country had a rate of 276 maternal 
deaths per 100,000 live births; the high maternal mortality rate was 
attributed to lack of information and services. Women in rural areas 
were twice at risk of dying of birth-related causes than women in urban 
areas (maternal mortality rates of 319 and 175 deaths per 100,000 live 
births, respectively). The rate increased to 785 deaths per 100,000 
live births in Balochistan Province. Few women in rural areas had 
access to skilled attendants during childbirth, including essential 
obstetrics and postpartum care. According to UNICEF, the situation for 
mothers and children in the country was complicated by deteriorating 
security, which caused displacement and affected access to medical 
services, especially in KP and FATA. In a conservative society, women 
and children are also the most vulnerable to economic shocks and 
natural disasters.
    Women were less likely than men to be diagnosed and treated for 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, due to the social 
stigma attached to visiting a doctor, among other factors. According to 
the National AIDS Control Program, the country had an estimated 97,400 
HIV cases, of which approximately 27,000 were women age 15 or older. 
Although HIV prevalence among women was less than 1 percent, some 
groups of women, including professional prostitutes, women and girls 
forced into prostitution, and wives of migrant workers were highly 
vulnerable.
    Women also faced legal and economic discrimination. The law 
prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, but in practice this 
provision was not enforced. Women faced discrimination in family law, 
property law, and the judicial system. Family law provides protection 
for women in cases of divorce, including requirements for maintenance, 
and lays out clear guidelines for custody of minor children and their 
maintenance. However, many women were unaware of these legal 
protections or unable to obtain legal counsel to enforce them. Divorced 
women often were left with no means of support as their families 
ostracized them. Women are legally free to marry without family 
consent, but women who did so were often ostracized or faced becoming 
the victims of honor crimes.
    The country's inheritance law also clearly discriminates against 
women. Female children are entitled to one-half the inheritance of male 
children. Wives inherit one-eighth of their husband's estate. In 
practice women often received far less than their legal entitlement.
    Women also 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 men other than relatives.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived through the citizenship of the 
father or grandfather, who must have been Pakistani citizens before 
1971.
    Women can acquire citizenship through marriage to a Pakistani man; 
it is unclear whether a man can acquire citizenship through marriage to 
a Pakistani woman. Reporting of births is voluntary, and records are 
not uniformly kept, particularly in rural areas where children are born 
at home. In lieu of a birth certificate, individuals often used school 
records attested by the headmaster or principal of the school or 
matriculation certificates, both of which identify the father and the 
date of birth. NADRA issues identity documents, including birth 
certificates, and uses mobile teams to register children in rural 
areas. The number of unregistered births was not available. While the 
Government sometimes reported that more than 75 percent of the 
population was registered, actual figures may be lower. Public 
services, such as education and health care, were still available to 
children without a birth certificate.
    The 18th amendment to the constitution mandates that the Government 
provide free and compulsory education to all children between the ages 
of five and 16. In practice government schools often charged parents 
for the cost of books, uniforms, and other materials. Parents of lower 
socioeconomic means sometimes chose to send children to madrassas, 
where they received free room and board, or to NGO-operated schools. 
Studies showed that one-third of the children who attended school 
attended nongovernmental schools.
    Slightly more than 50 percent of the population over the age of 10 
is literate. More than 40 percent of girls never enroll in school. This 
was often perceived as parental lack of desire to send girls to school; 
however, a 2009 survey indicated that only 6 percent of the population 
was in favor of banning girls' education. The biggest barrier to girls' 
education is the lack of access. Public schools, particularly beyond 
the primary grades, were not available in many rural areas, and those 
that existed were often too far away for a girl to travel 
unaccompanied. In addition, despite cultural beliefs that boys and 
girls should be separate after primary school, the Government often 
failed to take measures to provide separate restroom facilities or 
separate classrooms, and there were more government schools for boys 
than for girls. The attendance rates for girls in primary, secondary, 
and postsecondary schools were lower than boys across the board.
    On February 3, extremists in KP bombed a girls' school, which had 
just been rebuilt after a previous attack. Four students were killed, 
and more than 60 were injured. On November 21, Geo News reported that 
extremists bombed a government-run girls' primary school in KP.
    Although boys and girls had equal access to government facilities, 
families were more likely to seek medical assistance for boys.
    Child abuse was widespread. Young girls and boys used as domestic 
servants were abused, beaten, and made to work long hours by employers, 
who in some cases were relatives. Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal 
Aid (LHRLA) reported that, of 5,120 cases of reported violence and 
abuse against children, 2,209 cases were reported from the Punjab, 
1,529 from Sindh, 929 from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and 453 from 
Balochistan. According to the data from the LHRLA, 1,062 children were 
killed and 916 others were injured. In addition, there were reports of 
288 children being raped, 149 sodomized, and 211 otherwise sexually 
assaulted. Similarly, there were reports of 648 children molested, 572 
tortured, 200 trafficked, and 364 missing, while 202 children committed 
suicide. One hundred and twenty-one children were killed on the pretext 
of karo-kari, 799 were kidnapped, and 167 were forced to marry. Despite 
the Child Marriage Restraint Act, which prohibits child marriage, child 
marriages occurred. The act sets the legal age of marriage at 18 for 
men and 16 for women and prescribes punishment and fines, ranging from 
imprisonment up to a month, 1,000 rupees (approximately $12), or both. 
In practice the penalties were too low to have any deterrent effect. 
Also, the lower minimum age for girls was discriminatory. During the 
year the LHRLA reported 70 cases of forced and ``vani'' marriages 
(handing over women as compensation for crimes or for resolution of a 
dispute), some of which may have been child marriages.
    A World Population Foundation survey in 2009 found that 49 percent 
of women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before the age of 
18. In 2008 the Family Planning Association of Pakistan estimated that 
child marriages made up 32 percent of marriages in the country. In 
rural areas poor parents sometimes sold their daughters into marriage, 
in some cases to settle debts or disputes.
    The penal code defines statutory rape as sexual intercourse with a 
female younger than 16. The punishment for rape is death or 
imprisonment for 10 to 25 years and a fine. Gang rape is punishable by 
death or life imprisonment. Child pornography is illegal under 
obscenity laws. According to the Edhi Foundation, there were 1,210 dead 
infants found during the year, up from 890 in 2008 and 999 in 2009. The 
death toll was far greater among girls; nine of 10 dead babies that the 
charity found were girls. Edhi reported that up to 200 babies are left 
in its 400 cradles nationwide each year and that it handles thousands 
of requests for adoption by childless couples. According to law anyone 
found to have abandoned an infant can be jailed for seven years, while 
anyone guilty of secretly burying a child can be imprisoned for two 
years. Murder is punishable by life imprisonment, but the crime of 
infanticide was rarely prosecuted.
    Juveniles accused of terrorism or narcotics offenses were not 
protected under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance. SPARC reported 
that children as young as 12 were arrested under the Antiterrorism Act. 
Children convicted under the act could be sentenced to death, although 
no case existed of a child being executed under the act. There were no 
known limits on child IDPs' access to government services, although 
some civil society organizations demanded improvement in these 
services.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html, as well 
as country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Although there were no known Jewish communities in 
the country, anti-Semitic sentiments were commonly found in the 
vernacular press.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law provides for equality of the 
rights of persons with disabilities, but the provisions were not always 
implemented in practice. The Ministry of Social Welfare and Special 
Education and its affiliated departments, including the Directorate 
General for Special Education, National Council for the Rehabilitation 
of the Disabled (NCRD), and National Trust for the Disabled, are 
responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. In 
the provinces social welfare departments worked for the welfare and 
education of persons with disabilities. In Sindh the minister for 
bonded labor and special education is mandated to address the education 
needs of disabled persons.
    There are employment quotas at federal and provincial levels that 
require public and private organizations to reserve at least 2 percent 
of jobs for qualified persons with disabilities. In practice this right 
was only partially protected due to a lack of adequate enforcement 
mechanisms. Families cared for most individuals who had physical and 
mental disabilities. In some cases criminals forced persons with 
disabilities into begging and took most of the proceeds they received.
    Organizations that refused to hire persons with disabilities could 
choose to pay a fine to a disability assistance fund. This obligation 
was rarely enforced. The NCRD provided job placement and loan 
facilities as well as subsistence funding. The council also operated 
the Pakistan Society for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled, which 
provided rehabilitation, vocational training, and medical support to 
persons with disabilities.
    In August 2009 President Zardari launched the ``special persons-
special cards'' initiative, under which persons with disabilities 
received reduced prices for a number of services, including 
transportation and financial services. The initiative also included 
measures to provide disabled persons with greater physical access to 
public facilities. On July 7, The News quoted Federal Minister for 
Social Welfare and Special Education Samina Khalid Ghurki as saying 
that her ministry had issued 100,000 special identity cards to persons 
with disabilities that allowed them to receive discounted passenger 
fares on Pakistan International Airlines and Pakistan Railways.
    There were no restrictions on the rights of persons with 
disabilities to vote or participate in civil affairs.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Systematic discrimination 
against national, ethnic, and racial minorities was widely acknowledged 
privately, but insufficient data existed for accurate reporting on 
these forms of discrimination.
    Homosexual intercourse is a criminal offense; in practice, the 
Government rarely prosecuted cases. Gays and lesbians rarely revealed 
their sexual orientation. There are no laws to protect against 
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
    Society generally shunned transvestites, eunuchs, and 
hermaphrodites, referred to as ``hijras,'' who often lived together in 
slum communities and survived by begging and dancing at carnivals and 
weddings. Some also were involved in prostitution. Hijras often were 
denied places in schools or admission to hospitals, and landlords often 
refused to rent or sell property to them. Hijras' families often denied 
them their fair share of inherited property.
    On May 25, police arrested a fertilizer dealer, Malik Mohammed 
Iqbal, and a teenage eunuch in Peshawar for trying to marry. The police 
proposed the charge of ``unnatural sexual offense'' against the 
accused, for which the maximum punishment is life imprisonment.
    In July 2009 the Supreme Court stated that hijras were equal 
citizens and ordered provincial social welfare departments to survey 
and register hijras and to provide them benefits from the Government's 
financial support mechanisms, such as the Benazir Income Support 
Program. In December 2009 the Supreme Court ordered authorities to 
allow transvestites and eunuchs to identify themselves as a distinct 
gender and ordered the Government to give national identity cards to 
members of the community. The Supreme Court also ordered that district 
administrations assist them in obtaining inheritance rights after 
tracing their families.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Societal attitudes 
toward HIV-positive individuals were changing, but social 
discrimination continued. Cases of discrimination often went unreported 
due to the stigma faced by HIV/AIDS patients. The National Aids Control 
Program (NACP) estimated that there were approximately 97,400 HIV-
positive individuals but that only 5 percent were recorded. In addition 
to operating treatment centers, the NACP held rallies and public 
campaigns and spoke in mosques about birth control and AIDS awareness. 
The Ministry of Health has established 13 HIV treatment and care 
centers nationwide that provided comprehensive HIV care services.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution states that ``every 
citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions, subject to 
any reasonable restriction imposed by law.'' According to NGOs and the 
Economic Survey of Pakistan, the total workforce was approximately 51.8 
million. Labor groups and International Labor Organization figures 
indicated that approximately 3 percent of the total estimated workforce 
was unionized.
    The 18th amendment to the constitution devolved matters pertaining 
to labor legislation and policies to the four provinces. It stipulates 
that in the interim period, laws would remain in force ``until altered, 
repealed or amended by the competent authority'' (i.e., the provincial 
governments). An 18th amendment commission was established to implement 
the transition by June 30, 2011.
    Labor groups, international organizations, and NGOs expressed 
concern about the devolution, noting that certain labor issues were the 
purview of the federal government, including minimum wages, workers' 
rights, national labor standards, and observance of international labor 
conventions. Observers also raised concerns about the provinces' 
varying capacity and commitment to adopt and enforce adequate labor 
laws. Labor unions submitted at least two petitions to the Supreme 
Court challenging the full devolution of labor issues to the provinces.
    Ten days after the 18th amendment went into effect at the end of 
April, the Industrial Relations Act 2008 (IRA) expired. The IRA had 
provided the terms for worker rights, including the rights of 
association, organizing, and collective bargaining. The IRA also dealt 
with the registration of trade unions and the establishment of labor 
courts, a labor appellate tribunal, and the National Industrial 
Relations Commission.
    The IRA had been considered weak legislation by labor unions and 
workers' rights groups, and the Ministry of Labor and Manpower had been 
working on draft legislation since its passage to strengthen the 
ordinance. At year's end the Federal Ministry of Labor no longer had 
legislative authority, and all four provinces had passed their own 
versions of the IRA. All four provinces used almost the exact same 
language as the IRA in their legislation. However, labor groups noted 
this was done without consultation and without any attempt to address 
previously identified shortcomings of the IRA. At year's end, numerous 
questions remained unresolved, including the status of national labor 
unions and the Pakistani Workers Fund.
    The constitution protects the right of association, but according 
to the 1973 Civil Servants Act, civil servants may establish 
associations but may not form or join trade unions. The IRA expanded 
the right of association to workers and employers in the private sector 
but continued to exclude nonprofit organizations, self-employed 
workers, and agricultural and other informal sector workers. The 
informal workers included approximately 8.5 million (predominantly 
female) home-based workers, more than 15,000 employees working in the 
country's 12 export processing zones (EPZs), as well as most public 
sector employees, including medical staff, firefighters, teachers, and 
state enterprise employees; these groups do not have the right of 
association. NGOs and the Government estimated that agriculture 
accounted for approximately 45 percent of the labor force and that 
other informal sectors accounted for 20 percent; this left more than 65 
percent of the labor force without the right of association.
    Under the IRA, EPZ workers are prohibited from joining unions, 
bargaining collectively, or striking. The EPZ Authority is empowered to 
draft labor laws within the EPZs, but no such laws have been drafted.
    The IRA somewhat lessened government control of membership and 
participation by eliminating the previous requirement for collective 
bargaining agents to affiliate with a national-level registered 
federation. Under the IRA trade unions have the right to join any 
federation or confederation of their choice, and the registrar of trade 
unions cannot cancel a trade union's registration. There were no 
reported incidents of the Government dissolving a union without due 
process.
    According to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), 
the IRA did not articulate the rights of workers to conduct sympathy 
strikes, and under the IRA it takes at least one month before a strike 
can be legally declared. The federal government has wide powers to 
prohibit a strike if it lasts for more than 30 days and causes 
``serious hardship to the community'' or is ``prejudicial to the 
national interest.'' In the case of public utility services, strikes 
may be prohibited at any time before or after the strike begins. The 
Antiterrorist Ordinance of 1999 defines illegal strikes, picketing, and 
other types of protests as ``civil commotion,'' which carries a penalty 
of up to life imprisonment. The code of criminal procedure also deems 
any gathering of four or more persons as subject to police 
authorization, a provision that authorities used against trade union 
gatherings. In previous years the Essential Services (Maintenance) Act 
of 1952 (ESMA) was invoked to limit or prohibit strikes by public 
sector workers and to curtail collective bargaining rights; labor 
groups reported that the ESMA was not applied during the year.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective 
bargaining for some workforce sectors was protected under the IRA 
before it expired at the end of April. After its expiration the 
provinces each passed their own labor laws with essentially the same 
provisions as the federal IRA. Groups excluded from collective 
bargaining rights were the same as those excluded from freedom of 
association under the IRA: nonprofit organizations, self-employed 
workers, agricultural laborers, other informal sector workers, and most 
public sector employees, including medical staff, firefighters, and 
teachers. The IRA prohibited employers from retaliating against workers 
for union activity, and any employer found to have engaged in serious 
violations was liable for fines but not imprisonment. In practice the 
IRA and provincial labor laws were not fully enforced.
    The ITUC reported that employers disqualified workers from union 
membership by promoting them to nominal managerial status. According to 
the ITUC, management sometimes resorted to intimidation, dismissal, and 
blacklisting to prevent unionization.
    On July 27, the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, 
Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco, and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF), 
the U.S.-based Coca-Cola Company, and Coca-Cola Icecek (Turkey) reached 
a comprehensive agreement over longstanding labor and union rights 
disputes at Coca Cola Beverages Pakistan. At the Coca-Cola plant in 
Multan, members and leaders of the IUF-People's Employees Union (PEU) 
had faced targeted harassment, threats, extortion, and other 
intimidation from management. Attempting to derail the union, which was 
formed in June 2009, plant management reportedly created a so-called 
yellow union and claimed that direct-hire union members were actually 
subcontractors and thus not eligible for collective bargaining. Under 
the agreement the company agreed to recognize the PEU and assure no 
further harassment or victimization of union members and officers; all 
unfairly dismissed workers were to be reinstated with full 
compensation.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
slavery and all forms of forced labor. In practice the Government did 
not enforce the prohibitions effectively, and there were numerous 
instances in which such practices occurred. Also see the Department of 
State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act of 1992 outlaws bonded 
labor, cancels all existing debts, forbids lawsuits for the recovery of 
such debts, and establishes the district vigilance committee system to 
implement the act. Due to technical flaws, federal and local government 
structural changes, and a lack of budget for implementation, the act 
was largely unenforced. As a result law enforcement registered bonded 
labor offenses under other sections of the penal code, including 
kidnapping and illegal confinement.
    NGOs reported that more than one million persons were in bondage, 
primarily in Sindh and Punjab. A large proportion of bonded laborers 
were low-caste Hindus, and lower socioeconomic level Christians and 
Muslims. Bonded labor was most common in agriculture and in the brick, 
glass, carpet, and fishing industries. Bonded laborers often were 
unable to determine when their debts were fully paid, in part because 
contracts were rare and employers were able to take advantage of bonded 
laborers' illiteracy to alter debt amounts or the price laborers paid 
for seed and fertilizer. In some cases landowners restricted laborers' 
movements with the use of armed guards or sold laborers to other 
employers for the price of the laborers' debt.
    There were no updates on charges brought against three landlords 
who were reported in Time in October 2009 to have held more than 150 
bonded laborers against their will in Sindh Province for more than 30 
days. Lawyers provided by local NGOs filed petitions in district courts 
for the release of the laborers, who were all in bonded employment. The 
laborers, a third of whom were children, were landless peasants. Sindh 
law enforcement authorities secured the release of all the laborers, 
and criminal charges were filed against one of the landlords.
    A 2008 Freedom House report noted that bonded laborers sometimes 
sold their organs, particularly kidneys, to make money to escape 
servitude. Despite the February 2010 Human Organs and Tissues 
Transplant Ordinance, which regulates the removal, storage, and 
transplantation of human organs and tissues and criminalizes the 
practice of kidney sale and purchase, the media continued to report 
instances in which laborers sold their kidneys for as little as 40,000 
rupees ($470).
    Some bonded laborers returned to their former status after being 
freed due to a lack of alternative employment options. Ties existed 
between landowners and brick kiln owners and influential politicians, 
which hampered effective elimination of the problem. For example, some 
local police were unable to effectively pursue landowners or brick kiln 
owners, because they believed that their efforts to carry out 
investigations according to the law would not be supported by higher-
ranking officers who would be pressured by politicians or the owners 
themselves.
    During the year the KP Ministry of Labor began a project to 
register brick kiln workers in the province, although it was in initial 
phases. The Punjab and Sindh ministries of labor continued to register 
brick kilns and workers to better regulate the industry and ensure that 
workers had access to labor courts and other entitled services. By 
year's end the Sindh Department of Labor and the Social Employees 
Security Services Institutions, in collaboration with SPARC, had 
registered more than 590 brick kilns in Sindh. The Punjab Department of 
Labor also continued a 123-million rupee ($1.4 million) project to 
combat bonded labor in brick kilns, through which it helped brick kiln 
workers obtain national identity cards and interest-free loans and 
opened schools at brick kiln sites.
    On July 27, the Mirpurkhas District police in Sindh, in 
collaboration with SPARC, inaugurated the country's first antibonded 
labor cell. The cell was introduced to improve police and NGO work on 
forced and bonded labor cases through the provision of specialized 
training for police and to provide laborers an accessible location to 
file FIRs required for police to initiate investigation of an employer.
    Boys and girls are also bought, sold, rented, or kidnapped to work 
in organized, illegal begging rings, in domestic servitude, and in 
agriculture as bonded laborers. Illegal labor agents charged high fees 
to parents with false promises of decent work for their children, who 
were later exploited and subjected to forced labor in domestic 
servitude, unskilled labor, small shops, and other sectors. NGOs and 
police reported markets where girls and women were bought and sold for 
labor.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
National legislation protects children from exploitation in the 
workplace; however, enforcement of child labor laws was weak, and child 
labor, including forced or bonded labor, remained a serious, pervasive 
problem.
    The law limits a child's workday to seven hours, including a one-
hour break after three hours of labor, and sets permissible times of 
day for work and time off. No child is allowed to work overtime or at 
night, and a child should have one day off per week. In addition, the 
law requires employers to keep a register of children working for them 
for labor inspectors to verify. These prohibitions and regulations do 
not apply to family businesses or government schools.
    The law protects all children younger than 18 from exploitation and 
defines exploitative entertainment as all activities related to human 
sports or sexual practices and other abusive practices. Parents who 
exploit their children are also liable under the law. The law makes 
bonded labor by children punishable by up to five years in prison and 
50,000 rupees ($590) in fines. The law prohibits the employment of 
children younger than 14 in factories, mines, railways, rag picking, 
port areas, fireworks, and other hazardous occupations and regulates 
their work conditions. The Government considers four occupations and 34 
processes illegal for children, including street vending, surgical 
instrument manufacturing, deep sea fishing, leather manufacturing, 
brick making, production of soccer balls, and carpet weaving.
    Enforcement was a serious problem. According to the HRCP and SPARC, 
there were 10 million to 11.5 million child laborers, many of them in 
agriculture and domestic work.
    Approximately 70 percent of nonagricultural child labor took place 
in small workshops, complicating efforts to enforce child labor laws, 
since by law inspectors may not inspect facilities employing fewer than 
10 persons. The Ministry of Labor, Manpower, and Overseas Pakistanis 
had a small group of specialized labor inspectors empowered to inspect 
all facilities under the child labor law. In reality enforcement 
efforts were not adequate to meet the scale of the problem. Inspectors 
had little training and insufficient resources and were susceptible to 
corruption. Authorities allowed NGOs to perform inspections without 
interference, and SPARC noted that government officials usually 
cooperated with their visits.
    The law allows fines of as much as 20,200 rupees ($240) for 
violations of child labor laws. Authorities often did not impose 
penalties on violators; when they did, the penalties were not a 
significant deterrent. Although law enforcement authorities obtained 
hundreds of convictions for violations of child labor laws, the fines 
the courts levied ranged from an average of 364 rupees ($4) in KP to an 
average of 7,344 rupees ($86) in Balochistan.
    Children were forced to work in the brick kiln, glass bangle, and 
carpet-weaving industries as well as in agriculture as part of 
fulfilling their families' debt obligation to feudal landowners or 
brick kiln owners. UNICEF estimated the number of children working in 
brick kilns at approximately 250,000. In a March 2009 report, the 
National Coalition against Child Labor stated that there were 1.7 
million persons in bonded labor in the agricultural sector, including 
children.
    Poor rural families sometimes sold their children into domestic 
servitude or other types of work or paid agents to arrange for such 
work, often believing their children would work under decent 
conditions. Some children sent to work for relatives or acquaintances 
in exchange for education or other opportunities ended up in 
exploitative conditions or forced labor.
    On January 19, a 12-year-old Christian housemaid was tortured in 
Lahore by her employers and died of her injuries three days later (see 
section 6, Women).
    Children also were kidnapped and/or sold into organized begging 
rings, domestic servitude, and child prostitution.
    In September the KP government passed the Child Protection, Welfare 
Bill of 2010.
    For information on forced child labor, see also the Department of 
State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On May 1, the Government 
announced that the minimum monthly wage for unskilled workers would be 
increased to 7,000 rupees ($82) per month from the previous wage of 
6,000 ($71) per month. (There are 54 categories of workers with various 
minimum wage levels.) The national minimum wage for unskilled workers 
did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family and 
fell short of the Pakistan Workers' Federation demand for a minimum 
wage of 12,000 rupees ($141) per month. Significant sectors of the 
workforce, such as those in the informal sector, domestic servants, and 
agricultural workers, were not covered.
    The Government was unable to combat or regulate illegal practices 
by labor agents who recruited persons for work abroad. Agents charged 
fees for their services well above the legal ceiling set by the 
Government; agents also changed contracts or drafted unclear contracts 
to reduce agreed-upon wages. The Government's inability to regulate 
such transactions highlighted its inability to protect workers against 
further exploitive situations, including human trafficking.
    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. Additional benefits required under 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 workers' welfare fund.
    These regulations did not apply to agricultural workers, workers in 
factories with fewer than 10 employees, domestic workers, and 
contractors. In addition, such workers did not have the right to access 
``worker courts'' to seek redress of grievances and were otherwise 
extremely vulnerable to exploitation. The inapplicability of many labor 
laws and the lack of enforcement by the Government gave employers in 
many sectors relative impunity with regard to working conditions, 
treatment, work hours, and pay. For example, in November a lower-caste 
Hindu agricultural laborer died of burns suffered after he was tortured 
and set on fire, allegedly to elicit a confession for stealing cotton. 
The accused perpetrator, a well-connected local landlord, had not been 
arrested by year's end.
    Even prior to adoption of the 18th amendment, provincial 
governments had primary responsibility for enforcing national labor 
regulations. Enforcement was ineffective due to limited resources, 
corruption, and inadequate regulatory structures. According to the 
ITUC, labor inspectors exempted certain employers from inspection in 
Sindh and Punjab. Many workers remained unaware of their rights, 
especially in the informal sectors.
    Health and safety standards were poor in all sectors. There was a 
serious lack of adherence to mine safety and health protocols. For 
example, many mines had only one opening for entry, egress, and 
ventilation. Workers could not remove themselves from dangerous working 
conditions without risking loss of employment.

                               __________

                               SRI LANKA

    Sri Lanka is a constitutional, multiparty republic with a 
population estimated at 21 million. President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who 
was reelected to a second six-year term in January, and the parliament, 
which was elected in April, share constitutional power. The Government 
is dominated by the president's family; two of the president's brothers 
hold key executive branch posts as defense secretary and minister of 
economic development, while a third brother is the speaker of 
parliament. Independent observers generally characterized the 
presidential and parliamentary elections as problematic. Both elections 
were fraught with violations of the election law by all major parties 
and were influenced by the governing coalition's massive use of state 
resources. There were instances in which elements of the security 
forces acted independently of civilian control.
    The Government and its agents continued to be responsible for 
serious human rights problems. Security forces committed arbitrary and 
unlawful killings, although the number of extrajudicial killings 
declined. Disappearances continued to be a problem, although the total 
also declined. Many independent observers cited a continued climate of 
fear among minority populations, in large part based on past incidents. 
Security forces tortured and abused detainees; poor prison conditions 
remained a problem; and authorities arbitrarily arrested and detained 
citizens. Repercussions of the nearly 30-year war against the 
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continued to have an effect on 
human rights, despite the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. In an effort 
to prevent any violent separatist resurgence, the Government continued 
to search for and detain persons it suspected of being LTTE 
sympathizers or operatives. Official impunity was a problem; there were 
no public indications or reports that civilian or military courts 
convicted any military or police members for human rights abuses. The 
Government established a post-war Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation 
Commission (LLRC). Denial of fair public trial remained a problem; the 
judiciary was subject to executive influence; and the Government 
infringed on citizens' privacy rights. There were instances when the 
Government restricted freedom of speech and of the press, and there 
were incidents of restrictions on freedom of assembly and association. 
Authorities harassed journalists critical of the Government. 
Infringement on freedom of movement was lower than in the previous 
year, and citizens were able to travel almost anywhere in the island; 
in practice police and military checkpoints were still a frequent sight 
in Colombo and elsewhere, and numerous High Security Zones (HSZs) and 
other areas remained off limits to citizens. Election law violations 
and government influence created doubts about the fairness of both the 
presidential and the parliamentary elections. Official corruption, with 
impunity, and lack of transparency were serious problems, and the 
Government hampered the work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). 
With the passage of the 18th amendment in September, the mechanism by 
which the seats on the Constitutional Council and its subsidiary 
councils are filled was changed. The president now holds the authority 
to name all members to each of these councils, with only the 
requirement to ``seek advice,'' but not approval, of the parliament. 
Violence and discrimination against women were problems, as were abuse 
of children and trafficking in persons. Discrimination against persons 
with disabilities, persons with HIV/AIDS, and the ethnic Tamil minority 
continued, and a disproportionate number of victims of human rights 
violations were Tamils. Discrimination and violence against persons 
based on their sexual orientation were problems. Trafficking in 
persons, limits on workers' rights, and child labor remained problems, 
although the parliament implemented new regulations on child labor at 
the end of 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.--There were reports 
that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful 
killings, but reliable statistics on such killings by the Government or 
its paramilitary allies were difficult to obtain because past 
complainants were killed and families feared reprisals if they filed 
complaints.
    Among these arbitrary and unlawful killings, a number of suspects 
detained by police or other security forces died under questionable 
circumstances.
    On May 23, police arrested Pattiyage Komako Lalan Peiris in what 
observers stated later was a case of mistaken identity. The next 
morning he was found dead handcuffed to a table in a police station 
cell. Police officials explained the cause of death as a heart attack, 
but an autopsy carried out later at the insistence of the family 
revealed signs of torture.
    On August 25, Jayasekara Arachchige Roshan Jayasekara was arrested 
near Kiribathgoda for stealing a mobile phone. One day later his body 
was brought to the local hospital by police. A post mortem examination 
showed multiple blunt-force trauma injuries.
    According to official accounts, some deaths occurred when security 
forces took the suspects to the scenes of their alleged crimes, shot, 
and killed them while they allegedly were trying to escape. On August 
31, police officers attached to the Special Task Force (STF) arrested 
Jayakody Arachchilage Oman Perera. During the journey by jeep to 
Colombo, one of the officers shot Perera because he allegedly tried to 
escape. He died in the hospital that same day.
    On September 4, Suresh Kumar was arrested by police officers and 
taken to show them a hidden cache of weapons. The police claimed that 
he attempted to throw a hand grenade at the officers while they 
traveled to the location. His body later was found on the roadside.
    On September 18, police shot and killed Ranmukage Ajith Prasanna as 
they transported him to show them the location of a hidden stash of 
weapons. Police claimed Prasanna attempted to grab a firearm from one 
of the police while being transported, but there was no explanation why 
he was not properly restrained. Prasanna was arrested the day before, 
and family members insisted he was not involved in any criminal 
activity.
    The overall number of extrajudicial killings dropped significantly 
from the previous year. Nevertheless, during the year unknown actors 
suspected of association with progovernment paramilitary groups 
committed killings and assaults of civilians. These included the Tamil 
Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP), led by breakaway LTTE eastern 
commanders Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan, alias ``Karuna,'' and 
Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, alias ``Pillaiyan,'' in the east, as 
well as the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), led by Minister of 
Social Services and Social Welfare Douglas Devananda, in Jaffna. These 
and other progovernment paramilitaries also were active in Mannar and 
Vavuniya. All of these groups endeavored to operate political 
organizations, some with more success than others, and there were 
persistent reports of close, ground-level ties between paramilitaries 
and government security forces. Whereas these groups served more of a 
military function during the war, often working in coordination with 
security forces, the paramilitaries now took on increasingly criminal 
characteristics as they sought to solidify their territory and revenue 
sources in the postwar environment.
    On December 31, unidentified armed men entered the home of 
Ketheeswaran Thevarajah near Jaffna and killed him. He recently had 
posted photos of illegal sand excavation on his Facebook profile. Many 
local Jaffna residents suspect EPDP subsidiaries were illegally mining 
sand in the Jaffna region, causing environmental damage.
    The Government did not conduct any further inquiries into the high 
profile cases investigated by the Commission of Inquiry (COI), 
including the 2006 killing of 17 local staff of the French NGO Action 
Against Hunger (ACF) in Mutur. The COI was disbanded in June 2009 
without issuing a public report, and with reports that the commission 
had blamed ACF for allowing its workers to be in an unsafe location, at 
the same time exonerating all government security forces from any 
possible involvement in the killing of the aid workers.
    A separate commission set up under retired Supreme Court justice 
Mahanama Tillekeratne to investigate abductions, disappearances, 
killings, and unidentified bodies was to submit a final report to the 
president early in the year. Although the commission gave an interim 
report to President Rajapaksa in February, and the commission's mandate 
ended on March 16, there was no indication that a final report was 
given to the president.
    There was no progress on the January 2009 killing of the chief 
editor of the Sunday Leader and Morning Leader newspapers, Lasantha 
Wickrematunga, by four assailants.
    There were no updates on the March 2009 deaths of four persons in 
the Trincomalee area who were in police custody in connection with the 
killing of a schoolgirl.
    There were no new developments in the case of M.B. Dinesh Tharanga 
Fernando and Dhanushka Udayanga Aponsu, who were arrested by local 
police in Angulana in August 2009 and then found dead the following 
morning with gunshot wounds.
    The Government commissioned four experts to evaluate the 
authenticity of the footage broadcast in August 2009 on a UK Channel 4 
News video that purported to show army soldiers executing two bound and 
nude Tamil captives. Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, the 
original source of the video, claimed that the killings had been filmed 
in January 2009 by a soldier using a mobile phone camera. Channel 4 
broadcast a longer version allegedly of the same video on November 30 
and concluded that the footage was shot May 18, 2009 rather than in 
January 2009. In September 2009, the Government reported to the UN 
Human Rights Council that four separate investigations scientifically 
determined that the video was ``fake.'' However, Philip Alston--the 
United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or 
arbitrary executions--based on the report of a separate independent 
group of forensic experts concluded in January that there was strong 
evidence to suggest the video was authentic.
    There was no progress on the investigation into the killing of a 
young man at a polling station in a Colombo suburb in April 2009, which 
was tied to Duminda Silva, a member of the Western Provincial Council 
from the president's United Peoples Freedom Alliance. Incidentally, 
Silva also was acquitted in November by the Colombo High Court on 
charges of rape, after the attorney for the victim told the court that 
the victim was suffering from depression because of the incident and 
did not want to take part in any further legal proceedings.

    b. Disappearance.--Disappearances continued to be a problem, but at 
a lower rate than during the war. While disappearances in previous 
years often appeared related to the conflict, during the year they most 
often appeared connected with extortion and other criminal activity, 
sometimes involving government actors. Reliable statistics on the 
number of disappearances were difficult to obtain, with one estimate of 
77 persons missing during the year. Most observers concurred that the 
majority of disappearances occurred in the north and east, while some 
took place in Colombo. Government reports on disappearances often 
claimed that most cases actually involved persons who had left the 
country for foreign employment and had not informed family members; 
however, civil society and human rights organizations strongly disputed 
this interpretation.
    Prageeth Eknaliagoda, a journalist and cartoonist for Lanka-e-news, 
disappeared on January 24, just before the presidential election. 
Police launched an investigation, and government statements promised 
imminent progress on the case several times, but by year's end there 
were no announced suspects or visible progress on the case.
    During the year the Government did not publish any investigations 
into past disappearances, nor did it publish information on any 
indictments or convictions of anyone involved in cases related to 
disappearances.
    On July 21, a group of unknown persons abducted Thirimadura Upali 
Mendis in Tangalle. His family stated he had been in a business dispute 
with a prominent local businessman over a plot of land. Police in 
Tangalle took a missing persons report but made no progress in the case 
at year's end.
    There was no progress in solving the May 2009 disappearance of 
Stephen Sunthararaj, project manager at the Center for Human Rights and 
Development. Sunthararaj had been held by police without charges since 
February of that year and was abducted by four persons in a white van 
wearing army uniforms shortly after he was released on a court order.
    There was no progress in the investigation of the October 2009 
disappearance of Sankarapillai Shantha Kumar, a member of the NGO 
consortium in Akkaraipattu, Ampara District. Credible sources had 
linked the incident to the TMVP.
    Reports of abductions for extortion and ransom increased during the 
year, particularly in the north and east. Local residents blamed such 
abductions in the Jaffna Peninsula on armed members of the EPDP, led by 
government ally and Member of Parliament Douglas Devananda. In other 
areas of the north and east, however, it was difficult to identify the 
perpetrators. Whereas in the past local citizens often reported they 
were reasonably certain which paramilitary groups were behind 
abductions and killings, during the year they more often stated that 
they were unsure of which group was involved in a particular incident.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law makes torture a punishable offense and mandates a 
sentence of not less than seven years' imprisonment; however, security 
forces tortured and abused citizens. Human rights groups alleged that 
some security forces believed torture to be allowed under specific 
circumstances. Following a 2007 visit, UN Special Rapporteur (UNSR) on 
Torture Manfred Nowak concluded that ``torture is widely practiced in 
Sri Lanka.'' There was no indication that such practices had subsided. 
No accurate, publicly released statistics on reported torture cases 
were available.
    Civil society groups and former prisoners reported on several 
torture cases. For example, former detainees of the Terrorist 
Investigation Division (TID) at Boosa Prison in Galle confirmed reports 
of torture methods used there. These included beatings, often with 
cricket bats, iron bars, or rubber hoses filled with sand; electric 
shock; suspending individuals by the wrists or feet in contorted 
positions; abrading knees across rough cement; burning with metal 
objects and cigarettes; genital abuse; blows to the ears; asphyxiation 
with plastic bags containing chili pepper mixed with gasoline; and 
near-drowning. Detainees reported broken bones and other serious 
injuries as a result of their mistreatment.
    In the east and the north, military intelligence and other security 
personnel, sometimes working with armed paramilitaries, carried out 
documented and undocumented detentions of civilians suspected of LTTE 
connections. The detentions reportedly were followed by interrogations 
that frequently included torture. There were reported cases of 
detainees being released with a warning not to reveal information about 
their arrests under the threat of rearrest or death if they divulged 
information about their detention. There were also previous reports of 
secret government facilities where suspected LTTE sympathizers were 
taken, tortured, and often killed.
    Human rights groups estimated that approximately 2,400 LTTE 
suspects were in regular detention centers. An unknown additional 
number of unidentified detainees, estimated by some organizations to be 
as high as 1,200, were thought to be held in police stations, the 
Criminal Investigation Division (CID), the TID, army or paramilitary 
camps, or other informal detention facilities. At the beginning of the 
year the Government held approximately 11,700 former LTTE combatants in 
detention centers near Vavuniya. Some observers were concerned that 
these ex-combatants were subjected to abuse or torture, since 
independent observers had only limited access to these detainees and 
there was no formal legal framework for their detention. Due to limited 
access to these detainees, details about their treatment and whether 
such treatment met international standards were unavailable. However, 
independent observers who met with those released saw no evidence of 
systematic torture or abuse. By the end of the year the Government 
formally charged approximately 1,400 of these detainees and released 
approximately half of the remaining 10,000 after rehabilitation.
    On May 26, police officers in Ahangama arrested Ganegoda Sinhage 
Haritha Lakmal and severely beat him. His injuries required surgery and 
reportedly almost caused his death.
    According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), on August 
23, police officers arrested Jesu Andrew in the district of Kandy for 
allegedly stealing jewelry from a woman's handbag and took him to the 
Panwila Police Station, where they tortured him. He was allegedly 
stripped naked, forced to lie down on a bench, and beaten severely with 
a pole over various parts of his body. The officers also rubbed chili 
powder on his genitalia. While torturing him, the officers tried to 
force him to confess that he had stolen the jewelry. When he refused to 
plead guilty, he was allegedly thrown into a police cell and beaten 
again.
    On November 10, S.I. Udayange of the CID from Beruwella detained 
Samarasinhage Psupakumara on suspicion of involvement with robberies in 
the area. Psupakumara was beaten and threatened with death. Udayange 
held him for several days before releasing him without any formal 
charges.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions did not 
meet international standards due to overcrowding and the lack of 
sanitary facilities. According to prison officials and civil society 
sources, prisons designed for approximately 10,000 inmates held an 
estimated 26,000 prisoners. Approximately 1,400 of these were women. 
Some 12,000 of these total prisoners were convicted, while the 
remaining 14,000 were in detention either awaiting or undergoing trial. 
In some cases juveniles were not held separately from adults. Pretrial 
detainees often were not held separately from those convicted. In many 
cases prisoners were reported to be sleeping on concrete floors and 
often without natural light or sufficient ventilation. Female prisoners 
were held separately from male prisoners and in generally better 
conditions, but some human rights groups alleged that isolated 
incidents of degrading treatment occurred, including corporal 
punishment, overcrowding, maltreatment, or abuse. According to the 
assessment by UNSR Nowak, ``the combination of severe overcrowding and 
antiquated infrastructure of certain prison facilities places 
unbearable strains on services and resources, which for detainees in 
certain prisons, such as the Colombo Remand Prison, amounts to 
degrading treatment.'' Nowak also noted the absence of an independent 
institution responsible for monitoring conditions in detention 
facilities, holding private interviews, and conducting medical 
evaluations of detainees.
    There appeared to be no formal procedure without going through 
prison officials by which prisoners and detainees could submit 
complaints of poor conditions or abusive treatment to judicial 
authorities.
    The Government permitted independent human rights observers and the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit to regular and 
remand prisons, but not those facilities holding LTTE ex-combatants yet 
to be formally charged. The Government did not provide access to any 
detention facilities operated by military intelligence, stating that 
none existed. The ICRC was not allowed to visit suspected illegal 
detention facilities operated by paramilitaries. In December, the 
Government requested the ICRC to close their offices in the North.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--TThe law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, in practice such incidents occurred. 
Under the arrest and detention standards imposed by the Emergency 
Regulations, the law does not clearly define what constitutes an 
arbitrary arrest. Data concerning arrests made during the year under 
the Emergency Regulations were fragmentary and unreliable. The 
Government detained an unknown number of individuals at least 
temporarily. Observers stated that, although many were released within 
two days if no official detention order was produced, others were known 
to be detained for much longer. Although in May the Government relaxed 
a portion of the Emergency Regulations, including provisions that 
previously had allowed security forces wide latitude in conducting 
searches without judicial warrants, the remaining portions of the 
regulations allowed detentions without charges or warrants.
    According to Amnesty International, on March 26, more than 300 
persons, most of them Tamil, were arrested in a search operation 
conducted between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. in the town of Gampaha 24 
kilometers (15 miles) northwest of Colombo.
    According to AHRC, on June 17, two officers from Balagolla Police 
Station violently arrested Alhaj Farook Mohomad Ikram close to his 
home. The victim was not told the reason for his arrest. He was 
released on the same evening without being charged, although his 
eardrum was damaged in the assault and he was hospitalized for a number 
of days. He received no replies from the authorities regarding his 
requests for redress and compensation.
    Some arrests appeared arbitrary. In September several university 
students were detained for hooting at the Minister of Education during 
a public event. These arrests contributed to a wave of student protests 
in September and October, resulting in additional arrests and 
detentions of students. By year's end 76 university students were 
banned from attending lectures because of participation in protests and 
related incidents. The Government blamed the protests and incidents on 
left-wing opposition parties.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The inspector general 
of police (IGP) is responsible for the 86,000-member Sri Lanka Police 
Service (SLPS). The SLPS conducts civilian police functions, such as 
enforcing criminal and traffic laws, enhancing public safety, and 
maintaining order. The IGP reports to the secretary of the Ministry of 
Defense (in a separate chain of command from that of the armed forces 
and other military units). The 5,850-member paramilitary STF is within 
the structure of the SLPS, although joint operations with military 
units in the recent defeat of the LTTE led to questions among observers 
about who actually was directing the STF. Bureaucratic adjustments 
during the year placed the police more firmly under the control of the 
Ministry of Defense. There was no independent authority to investigate 
complaints. Senior officials in the police force handled complaints 
against the police.
    Few police officers serving in Tamil majority areas were Tamil, and 
most did not speak Tamil or English, although the Government began 
hiring and training ethnic Tamils in an effort to improve this 
situation. Estimates of ethnic Tamils and Muslims in the police 
numbered several thousand. Since late in 2009 the Government recruited 
approximately 500 new Tamil-speaking police from the Jaffna region to 
serve in the North Jaffna Peninsula, and these officers underwent 
training for most of the year. There had been concern that many of 
these newly hired officers were members of Tamil paramilitary groups, 
but whether that concern was warranted was unclear. At year's end more 
than 300 of these Tamil officers were within a week of graduating from 
training and were scheduled to be posted in Tamil-speaking areas in the 
north. Among this group were 20 women.
    Impunity, particularly for cases of alleged police torture and 
corruption, was a serious problem. A 2007 AHRC assessment cited the 
Government's tolerance of pervasive corruption as a major reason for 
the police force's incapacity to investigate and prosecute cases 
effectively.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the law 
authorities are required to inform an arrested person of the reason for 
arrest and bring that person before a magistrate within 24 hours, but 
in practice often several days and sometimes weeks or months elapsed 
before detained persons appeared before a magistrate. A magistrate 
could authorize bail or 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 is required to remand the suspect, and only the 
High Court can 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. Outside of alleged secret, and therefore incommunicado, 
detentions and prisons, detainees were allowed access to family 
members.
    A number of observers complained about the slow pace of the 
judicial process, with some estimates claiming that more than half 
those in prison were either awaiting or undergoing trial.
    Under the Emergency Regulations, the armed forces have the legal 
authority to arrest persons, but they are required to transfer suspects 
to the police within 24 hours. Police could detain a person for a 
period of not more than one year under detention orders issued by a 
deputy inspector general of police or by the secretary of defense. The 
defense secretary extended some detentions beyond one year under the 
Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Numerous NGOs and individuals 
complained that the armed forces and their paramilitary allies arrested 
suspected LTTE sympathizers and did not surrender them to the police, 
blurring the line between arrests and abductions. Credible reports 
alleged that security forces and paramilitaries often tortured and 
killed those arrested rather than follow legal safeguards, although 
this appeared to diminish after the end of the war.
    In cases in which security force personnel allegedly committed 
human rights abuses, the Government generally did not seek to identify 
those responsible or bring them to justice. Case law generally failed 
to uphold the doctrine of command responsibility for human rights 
abuses.
    According to human rights organizations, obtaining medical evidence 
of torture in the country was difficult, since there were fewer than 25 
forensic specialists, equipment was lacking, and medical practitioners 
untrained in the field of torture assessment examined most torture 
victims. In some cases police intimidated doctors responsible for 
collecting evidence, and any potential victim receiving a medical 
examination usually was accompanied by the person holding him or her in 
detention, often the person who allegedly had committed the torture. At 
year's end there was no functioning witness protection program.
    Persons convicted and undergoing appeal did not receive credit 
towards their original sentence for time served in prison while the 
appeal continued. Appeals often took several years to resolve.

    Amnesty.--The president granted amnesty to a number of prisoners 
throughout the year, sometimes for national holidays or other 
occasions. The criteria for determining who benefitted from such 
releases were not clear. One report stated 1,312 prisoners were given a 
presidential pardon in September, with unsubstantiated reports of 
payments to government officials in return.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--With the passage of the 18th 
amendment in September, the mechanism by which the seats on the 
Constitutional Council and its subsidiary councils are filled, 
including the Judicial Service Commission, was changed. The president 
now holds the authority to name all members to each of these councils, 
with the requirement only to ``seek advice,'' but not approval, of the 
parliament. In spite of this new power, the president had not appointed 
any of these councils by the end of the year. With the passage of the 
18th amendment, executive influence over the judiciary significantly 
increased. 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. Although there were allegations of 
instances when the president may have intervened to assign judges 
favorable to his position in high-profile cases, there were other 
instances where judicial decisions clearly went against what the 
president might have preferred. During the year the Government again 
failed to appoint the Constitutional Council, whose function is to 
ensure the independence of such constitutional bodies as the Judicial 
Service Commission. As a result a series of important checks on 
executive power were absent. Judges may be removed for misbehavior or 
incapacity but only after an investigation followed by joint action of 
the president and the parliament.
    For much of the year there was no procedure in place to address the 
legal status of the majority of the approximately 11,700 former LTTE 
combatants held in detention centers since the end of the war. 
Approximately 5,000 were released throughout the year, while an 
additional 1,400 were transferred into the regular prison system and 
charged with various crimes related to LTTE activity.
    Lawyers who defended human rights cases sometimes were under 
physical and verbal threats. There was no progress in the investigation 
of a 2008 grenade attack on the home of J.C. Weliamuna, a local human 
rights lawyer and the then director of Transparency International in 
the country.

    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. There 
are no formal procedures for ensuring how quickly an arrested person 
may contact family or a lawyer; in practice they are allowed to make 
calls on their mobile phone to such persons. The Government provides 
counsel for indigent persons tried on criminal charges in the High 
Court and the courts of appeal but not in cases before lower courts. 
Private legal aid organizations assisted some defendants. Juries were 
not used in cases brought under the PTA, but defendants in such cases 
had the right to appeal.
    Defendants are presumed innocent. Confessions obtained by coercive 
means, including torture, are inadmissible in criminal courts, except 
in PTA cases. The case of journalist J.S. Tissainayagam was one such 
example, as he had testified in court that his alleged confession was 
the result of torture by members of the TID (see section 1.e., 
Political Prisoners and Detainees). The alleged confession nonetheless 
was allowed as evidence in his trial in 2009. Defendants bear the 
burden of proof, however, to show that their confessions were obtained 
by coercion.
    Defendants have the right to question prosecution witnesses during 
their trials and are allowed access to the prosecution's evidence. 
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 usually were made 
relatively quickly.
    The law requires court proceedings and other legislation to be 
available in English, Sinhala, and Tamil. In practice most courts 
outside of Jaffna and the northern parts of the country conducted 
business in English or Sinhala. A shortage of court-appointed 
interpreters restricted the ability of Tamil-speaking defendants to 
receive a fair hearing in many locations, but trials and hearings in 
the north were in Tamil and English. Few legal textbooks existed in 
Tamil.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year the Government 
detained and imprisoned a small number of persons for political 
reasons. However, the Government permitted access to such persons on a 
regular basis by international humanitarian organizations.
    Most prominent among these political prisoners was main opposition 
presidential candidate and former army commander Sarath Fonseka, who 
was detained on February 8 by the military, held in detention for the 
rest of the year, brought before several military courts martial and 
civil courts on various charges, and ultimately sentenced to 30 months 
in prison at hard labor, which he was serving at the Welikada Prison at 
year's end. He also was stripped of his rank and pension, and all 
references to Fonseka on military plaques, etc., were ordered expunged. 
The accusations made against Fonseka after he initially was detained 
were vague, with suggestions by government officials that he had been 
plotting a coup. After more than a month, formal charges were brought 
under two courts martial on corruption in military procurement and 
violating military regulations by engaging in politics as a serving 
military officer. No charges were ever brought on the coup allegations. 
Later, he also was charged in civil court under the PTA for allegedly 
fomenting civil unrest by making statements in December 2009 to the 
press about Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa's alleged order that 
surrendering LTTE cadres be shot (the ``white flag'' incident). Fonseka 
later denied making these claims. In August the two courts martial 
found Fonseka guilty of the corruption charges and of engaging in 
politics while still in the military. At the end of the year the 
Supreme Court was considering whether the court martial verdict 
qualified as a civilian verdict for purposes of removing him from his 
parliamentary seat. At year's end Fonseka remained on trial for several 
charges, including revealing state secrets, for the ``white-flag'' 
case.
    Despite his incarceration Fonseka ran successfully for a 
parliamentary seat on the ticket of the opposition Democratic National 
Alliance in the April elections and until his sentencing to prison in 
September was allowed out of detention to attend sittings of 
parliament. A number of human rights organizations accused Fonseka of 
being involved in a wide range of human rights abuses during the war, 
including extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and indiscriminate 
firing on civilians in the war zone. Nevertheless, many independent 
observers concluded that Fonseka was detained, prosecuted, and 
sentenced for political reasons, because of the initial lack of clarity 
in the allegations against Fonseka, the fact that no formal charges 
were brought against him for more than a month after his detention, the 
selective way in which laws were ultimately applied (some progovernment 
military officers spoke publicly in favor of the president during the 
campaign and were not similarly charged or punished), and the 
disproportionate nature of the sentences in the courts martial, which 
appeared to be designed to humiliate Fonseka and to deprive him of his 
seat in parliament.
    Twenty-two other individuals involved with Fonseka's campaign were 
arrested, most in connection with the allegations of a coup attempt. By 
November, however, all 22 were released from detention with no charges 
pending, leaving only Fonseka in prison.
    There were other cases in which persons were detained for what 
appeared to be simply their opposition to the Government and its top 
leaders. There were numerous cases of police arresting persons for 
putting up or simply possessing posters critical of the Government. 
Police arrested Jayampathi Bulathsinhala, a local printer, in September 
for printing posters critical of President Rajapaksa and the 18th 
amendment.
    Journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, convicted under the PTA in 2009 and 
sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment at hard labor for what appeared to 
be purely political reasons (see section 1.e., Trial Procedures), was 
released on bail on January 15. He was formally pardoned by President 
Rajapaksa in May.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens were allowed to 
file fundamental rights cases to seek redress of human rights 
violations. The judiciary exhibited some independence and impartiality 
in adjudicating these types of cases, and plaintiffs were awarded 
damages in a number of instances. Observers cited bureaucratic 
inefficiencies in this system, leading to delays in the resolution of 
many cases; cases filed by persons suspected of having ties to the LTTE 
appeared to be subject to delays much more frequently. Where damages 
were awarded, there were relatively few problems in enforcing the court 
orders.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law provides for the right to privacy; however, 
the Government infringed on these rights, particularly when conducting 
cordon and search operations in Tamil neighborhoods. The Emergency 
Regulations allowed security forces to conduct searches of property and 
to engage in wiretapping and surveillance of private citizens with 
little judicial oversight.
    Seizure of private lands by various actors remained a problem 
across the country. Disputes over land ownership in war-torn areas of 
the north and east increased significantly as many former residents 
began returning to areas they had left many years before. The military 
seized significant amounts of land during the war to create security 
buffer zones around military bases and other high-value targets, which 
the Government called HSZs. The declaration of HSZs displaced a number 
of persons, particularly in the Jaffna Peninsula, and rendered inactive 
approximately 24 square miles of agricultural lands. A degree of 
progress was made in reducing the size of the HSZs during the year, 
with some lands being returned to their owners, in the area surrounding 
the Palaly Air Base in the Jaffna Peninsula, for example. Many of those 
affected by the HSZs continued to complain, however, that the pace of 
these returns was too slow and that the Government was holding back on 
the return of lands it might see as economically valuable. The 
Government cited the need to conduct careful demining prior to the 
handover of these lands, but questions persisted about whether land 
cleared of mines was always immediately returned to its original 
owners.
    Paramilitary actors were often cited as being responsible for other 
land seizures. While a legal process exists for private landowners to 
contest such seizures, in practice it proved very slow, and many 
victims did not take advantage of it for fear of violent reprisals by 
those who had seized the property in question.
    Land ownership disputes between private individuals in former war 
zones also escalated during the year. Multiple displacements occurred 
in the northern and eastern areas over the many years of war, and land 
often changed hands several times. Documentation of land claims was 
difficult for a number of reasons. Many persons who had been displaced 
multiple times were not able to preserve original land deeds as they 
moved and some official government land records were damaged or 
destroyed during intense fighting between government and LTTE troops. 
Through the LLRC, the Government was seeking to address these issues.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The law provides for freedom of 
speech and of the press, but in practice this was not always supported. 
Government officials criticized, pressured, and harassed the media, and 
most journalists practiced self-censorship.
    The Government owned the country's largest newspaper chain, two 
major television stations, and a radio station. However, private owners 
operated a variety of independent newspapers, journals, and radio and 
television stations. The Government imposed no political restrictions 
on the establishment of new media enterprises. While foreign media 
outlets operated in the country, foreign journalists were required to 
obtain clearance from the Ministry of Defense to travel to the north. 
There were occasions when foreign journalists were not granted this 
permission and thus were unable to report on key events in the north. 
On several occasions the Ministry of Defense prevented foreign 
journalists from the BBC from attending public sessions held by the 
LLRC in the north. This appeared to have been resolved by year's end, 
however, and a BBC reporter was granted ministry permission to attend 
an upcoming LLRC session in Mannar.
    Media freedom suffered from severe government pressure throughout 
the island, and most journalists practiced self-censorship, 
particularly on problems critical of top government officials. National 
and international media freedom organizations and journalists' 
associations expressed concern over media freedom and were sharply 
critical of the Government's role in harassing and intimidating 
journalists. The police, under the authority of the Ministry of 
Defense, reportedly maintained a special unit to monitor and control 
all references in the media to members of the Rajapaksa family.
    Senior government officials repeatedly accused critical journalists 
of treason and often pressured editors and publishers to print stories 
that portrayed the Government in a positive light. This pressure 
reportedly was exerted sometimes directly through threats and 
intimidation and sometimes through orders to government and private 
firms to cease advertising in critical newspapers. Threats led some 
journalists to choose self-exile (see section 2.d.).
    In addition to the high-profile disappearance of Prageeth 
Eknaliyagoda in January, (see section 1.b.), media personnel often were 
subject to threats and harassment during the year. Statements by 
government and military officials contributed to an environment in 
which journalists who published articles critical of the Government 
felt under threat.
    Masked assailants attacked the premises of Siyatha television on 
July 30, burning the studios and injuring two employees. Witnesses 
reported similarities in the manner in which this attack was carried 
out and the January 2009 attack on MTV/MBC studios, and some local 
groups suspected Ministry of Defense personnel were behind the attack.
    The Government made no progress in the investigation into the 
January 2009 attack on the broadcasting station of MTV/MBC in 
Pannipitiya.
    There was no further investigation into the June 2009 abduction and 
severe beating of journalist Poddala Jayantha, head of the Sri Lanka 
Working Journalists Association. Jayantha was attacked shortly after 
photographs of him and several other journalists were shown on state-
run television during comments by the Inspector General of Police 
Jayantha Wickramaratne, in which he called journalists traitors who 
should be ``dealt with.''
    On several occasions during the year government authorities at the 
international airport confiscated copies of The Economist magazine, 
preventing their release to the magazine's local distributor. This 
occurred when articles in the issue were critical of the Government. 
The Government stated that the confiscations were merely temporary and 
only occurred when there was a legitimate security concern. The issues 
containing the critical articles were not seen on newsstands once the 
Government released them, however, since a new issue had already 
arrived to replace them.
    In November persons with suspected affiliation with the EPDP 
paramilitary group made threatening gestures to local journalists 
attending a public session of the LLRC in Kayts, off the Jaffna 
Peninsula. The journalists were attempting to photograph the men as the 
latter wrote down names and other identifying details of local 
residents describing abductions that occurred in the area during the 
war.
    In July 2009 the Government officially reactivated the Press 
Council Act of 1973. This act, which includes power to impose punitive 
measures including fines and lengthy prison terms, proscribed the 
publishing of articles that discussed internal communications of the 
Government, decisions of the cabinet, matters relating to the military 
that could affect national security, and details of economic policy 
that could lead to artificial shortages or speculative price increases. 
Several demonstrations by journalists took place throughout the latter 
part of 2009 against the resurrection of this council.

    Internet Freedom.--There appeared to be some limited government 
restrictions on access to the Internet, including government blocking 
of Web sites it deemed pornographic. There were suspicions that the 
Government was behind the blocking of Internet access to several Tamil 
news Web sites, including the pro-LTTE TamilNet.
    High-speed Internet was available in major cities and towns, 
including Jaffna, with more widespread use among younger and urban 
populations. Cell-phone use, including text messaging, was high across 
a broad spectrum of society without government restriction. The 
Ministry of Defense attempted to impose regulations requiring the 
registration of all SIM card purchases, but there appeared to be 
sizable gaps in the implementation and enforcement of these 
regulations.
    According to International Telecommunication Union statistics for 
2009, approximately 8.8 percent of the country's inhabitants used the 
Internet.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were reports that 
government officials occasionally informally inhibited cultural 
productions originating from ethnic minorities. Theater productions 
written by Tamils were not performed at a festival, allegedly because 
the Government did not have a Tamil translator available to approve the 
content. There were allegations that university officials, in many 
cases from the ranks of academia, prevented professors from criticizing 
government officials, and the administration of a university in Colombo 
prevented the UN from holding an event on school premises that 
highlighted a number of human rights defenders as part of a celebration 
of International Human Rights Day in December. Academics were 
intimidated into practicing self-censorship.

    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 2005 Emergency Regulations gives the 
president the power to restrict meetings, assemblies, and processions. 
The law states that rallies and demonstrations of a political nature 
may not be held when a referendum is scheduled, but the Government 
generally granted permits for demonstrations, including those by 
opposition parties and minority groups. A number of university students 
were detained in October following demonstrations at several 
universities in protest of plans to develop private universities in the 
country. The Government alleged that these demonstrations were 
unauthorized and deliberately set up with the help of leftist political 
parties to disrupt classes and clash with police.

    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 Government often used informants to target 
individuals for arrests and interrogation based on their association.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law grants every citizen 
``freedom of movement and of choosing his residence'' and ``freedom to 
return to the country.'' In practice, however, the Government 
restricted this right on multiple occasions. The additional police and 
military checkpoints on travelers from the north and the east and on 
movement to and in Colombo remained in effect. The number of formal, 
stationary checkpoints declined from the previous year, in particular 
in Colombo. Many observers noted an increase in temporary, roving 
checkpoints, however, especially at night in Colombo.
    Ethnic Tamils' national identification cards were the only cards 
printed in both Sinhala and Tamil.
    Security forces at army checkpoints in Colombo frequently harassed 
Tamils. Both the Government and the TMVP continued to operate 
checkpoints in the east that impeded the free movement of residents, 
especially Tamils.
    The Government no longer restricted travel by Sri Lankan citizens 
on the A-9 highway leading north from Vavuniya to Jaffna. Foreigners, 
however, were required to get permission from the Ministry of Defense 
before traveling to northern areas. The Government continued security 
checks on movements in all directions north of a key junction near 
Medawachiya, although they were less stringent than during the war.
    Limited access continued near military bases and the HSZs where 
civilians could not enter. The HSZs extended in an approximately 2.5-
mile radius from the fences of most military camps. Some observers 
claimed that the HSZs were excessive and unfairly affected Tamil 
agricultural lands, particularly in Jaffna. There were allegations 
after the war ended that the Government was allowing non-Tamil 
businesses to locate inside HSZs, taking over valuable land before 
local citizens were allowed to return.
    The Government did not expel citizens from one part of the country 
to another, nor did it forcibly exile any citizens abroad, but it 
allowed citizens to leave the country under self-exile unless they were 
accused of breaking the law. More than a dozen journalists, having 
received physical threats, were in self-exile due to safety fears.
    In July the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released 
updated eligibility guidelines for assessing the international 
protection needs of asylum seekers from the country. The report noted 
that due to the cessation of hostilities, Sri Lankans originating from 
the northern part of the country were no longer in need of 
international protection under broader refugee criteria or 
complementary forms of protection solely on the basis of risk of 
indiscriminate harm and that, in light of the improved human rights and 
security situation in the country, there was no longer a need for 
group-based protection mechanisms or for a presumption of eligibility 
for Sri Lankans of Tamil ethnicity originating from northern part of 
the country. The report noted that refugee status determinations of Sri 
Lankan asylum seekers of Tamil ethnicity should be assessed upon five 
potential risk profiles: (1) persons suspected of links to the LTTE (in 
these cases, exclusion criteria would also apply); (2) journalists and 
other media professionals; (3) civil society and human rights 
activists; (4) women and children with certain profiles; and (5) 
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. As of 
November 1, the number of Tamil refugees from the country living in 
southern India included slightly more than 70,000 in refugee camps and 
an additional 32,000 living outside of camps among the Indian 
population. This represented the vast majority of approximately 146,000 
total Sri Lankan refugees registered with the UNHCR in 64 different 
countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and other 
countries. Some Tamil refugees returned to the country, with 2,054 
returning during the year via UNHCR assistance, up from 843 in 2009, 
and an additional 2,742 refugees returned on their own during the year.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)--The country had a significant 
population of IDPs. Almost all IDPs were ethnically Tamil, although 
approximately 80,000 of the total displaced population were Tamil-
speaking Muslims who were displaced from Jaffna by the LTTE in 1990. 
Although approximately 108,000 more recent IDPs remained in government-
run camps at the beginning of the year, most of these had returned to 
their home districts by year's end, with approximately 20,200 still in 
camps at that time. An estimated 66,000 individuals remained displaced 
in host communities, primarily in Jaffna, Mannar, and Vavuniya 
districts. At the Manik Farm camp near Vavuniya, 19,000 of the 20,200 
were housed, and an additional 1,200 at the Ramavil camp in the Jaffna 
Peninsula. Of those at the Manik Farm camp, approximately 97 percent 
came from heavily mined areas in the Mullaitivu District. Many IDPs who 
were able to return to their home districts were nevertheless unable to 
move back onto their own property due to uncleared land mines, 
restrictions that have designated their home areas as HSZs, and other 
war-related destruction. Living conditions for these persons were often 
difficult.
    In addition to this group of newer IDPs, there were an estimated 
200,000 displaced Tamils, most of whom were displaced prior to the last 
major offensive by the military in 2008 and were living with either 
relatives or friends. It was unclear at year's end how or when they 
might return to their places of origin, or whether some would prefer to 
settle permanently at their current location after being displaced for 
many years. Some returns of pre-2008 IDPs occurred throughout the year.
    For the IDP camps the Government accepted assistance from and 
provided access to NGOs and international actors. Management of the 
camps and control of assistance was under the military rather than 
civilian authorities, but civilian government agencies provided 
services to IDPs in the camps while working in concert with the 
military.
    The Government released IDPs throughout the year for return to 
their areas of origin, but in some cases the Government did not 
effectively coordinate with local or international aid agencies that 
were asked to provide assistance on short notice. The Government 
sometimes failed to coordinate consistently with military personnel in 
the IDPs' home locations.
    Among the long-term displaced were approximately 73,000 Muslims 
evicted from Jaffna in 1990 by the LTTE, many of whom spent nearly 20 
years in IDP camps in and around Puttalam. A number of these, one 
estimate suggesting as many as 43,000, returned to Jaffna throughout 
the year, but this was difficult to verify. How many of those remaining 
in Puttalam would return home also was unclear, as many had younger 
family members who felt more at home in Puttalam. The Government did 
not permit some other IDPs, primarily Tamils, to return home because 
their places of origin remained inside HSZs, despite announcements 
during the year that these HSZs would soon be reduced or eliminated.
    The Government generally cooperated with the UNHCR and some other 
humanitarian organizations in assisting IDPs; however, it restricted 
access to the north by NGOs and some international organizations, 
requiring them to obtain authorization for projects and access from the 
Presidential Task Force. While the UN and its organizations were given 
fairly effective access, other international NGOs had difficulty in 
operating projects they saw as needed, and permission for some 
humanitarian organizations to operate was denied or rescinded.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. The 
country's laws do not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee 
status, and the Government had not established a system for providing 
protection to refugees. In practice the Government provided protection 
against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their 
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion.

    Stateless Persons--The 2003 Grant of Citizenship to Persons of 
Indian Origin Act recognized the country's nationality of previously 
stateless persons, particularly hill-country Tamils. The Government 
made limited progress towards naturalizing and providing citizenship 
documentation to stateless persons. By December approximately 20,000 
hill-country Tamils in the country lacked identity cards and 
citizenship documents, compared with 30,000 at the beginning of 2009 
and 70,000 in 2008. Those lacking identity cards were at higher risk of 
arbitrary arrest and detention, but there were no reports of such 
incidents during the year.
    The Government passed laws in 2009 to grant citizenship to hill-
country Tamils living among other Sri Lankan ethnic Tamils in refugee 
camps in India's Tamil Nadu, but progress on finding and registering 
these persons and granting them citizenship was slow.

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 elections held on the basis of universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The president, who was 
reelected in January for a second six-year term, holds executive power, 
while the 225-member parliament, elected in April, exercises 
legislative power.
    The Government invited the Commonwealth of Nations and other 
international organizations to send election observers, but few 
international observers agreed to be present for the January 
presidential election. Several local elections observer organizations 
monitored the campaign and election day. This was the first island-wide 
election since the end of the war, and although participation in some 
northern areas was low compared with the rest of the island, it was 
significantly higher than during the 2005 presidential election, when 
the LTTE enforced a boycott of the polls in areas under its control.
    A number of violent incidents occurred during the campaign period, 
with five deaths connected to election-related violence, but there were 
few reported incidents of election-related violence or election law 
violations on election day. However, independent observers reported 
countless violations of election law by the president's ruling 
coalition and, to a lesser extent, by the main opposition parties 
during the weeks leading up to election day. The president's ruling 
coalition was accused of massive use of state resources in support of 
the president's campaign, including the repeated use of official 
vehicles, offices, and personnel to hold campaign events and to conduct 
voter education efforts that favored the president.
    The final vote count gave President Rajapaksa approximately 58 
percent of the vote, with the main opposition candidate, retired 
general Sarath Fonseka, receiving just over 40 percent. There were no 
reliable public opinion polls conducted during the election campaign 
with which to compare these results. There were allegations of possible 
fraud occurring at counting centers, as ballots were tallied and totals 
reported to the elections commissioner. In several counting centers 
opposition party observers were chased away by government supporters. 
While many observers questioned the size of Rajapaksa's margin of 
victory, most believed that the results represented the will of the 
electorate. There were calls for a recount of ballots, but the 
elections commissioner refused to do so. By law election ballots are 
retained for one year following an election in case of a dispute. The 
elections commissioner has the power to release them, but he refused to 
allow any independent inspection of the ballots, even after a formal 
request by local election monitoring organizations to do so. Imprisoned 
opposition candidate Fonseka filed a petition in court to overturn the 
results of the election, based on the allegations of elections law 
violations and counting fraud, but on October 29 the Supreme Court 
dismissed the case on technical grounds without rendering a decision on 
the merits of the case, stating that it would be impossible to prove in 
court whether the alleged fraud and violations occurred to the point of 
justifying the disqualification of Rajapaksa as a candidate.
    There were reports that several thousand IDPs housed at the Manik 
Farm camp in Vavuniya were not able to vote because buses arranged for 
transporting them to local polling sites were late.
    Several small explosions occurred in the area around Jaffna early 
on the morning of the election, but no injuries were reported as a 
result. However, some local observers reported that these may have 
dissuaded voters from going to the polls in those areas.
    The parliamentary elections in April experienced some violence as 
well, but it was based largely on intraparty squabbles, as local 
candidates competed for preference votes within their own party 
constituencies.
    There were reports of complications in the registration of some 
IDPs in the north later in the year as elections officials prepared for 
a full round of local and provincial elections expected in early 2011. 
The numbers of voters reportedly affected by these complications were 
relatively small.
    Political parties largely were free to operate and name candidates 
as they wished.
    There were 10 women in the 225-member parliament, two female 
ministers, and two women out of 11 justices on the Supreme Court. There 
were 28 Tamils and 17 Muslims in the parliament. There was no provision 
for, or allocation of, a set number or percentage of political party 
positions for women or minorities. Women's participation in politics 
was approximately 5 percent in the parliament and the provincial 
councils.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials in all three branches of the Government frequently engaged in 
corrupt practices with impunity.
    The mandate of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery 
or Corruption expired during the year and had not been renewed by 
year's end.
    The tendering and procurement process for government contracts was 
not transparent, leading to allegations of corruption by the losing 
bidders. Senior officials served as corporate officers of several 
quasi-public corporations, including Lanka Logistics and Technologies, 
which the Government established in 2007 and designated as the sole 
procurement agency for all military equipment. Critics alleged that 
large kickbacks were paid during the awarding of certain defense 
contracts. In 2007 the Government used state pension funds to set up a 
new budget airline, Mihin Air, with many of the same officials serving 
as corporate officers. In May 2009 Mihin Air went bankrupt, but the 
2009 budget allocated several million dollars to restart operations and 
continue leasing planes for the airline. Parliamentarians from the 
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People's Liberation Front) complained in 
session that the airline's officials did not follow proper tender 
procedures in acquiring the planes.
    In 2008 the Supreme Court found then treasury secretary P.B. 
Jayasundera guilty of a violation of procedure in the awarding of a 
large contract for the expansion of the Port of Colombo. The court 
barred him from holding the treasury position. In June 2009, after 
President Rajapaksa named a new Supreme Court chief justice, the 
Supreme Court allowed Jayasundera to proceed with a fundamental rights 
case protesting the original decision. The Supreme Court then 
overturned the previous decision and allowed Jayasundera to be 
reinstated as secretary of the treasury.
    Although members of parliament are asked to complete financial 
disclosure reports upon their election, there was no follow-up to 
ensure compliance, and little or no reporting ultimately was done.
    There was no law providing for public access to government 
information.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
continued to investigate and publish their findings on human rights 
cases, despite increasing government restrictions and physical threats 
to their work. The Government often criticized local NGOs critical of 
government actions, failed to respond to requests for assistance, and 
put pressure on those who sought such assistance. For example, the 
Government failed to investigate a death threat in August 2009 against 
one prominent civil society leader and instead opened an investigation 
of those who signed a public petition calling for an investigation.
    NGOs which proposed undertaking projects in northern and eastern 
areas address such matters as psychosocial counseling, good governance 
training for local citizens, and legal aid often had difficulty in 
obtaining government work permits. Government officials sometimes made 
generic criticisms of local NGOs that accepted funding from 
international sources.
    Although the ICRC did not have an overall operating mandate since 
July 2009, and the Government told ICRC in December to close its 
offices in Jaffna and Vavuniya, it was able nonetheless to conduct a 
number of its functions including prison visits and other monitoring.
    International personnel of NGOs often had trouble getting visa 
renewals to continue working in the country.
    The Government continued to refuse the request by the UN's Office 
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for an expanded mission and 
an independent presence in the country.
    The UN Secretary-General established an advisory panel of experts 
in June to advise him on the country's accountability mechanisms with 
regard to alleged violation of international human rights and 
humanitarian law during the final stages of the war in 2009. The 
Government responded by stating the panel was an ``unwarranted and 
unnecessary interference,'' and that the secretary-general did not have 
the authority to establish such a panel. Shortly after the secretary-
general's announcement, Wimal Weerawansa, minister of housing and 
construction, led a protest that surrounded the entrance to the main UN 
compound in Colombo, preventing staff inside from leaving for several 
hours. The secretary general called upon the Government to live up to 
its responsibilities as a host country to ensure the continuation of 
the UN's work. The protest continued for several days, with Weerawansa 
threatening to fast to the death unless the panel of experts was 
disbanded. The president asked Weerawansa to end the protest four days 
after it began. Although there were reports that the Government had 
agreed to allow members of the panel to visit the country as part of 
its research, at year's end the visit had not yet occurred.
    By statute the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) had wide 
powers and resources and could not be called as a witness in any court 
of law or be sued for matters relating to its official duties. However, 
in practice the SLHRC rarely used its powers, and there were reports of 
a large backlog of cases with virtually no action by the commission 
during the year. Rather than taking an investigative approach to 
determining the facts and details of human rights cases, the SLHRC 
instead took a more tribunal-like approach, weighing only the evidence 
brought to it in deciding whether to pursue a case. In 2007 the 
International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights 
Institutions downgraded the SLHRC to observer status, citing 
governmental interference in the work of the SLHRC.
    In May the Government established the LLRC, a presidential 
commission with a six-month mandate to investigate the reasons for the 
breakdown of the Cease-Fire Agreement and the subsequent resumption of 
conflict until the end of the war. An eight-member panel of 
commissioners, including one Tamil and one Muslim, was appointed to 
collect evidence and testimony and to present a report to the 
president. Some international observers criticized the country's lack 
of witness protection, the limited scope of the LLRC--which did not 
have an explicit mandate to investigate alleged war crimes--as well as 
the impartiality of its Chairman, C.R. de Silva, whom they believe was 
responsible in part for the failure of a previous commission of 
inquiry. The Government extended the LLRC's mandate for another six 
months in November, a move criticized by some international observers 
as a tactic to delay addressing accountability. The time extension, 
however, did allow the LLRC additional time to gather testimony from 
hundreds of civilians, largely ethnic Tamils in the war-torn north and 
east, to provide the commission with testimony about missing family 
members and other war-related strife.
    A significant number of witnesses were heard at LLRC sessions in 
Colombo, including historians, religious leaders, military officials, 
academics, and political figures. A wide variety of opinions were 
expressed at these sessions, including discussions on the origins of 
the conflict, the role of language, devolution, and the successes or 
failures of past political leadership.
    The LLRC also held a large number of field sessions in towns and 
villages throughout the former conflict areas in the north and east, 
where it accepted oral and written testimony from civilians who were 
affected by the war. Missing persons reports were accepted from 
hundreds of persons who had lost close relatives either during the 
fighting or in the mass exodus of Tamil civilians from the final 
conflict zone in the immediate aftermath of the end of the war. Many of 
these reports cited forced recruitment tactics by the LTTE, but others 
blamed government military and police for arresting their relatives, 
with no word from them since. Others told of the deaths of relatives 
from shelling and indiscriminate firing by both the LTTE and the 
Government in civilian areas and so-called no-fire zones.
    On September 13, the LLRC made a number of interim recommendations 
to the president on steps to help alleviate continued ethnic tensions 
and respond to individuals' most pressing requests but made no mention 
of investigation of allegations of war crimes. The Government created 
an interagency committee in late October to implement these interim 
recommendations, which addressed detentions, land-ownership concerns, 
law and order, language problems, and economic and livelihood 
development. At year's end the interagency committee was working on 
implementation of the recommendations. The LLRC also created a website 
on which it published testimony from a number of individuals who 
appeared before the commission, including some from individuals whose 
family members disappeared during the war.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status, and the Government generally respected 
these rights in practice; however, there were instances wherein which 
gender and ethnic-based discrimination occurred.

    Women.--The law prohibits rape and domestic violence but it was not 
effectively enforced. Sexual assault, rape, and spousal abuse were 
pervasive societal problems. The law specifically addresses sexual 
abuse and exploitation, and it 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 legally separated. While 
in theory the law could address some of the problems of sexual assault, 
many women's organizations believed that greater sensitization of 
police and the judiciary was necessary to see progress in combating 
these crimes. The Bureau for the Protection of Children and Women 
(BPCW) within the police conducted awareness programs in schools and at 
the grassroots level, prompting women to file complaints. The BPCW 
received 714 complaints of grave violent crimes and 2,391 minor crimes 
against women during 2009.
    There were reports that individual cases of gender-based violence 
perpetrated by members of the security forces occurred in areas with 
heavy security force presence, but others stated that military 
officials were responsive to reports of such incidents and showed a 
willingness to prosecute the offenders. The Government did not release 
any details about prosecutions or punishments for such offenses, and 
some observers suggested that there was reluctance by victims to report 
such incidents in northern and eastern areas where security forces were 
much more prevalent. Statistics on numbers of such cases also were 
unavailable because few victims reported such incidents. Human rights 
groups in northern districts alleged that the wives of men who were 
killed as a result of the conflict often fell victim to prostitution 
because of their economic vulnerability.
    According to the BPCW 175 reported incidents of rape occurred 
through August 2009 throughout the island, but reported incidences of 
rape were unreliable indicators of the degree of this problem, as most 
victims were unwilling to file reports. Services to assist victims of 
rape and domestic violence, such as crisis centers, legal aid, and 
counseling, were generally scarce due to a lack of funding.
    Sexual harassment was a criminal offense carrying a maximum 
sentence of five years in prison. Some observers acknowledged sexual 
harassment to be widespread; however, enforcement of the law was not 
effective. Domestic violence was also thought to be widespread, 
although, as with sexual harassment, discussion of these problems was 
not common.
    Couples and individuals were generally free to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children. An estimated 40 percent of the 
population used modern contraceptives, and skilled attendance during 
childbirth was estimated at approximately 97 percent. According to 2008 
UN estimates, the maternal mortality rate in the country was 39 deaths 
per 100,000 live births. Women appeared to be equally diagnosed and 
treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. The UN and 
World Health Organization estimated approximately 4,000 persons were 
infected with HIV in 2007.
    The law provides for equal employment opportunity in the public 
sector. In practice women had no legal protection against 
discrimination in the private sector, where they sometimes were paid 
less than men for equal work and experienced difficulty in rising to 
supervisory positions. Although women constituted approximately half of 
the formal workforce, according to the Asian Development Bank, the 
quality of employment available to women was less than that available 
to men. The demand for female labor was mainly for casual and low-paid, 
low-skill jobs.
    Women had equal rights under civil and criminal law. However, 
adjudication according to the customary law of each ethnic or religious 
group of questions related to family law, including divorce, child 
custody, and inheritance, resulted in de facto discrimination.

    Children.--Citizenship was obtained by birth within the territory 
of the country and from a child's parents if born to citizen parents 
overseas. The law requires children between the ages of five and 14 to 
attend school. The Government provided extensive systems of public 
education and medical care. Education was free through the university 
level.
    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 way contrary to compulsory education regulations. 
It also defines child abuse to include the involvement of children in 
war.
    NGOs attributed the problem of exploitation of children to the lack 
of enforcement, rather than inadequate legislation. The BPCW conducted 
investigations into crimes against children and women, and the National 
Child Protection Authority (NCPA) included representatives from the 
education, medical, police, and legal professions and reported directly 
to the president. During 2009 the BPCW received 1,974 complaints of 
grave violent crimes and 986 of minor crimes against children.
    The Government advocated greater international cooperation to bring 
those guilty of sexual exploitation of children to justice. Although 
the Government did not keep records of particular types of violations, 
the law prohibits sexual violations against children, defined as 
persons less than 18 years of age, particularly in regard to child 
pornography, child prostitution, and the trafficking of children. 
Penalties for violations related to pornography and prostitution range 
from two to five years' imprisonment. The penalties for sexual assault 
of children range from five to 20 years' imprisonment and an 
unspecified fine. By the end of 2009 the Government opened 1,575 files, 
of which 497 resulted in indictments for sexual assault and 
exploitation of children, including kidnapping, cruelty to children, 
rape, and statutory rape; 299 cases were dismissed, and 303 cases were 
referred to the police for further investigation. The remaining were 
pending at the end of 2009, and no further details were available at 
year's end.
    Commercial sexual exploitation of children remained a problem in 
coastal resort areas. Private groups estimated that approximately 6,000 
children were exploited for commercial sex in the country and that 
local citizens were responsible for much of the exploitation. Other 
groups believed foreign tourists were more frequently the exploiters of 
thousands of children, especially boys, for commercial sex, most of 
whom were reportedly forced into prostitution by traffickers. There was 
little solid data to elucidate these reports, and some observers stated 
the problem was much less prevalent than approximately 10 years ago. 
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 halted programs to raise 
awareness for at-risk children in resort regions prone to sex tourism 
due to a lack of funding.
    Children in the IDP camps and resettled areas were exposed to the 
same difficult conditions as adult IDPs and returnees in these areas. 
School facilities were being demined and reconstructed, but many were 
in poor condition and lacked basic supplies. Medical care in these 
areas was limited, but improvements continued throughout the year.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish population remained very small, and 
there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law forbids discrimination against 
any person with physical, sensory, intellectual, or mental 
disabilities; however, in practice discrimination occurred in 
employment, education, and provision of state services. 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 provided 
financial support to NGOs that assisted persons with disabilities, 
including subsidizing prosthetic devices, making purchases from 
suppliers with disabilities, and registering 74 NGO-run schools and 
training institutions for persons with disabilities. Due to a lack of 
funding, the Department of Social Services reportedly discontinued a 
program that allowed job placement officers to help the estimated 
200,000 work-eligible persons with disabilities find jobs. This program 
assisted 147 persons with disabilities in finding jobs in 2008. Persons 
with disabilities faced difficulties due to negative attitudes and 
societal discrimination. In some rural areas the belief of many 
residents that physical and mental disabilities were contagious led to 
long-term isolation of such persons who in some cases rarely or never 
left their homes.
    In October 2009 the Supreme Court directed that steps be taken to 
provide easy access for persons with disabilities to public buildings, 
but little progress occurred. There were regulations on accessibility, 
but in practice accommodation for access to buildings for persons with 
disabilities was rare. The Department of Social Services provided 
housing grants, self-employment grants, and medical assistance to 
persons with disabilities. During the year the department provided a 
monthly allowance grant of approximately 3,200 rupees ($29) to 
approximately 2,100 families of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Both local and Indian-origin 
Tamils maintained that they suffered long-standing, systematic 
discrimination in university education, government employment, and 
other matters controlled by the Government. According to the SLHRC, 
Tamils also experienced discrimination in housing. Landlords were 
required to register any Tamil tenants and to report their presence to 
the police, although in practice many landlords did not comply.
    Tamils throughout the country, but especially in the conflict-
affected north and east, reported frequent harassment of young and 
middle-age Tamil men by security forces and paramilitary groups.
    A small ethnic group known as Kaffari or Kaffirs existed in very 
small numbers, mostly in the coastal areas of Negombo, Trincomalee, and 
Batticaloa. They were thought to be the descendants of African slaves 
originally brought to the country by the Portuguese sometime in the 
16th century. They numbered approximately 1,000 and had dwindled in 
number largely due to many years of intermarriage. They did not appear 
to suffer from any overt discrimination, but because of their small 
number they struggled to maintain any distinct cultural identity.

    Indigenous People.--The country's indigenous people, known as 
Veddas, by some estimates numbered fewer than 1,000. Some preferred to 
maintain their traditional way of life and were nominally protected by 
the law. There were no legal restrictions on their participation in 
political or economic life. However, the lack of legal documents was a 
problem for many. Vedda communities complained that they were pushed 
off their lands by the creation of protected forest areas, which 
deprived them of traditional livelihoods.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes 
homosexual activity but was not officially enforced. Some NGOs working 
on LGBT problems did not register with the Government. In recent years 
human rights organizations reported that, while not actively arresting 
and prosecuting those who engaged in LGBT activity, police harassed and 
extorted money or sexual favors from those persons and assaulted gays 
and lesbians in Colombo and other areas. This led to many incidents of 
crimes against members of the LGBT community going unreported. There 
were LGBT organizations, and several events were held throughout the 
year. In addition to pressure, harassment, and assaults by police, 
there remained significant societal pressure against members and 
organizations of the LGBT community. There were no legal safeguards to 
prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. 
There were reports that persons undergoing gender reassignment 
procedures had difficulty in amending government documents to reflect 
those changes.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no official 
discrimination against those who provided HIV prevention services or 
against high-risk groups likely to spread HIV/AIDS, although there were 
reports of societal discrimination against these groups.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and 
join unions of their choice without previous authorization, with the 
exception of members of the armed forces and police officers, who may 
not unionize. Seven workers may form a union, adopt a charter, elect 
leaders, and publicize their views; however, a union must represent 40 
percent of workers at a given enterprise before the employer is legally 
obligated to bargain with it. By law public sector unions are not 
allowed to form federations or represent workers from more than one 
branch or department of government, although the law was not generally 
enforced.
    Approximately 10 percent of the national workforce of 7.5 million 
and more than 70 percent of the plantation workforce was unionized. 
Approximately 11 percent of the nonagricultural workforce in the 
private sector was unionized. Unions represented 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.
    In practice the right of association was impeded by the management 
of individual factories and by administrative delays by the Government 
in registering unions.
    Approximately 122,000 persons were employed within the country's 12 
export processing zones (EPZs), where the Board of Investment (BOI) set 
minimum wages and working conditions. Although EPZ employees have the 
same rights to join unions as other workers, forming trade unions was 
more difficult in the zones. The BOI controlled access to the EPZs; 
union representatives seeking to organize workers and other outsiders 
could enter only at the invitation of factory owners or the BOI. Unions 
claimed their lack of access to the zones drove the EPZs' low rate of 
unionization. They also reported that some employers actively 
undermined the formation of EPZ unions. Many employers claimed that low 
unionization was due to higher relative wages in the EPZs and to a 
relatively transient workforce.
    To address concerns about working conditions and freedom of 
association, the Labor Ministry set up offices, also known as mediation 
centers, in the three largest EPZs. For the first time, the ministry 
began conducting its own unannounced inspections in the EPZs and placed 
labor inspectors on-site in several of the largest EPZs.
    Most large unions were affiliated with political parties and played 
a prominent role in the political process, although some unions in the 
public sector were politically independent. The Department of Labor is 
authorized to cancel a union's registration if the union fails to 
submit an annual report for three years.
    By law all workers, other than police, armed forces, prison 
service, and those in essential services, have the right to strike, but 
the Government did not enforce this law uniformly. The president has 
broad discretion to declare sectors ``essential,'' as these can include 
``any service which is of public utility or is essential for national 
security or for the preservation of public order or to the life of the 
community and includes any Department of the Government or branch 
thereof.'' The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) claimed 
the Government misused its power to declare an industry ``of public 
utility'' in order to make strikes illegal.
    The law prohibits retribution against strikers in nonessential 
sectors; in practice, however, employees sometimes were fired for 
striking.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
interference, but the Government enforced the law unevenly. Union 
activists and officials remained subject to harassment, intimidation, 
and other retaliatory practices. There were reports that employers 
arbitrarily transferred union members, and there were numerous reports 
of unfair dismissals of union members.
    On November 28, two trade unionists were arrested and charged with 
causing incitement for rioting by distributing pamphlets that raised 
concerns over the possible economic and environmental affect of a 
proposed development project.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right to collective bargaining; however, the 
Government did not effectively enforce it in all instances. All 
collective agreements are required to be registered with the Department 
of Labor. Collective agreements normally were for three years.
    Employers found guilty of antiunion discrimination were required to 
reinstate workers fired for union activities but could transfer them to 
different locations. Antiunion discrimination was a punishable offense 
liable for a fine of 20,000 rupees ($177).
    According to the Government only the Department of Labor, a 
division under the Ministry of Labor, has standing to pursue an unfair 
labor practice case, including for antiunion discrimination. Citing 
routine government inaction on alleged violations of labor rights, 
unions have long pressed for standing. Since 1999 the Department of 
Labor filed two cases against companies for unfair labor practices 
under the Industrial Disputes Act, in 2009 and 2010. Those cases 
continued at the end of the year. Workers brought some labor violations 
to court under various other labor laws instead, such as the Wages 
Board or Employees Provident Fund Acts. Several employers were under 
investigation under these statutes.
    In practice employers often indefinitely delayed recognition of 
unions for collective bargaining. The ITUC and other organizations 
reported that employers used these delays to delay or prevent the 
formation of a union, to decrease support for unionization, and to 
identify, terminate, and sometimes assault or threaten union activists.
    There were credible reports that employers in the EPZs financed and 
supported employees' councils which then engaged in some labor and 
management negotiations. Labor organizations asserted these councils 
were a means of discouraging organization of and participation in 
traditional unions, and that they significantly weakened the bargaining 
positions of employees. The Government disputed these allegations and 
stated the higher number of worker councils reflected employee 
preferences to resolve disputes at the company level rather than via 
large unions.
    Unions argued that restricted access to the EPZs for union and NGO 
representatives hindered efforts to organize workers. According to the 
BOI, as of December there were 14 trade unions active in 39 of the 
EPZs' 267 factories; worker councils were active in 144.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibited 
forced or bonded labor; however, there were reports that such practices 
occurred. The country's men and women emigrated to many countries, 
where some found themselves in conditions of forced labor. The risk of 
forced labor was increased by indebtedness and fraud from recruitment 
fees incurred in the country before departure. There were unconfirmed 
reports that children were subjected to bonded labor in dry-zone 
farming areas, on plantations, and to a lesser extent, in the fireworks 
and fish-drying industries. Bonded labor reportedly occurred in the 
agriculture, mining, and rope-making sectors, although those 
allegations were not confirmed.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
minimum age for employment was 14, although the law permitted the 
employment of younger children by their parents or guardians in limited 
family agriculture work or in technical training. Persons under age 18 
could not be employed in any public enterprise in which the work was 
considered dangerous.
    The largest sector for child labor, both legal and illegal, was 
agriculture, where children under 18 sometimes were employed in the 
plantation sectors and in nonplantation agriculture during harvest 
periods. Children were engaged in hazardous and exploitative child 
labor as street and mobile vendors, and domestic helpers. They also 
worked in agriculture, mining, construction, manufacturing, and 
transport services. There were also reports that children performed 
dangerous work in the tile, fishing, construction, and mining 
industries. Children displaced by the war had a higher risk of being 
employed in hazardous labor.
    Sources indicated many thousands of children between 14 years and 
18 years of age were employed in domestic service in urban households, 
although this situation was not regulated or documented. Some child 
domestics reportedly were subjected to physical, sexual, and emotional 
abuse, and there were also reports of rural children in debt bondage in 
urban households. Employment of children commonly occurred in family 
enterprises such as family farms, crafts, small trade establishments, 
restaurants, and repair shops.
    There were no reports of children employed in the EPZs, the garment 
industry, or any other export industry.
    The NCPA was the central agency for coordinating and monitoring the 
protection of children, with the specific mandate to enforce laws on 
child labor and hazardous child labor. The Department of Labor, the 
Department of Probation and Child Care Services, and the police, which 
operated a specially designated Children's and Women's Bureau to 
enforce child labor laws, were also responsible for the enforcement of 
child labor laws. The NCPA received approximately 154 complaints of 
child employment during the year, compared with 79 in 2009. Other 
agencies also collected reports of child labor, however, and it was 
difficult to tell when there were multiple reports of the same 
instance. The police's Children's and Women's Desk had received 211 
complaints by June, compared with 247 during the same period in 2009. 
The Department of Labor received 150 complaints by October, compared 
with 149 during the same period in 2009. Information on litigation 
during the year was not available. Penalties for employing minors are 
10,000 rupees ($89) or 12 months' imprisonment. From January to 
October, the Department of Labor carried out 150 inspections on child 
labor and found 11 cases of child labor violations.
    During the year the Government published a road map for the 
elimination of worst forms of child labor by 2016. This plan was 
developed with assistance from workers representatives, the 
International Labor Organization, and UN Children's Fund. In December 
the parliament named 51 occupations as hazardous and prohibited for 
children.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--While there was no national 
minimum wage, 43 wage boards established by the Ministry of Labor 
Relations and Manpower set minimum wages and working conditions by 
sector and industry in consultation with unions and employers. The 
minimum monthly wage in the private sectors covered by wage boards was 
6,900 ($62) rupees plus an extra allowance of 1,000 rupees ($9), for a 
total of 7,900 rupees ($71). The minimum wage in the public sector was 
11,730 rupees ($105). Workers in sectors not covered by wage boards, 
including informal sector workers, were not covered by any minimum 
wage.
    The law prohibits most full-time workers from regularly working 
more than 45 hours per week (a five-and-a-half-day workweek). In 
addition the law stipulates a rest period of one hour per day. 
Regulations limit the maximum overtime hours to 15 per week. Overtime 
pay is 1.5 times the wage and is paid for work done on either Sundays 
or holidays.
    According to labor organizations, employers in EPZs frequently 
failed to pay wages owed when downsizing or closing factories.
    Several laws protect the safety and health of industrial workers, 
but the Ministry of Labor Relations and Manpower's efforts were 
inadequate to enforce compliance. Health and safety regulations do not 
fully meet international standards. Workers have the statutory right to 
remove themselves from dangerous situations, but many workers were 
unaware of such rights or feared they would lose their jobs if they 
removed themselves from the work situation.
    Emigrant laborers also faced abuse. There were cases in which 
recruitment agencies promised one type of job to a Sri Lankan migrant 
but changed the job, employer, or salary after the employee arrived in 
the other country.

                               __________

                               TAJIKISTAN

    Tajikistan, with a population of more than seven million, is an 
authoritarian state, and President Emomali Rahmon and his supporters, 
drawn mainly from one region of the country, dominated political life. 
The constitution provides for a multiparty political system, but in 
practice the Government obstructed political pluralism. The 
parliamentary elections conducted during the year were marked by 
widespread fraud committed by government officials to ensure victories 
for members of the ruling People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan 
(PDPT). The PDPT, progovernment independents, and government-affiliated 
political parties dominate the 63-member parliament. The opposition 
Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) and Communist Party of 
Tajikistan have two seats each in parliament. Security forces reported 
to civilian authorities.
    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; impunity for security forces; 
denial of right to fair trial; harsh and life-threatening prison 
conditions; prohibition of international monitor access to prisons; 
restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, association, and religion; 
corruption, which hampered democratic and social reform; violence and 
discrimination against women; arbitrary arrest; and 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.--There were no 
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings, but at least one individual died while in government 
custody during a period when he was subjected to interrogation (see 
section 1. c.).
    On September 3, unknown individuals attacked a government building 
in Khujand, resulting in four deaths and 28 injuries.
    On September 25, armed gunmen attacked government troops in the 
Rasht valley, killing at least 23 soldiers returning from a patrol. The 
Government launched a security operation in the area and battled armed 
militants; hostilities resulted in an unknown number of government, 
militant, and civilian casualties. Though active operations have 
largely ended, the Government maintains a significant law enforcement 
and military presence in the area.
    According to the Tajikistan Mine Action Center and the Landmine 
Monitor, there were five casualties in three incidents due to 
unexploded ordnance during the year. On February 19, three children in 
Panj District found a shell while playing. The shell exploded, killing 
two and injuring one. On May 5, an antipersonnel mine injured a 
military deminer during clearance activities in Vanj District, Gorno-
Badakhshan Autonomous Region. On October 12, an antipersonnel mine 
explosion injured a deminer in the Tavildara district during clearance 
activities.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits the use of torture, but there 
is no specific definition of torture in the law, or a provision of 
criminal liability for committing an act of torture. An article in the 
new Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) states that evidence acquired through 
torture is inadmissible. Some security officials reportedly continued 
to use beatings or other forms of coercion to extract confessions 
during interrogations. Officials did not grant sufficient access to 
information to allow human rights organizations to investigate claims 
of torture.
    In July a military conscript, Anvarjon Muhammadjonov, died while 
serving with his unit. The military reported that he died of exposure 
to electricity, but his body allegedly showed signs of being beaten.
    In March Usman Boboev died while being investigated by security 
officials in the Sughd region. Authorities suspected Boboev of 
membership in the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. There are reports 
that his body was marked with signs of physical abuse from his time in 
government custody. On April 27, officials arrested two police officers 
in connection with Boboev's death. The officers returned to duty in 
September. Sughd officials reported that the investigation is ongoing.
    In April officials from the Anti-Organized Crime Police arrested 
two former members of the United Tajik Opposition, Zarifjon Rahimov and 
Nosirjon Shunkhorov. The individuals spent two days in custody. Rahimov 
and Shunkhorov claimed police agents tortured them in an effort to 
extract false confessions of crimes. Ministry of Interior (MOI) 
officials stated the allegations were groundless and did not take any 
action against the officials who allegedly tortured the former 
opposition members.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The Government did not 
permit international observers access to monitor its prisons. Exact 
conditions in the prisons remain unknown. However, there have been 
reports that overall prison conditions were poor. Detainees and inmates 
described harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, including 
extreme overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. Disease and hunger were 
serious problems. UN agencies reported that infection rates of 
tuberculosis and HIV in prisons were significant, and the quality of 
medical treatment was poor.
    The Government operates eight prisons, including one for females, 
and four pretrial detention facilities.
    The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) continued to deny access to prisons 
or detention facilities to representatives of the international 
community and civil society seeking to investigate claims of harsh 
treatment or conditions. Some foreign diplomatic missions and 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs were given access to implement 
assistance programs or carry out consular functions, but their 
representatives were limited to administrative or medical sections, and 
MOJ personnel accompanied them. The Government did not sign an 
agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to 
allow free and unhindered access to prisons and detention centers, and 
the ICRC's international monitoring staff has not returned to the 
country since 2007. Prisoners are permitted to pray within their cells. 
There are no known cases of prisoners submitting formal complaints 
regarding conditions.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The new Criminal Procedures Code 
that went into effect on April 1 states that individuals may appeal 
investigators' actions and decisions to the prosecutor supervising the 
execution of the law during pretrial investigation. The prosecutor's 
actions and decisions can be appealed to a higher prosecutor or the 
court. The law does not explicitly prohibit arbitrary arrests and, in 
practice, arbitrary arrests were common. Few citizens were aware of 
their right to protest an arrest, and there were few checks on the 
power of police and military officers to detain individuals. Police 
often detained men wearing beards, for example, and questioned them on 
suspicion of extremism.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The MOI, Drug Control 
Agency (DCA), Agency on State Financial Control and Fight Against 
Corruption (an anticorruption agency), State Committee for National 
Security (SCNS), State Tax Committee, and Customs Service shared 
civilian law enforcement responsibilities. The MOI is responsible 
primarily for public order and controls the police force. The DCA, 
anticorruption agency, and State Tax Committee each have a mandate to 
investigate specific crimes, and they report to the president. The SCNS 
has responsibility for intelligence and controls the Border Service, 
but it also investigated cases linked to alleged extremist activity. 
The Customs Service reports directly to the president. The Prosecutor 
General's Office oversees criminal investigations that these agencies 
conduct.
    The agencies' responsibilities overlapped significantly, and law 
enforcement organizations deferred to the SCNS. Law enforcement 
agencies were not effective in investigating organized criminal gangs 
because the gangs maintained high-level connections with government 
officials and security agencies. Narcotics agencies, for example, are 
regularly ordered off of investigations by high-level officials with 
ties to drug traffickers.
    Victims of police abuse may submit a formal complaint in writing to 
the officer's superior or the Office of the Ombudsman. Most victims 
chose to remain silent rather than risking retaliation by the 
authorities. The Ombudsman's Office for Human Rights opened in May 2009 
and made efforts to respond to complaints about civil rights 
violations. The office lacked full independence, and the ombudsman 
rarely intervened in cases in cases when government officials violated 
human rights.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--According to 
the new CPC, police may detain an individual at a police station up to 
12 hours before they must file criminal charges. If charges are not 
filed after 12 hours, the individual must be released. Defense 
advocates alleged that prosecutors often held suspects for longer 
periods and only registered the initial arrest when the suspect was 
ready to confess; individuals often were not informed the reason for 
their arrest. If criminal charges were filed, the police may detain an 
individual 72 hours from the moment of detention before they must 
present their charges to a judge for an indictment hearing. The judge 
is empowered to order detention, house arrest, or bail, pending trial. 
In most cases, pretrial detention lasted from one to three months, but 
could extend as long as 15 months in exceptional circumstances. Law 
enforcement officials must request an extension from a judge to detain 
an individual in pretrial detention after two, six, and 12 months.
    According to the CPC, family members are allowed access to 
prisoners after indictment; officials occasionally denied attorneys and 
family members access to detainees. Authorities held detainees charged 
in crimes related to national security or extremism for extended 
periods without formally charging them.
    The Government generally provided a rationale for arrests, although 
some detainees claimed that authorities falsified charges or inflated 
minor problems to make politically motivated arrests. Some police and 
judicial officials regularly accepted bribes in exchange for lenient 
sentencing or release.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, in practice the executive branch exerted 
pressure on prosecutors and judges. Corruption and inefficiency were 
significant problems.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants are legally afforded a presumption of 
innocence, but they do not enjoy it in practice. Nearly all defendants 
are found guilty. In Sughd Province, for example, there was only one 
acquittal out of 1,650 court verdicts during the year. Trials are 
presided over by a judge, who issues verdicts. There is no system of 
trial by jury. Defendants generally were able to consult with an 
attorney in a timely manner during trials, but were often denied the 
right to an attorney during the pretrial and investigatory periods. By 
law the Government should provide an attorney at public expense if 
requested, but the Government rarely provided free legal aid. A number 
of local and international NGOs provided free legal counsel to 
defendants.
    Defendants may present witnesses and evidence at trial with the 
consent of the judge. Defendants and attorneys have the right to review 
all government evidence, confront and question witnesses, and present 
evidence and testimony. No groups are barred from testifying, and, in 
principle, all testimony receives equal consideration. In practice 
courts generally gave prosecutorial testimony more consideration than 
defense testimony. The law provides for the right to appeal. The law 
extends the rights of defendants in trial procedures to all citizens.
    Low wages for judges and prosecutors left them vulnerable to 
bribery, which was a common practice. Government officials subjected 
judges to political influence.
    On January 14, a defense attorney presented a recording of Nur 
Nurov admitting that he issued long sentences to 31 Isfara residents on 
politically motivated orders from high-ranking government officials. 
The Government did not investigate the allegations, nor were the 
convictions against the 31 Isfarans reexamined. Nurov continued working 
as a judge and the 31 Isfarans remained in prison. Nurov and two other 
judges sued three newspapers for libel for publishing the allegations. 
At close of the reporting period, the libel cases remained open (see 
section 2. a.).
    The Government addressed problems of judicial integrity by holding 
some judges and prosecutors accountable for criminal conduct. During 
the year the Government arrested three judges for corruption.
    Trials are public, except in cases involving national security. 
NGOs reported they generally were permitted to monitor trials, although 
they were sometimes denied without explanation.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Authorities claimed that there 
were no political prisoners and that they did not make any politically 
motivated arrests. Opposition parties and local observers claimed the 
Government selectively prosecuted political opponents. There was no 
reliable estimate of the number of political prisoners, but the 
Government held many former members of the UTO in prison.
    In December Abdusattor Boboy, a 69-year-old resident of Zafarobod 
District, was arrested and charged with ``inciting national enmity'' 
for publicly disagreeing with government policies regarding the Roghun 
hydroelectric dam (see section 4). He remained in detention at close of 
the reporting period.
    On June 10, courts convicted IRPT member Muhammadruzi Burhonov to 
one year in prison for election fraud for allegedly voting on behalf of 
his family members during the February elections. Family voting, 
although illegal, was ubiquitous during the elections, leading many 
observers to conclude that Burhonov was subjected to selective 
prosecution because of his party affiliation. Despite numerous reports 
of government officials changing vote totals to ensure victories for 
PDPT candidates, Burhonov was the only individual convicted of an 
election- related crime during the election. He was granted early 
release in November.
    Former Democratic Party of Tajikistan Chairman Mahmadruzi 
Iskandarov remained in prison serving a 23-year sentence following his 
2005 conviction for terrorism and other charges. He was arrested in 
Russia prior to the 2005 parliamentary elections and transferred to 
Tajikistan. In September the European Court of Human Rights ruled that 
Russian law enforcement authorities violated Iskandarov's rights by 
unlawfully extraditing him. The court ordered Russian law enforcement 
authorities to pay 30,000 euros ($40,200) to Iskandarov for moral 
damage and 3,000 euros ($4,020) for legal costs.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil cases are heard in 
general civil courts, economic courts, and military courts. Judges may 
order monetary compensation for victims in criminal cases. There have 
been no known cases of individuals filing civil cases for alleged 
violations of human rights.

    Property Restitution--The Government has on several occasions taken 
private property with little or no justification, public notice, or 
debate. By law the Government must offer residents compensation equal 
to the value of their abandoned property, but compensation property was 
often of lesser value. Judges ruled in favor of the Government when 
residents challenged the inadequacy of compensation.
    In May 2009 a new synagogue opened in Dushanbe, in a building 
provided by Hasan Asadullozoda, the head of Orion Bank and brother-in-
law of the president. In 2008 officials demolished the country's former 
synagogue to make way for a new presidential palace after a local court 
upheld an eviction order against the Dushanbe Jewish community, despite 
significant irregularities in the process.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution states that the home of a person is 
inviolable. With certain exceptions, it is illegal to enter the home of 
a person by force and deprive a person of a home. The CPC states that 
police cannot enter and search a private home without the approval of a 
judge. Searches may be carried out with only a prosecutor's 
authorization in exceptional cases, ``where there is an actual risk 
that the object searched for and subject to seizure may cause a 
possible delay in discovering it, be lost, damaged or used for criminal 
purposes, or a fugitive may escape.'' The law states that courts must 
be notified of such searches within 24 hours. In practice police 
frequently ignored these laws and infringed on citizens' right to 
privacy, and citizens were sometimes searched without a warrant.
    According to the CPC, ``when sufficient grounds exist to believe 
that information, documents, or objects that are relevant to the 
criminal case may be contained in letters, telegrams, radiograms, 
packages, parcels, or other mail and telegraph correspondence, they may 
be intercepted'' with a warrant issued by a judge. The law says only a 
judge may authorize monitoring of telephone or other communication. In 
practice government security organs often monitored communication 
without judicial authorization.
    There were no reports of government restrictions or interference 
with the right of men and women of full age to marry or have children, 
including the timing and spacing of 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, but in practice the Government restricted 
these rights. Under the law, a person can be imprisoned for as long as 
five years for insulting the president.
    Independent media were active, despite significant pressure by the 
Government on media outlets. Journalists regularly practiced self-
censorship to avoid retribution from officials. Although some print 
media published political commentary and investigatory material 
critical of the Government, journalists observed that certain topics 
were considered off limits, including derogatory information about the 
president or his family members, or questions about financial 
impropriety by those close to the president.
    From September to December, the Government blocked five Web sites 
and stopped the publication of three newspapers. The blockages occurred 
during a period of violence in the Rasht Valley. On October 6, printing 
houses denied publication to two independent newspapers: Paykon, and 
Farazh. On October 20, printing houses refused to publish a third 
newspaper, Nigoh. Printing houses refused to print the newspapers due 
to ``technical difficulties,'' but media observers believed the 
Government pressured the printing houses to refuse publication. 
Printing houses resumed printing Nigoh on November 18, Paykon on 
November 24, and Farazh on December 30.
    On November 23, Makhmadyusuf Ismoilov, a reporter with the 
Dushanbe-based independent weekly Nuri Zindagi, was arrested in Asht 
District and later charged with inciting religious and national hatred, 
slander, insulting honor and dignity of an individual, and extortion. 
Media analysts alleged that the charges were politically motivated. 
Ismoilov wrote several articles documenting corrupt acts committed by 
Asht District officials. He remained in detention at year's end.
    On October 4, the minister of defense accused journalists of 
supporting terrorism through their coverage of events in the Rasht 
Valley.
    On September 3, independent journalists were briefly detained when 
attempting to photograph the results of a terrorist attack against the 
Government which happened the same day in Khujand and their images were 
confiscated.
    In January 29, three judges filed a libel lawsuit against three 
independent newspapers: Asia-Plus, Ozodagon, and Farazh. The newspapers 
had reported a lawyer's allegations that the judges had convicted 
individuals based on pressure from high-level government officials (see 
section 1.e.). Also in January, the Ministry of Agriculture filed a 
libel lawsuit against the independent newspaper Millat after it 
published a report on corruption at the ministry. Judges referred the 
cases to the Academy of Sciences for analysis. A 2009 libel case filed 
by the country's product-licensing agency, Tojikstandard, against the 
newspaper remains open. All five newspapers continued to operate at 
year's end, but the cases against them remained open.
    There were four state-run television channels that broadcast 
throughout the country and five state-run television stations that 
broadcast regionally. There was one national and several regional 
state-run radio stations. Several independent television and radio 
stations were available in a small portion of the country, but the 
Government controlled most broadcasting transmission facilities. The 
Government refrained from inviting independent media to press 
conferences and other events.
    Independent radio and television stations experienced bureaucratic 
delays to registration. New stations must be licensed by the Commission 
of the National Committee on Television and Radio, which directly 
managed the national television and radio stations. The Government 
restricted issuance of licenses to new stations, in part through an 
excessively complex application process. A Dushanbe-based media outlet 
was given permission to produce audio and video products. According to 
media analysts, more than 20 privately owned broadcasting organizations 
were unable to begin working because the licensing commission had 
rejected their documents over the last four years. The Government 
promised to process these documents but made no further progress in 
this area. Media NGOs have called for an end to the National Committee 
on Television and Radio's control of licensing, noting the committee's 
conflict of interest due to its management of the national stations. 
Only a few of the privately held television stations were genuinely 
independent, and government officials at times interfered with their 
operations.
    The Government allowed some international media to operate freely 
and also permitted rebroadcasts of Russian television and radio 
programs. The Government continued to deny BBC a renewal of its license 
to broadcast on FM radio. BBC broadcast a Persian-language television 
station via satellite. Community radio stations continued to experience 
registration and licensing problems that prevented them from 
broadcasting. The Russian language K Plus operated in the country and 
broadcast via satellite from Kyrgyzstan. International media were not 
invited to events held at the presidential palace and other official 
functions. The authorities denied a visa to a journalist from a Web 
site.
    Opposition politicians had limited access to state-run television. 
The Government gave opposition parties minimal airtime to express their 
political views, while the president's party had numerous opportunities 
to broadcast their messages.
    The Government exercised some restrictions on the distribution of 
materials. All newspapers and magazines with circulations exceeding 99 
recipients were required to register with the Ministry of Culture 
(MOC). According to the MOC, there were 244 registered newspapers and 
magazines, 128 of them private. A new daily newspaper, ImruzNews, began 
publishing in September. Hassan Asadullzoda, President Rahmon's 
brother-in-law, owns the newspaper. Asia-Plus began publishing twice a 
week; the remaining newspapers published weekly. There were 10 
information agencies, nine of them private. Several of these were 
independent, several were strongly influenced by the Government, and 
several were nonfunctioning. The Government distributed state 
newspapers via the national mail service, forcing state agencies, local 
administrations, and schools to receive subscriptions. No attempts were 
made to use the mail service to facilitate the distribution of 
independent newspapers to the country's least accessible regions.
    The Government continued to control all major printing presses and 
the supply of newsprint.

    Internet Freedom.--There were some government restrictions on 
access to Internet Web sites. In October Deputy Minister of Transport 
and Communications, Bek Zuhurov, ordered Internet providers to block 
five independent news Web sites. Two sites were unblocked on October 12 
and 30, respectively. A group of foreign ambassadors brought their 
concern over the Web site blocking and the stoppage of newspapers to 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
    Individuals and groups could engage in the expression of views via 
the Internet, including by e-mail. A cybercrimes and communications 
unit of the Combating Organized Crime Department was formed in August. 
One of its tasks is to monitor activity in Internet cafes and 
electronic gaming centers. According to the International 
Telecommunication Union, 9.3 percent of the population used the 
Internet. A lack of infrastructure limited the public's access to the 
Internet.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Ministry of Education 
revoked the license of the country's only private higher education 
institution, the Institute of Innovative Technologies and Communication 
(IITC), claiming that it ``failed to meet the ministry's standards.'' 
Dushanbe courts upheld the revocation despite the failure of the 
Ministry of Education to present any significant violations of academic 
standards committed by the IITC. The IITC employed several prominent 
members of opposition political parties, and observers alleged that its 
closure was politically motivated. The Ministry of Education began its 
actions to close IITC in 2008, after the institute fired a rector, 
Khayol Boboev, for corruption. Boboev was reportedly an associate of 
the Education Minister, Abdujabbor Rahmonov.
    The Ministry of Education maintained a dress code that bans the 
hijab (a head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women) in schools 
and universities; several students and at least one teacher at Tajik 
National University were expelled and fired for wearing it. Women 
wearing a traditional local head covering, a scarf that covers hair but 
not the neck, were allowed to study in schools and universities. In 
September Minister of Education Rahmonov publicly mocked and threatened 
a group of parents and students at a school opening ceremony because 
the students' mothers were in hijab. He threatened to expel the 
students and called the women in hijab ``monkeys.''
    The Ministry of Education maintained its ban on beards for teachers 
younger than 50 years old. Teachers older than the age of 50 may not 
wear beards longer than one and one-fourth inches.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The constitution provides the right to freedom of assembly, 
but the Government requires that individuals obtain permission from the 
Government to stage public demonstrations. Individuals considering 
staging peaceful protests chose not to do so out of fear of government 
reprisal.
    On April 12 and 13, several hundred persons protested the 
imposition of new toll stations on the road from Dushanbe to Khujand. 
Villagers that would be affected by the new tolls allegedly organized 
the protests. Government officials first promised to accede to 
protesters' demands that local residents should be exempt from the 
tolls, but the next day threatened them with imprisonment if they did 
not end their protest.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution protects freedom of 
association. In practice the Government restricted this right. The Law 
on Observing National Traditions and Rituals provided a basis for the 
Government to infringe on individuals' ability to hold private events 
such as weddings and funeral ceremonies. The law limits the number of 
wedding guests and controls ceremonial gift presentations and other 
traditional rituals. The law also regulates the number of guests at 
funerals and memorial services. Some citizens reported that government 
officials monitored weddings and funerals to assure that all parties 
obeyed the law.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/2010/.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement, but in practice the Government imposed some restrictions. 
Foreigners are prohibited from traveling within a 15-mile zone along 
the country's borders with China and Afghanistan unless they obtain 
permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Officials did not 
always enforce the restrictions along the western border with 
Afghanistan, although the Government continued to require travelers 
(including international workers and diplomats) to obtain special 
permits to visit Gorno-Badakhshan. Diplomats and international aid 
workers could travel to the Afghanistan border 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.
    The Government provided protection and modest assistance to 
resettle any citizens who returned voluntarily, and it cooperated with 
international organizations that helped to fund assistance and 
resettlement programs.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government generally provided 
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened. However, in May the 
Government extradited Kyrgyz asylum-seeker Nematullo Botakuziev after 
holding him incommunicado for nearly three months in a State Committee 
for National Security detention facility. The Government denied 
Botakuziev access to his lawyer and representatives from the UN High 
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), despite repeated requests, before 
finally extraditing him to Kyrgyzstan. The UNHCR did not report other 
deportations of individuals registered as refugees during the year. The 
Government otherwise respected protection letters issued by the UNHCR 
and allowed those holding the letters to remain in the country while 
the UNHCR considered their claims.
    According to the UNHCR, the inflow of refugees from Afghanistan 
continued unabated during the year. By December the Government had 
2,538 registered refugees in country with an additional 1,676 asylum 
seekers trying to receive refugee status. However, the UNHCR believed 
the Government might have underestimated these figures. Official 
government statistics showed Afghan, Iranian, and Kyrgyz refugees as 
well as asylum seekers. As in previous years, approximately 98 percent 
of all these refugees and asylum seekers were Afghan. Following 
conflict between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, a 
small number of ethnic Uzbeks from the south of Kyrgyzstan crossed into 
the country seeking asylum in June and July. These asylum seekers were 
processed through the refugee protection system, and approximately 70 
such refugees remained in the country. Overall the Government continued 
to cooperate with the UNHCR, which retained its observer status in the 
Refugee Status Determination Commission.
    The Government generally succeeded in registering those with a 
claim to refugee or asylum seeker status, but it also placed 
significant restrictions on claimants. Officials continued to enforce a 
2000 law prohibiting asylum seekers and refugees from residing in urban 
areas. Security officials regularly monitored refugee populations. The 
Government continued to demonstrate a particular concern about the 
country's population of Afghan refugees. Refugees and asylum seekers 
who were believed to be residing in prohibited areas were subject to 
police raids throughout the year.
    The process for making asylum status determinations remained 
problematic and nontransparent. The Government processed asylum 
applications through the National Refugee Status Determination 
Commission and granted applicants documents to regularize their stay 
and to prevent deportation. When denying refugee status, officials 
usually cited lack of evidence of persecution in the refugee's home 
country or ``malpractice'' on the part of refugees applying to renew 
their status--such as violation of the prohibition of living in 
Dushanbe. Unofficially some refugees claimed the authorities could deny 
cases if sufficiently high bribes were not paid.
    Although the law stipulates that refugee status should be granted 
for as long as three years, the transfer of refugee processing to the 
Ministry of the Interior in 2009 resulted in much shorter periods. 
During the year many Afghan refugees were granted status for up to one 
year, after which they had to reapply for status to stay in the 
country. Although the law officially allows refugees to apply for 
citizenship after two and a half years, very few cases have been 
granted citizenship in the past. The several citizenship cases the 
UNHCR submitted for direct consideration this year were either refused 
or remained pending.
    Refugees and asylum seekers generally were required to secure 
employment, food, shelter, education, and access to basic services 
themselves, although the UNHCR provided significant assistance. By law 
registered refugees should have equal access to law enforcement and the 
judicial system. The UNHCR is not aware of any cases of refugees being 
denied access to the courts or judicial process. An increasing 
percentage of refugees entering the country do not possess professional 
backgrounds or job skills, and many face discrimination by the local 
Tajik population. Requirement to live outside urban areas created 
additional problems for finding adequate work. The UNHCR provided some 
assistance to women refugees by providing vocational job training in 
skills such as sewing, cooking, and hairdressing. Most male refugees 
worked for small enterprises. Most women refugees did not work and 
remained in the home, in accordance with traditional cultures. Refugees 
and asylum seekers are legally entitled to education and health 
services alongside Tajik citizens. The Ministry of Education allows 
Afghan parents to send their children to local schools without paying 
fees. UNHCR partners provide books and school uniforms and some 
language classes to these children and assist with their medical 
expenses.
    In 2008 during a visit of the UNHCR High Commissioner, the 
Government and UNHCR signed an agreement regarding local integration of 
refugees into the general population as a more durable solution to the 
refugee situation. The Government promised to consider individual 
refugee cases for citizenship. Many of these cases remain pending.
    The Tajik Migration Service has 326 individuals registered as 
stateless persons. These statistics, which may reflect a number of 
Tajiks who left the country to live in Uzbekistan during the civil war 
from 1992-97 and later returned, are not considered reliable by the 
UNHCR.

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 elections. In practice the Government restricted 
this right.
    The president and his supporters, primarily from his home region of 
Dangara, continued to dominate the Government. The president's 
political party, the People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT), 
dominated both houses of parliament. Members of the PDPT held most 
government positions. The president had broad authority to appoint and 
dismiss officials, and he exercised that authority throughout the year.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In February the Government 
held national elections of the lower house of the parliament, the 
Majlisi Namoyandagon. There were reports that officials obstructed some 
meetings organized by IRPT and Social Democratic Party of Tajikistan 
campaign workers during election season. Official media allotted only 
minimal time for opposition political parties in state media. The 
elections were marked by widespread fraud committed by government 
officials to suppress vote totals of opposition political parties, 
particularly the IRPT, and ensure victories for the ruling PDPT. 
Despite the presence of international monitors, officials openly 
changed vote registers to inflate PDPT totals. The observation report 
of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights stated that 
the parliamentary elections failed to meet many key commitments of the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Despite 
widespread reports of fraud, no government officials were charged with 
fraud related to the elections.
    There were eight legally registered political parties, including 
the PDPT. Observers considered only three of these parties to be 
independent of the Government. Opposition political parties had 
moderate popular support, and faced scrutiny by the Government. All 
senior members of President Rahmon's government were PDPT members, 
except one minister who was chairman of the progovernment Party of 
Economic Reforms. Most members of the country's 97-seat parliament were 
members of the PDPT, belonged to progovernment parties, or were PDPT-
affiliated independents.
    In the lower, 63-member chamber of the parliament there were 12 
female members and one minority group member. In the upper, 33-member 
chamber of parliament there were five women and one member of a 
minority group. Cultural practices discouraged female participation in 
politics, although the Government and political parties made efforts to 
promote their involvement.
    There were no female ministers or ministers from minority groups. 
The deputy prime minister was a woman; several women held deputy 
minister positions.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
the Government did not implement the law effectively. Officials 
frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Corruption, 
nepotism, and regional hiring bias were pervasive at all levels of 
government.
    Government officials at all levels and in all regions extorted 
money from citizens and businesses in a state campaign to raise funds 
to build the Roghun hydroelectric dam during the first half of the 
year. Those directly on the public payroll were the most vulnerable. 
Teachers, doctors, and government employees were instructed to buy 
shares or their employers would fire them. University students were 
forced to show their professors share certificates before being allowed 
to sit for exams. Businesses were told they would be assessed fines for 
failing to purchase shares. The amounts demanded varied widely. 
According to some reports, poor villagers had to pool resources to buy 
one share at TJS 100 ($22.70). Students had to buy between one and four 
shares. University professors were forced to buy as much as TJS 4,452 
($1,000) in shares; some doctors had to spend as much as TJS 22,261 
($5,000). The country's few large companies were told to pay many 
millions of dollars.
    The Government raised more than TJS 845 million ($190 million) in 
Roghun shares. High-level government officials insisted that the 
purchases were voluntary, while first-person accounts from low-level 
officials admitting their use of coercion indicated precisely the 
opposite. Reports of forced purchases declined quickly after the 
Government agreed to a request by the International Monetary Fund to 
end the campaign in June.
    The forced sales had a negative effect on poverty and corruption. 
Customs officers at Dushanbe's international airport were required to 
buy Roghun shares amounting to many times their monthly salaries, with 
the expectation that they would need to extract bribes to obtain money 
to buy Roghun shares.
    In March the Government began charging tolls on Tajikistan's main 
highway, the road from Dushanbe to the country's second-largest city, 
Khujand. The Government stated that the contract to manage the road 
(and collect the tolls) was awarded based on a competitive bidding 
process, but no tender was ever announced, and almost nothing is known 
about the company that received the contract, ``Innovative Road 
Solutions'' (IRS). The company appears to be based in the British 
Virgin Islands, and reports have circulated that it is run by a member 
of the president's family. Officials have refused to provide the public 
with information regarding the Government's relationship to IRS, 
calling it a ``state commercial secret.'' Anger over the tolls, 
especially among residents who live along the route and must pay to 
travel very short stretches to and from work, led to several protests 
during the year (see section 2. b.)
    Corruption in the Education Ministry was systemic. Prospective 
students were required to pay as much as TJS 66,674 ($15,000) in bribes 
to enter the country's most prestigious universities, while even 
provincial colleges required several hundred dollars. Students often 
paid additional bribes to receive good grades on exams. After the IITC 
fired an associate of Education Minister Abdujabbor Rahmonov for 
corruption in 2009, the ministry took legal actions to revoke the 
institute's academic license (see section 2. a.).
    Many traffic police retained fines they collected for violations. 
Traffic police posted at regular intervals along roads arbitrarily 
pulled over drivers to ask for bribes. The problem was systemic, in 
part due to the low official wages paid to traffic police. According to 
reports, many traffic police must pay for their jobs, a down payment 
they try to recoup by extracting bribes from motorists.
    The MOI and Prosecutor General's Office are responsible for 
investigating, arresting, and prosecuting corrupt officials. The 
Government acknowledged a problem with corruption and took some steps 
to combat it, including putting lower-level officials on trial for 
taking bribes. The Government did not charge high-level officials with 
corruption.
    The prosecutor general investigated some cases of corruption by 
government employees, but the bulk of the cases involved mid- or lower-
level officials, and none involved large-scale abuses. Public officials 
were not subject to financial disclosure laws. According to the 
anticorruption agency, the Government identified 510 cases of 
corruption by government officials. The Government dismissed 77 
officials for misconduct.
    In April the head of the state anticorruption agency reported that 
the Deputy Commander of the Border Guards, Saymuddin Mirzoyev, was 
detained on suspicion of accepting a TJS 66,674 ($15,000) bribe from 
drug traffickers.
    Public budgets, particularly those involving major state-owned 
enterprises, lacked transparency. Although parliament had oversight 
over the state budget, in practice it passed annual budgets almost 
without comment despite large, unexplained, and undefined expenses. In 
May the Government released a report on budget performance for the 
previous year; the report contained numerous details about education, 
health, and other social sector spending. Since then, however, no 
further reports have emerged. A considerable amount of government 
spending appeared to occur off-budget, including major buildings, 
parks, and other special projects such as summer residences for the 
president.
    TALCO, the state-owned aluminum smelter that consumed as much as 50 
percent of the country's energy resources and produced the country's 
major export, agreed to a financial audit in 2008, to be published on 
its Web site by the end of 2009. To date only the company's financial 
statements, not the full audit, have been posted. TALCO's offshore 
management company, which is reportedly owned by senior politicians, 
agreed to undergo its own audit, but the results were not released at 
year's end. Promised audits of country's electricity-grid operator, 
Barqi Tojik, revealed very little about a state-owned enterprise widely 
suspected to be employing questionable financial practices.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    As in previous years, domestic and international human rights 
groups usually were able to monitor and report on the general human 
rights situation in the country. NGOs and journalists were careful, 
however, to avoid public criticism of the president or other high-
ranking officials.
    The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman made efforts to respond to 
civil complaints during the year, but its limited staff and budget 
constrained its capacity to do so. The Ombudsman's Office met with NGOs 
to discuss specific human rights cases and general human rights issues 
in the country. The office lacked full independence; the ombudsman 
publicly defended some government policies that violated human rights, 
such as the actions by officials to force citizens to contribute money 
to the Roghun campaign.
    The Government generally cooperated with international NGOs. It 
facilitated visits by high-ranking officials from the United Nations, 
OSCE, and other international organizations.
    The Government continued to deny ICRC access to prison facilities. 
The Government's Office for Constitutional Guarantees of Citizens' 
Rights continued to investigate and answer citizens' complaints, but 
staffing inadequacies and uneven cooperation from other government 
institutions hampered the office's effectiveness. The parliamentary 
committee on legislation and human rights examined proposed legislation 
for compliance with human rights obligations, but, according to 
observers, it did not fulfill its primary responsibility to raise human 
rights concerns in new legislation.

Section 6. 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, but 
in practice there was discrimination against women and persons with 
disabilities. Trafficking in persons remained a problem.

    Women.--The law prohibits rape, which is punishable by up to 20 
years' imprisonment. There is no separate statute for spousal rape. 
According to official data from the Ministry of Interior, 78 cases of 
rape were registered during the year. The Prosecutor General's Office 
was unable to provide statistics on the number of convictions. Law 
enforcement officials usually advise women not to file charges, but 
register cases on insistence of the victim. Most observers believed the 
majority of cases were unreported because victims wish to avoid being 
stigmatized.
    Violence against women, including spousal abuse, remained a 
widespread problem. The 2009 Amnesty International (AI) report Violence 
is Not Just a Family Affair: Women Face Abuse in Tajikistan stated, 
``surveys have shown that between a third and a half of Tajik women 
have suffered violence from a family member. 42.5 percent of women 
reported cases of spousal rape.''
    On August 19, in Dushanbe the Government, with OSCE financial 
support, opened the first police station fully equipped to work with 
domestic violence victims. The station was one of the five nationwide 
staffed with police officers who have been trained, also with OSCE 
support, to respond to family violence cases and to address the needs 
of victims in a gender-sensitive manner.
    There was one comprehensive shelter for domestic violence in the 
country, supported by the OSCE and operated by an NGO in Khujand. The 
Government and NGOs operated additional crisis centers and hotlines for 
women in rural areas, where women could seek guidance on domestic 
violence problems and legal assistance, but many centers lacked funding 
and resources. Local governments donated the premises for three of the 
shelters. The Committee for Women's Affairs (within the Office of the 
President) had limited resources to assist domestic violence victims, 
but local committee representatives referred women to the crisis 
shelters for assistance.
    In November the Dushanbe mayor opened the Dushanbe Center of 
Women's Self-Awareness. The center provides legal and psychological 
support to vulnerable women and is fully supported by the Dushanbe city 
administration.
    There is no comprehensive law against domestic violence. The 
Government took some steps to conduct public information campaigns and 
collect information on domestic violence, but most cases of domestic 
abuse went unreported. Authorities seldom investigated reported cases, 
and few alleged perpetrators were prosecuted. By law police cannot act 
without a written complaint from the victim, even if there were other 
witnesses, and police often gave only warnings, short-term detentions, 
or fines for committing ``administrative offenses'' in cases of 
domestic violence.
    In some rural areas, officials observed a continued trend of female 
suicide; domestic abuse by in-laws or labor migration may have been 
contributing causes. According to the AI report, studies have shown 
that domestic violence was the most frequent reason cited by women for 
attempted suicide.
    The Government did not interfere with the rights of individuals and 
couples to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and 
timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so 
free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. According to the 
Population Reference Bureau (PRB), 14 percent of women between the ages 
of 15 and 49 used modern forms of contraception and 83 percent of 
births were attended by skilled personnel. The PRB also reported that 
77 percent of women received postpartum care and that the maternal 
mortality rate was approximately 625 per 100,000 births.
    Women were increasingly vulnerable to HIV infection because of 
social taboos on discussion of sex education issues and popular 
sentiment against the use of condoms, especially within relationships. 
Women remained a minority of HIV infections overall, but the figures 
were on the rise. According to the Government's AIDS center, 1,004 new 
cases of HIV infection were detected in the country during the year, 
including 797 men and 207 women. Women made up 20.6 percent of these 
newly registered HIV cases, an increase from 14.8 percent in 2005. The 
total number of officially registered HIV cases in the country is 2,857 
individuals, including 2,280 men and 577 women.
    The law protects women's rights in marriage and family matters, but 
some female minors were pressured to marry against their will. NGOs 
estimated as many as 10 percent of Tajik men practice polygamy, 
although the practice is illegal. Women in polygamous marriages often 
were married in religious ceremonies, but not registered with the 
Government. Husbands who simply repeated a phrase in front of two 
witnesses could easily divorce unregistered wives. Inheritance laws do 
not discriminate against women, although in practice some inheritances 
passed disproportionately to sons.
    The 2004 Council of Ulemo fatwa (religious edict) prohibiting women 
from praying in mosques remained in effect. The Government supported 
the fatwa and directed the IRPT to close an unregistered place of 
worship that allowed women to pray despite the fatwa.
    Women were underrepresented in decision-making processes at all 
levels of political institutions. Female representation in all branches 
of power was less than 30 percent. The country had no female ministers 
or ambassadors. AI also noted gender segregation in employment, ``with 
the vast majority of the working female population (86 percent) working 
in the low-paid sectors, such as agriculture (75 percent), public 
health services, and education: Wages in these branches are 
approximately four to seven times lower than in other spheres (as in 
industry, construction, transportation, and communication). 
Furthermore, a significant number of women of employable age are 
engaged in housekeeping or in the informal sector of the economy.'' The 
law provides that women receive equal pay as men for equal work, but 
cultural barriers continued to restrict the professional opportunities 
available to women. There was no specific statute banning sexual 
harassment in the workplace. Victims often did not report incidents 
because of fear of social stigma.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived both by birth within the 
country's territory and from one's parents. The Government is required 
to register all births. Many parents do not register births until a 
child is ready to enter school, since birth registration is required to 
receive public services.
    Free and universal public education is compulsory until the age of 
16 or completion of the ninth grade. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) 
indicated that school attendance was generally good through the primary 
grades, but girls faced disadvantages, especially in rural school 
systems where families elected to keep them home after primary grades 
to take care of siblings or work in agriculture. Underage marriage was 
widespread in some rural areas, and many parents directed their 
daughters to quit school after the ninth grade. In July President 
Rahmon raised the legal age of marriage to 18 years old in an effort to 
lower the number of child marriages.
    The Committee on Women and Family Affairs and regional Child Rights 
Protection Departments were responsible for addressing issues of 
violence against children. Girls who have been subject to all kinds of 
violence could receive support from several centers throughout the 
country. The Women of Science of Tajikistan Association, supported by 
UNICEF and the Dushanbe mayor's office, organized a hotline for free 
legal and psychological consultations for girls who were victims of 
violence.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law on social protection of persons 
with disabilities applies to individuals having either physical or 
mental disabilities.
    The Government's Commission on Fulfillment of International Human 
Rights, the Society of Invalids, and local and regional governmental 
structures were charged with protecting the rights of persons with 
disabilities.
    The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities 
in employment, education, access to health care, and provision of other 
state services, but public and private institutions generally did not 
have the resources to provide legal safeguards. The law required 
government buildings, schools, hospitals, and transportation to be 
accessible to persons with disabilities, but the Government did not 
enforce these provisions. To attend school, children must be deemed 
``medically fit'' by doctors. Many children with disabilities were not 
able to attend school because doctors considered them to be not 
``medically fit.'' Although the Government maintained group living and 
medical facilities for persons with disabilities, funding was limited, 
and facilities were in poor condition.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Generally discrimination was 
not a significant problem. There were reports that some law enforcement 
officials harassed ethnic Afghans and Uzbeks, but such reports were not 
common.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Gay and lesbian relationships 
have been legal in the country since 1998, and the age of consent is 
the same as for heterosexual relationships. Throughout the country, 
there was significant societal discrimination against lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons, and there was little to no 
public activism on their behalf. There were no known acts of violence 
against members of LGBT communities, and there were no documented cases 
of government discrimination against LGBT persons.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was societal 
discrimination against individuals with HIV/AIDS. The Government 
offered HIV testing free of charge at 140 facilities, and partner 
notification was mandatory and anonymous. The World Health Organization 
noted officials systematically offered HIV testing to prisoners, 
military recruits, street children, refugees, and persons seeking 
visas, residence, or citizenship.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and 
join unions, and they did so in practice. The Government used informal 
means to exercise considerable influence over organized labor, 
including influencing the selection of labor union leaders. The 
umbrella Federation of Trade Unions of Tajikistan did not effectively 
represent worker interests. There were reports that the Government 
compelled some citizens to join state-endorsed trade unions and impeded 
formation of independent unions. According to official figures, 1.3 
million persons belonged to unions, approximately 63 percent of the 
active work force. The law requires all NGOs, including trade unions, 
to be registered. The law does not specifically prohibit antiunion 
discrimination, but there were no reports that it occurred during the 
year.
    Citizens were reluctant to strike due to fear of government 
retaliation.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct activities without interference, except ``in cases 
specified by law,'' but the law does not define those cases. The Law on 
Meetings did not restrict the right to strike, but it requires that 
meetings and other mass actions have prior official authorization, 
limiting trade unions' ability to organize meetings or demonstrations. 
The law provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively, 
but workers did not exercise this right in practice. Ninety percent of 
workers were covered by collective bargaining contracts.
    There are four Special Economic Zones--Khujand, Panj, Ishkoshim, 
and Dangara--which are granted special trade privileges and exceptions 
from taxation.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including of children, except in cases 
defined in the law, and this year it appeared that that law was 
enforced. Since the Soviet-era, local officials compelled state 
workers, particularly in the Khatlon and Sughd regions, to pick cotton 
during the annual cotton harvest. Independent reports indicate that 
these practices were not used during the year. For the first time, 
children remained in school, and adults were not given quotas of cotton 
to harvest.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor remained a problem, but the Government made significant 
efforts to effectively enforce child labor laws by working with the 
International Organization for Migration to prevent the use of forced 
child labor in the autumn cotton harvest. The highest incidences of 
child labor were in the domestic and agricultural sectors.
    The minimum age for children to work is 16 years old, although 
children may work at the age of 15 with local trade union permission. 
By law children younger than 18 years old 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 were 
separately classified as family assistance. Many children younger than 
10 years old worked in bazaars or sold goods on the street.
    The Inter-Ministerial Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons 
disseminated a directive to local officials reiterating existing 
prohibitions. The Government accredited NGOs working through the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) to monitor the cotton 
harvest. These NGOs, with the cooperation of the Government, conducted 
monitoring visits to cotton fields and schools. Government officials 
accompanying IOM representatives met with local officials to reiterate 
the existing law's prohibition against forced child labor. Site visits 
by Western diplomats confirmed monitors' observations that government 
efforts resulted in a significant reduction in the use of forced child 
labor. The Government also distributed a second draft National Action 
Plan on Trafficking in Persons, including benchmarks and strategies for 
combating child labor for NGO and diplomatic community comment.
    Enforcement of child labor laws is the responsibility of the 
Prosecutor's Office, the MOJ, the Ministry of Social Welfare, the MOI, 
and appropriate local and regional governmental offices. Unions also 
are responsible for reporting any violations in the employment of 
minors. Citizens can bring unresolved cases between unions and 
employers before the prosecutor general for investigation. Few 
violations were reported, because most children worked under the family 
assistance exception.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The estimated average monthly 
wage was TJS 322 (approximately $73), but in many sectors the average 
wages were far lower. In the agricultural sector, for example, the 
average wage was estimated at TJS108 ($24.50). The Government 
acknowledged the problem of low wages and provided subsidies for 
workers and their families who earned the minimum wage of TJS 60 ($17) 
per month. Some establishments compensated their employees with food 
commodities or with enterprise-produced products, which employees 
either sold or bartered in local markets.
    The law provides for a standard workweek of 40 hours for adults 
older than 18 years old. The law mandates overtime payment, with the 
first two hours paid at one and half 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 Financial Control of the 
presidential administration oversees other aspects of the law.
    There are laws that establish relatively strict occupational health 
and safety standards. In practice the Government did not fully comply 
with these standards, partly because of the degree of corruption and 
the low salaries paid to inspectors. 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 in practice few 
workers removed themselves.
    Farmers and agricultural workers, accounting for approximately 50 
percent of the workforce, continued to work under difficult 
circumstances. There was no system to monitor or regulate working 
conditions in the agricultural sector. Wages were low, and many workers 
were paid in kind. Despite some changes, the Government's failure to 
introduce and implement comprehensive property and land usage reforms 
continued to limit its ability to protect agricultural workers' rights.

                               __________

                              TURKMENISTAN

    Although the constitution declares Turkmenistan to be a secular 
democracy and a presidential republic, it is an authoritarian state of 
approximately five million. The Democratic Party is the country's only 
political party. The president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, was elected 
in a 2007 presidential election that did not meet international 
standards. December 2008 parliamentary elections also fell short of 
international standards. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Human rights problems included citizens' inability to change their 
government; reports of torture and mistreatment of detainees; 
incommunicado and prolonged detention; arbitrary arrest and detention; 
denial of due process and fair trial; arbitrary interference with 
privacy, home, and correspondence; restrictions on freedom of speech, 
press, assembly, and association; restrictions on religious freedom, 
including continued harassment of religious minority group members; 
restrictions on freedom of movement for some citizens; violence against 
women; and restrictions on free association of workers.

                        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; however, 
security officials trying to extract confessions from detainees 
tortured, beat, and used excessive force against criminal suspects, 
prisoners, and individuals critical of the Government. According to 
survey findings included in a report issued in February by 
Turkmenistan's Independent Lawyers Association (TILA) and the Turkmen 
Initiative for Human Rights, ``. . . among suspects placed in the 
temporary holding facility, every second person was exposed to varying 
types of abusive treatment and torture.'' The report also stated that 
the ``. . . beating and rape of inmates by the (penal) colony staff 
[and] the use of torture and psychological pressure are rampant. Such 
treatment of inmates results in frequent suicide attempts among the 
prison population. This reason was accountable for the death of eight 
female convicts in the years of 2008-09.''
    On October 27, the United Nations Human Rights Committee concluded 
that the conditions of Omar Faruk Bozbey's confinement in 2004, after 
the Ashgabat District Court illegally convicted him of economic crimes, 
constituted ``a violation of his right to be treated with humanity and 
with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.''
    A 2008 decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) stated 
that ``any criminal suspect held in custody ran a serious risk of being 
subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment.'' The ECHR also 
reported that the country lacked an effective system to prevent 
torture.
    In contrast with previous years, there were no reports during the 
year that authorities detained persons in psychiatric hospitals as 
punishment. In February Neweurasia.net reported on the experiences of 
former psychiatric hospital inmate Kakabay Tedzhenov, held for 10 
months in 2006. He stated that during his detention, he was subjected 
to punitive psychiatry including the misuse of psychoactive drugs, 
isolation, prolonged detention, and physical abuse.
    Article 16 of the 2009 Law on the Status and Social Protection of a 
Military Serviceman states that the Government provides for the health 
and lives of servicemen. Members of the military reported, however, 
that hazing of conscripts occurred widely and involved violations of 
human dignity and morale including brutality, verbal abuse, and rape. 
These incidents often resulted in physical injury and psychological 
damage to conscripts. The hazing reportedly was often based on ethnic, 
geographic, or tribal affiliation, and soldiers from minority tribes 
reportedly were hazed more than others, as were conscripts from Lebap 
and Dashoguz provinces.
    In 2009 a source from the Ashgabat Central Directorate for Military 
Health reported that military death statistics and suicides were 
significantly higher in 2008 as compared with other years, despite a 
reduction in the length of compulsory service for conscripts. 
Reportedly, the majority of these deaths were related to military 
hazing. Officers usually concealed hazing incidents. A military source 
reported that officers at a unit in Ashgabat hid the suicide note of a 
conscript who hanged himself because it revealed he had been beaten and 
raped during hazing.
    On September 23, Eurasianet reported that there was a `` . . . case 
of apparent hazing in the Turkmen army at the Officers' Club in 
Ashgabat that reportedly led to the suicide of a young soldier.''

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
unsanitary, overcrowded, and unsafe. Some facilities, such as the 
minimum security camp LBK-12, are located in areas that result in 
inmates experiencing extremely harsh climate conditions, with excessive 
heat in the summers and frigid temperatures in the winter. There were 
reports of physical abuse of prisoners by both prison officials and by 
other prisoners. According to a report issued in February by TILA and 
the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights, the total imprisonment 
capacity in the colonies and prisons (excluding the military penal 
battalion) was 8,100 inmates. According to the TILA report, prior to 
the amnesty act announced in December 2009, the inmate population in 
prisons and colonies in Turkmenistan totaled 26,720 persons. This 
inmate population figure did not include detainees kept in pretrial 
detention facilities, police-run temporary holding facilities, 
occupational therapy rehabilitation centers, and the penal battalion. 
The detainees in pretrial detention facilities were predominantly 
individuals who had already received a court verdict but who had not 
been transferred to colonies. In the six pretrial detention facilities 
designed for a total of 1,120 persons, it was estimated that three to 
four times more inmates were being accommodated.
    The TILA report also noted that guards and other prisoners engaged 
in widespread violence against inmates. According to the February TILA 
report, in the LBK-12 facility, a minimum security regime colony, 
``physical abuse is used against inmates by the colony personnel and 
other individuals with the consent and often following the instructions 
of the colony's administration.'' The report also noted that there were 
several inmate groups organized on a ``tribal principle'' and that 
``real fights with knives and knuckles occur between the groups, which 
result in a high death toll among the prison population. In 2008 over 
30 inmates died in such fights.''
    Diseases, particularly tuberculosis (TB), were widespread. Due to 
overcrowding, inmates diagnosed with TB and skin diseases reportedly 
were held with healthy detainees, contributing to the spread of 
disease. There continued to be concerns that the Government did not 
adequately test and treat prisoners with TB before they were released 
into the general population, although the Government reported that it 
screened prisoners for TB and other diseases. The Government reported 
that it transferred prisoners diagnosed with TB to a special Ministry 
of Interior hospital in Mary Province for treatment and arranged for 
continuing treatment for released prisoners at their residences.
    The nutritional value of prison food was poor, and the majority of 
prisoners suffered from malnutrition. Prisoners depended on relatives 
to supplement inadequate prison food supplies. Some family members and 
inmates stated that prison officials sometimes confiscated these food 
parcels.
    In past years sources familiar with prison conditions at Owadan 
Depe Prison reported that former high-level officials were denied 
proper medical treatment and suffered beatings and verbal intimidation 
to coerce confessions.
    Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported in July that 
Muslim cleric Shiri Geldimuradov died in Tejen prison under unexplained 
circumstances. The date of Geldimuradov's death was not known.
    Authorities typically incarcerated men and women in separate 
facilities. The total number of prisoners and detainees was not 
available, but according to the TILA report there were 2,010 female 
prisoners held at the DZK/8 facility in Dashoguz, including 215 girls. 
Juveniles routinely were housed with the adult population. Complete 
data on the average time or numbers of incarcerated juveniles were not 
available, since pretrial detention data were not systematically 
collected or centralized. There was a pretrial detention facility under 
the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry that housed adults and 
juveniles, accommodating approximately 800 persons; these included 
individuals either on remand or already convicted but not yet 
transferred to colonies.
    According to relatives, prisoners convicted of treason were unable 
to receive supplies, and family members often were denied access to the 
prisoners. The Government did not report whether prisoners were 
permitted religious observance. There was a complaint submitted to 
government authorities on behalf of prisoners who were denied family 
visits and food parcels and had been wrongfully placed in isolation 
cells. Following the complaint, conditions improved and the Government 
began allowing family visits. The Government reported no systematic 
monitoring of prison and detention center conditions.
    Government officials disregarded inquiries from family members and 
foreign diplomats about political prisoners' locations or condition. 
Government officials continued to refuse 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 2002 attack on then President Niyazov. 
The Government and the ICRC have been unable to agree on acceptable 
conditions for prison visits. As a result, the ICRC did not conduct any 
prison visits during the year. Prisoners' family members reported that 
the Government also held political prisoners in facilities near 
Turkmenbashy and in Mary Province.

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

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of 
Internal Affairs directs the criminal police, who work closely with the 
Ministry of National Security (MNB) on matters of national security. 
The MNB plays a role in personnel changes in other ministries and 
enforces presidential decrees. Both the MNB and criminal police 
operated with impunity. According to reports by Amnesty International 
(AI) and Human Rights Watch, Farid Tukhbatullin, a Vienna-based 
expatriate human rights activist, received credible warnings that he 
was the target of a plot against his life by agents of the Ministry of 
National Security. The Government did not initiate a public 
investigation of these charges.
    The presidential commission designated to review citizens' 
complaints of abuse by law enforcement agencies, created in 2007, did 
not conduct any known inquiries that resulted in members of the 
security forces being held accountable for any abuses.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A warrant is 
not required for arrest when officials catch a suspect in the act of 
committing an offense. The prosecutor general issues an authorization 
for arrest within 72 hours of detention. If, within 10 days of 
detention, investigating authorities do not find proof of guilt, they 
must release the detainee. If officials identify evidence of guilt, the 
investigation can last as long as two months. A provincial or national-
level prosecutor may extend the investigation period to six months. The 
national prosecutor general or deputy prosecutor general may extend the 
investigation period to a maximum of one year. Following the 
investigation, the prosecutor prepares a bill of indictment and the 
case is transferred to the court. These procedures generally were 
respected in practice, and the prosecutor promptly informed detainees 
of the charges against them.
    The criminal procedure code (CPC) provides for a bail system and 
surety; however, these provisions were not implemented. The law 
provides that detainees are entitled to immediate access to an attorney 
of their choice after a formal accusation, but in practice detainees 
did not have prompt or regular access to legal counsel. Authorities 
denied some prisoners visits by family members during the year. 
Families sometimes did not know the whereabouts of imprisoned 
relatives. Incommunicado detention was a problem. The scope of these 
problems in the criminal justice system was unclear. Authorities 
legally had to issue a formal indictment within 10 days of arrest to 
hold detainees longer. However, authorities did not adhere to these 
provisions in practice.
    The law characterizes any opposition to the Government as treason. 
Those convicted of treason face life imprisonment and are ineligible 
for amnesty or reduction of sentence. There were, however, no known 
treason convictions during the year. In the past the Government 
arrested and filed charges against those expressing critical or 
differing views on economic or criminal charges.
    Pretrial detention legally may last no longer than two months, but 
in exceptional cases it can be extended to one year if an investigator 
made such a request to the prosecutor general. For minor crimes a much 
shorter investigation period applies. In contrast with previous years, 
authorities rarely exceeded legal limits for pretrial detention. In the 
past chronic corruption and cumbersome bureaucratic processes 
contributed to lengthy trial delays; however, the Government's 
anticorruption efforts and the establishment of the Academy of State 
Service to improve state employees' qualifications generally eliminated 
such delays.
    Although in past years the Government detained regime opponents 
under house arrest without due process, no provision in the CPC 
authorizes such punishment. The law provides for internal exile, 
requiring an individual to reside in a certain area for a fixed term of 
two to five years.
    There were regular reports of persons being cited for violations 
such as possessing religious literature or driving a dirty car. Others 
were ordered to do something, such as removing an air conditioner from 
the exterior of a building or vacating a premises for demolition, for 
which government officials were not able to provide the legal basis for 
their action. At times these cases resulted in fines or violations of 
person's rights.

    Amnesty.--The Government pardoned an unannounced number of 
prisoners on May 6 in honor of Victory Day in World War II and on May 
28 in honor of International Children's Protection Day. On September 3, 
the Government pardoned 3,999 prisoners in advance of the Night of 
Omnipotence holiday. On December 10, the president signed a decree 
granting amnesty to approximately 2,000 prisoners in connection with 
the Neutrality Day holiday. The Government did not release any 
prisoners of international concern or prisoners associated with the 
2002 attack on the former president's motorcade.

    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 and dismissals, except for the 
chairman (chief justice) of the Supreme Court, whom parliament 
nominally reviewed. The president had sole authority to dismiss any 
judge. The judiciary was widely reputed to be both corrupt and 
inefficient.

    Trial Procedures.--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 or 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. Defendants frequently did not enjoy a presumption 
of innocence. There was no jury system. The Government permitted the 
public to attend most trials but closed some trials, especially those 
it considered politically sensitive. There were few independent lawyers 
available to represent defendants. The CPC provides that defendants be 
present at their trials and consult with their attorneys in a timely 
manner. The law sets no restrictions on a defendant's access to an 
attorney. If a defendant cannot afford to pay for attorney's services, 
an attorney is provided at public expense. The court at times did not 
allow defendants to confront or question a witness against them and 
denied the defendants and their attorney access to government evidence. 
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.
    On October 21, a court sentenced Pastor Ilmurad Nurliev to four 
years in prison after being convicted on charges of swindling. The 
trial did not meet international standards. According to a report by 
Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights, the trial lasted only two hours 
and the presiding judge excluded 12 defense witnesses. The state 
originally assigned an attorney to Nurliev, and his personal attorney 
did not gain access to the evidence against him until five days before 
the trial commenced. The court excluded international observers from 
the proceedings, which were conducted in Turkmen. Nurliev speaks 
Russian and reportedly did not understand much of the trial.
    Even when the courts observed due process, the authority of the 
Government prosecutor far exceeded that of the defense attorney, making 
it difficult for the defendant to receive a fair trial. Court 
transcripts frequently were flawed or incomplete, especially when 
defendants' testimony had to be translated from Russian to Turkmen. 
Defendants could appeal a lower court's decision and petition the 
president for clemency. There were credible reports that judges and 
prosecutors often predetermined the outcome of the trial and sentence.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government provided no 
further information about the case of former civil activist and former 
political prisoner Gulgeldy Annaniyazov, whom authorities arrested in 
June 2008 after he reentered the country and was sentenced in a closed 
court trial the next month to 11 years in prison. Annaniyazov received 
asylum in Norway in 2002 after serving five years in a Turkmenbashy 
prison for his role in a 1995 political demonstration.
    On November 4, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary 
Detention publicly released its opinion that the arrest and continued 
detention of Annakurban Amanklichev and Sapardurdy Hajiyev violated 
international law and that they should be released immediately. The 
Government provided no credible information updating the cases of 
journalists Amanklichev and Hajiyev, who presumably remained in jail. 
In 2006 authorities charged them and journalist Ogulsapar Myradova with 
weapons possession after they received journalism equipment from 
foreign sources. In 2006 Myradova died in police custody under 
suspicious circumstances.
    Opposition groups and some international organizations stated the 
Government held other political prisoners and detainees, although the 
precise number of these individuals--who included persons convicted of 
involvement in the 2002 attack on former President Niayzov--remained 
unknown. Among those individuals from 2002 was a former ambassador to 
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Batyr 
Berdiev, whose whereabouts and fate continued to be unknown.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The civil judiciary system 
was neither independent nor impartial; the president appointed all 
judges. According to the law, evidence gathered during a criminal 
investigation can be used as the basis for a civil action in a process 
called ``civil lawsuit in criminal justice.'' In the past there were 
reports of bribes in the civil court system to ensure a particular 
outcome. In cases in which the state had interests regarding an 
individual citizen, it imposed court orders. 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. In 2007 President Berdimuhamedov 
announced there would be no housing demolition unless replacement 
housing was available. Nonetheless, during the year the Government 
continued to demolish some private homes in and around Ashgabat as part 
of an urban renewal program without adequately compensating the owners.
    As in previous years, there were reports that the Government gave 
persons as few as 72 hours to vacate their homes and did not provide 
homeowners with alternative accommodations or compensation.

    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. In some cases authorities forcibly searched the homes of some 
minority religious group members without independent judicial 
authorization. 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. The Government 
reportedly intercepted surface mail before delivery, and letters and 
parcels taken to the post office had to remain unsealed for government 
inspection.
    A regulation stating that a noncitizen may marry a citizen only 
after residing in the country for one year places a restriction on 
right of men and women of full age to marry.
    Individuals who were harassed, detained, or arrested by 
authorities, and their family members reported that the Government 
caused family members to be fired from their jobs or expelled from 
school and that authorities sometimes detained and interrogated the 
family members.

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. The Government warned critics against 
speaking with visiting journalists or other foreigners about human 
rights problems. There were reports that law enforcement officials 
harassed and detained Turkmen journalists who worked for foreign media 
outlets.
    The Government financed and controlled almost all print media The 
Government imposed significant restrictions on the importation of 
foreign newspapers except for the private but government-sanctioned 
Turkish newspaper Zaman, which reflected the views of the state 
newspapers.
    The Government controlled radio and local television, but satellite 
dishes providing access to foreign television programming were 
widespread throughout the country. Citizens also received international 
radio programs through satellite access.
    On December 15, authorities suspended the operation of the 
privately owned and Moscow-based service provider Mobile TeleSystems 
(MTS), leaving approximately 2.5 million persons--half of the country's 
population and 80 percent of the mobile-phone users--without use of 
their mobile phones or access to the Internet, impairing the ability of 
citizens to send or receive information.
    During the year government agents reportedly detained, harassed, 
and intimidated journalists and their families. According to Reporters 
Without Borders, journalists often were ``summoned for questioning, 
threatened with prosecution, and fired from their jobs, while their 
relatives are also exposed to the possibility of reprisals.'' In 
particular, journalists working for RFE/RL reported frequent 
surveillance and harassment by government authorities.
    During the year there were several reports that the Government used 
restrictions on travel abroad to punish independent journalists and 
individuals who openly criticized the Government. The Government also 
restricted the travel of journalists' family members. Throughout the 
year the Government continued to monitor the activities of RFE/RL 
reporter Halmyrat Gylychdurdyev.
    Both Reporters Without Borders and RFE/RL reported that Prague-
based RFE/RL broadcaster Allamurad Rakhimov, a Turkmen native, was 
denied entry into the country on May 19 and put on a flight returning 
to Prague without explanation, although he had a valid visa.
    RFE/RL reporter Osman Halliyev remained under constant 
surveillance, and family members remained unable to find employment or 
travel outside the country.
    As in previous years, the Government required state journalists to 
obtain permission to cover specific events as well as to publish or 
broadcast the subject matter they had covered.
    Domestic journalists and foreign news correspondents engaged in 
self-censorship due to fear of government reprisal. The Government 
continued to censor newspapers and prohibit reporting of opposition 
political views or of any criticism of the president.
    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. The 
Government owned all publishing companies. The Government censored 
works on topics that were out of favor with the Government, including 
some works of fiction.
    The Government continued its ban on subscriptions to foreign 
periodicals by nongovernmental entities, although copies of the Russian 
newspaper Argumenti I Fakti and other nonpolitical periodicals appeared 
occasionally in the bazaars.
    There was no independent oversight of media accreditation, no 
defined criteria for allocating press cards, no assured provision for 
receiving accreditation when space was available, and no protection 
against the withdrawal of accreditation for political reasons. The 
Government required all foreign correspondents to apply for 
accreditation. It granted visas to journalists from outside the country 
only to cover specific events, such as international conferences and 
summit meetings, where their activities could be monitored. On July 13, 
RFE/RL stated on its Web site that Turkmenistan is among the countries 
where journalists ``are routinely denied accreditation, and yet 
unaccredited journalists face harassment, detention, and threats.'' 
Despite submitting official applications repeatedly over several years, 
RFE/RL has never received a response from the Turkmen government to 
accredit correspondents there.
    At least seven journalists representing foreign media organizations 
were accredited. Turkish news services had eight correspondents in the 
country, at least five of whom reportedly were accredited. As many as 
11 correspondents representing foreign media services operated without 
accreditation. Visiting foreign journalists reported harassment and 
denial of their freedom of movement when they attempted to report 
outside official channels. Additionally the Government severely 
restricted the issuance of visas to visiting journalists.

    Internet Freedom.--During the year Internet access for the general 
population increased to approximately 80,000 users, according to the 
International Telecommunication Union. Government-owned Turkmentelecom 
remained the main provider to the general population, but government 
agents monitored and filtered its service.
    The Government continued to monitor citizens' e-mail and Internet 
activity, and reports indicated that the Ministry of National Security 
controlled the main access gateway, monitored users' browsing, and 
blocked access to certain sensitive Web sites, cutting service in 
certain cases. The Russian cellular company MTS reportedly provided 
unfettered mobile Internet service to its customers; however, the price 
was prohibitively high for most citizens. According to a report by 
Reporters Without Borders, officials monitored citizen's personal e-
mail accounts to identify potential dissidents, rather than blocking 
them.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government did not 
recognize academic degrees received abroad, except those obtained 
abroad through government- approved education programs. Officials 
allowed only government-selected students to participate in government-
approved exchange programs. The Ministry of Education (MOE) did not 
recognize degrees from nonstate institutions of higher education in 
former Soviet Union countries. The MOE closely scrutinized exchanges at 
the university level, and by law the Council of Ministers must approve 
all programs.
    The MOE took no action on the president's 2007 request that the 
ministry facilitate recognition of foreign degrees, apart from the 
earlier established process of validation, based on passing Ruhnama, 
History of Turkmenistan, and specialized exams in Turkmen. The 
validation process was available only for degrees from state higher 
educational institutions that offered a full-time enrollment program.
    During the year the Government continued some restrictions on 
student travel. On September 24, Forum 18 stated that Muslims who want 
to serve as clerics were not allowed to travel abroad for religious 
education. In 2009 government restrictions on freedom of movement 
blocked more than 150 students from departing to study at the American 
University of Central Asia in Bishkek. Eventually, after several months 
delay, officials allowed the students to leave the country, but not to 
return to the American University of Central Asia.
    The Government did not tolerate criticism of government policy or 
the president in academic circles and curtailed research into areas it 
considered politically sensitive, such as comparative law, history, 
ethnic relations, and theology.
    Officials from the MOE and provincial authorities sought to prevent 
students who were not ethnic Turkmen from entering exchange programs.
    The school curriculum continued to include works by Niyazov, such 
as the Ruhnama, and students were required to pass examinations on them 
for advancement, graduation, or admission to higher educational 
institutions. Teachers reported, however, that the administration 
required them to spend substantially less class time studying Niyazov's 
works than in the past and instead intensified study of books and 
speeches by President Berdimuhamedov. Ruhnama studies as a separate 
course was still required for primary school students. The newspaper 
Mugallymlar gazeti (Teachers' Newspaper) published the new government-
provided curriculum for schools.
    Most secondary school textbooks have been revised to remove all 
text devoted to Niyazov and his family; however, a picture of Niyazov 
continued to appear on the first page of each textbook. Text devoted to 
President Berdimuhamedov's ``New Revival'' ideology replaced the 
previous text on Niyazov and his family. Despite a 2008 MOE report 
stating that all textbooks had been completely revised, only 
approximately one-half of them had been revised at year's end.
    The Government continued to require teachers and students to 
participate in state-sponsored extracurricular events, and it allocated 
approximately 70 to 80 academic days per year to compulsory 
participation in festivals and greetings for high-level visitors, 
significantly reducing instruction time. This previously informal 
practice was formalized at secondary schools by requiring teachers to 
sign an agreement accepting salary cuts for not participating in these 
government events. Participating students were given the equivalent of 
an ``A'' for the day, which provided further incentive to attend the 
event rather than to be in the classroom.
    A government committee created in 2009 approved all cultural 
products produced in the country for the general public, including 
books, movies, theatrical plays, art, and any other cultural program.
    Although restrictions eased somewhat, the Government continued to 
control attendance at nonindigenous cultural events and refused to 
permit the production of some foreign plays and performances in state 
theaters. Only the Russian theater in Ashgabat continued to stage 
foreign plays in Russian, and those plays were invariably apolitical.
    The Ministry of Culture censored and monitored all public 
exhibitions, including music, art, and cultural events.

    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 
neither granted the required permits for public meetings and 
demonstrations during the year nor allowed unregistered organizations, 
particularly those perceived to have political agendas, to hold 
demonstrations.

    Freedom of Association.--Although the constitution and law provide 
for freedom of association, the Government restricted this right in 
practice. The law requires all nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to 
register with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and all foreign assistance 
to be registered with the MOJ and the Ministry of Economics and 
Development and coordinated through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
Unregistered NGO activity is punishable by a fine, short-term 
detention, and confiscation of property. In December the Government 
registered a public association called the Society of Guitarists, the 
first nongovernmental association to be registered since 2008.
    Of the 90 registered NGOs, international organizations recognized 
only eight as being independent. NGOs reported that the Government 
presented a number of administrative obstacles to NGOs that attempted 
to register. Some applications were repeatedly returned on technical 
grounds. Some organizations awaiting registration found alternate ways 
to carry out activities, such as registering as businesses or 
subsidiaries of other registered groups, but others temporarily 
suspended or limited their activities.
    Sources noted a number of barriers to the formation and functioning 
of civil society in the country, including government requirements that 
founders of associations be citizens and that associations operating 
nationally have at least 500 members to be registered. Other barriers 
included regulations that permitted the MOJ to send representatives to 
association events and meetings, and requirements that associations 
must notify the Government about their planned activities.
    There were no independent political groups (see section 3). The 
only registered political party was the ruling Democratic Party, the 
former Communist Party of Turkmenistan. The Government did not 
officially prohibit membership in political organizations; however, in 
practice there were no reports of persons who claimed membership in 
political organizations other than the Democratic Party. According to 
the Jamestown Foundation, the Government did not permit opposition 
movements outside the country, including the National Democratic 
Movement of Turkmenistan, the Republican Party of Turkmenistan, and the 
Fatherland (Watan) Party, to operate within the country.
    There were no reports during the year that government authorities 
harassed recipients of foreign grants.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law do not 
provide for full freedom of movement. The law requires internal 
passports and residency permits. The Government cooperated with the 
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other 
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern. The border permit requirement remained in 
effect for all foreigners.
    Citizens are not allowed to hold dual citizenship, and this 
requirement was enforced sporadically. Officials pressured dual 
citizens departing the country to renounce one of their citizenships 
before officials allowed them to leave. Individuals who indicated dual 
citizenship when applying for new-style international passports were 
denied new-style passports, whereas persons reporting only Turkmen 
citizenship received them.
    The Government denied it maintained a list of persons not permitted 
to depart the country; however, it continued to bar certain citizens 
from departing. On August 16, AI issued a statement expressing concern 
about reports of a presidential decree that prohibits the exit and 
entry to the country of thousands of individuals. According to AI's 
source, the decree explicitly bars 37,057 individuals from leaving the 
country and forbids entry to international human rights organizations, 
as well as more than 8,000 named individuals of various nationalities. 
According to AI's source, 73foreign journalists also were banned from 
entering the country.
    A 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. The 
education law allows the Government to impose limitations on obtaining 
education in specific professions and specialties, which has been 
applied to prevent students from travelling abroad to study.
    Citizens were able to inquire at the State Migration Service about 
their travel status; however, those who inquired rarely received 
information.
    On June 28, husband-and-wife journalists Annamamed Myatyiev and 
Elena Myatiyeva were forbidden from travelling abroad when they tried 
to board a flight to the Netherlands at Ashgabat international airport. 
They were given no clear reason for the ban. Officials allowed them to 
depart on July 10.

    Protection of Refugees.--In 2009 the Government assumed 
responsibility from the UNHCR for making refugee status determinations. 
While formally there is a system for granting refugee status, in 
practice it is inactive due to a lack of cases. There have been no 
reports of asylum seekers since 2005. The Government has not developed 
support services for individuals awaiting a refugee status 
determination. Prior to January 2009, the UNHCR issued a refugee paper 
that was the only official evidence of a refugee's legal status. There 
were 60 UNHCR-mandate refugees in the country. The UNHCR provided 
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion. The UNHCR has observer status at government-run 
refugee determination hearings. Individuals not determined to be 
refugees by the Government would have recourse to the UNHCR to obtain 
mandate refugee status. There was no information indicating that 
whether or not the Government provided protection against the expulsion 
or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would 
be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, 
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
    Refugees had access to basic services such as health care and 
primary and secondary education; however, they were not eligible for 
government employment and did not have the right to own property or a 
company.

    Stateless Persons--The State Migration Service has registered 
approximately 12,000 adult persons who have problems with determining 
their nationality. The UNHCR considered these individuals as 
effectively stateless or at risk of becoming stateless. They were 
largely undocumented residents who held Soviet Union passports when the 
Soviet Union dissolved and who did not have a state affiliation 
selected when those passports expired in 1999. The Government may have 
administratively processed some of these residents and issued them 
residency permits while considerations of state affiliation continued. 
To obtain citizenship, a person needs to verify that he is not a 
citizen of another country, a process that can be extremely difficult 
to accomplish. Turkmen citizenship has not been granted to any 
individuals since 2005.

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 
separation of powers among the branches of government but vests a 
disproportionate share of power in the presidency. In practice the 
president's power over the state continued to be absolute.
    According to the OSCE, the election law does not meet OSCE 
standards.
    In a February letter commenting on the European Bank for 
Reconstruction and Development's 2010 Country Strategy Review, the Open 
Society Institute stated that ``activists who have tried to register as 
independent candidates have found themselves under pressure from the 
Ministry of National Security. As an example, Abdurakhman Rakhmanov, 
who formed and headed the Ilkindjiler civic group--rather than joining 
the officially approved Galkynysh national organization--tried to 
nominate himself as a deputy to the parliament, only to be arrested on 
charges of tax evasion before the election and sentenced to up to 15 
years in prison. In this context it should be noted that, while the 
Turkmen government hailed the December 2008 parliamentary elections as 
an example of the country's pluralism, this poll was contested only by 
288 government-approved candidates from the president's party. 
Furthermore, only one candidate was of non-Turkmen ethnicity.''

    Elections and Political Participation.--District people's council 
elections took place in December. Local council (``gengesh'') elections 
were held in July 2009 in rural areas under a law that had been revised 
in April to bring electoral procedures into line with the 2008 
constitution and electoral law. The 2008 constitution gave broader 
powers to the Mejlis (parliament), increased the president's powers, 
and abolished the Halk Maslahaty (Peoples' Council) as a political 
body.
    There were 21 women in the 125-member parliament, including the 
Mejlis speaker, who was reelected in 2008. Women served in a few 
prominent government positions: deputy chairman of the Cabinet of 
Ministers for Culture and Television (a vice premier position), 
minister of education, minister of textile industry, director of the 
State Archives, director of the Institute for Democracy and Human 
Rights, the chairpersons of two of five parliamentary committees, and 
the chairperson of the state publishing service.
    The Government gave preference for appointed government positions 
to ethnic Turkmen, but ethnic minorities occupied several senior 
government positions. Members of the country's largest tribe, the 
president's Teke tribe, held the most prominent roles in cultural and 
political life.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials reportedly often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
Corruption existed in the security forces. Widespread corruption 
existed 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. According 
to the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators, the country had a 
severe corruption problem.
    The president reprimanded a number of ministers and government 
officials, dismissing some from their positions; others were 
investigated and arrested for alleged malfeasance, although a lack of 
information about their cases made it difficult to determine whether 
their arrests were politically motivated.
    On November 6, the New York Times reported that six oil and gas 
service companies and a prominent freight-forwarding company agreed to 
pay criminal and civil penalties for bribery. Most of the bribes were 
paid to circumvent local rules and regulations in a number of 
countries, including Turkmenistan.
    Financial disclosure requirements are neither transparent nor 
consistent with international norms. Government enterprises are not 
required to publicize financial statements, even to foreign partners. 
Financial audits are often conducted by local auditors, not 
internationally recognized firms.
    There is no law that allows for public access to government 
information, and in practice the Government did not provide access. 
Authorities denied requests for specific information on the grounds 
that the information was a state secret. Some statistical data were 
considered state secrets. There was no public disclosure of demographic 
data, and officials published manipulated economic and financial data 
to justify state policies and expenditures.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no domestic human rights NGOs due to the Government's 
refusal to register such organizations and to government restrictions 
that made activity by unregistered organizations illegal. During the 
year the Government continued to monitor the activities of nonpolitical 
social and cultural organizations.
    There was no international human rights NGO with a continued 
permanent presence in the country; however, the Government permitted 
international organizations, including the OSCE and the UNHCR, to have 
resident missions. Government restrictions on freedom of speech, press, 
and association severely restricted international organizations' 
ability to investigate, understand, and fully evaluate the Government's 
human rights policies and practices.
    The Government appeared to have relaxed somewhat its past efforts 
to control citizens' access to international organizations and missions 
and to discourage citizens from cooperating with foreigners. The 
Government allowed unfettered access to the OSCE Center, which was not 
the case prior to October 2007. There were no reports that citizens 
were discouraged from contacting other international organizations.
    On April 16, World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS) 
reported that the Government initiated a wave of interrogations against 
activists and health care practitioners who were suspected of 
contributing to an April Medicins Sans Frontieres report that 
criticized the Government's health care system and policies.
    During the year, the Government did not implement any of the 
recommendations made in January 2009 by the UN special rapporteur on 
freedom of religion or belief.
    On April 2, the UN secretary general met with the president, the 
Cabinet of Ministers, and the head of the national Institute for 
Democracy and Human Rights (IDHR). The UN reported that there were 
several discussions addressing human rights. The secretary general 
called on the Government to fulfill all obligations under international 
human rights law and the treaties to which it is a signatory and urged 
positive responses to the human rights recommendations put forward by 
the UN member states during the Universal Periodic Review in 2008.
    The Government-run IDHR, established in 1996 with a mandate to 
support democratization and monitor the protection of human rights, was 
not an independent body. Its ability to obtain redress for citizens was 
limited. Nonetheless, it played an unofficial ombudsman's role to 
resolve some citizen human rights-related petitions during the year. In 
2007 the Government established the Human Rights Commission, which 
reports to the president, to oversee institutional human rights reform. 
In 2005 the president established the parliamentary Committee on the 
Protection of Human Rights and Liberties to oversee human rights-
related legislation. No information about their human rights activity 
for the year was available.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, ethnic minority status, or social status, 
discrimination continued to be a problem, as did violence against 
women.

    Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, with penalties of 
three to 25 years based on the level of violence of the incident and 
whether the attacker was a repeat offender. A cultural bias against 
reporting or acknowledging rape made it difficult to determine the 
extent of the problem, but some sources indicated rape was not 
uncommon.
    The law prohibits domestic violence, including spousal abuse, but 
the Government did not enforce the law effectively. Penalties are based 
on the extent of the injury. According to indicators published by the 
United Nations Development Program in 2009, Turkmenistan is included in 
the category of countries in which ``there are no or weak laws against 
domestic violence, rape, and marital rape, and these laws are not 
generally enforced. Honor killings may occur and are either ignored or 
generally accepted.''
    Anecdotal reports indicated domestic violence against women was 
common; most victims of domestic violence kept silent 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 and several informal groups in other regions assisted victims 
of domestic violence. A local organization continued to operate a 
domestic violence hotline with support from the OSCE Center in 
Ashgabat. The same NGO also provided free legal consultations and 
psychological assistance to victims of domestic violence and organized 
awareness-raising seminars on domestic violence for the general public.
    There is no law specifically prohibiting sexual harassment, and 
reports suggested sexual harassment existed in the workforce.
    Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and have 
the means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence.
    According to the Population Reference Bureau, 99 percent of births 
were attended by skilled personnel, and 99 percent of women receive at 
least one postnatal care visit. According to UN interagency estimates, 
the maternal mortality rate for 2008 was approximately 77 deaths per 
100,000 live births and the lifetime risk of maternal death was one in 
500. Modern contraceptive methods were available to 99 percent of the 
public. Statistics on contraceptive use by single women were 
unavailable, but 53 percent of married women used some form of modern 
contraceptives. Due to cultural attitudes, almost one-third of married 
women opposed the use of family-planning methods. A local source that 
worked for an HIV/AIDs project confirmed that women and men are 
diagnosed and treated equally for sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV.
    Women had equal rights under family law and property law and in the 
judicial system. In 2007 the Mejlis approved and began implementing a 
new law on women's rights after consultation with international 
partners. The Mejlis Committee on Human Rights and Liberties was 
responsible for drafting human rights and gender legislation, 
integrating a new gender program into the education curriculum, and 
publishing regular bulletins on national and international gender laws. 
By law women are equal to men in all spheres, including wages, loans, 
starting businesses, and working in government. Nevertheless, in 
practice, women continued to experience discrimination due to cultural 
biases. Employers allegedly gave preference to men to avoid 
productivity losses due to pregnancy or child-care responsibilities. 
Women were underrepresented in the upper levels of government-owned 
economic enterprises and were concentrated in health care, education, 
and service professions. The Government restricted women from working 
in some dangerous and environmentally unsafe jobs.
    The Government did not acknowledge, address, or report on 
discrimination against women. There is no special government office 
that promotes the legal rights of women, but there is the Women's Union 
(a government-affiliated ``NGO'') and the National Institute of 
Democracy and Human Rights that work on women's legal rights.

    Children.--According to the law, a child's citizenship is derived 
from one's parents. In the event a child is born to stateless persons 
possessing permanent resident status in Turkmenistan, the child is 
considered a citizen. The Government took modest steps to address the 
welfare of children, including increased cooperation with the UN 
Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other international organizations on 
programs designed to improve children's health, such as the 
reinstatement in 2007 of the 10th year of mandatory schooling.
    UNICEF reported that 96 percent of urban children and 95 percent of 
rural children had their births registered.
    UNICEF also reported that, during the period 2003-08, the 
proportion of attendance at primary school was 99 percent for both 
girls and boys and 84 percent for both girls and boys at the secondary 
level.
    There were isolated reports of child abuse. In 2006 the UN 
Committee on the Rights of the Child issued recommendations that called 
on the Government to focus efforts on issues of family and alternative 
care, juvenile justice, child abuse prevention, health and welfare, 
education, children with disabilities, and special protection measures.
    According to most recent data provided in a 2006 UNICEF report, 9 
percent of marriages involved minors. According to an Interpol report, 
the criminal code `` . . . enacts criminal liability for involvement of 
minors into prostitution.''
    The legal age of consent is 16 years. Production of pornographic 
materials or objects for the purposes of distribution or advertisement 
and trade in printings, movies or videos, depictions, or other objects 
of a pornographic nature alike, including those of children, are 
punishable in accordance with article 164 of the criminal code.
    The country is not party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html, as well 
as country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were an estimated 300 Jews, predominately in 
Ashgabat, but no organized Jewish community. There were no reports of 
anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services or other areas; however, in practice 
persons with disabilities encountered discrimination and were regularly 
denied work, education, and access to health care and other state 
services because of strong cultural biases.
    The Government provided subsidies and pensions for persons with 
disabilities, although the assistance was inadequate to meet basic 
needs. The Government considered persons with disabilities who received 
subsidies as being ``employed'' and therefore ineligible to compete for 
jobs in the Government, which is the country's largest employer.
    Some groups of students with disabilities were unable to obtain 
education because there were no qualified teachers and facilities were 
not accessible for persons with disabilities. 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. Special schools for the persons 
with sensory disabilities existed in the larger cities. The Government 
began construction of boarding schools with rehabilitation centers for 
persons with disabilities in each province and in Ashgabat.
    Although the law requires new construction projects to include 
facilities that allow access by persons with disabilities, compliance 
was inconsistent and older buildings remained inaccessible. A lack of 
consistent accessibility standards resulted in some new buildings with 
inappropriately designed access ramps. The Ministry of Social Welfare 
was responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. 
This ministry provided venues and organizational support for activities 
conducted by NGOs that assist persons with disabilities.
    The Government ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons 
with Disabilities in 2008 and the Optional Protocol in November.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law provides for equal 
rights and freedoms for all citizens. Several minority groups tried to 
register as NGOs to have legal status to conduct cultural events, but 
no minority groups succeeded in registering during the year.
    The law designates Turkmen as the official language, although it 
also provides for the rights of speakers of minority languages. Russian 
remained prevalent in commerce and everyday life in the capital, even 
as the Government continued its campaign to conduct official business 
solely in Turkmen. The Government required ministry employees to pass 
tests demonstrating knowledge of professional subjects in Turkmen; 
employees who failed the exam were dismissed. The Government 
systematically replaced teachers and staff at Turkish schools with 
ethnic Turkmen. The Government dedicated resources to provide Turkmen 
language instruction for non-Turkmen speakers only in primary and 
secondary schools.
    Non-Turkmen speakers noted that some avenues for promotion and job 
advancement were closed to them, and only a handful of non-Turkmen 
occupied high-level jobs in government ministries. In some cases 
applicants for government jobs had to provide information about 
ethnicity going back three generations. The Government often targeted 
non-Turkmen first for dismissal when government layoffs occurred.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexual conduct between men 
is illegal and punishable by up to two years in prison; the law does 
not mention women. According to one human rights NGO, homosexuality is 
considered a mental disorder, and gays were sometimes sent to 
psychiatric institutions for treatment.
    There were no recorded cases of violence or other human rights 
abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and no 
information was available regarding discrimination against lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals in employment, housing, 
statelessness, access to education, or health care.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no reported 
societal violence or discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. The 
Government did not officially recognize any cases of HIV/AIDS in the 
country.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows citizens to join 
independent unions, but in practice all existing trade and professional 
unions were government-controlled. The Government did not permit 
private citizens to form independent unions.
    The Government permitted the existence of only the umbrella 
organization Center for Professional Unions (CPU). Led by a 
presidential appointee, the CPU included professional unions in most 
fields, including medicine, construction, banking, accounting, 
economics, entrepreneurship, and lease holding. All unions were 
government appendages and had no independent voice in their own 
activities. There is no law addressing strikes or retaliation against 
strikers, and strikes were rare.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does 
not protect the right to bargain collectively.
    The law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination by employers 
against union members and organizers. There are no mechanisms for 
resolving complaints of discrimination.
    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. In contrast with previous years, there were 
no reports of such practices.
    A 2005 presidential decree bans child labor, specifying that 
children are not permitted to participate in the cotton harvest. During 
the year the Government enforced this policy.

    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 effectively enforced. The minimum age 
for employment of children is 16 years of age; in a few heavy 
industries, it is 18 years. The law prohibits children between the ages 
of 16 and 18 from working more than six hours per day. A 15-year-old 
may work four to six hours per day with parental and trade union 
permission, although such permission was rarely granted. The MOJ and 
the Prosecutor General's Office were responsible for enforcing child 
labor laws.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The state sector minimum monthly 
wage of 330 manat ($116) did not provide for the basic needs of workers 
and their families.
    The standard legal workweek is 40 hours with weekends off. In 
practice, government and many private sector employees are required to 
work 10 hours a day or a sixth day without compensation. Reports 
indicated that many public sector employees worked at least one-half 
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; however, this law 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 related to the application of defoliants in preparing 
cotton fields for mechanical harvesting. Workers did not have the right 
to remove themselves from work situations that endangered their health 
or safety without jeopardy to their continued employment.

                               __________

                               UZBEKISTAN

    Uzbekistan is an authoritarian state with a population of 
approximately 27.6 million. The constitution provides for a 
presidential system with separation of powers among the executive, 
legislative, and judicial branches. In practice President Islam Karimov 
and the centralized executive branch dominated political life and 
exercised nearly complete control over the other branches. Of the 150 
members of the lower house of parliament, 135 are elected, and the 
remaining 15 were reserved for the newly established Ecological 
Movement of Uzbekistan. Eighty-four of the 100 senators are chosen in 
limited elections open only to elected members of local councils, and 
the president appoints the remaining 16. In 2007 the country elected 
President Karimov to a third term in office; however, according to the 
limited observer mission from the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Government deprived voters of a 
genuine choice. Parliamentary elections took place in December 2009. 
While observers reported noticeable procedural improvements in 
comparison to the 2004 parliamentary elections, the 2009 elections were 
not considered free and fair due to government restrictions on eligible 
candidates and government control of media and campaign financing. 
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Human rights problems included citizens' inability to change their 
government peacefully; tightly controlled electoral processes with 
limited opportunities for choice; instances of torture and mistreatment 
of detainees by security forces; incommunicado and prolonged detention; 
occasional life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and 
detention; denial of due process and fair trial; restrictions on 
freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association; governmental 
control of civil society activity; restrictions on religious freedom 
including harassment and imprisonment of religious minority group 
members; restrictions on freedom of movement for citizens; violence 
against women; and government-compelled forced labor in cotton 
harvesting. Human rights activists and journalists who criticized the 
Government were subject to physical attack, harassment, arbitrary 
arrest, and politically motivated prosecution and detention.
    Following ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan in June, Uzbekistan 
accepted more than 100,000 Kyrgyzstani refugees into its territory and 
worked closely with the international community to provide food, water, 
and shelter for those in need.

                        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 that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary 
or unlawful killings.
    The Government did not authorize an independent international 
investigation of the alleged killing of numerous unarmed civilians 
during the violent disturbances in Andijan in 2005, despite ongoing 
calls by international organizations for the Government to do so. The 
Government stated after its 2005 investigation that armed individuals 
initiated violence by firing on government forces. The death toll 
varied between the Government's report of 187 and eyewitness' reports 
of several hundred individuals. The Government never held anyone 
publically accountable for the civilian casualties.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances. Unconfirmed reports of disappearances of persons who 
were present at the violent disturbances in Andijan in 2005 persisted.
    There was no update to the 2009 case of an Uzbek man and his son 
abducted in Kyrgyzstan and reportedly returned there after a lengthy 
interrogation. In August 2009 masked men kidnapped Mahmud Suyunov and 
Zokir Hismatullin, according to family members. Later their names 
appeared on a list of suspects involved in an exchange of gunfire in 
Tashkent in August 2009 and a bombing in Andijan earlier in the year. 
Family members have tried unsuccessfully to locate these men in 
government custody.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such practices, 
law enforcement and security officers routinely beat and otherwise 
mistreated detainees to obtain confessions or incriminating 
information. Sources reported that torture and abuse were common in 
prisons, pretrial facilities, and local police and security service 
precincts. Reported methods of torture included severe beatings, denial 
of food, sexual abuse, tying and hanging by the hands, and electric 
shock. Family members of prisoners reported several cases of medical 
abuse, and one person reportedly remained in forced psychiatric 
treatment. The Government reported that during the first six months of 
the year, it opened 226 criminal cases against 285 employees of law 
enforcement bodies. Of these, 75 persons were accused of charges 
related to abuse of power, and four were charged with torture or other 
brutal or degrading treatment. The remaining cases were for unspecified 
offenses. During the first nine months of the year, the Government 
dismissed and brought criminal charges against 186 employees of law 
enforcement bodies for unstated reasons.
    The UN Human Rights Committee in its five-year review of the 
country under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
(ICCPR Review) expressed concerns in a March 25 publication that the 
country's definition of torture in the criminal code is not in 
conformity with Article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other 
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which the 
country is a party.
    In a joint statement submitted for the ICCPR Review, the Human 
Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan, the Committee for the Liberation of 
Prisoners of Conscience, and the Uzbek-German Forum for Human Rights 
stated that torture and abuse by police and investigating authorities 
remain ``systematic, unpunished, and encouraged'' by senior government 
officials. The report noted that judges and prosecutors routinely 
failed to investigate allegations of torture, and that the country's 
leadership, including heads of law enforcement agencies, failed to 
condemn publicly the use of torture.
    In February an independent news Web site reported that family 
members of prisoner Sanjar Narmuradov, serving a 13-year sentence on 
extremism charges, stated he was tortured and mistreated in a Tashkent 
Region prison.
    In March, 12 of 25 defendants charged with religious extremism 
reported to a Jizzakh court that they were tortured in pretrial 
detention facilities. The court ordered an investigation of these 
claims, but concluded there was no evidence of torture.
    On March 29, a Bukhara court convicted Kurban Kadyrov of 
participation in anticonstitutional activity as a member of a religious 
extremist group, sentencing him to eight years in prison. The court did 
not address Kadyrov's complaints that he only signed a confession 
because he was tortured during interrogation. On April 29, a regional 
Bukhara court upheld his conviction and sentence on appeal.
    In April the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Defenders 
of Uzbekistan (IGIHRDU) reported that prisoner Dilshodbek Amanturdiev 
complained to family members that during the first four months of the 
year fellow inmates subjected him to torture instigated by the prison 
administration. Amanturdiev reportedly stated that in one incident, he 
was beaten unconscious.
    Also in April an independent news Web site reported that family 
members of Rustam Usmanov visited him in prison and observed extensive 
bruises on his body. According to the report, Usmanov told them that 
prison guards tortured and tried to kill him.
    On May 12, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published a letter 
signed by 121 prisoners from a Kashkadarya prison to a human rights 
group. The letter alleged that guards routinely raped the prisoners 
with a club, subjected prisoners to enemas with red pepper solutions, 
and beat their heels until they bled.
    In June the IGIHRDU reported that a group of criminals headed by a 
prison guard tortured Alijon Halimov for one week during August 2009.
    In December 2009 two sisters serving prison sentences alleged that 
officers raped and mistreated them in prison. One of the sisters 
subsequently gave birth to a child in prison. The Tashkent City 
Criminal Court initiated a criminal case and reportedly did DNA testing 
of several officers, but no formal charges resulted during the year.
    Authorities reportedly meted out harsher than typical treatment to 
individuals suspected of Islamist extremism throughout the year, 
especially to pretrial detainees who were allegedly members of banned 
religious extremist political organizations or to the Nur group, which 
is not officially banned. Local human rights workers reported that 
authorities often offered payment or other inducements to inmates to 
beat other inmates suspected of religious extremism.
    During the year there were reports of politically motivated medical 
abuse. Victims could request, through legal counsel, to have an expert 
medical board review their cases. In practice, however, such bodies 
generally did not conduct impartial reviews and typically supported the 
decisions of law enforcement authorities.
    Family members of several inmates whom the international community 
considers political prisoners asserted that officials did not grant 
prisoners' requests for medical evaluation and treatment. Among these 
prisoners were Alisher Karamatov, Yusuf Juma, Norboy Kholjigitov, Agzam 
Turgunov, Habibulla Okpulatov, and journalist Dilmurod Sayid.
    There was no update on the case of Jamshid Karimov, a journalist, 
human rights activist, and nephew of President Karimov, whom officials 
have forcibly detained at Samarkand Psychiatric Hospital since 2006.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were in 
some circumstances life threatening. Officials reported that the prison 
system is filled to only 74 percent of capacity, but reports of 
overcrowding were common, as were reports of severe abuse and shortages 
of medicine. Inmates and their families reported that food and water 
were of poor quality but generally available. There were reports of 
political prisoners being held in cells without proper ventilation, and 
prisoners occasionally were subjected to extreme temperatures. Family 
members of inmates reported incidents of sexual abuse. Family members 
also reported that officials frequently withheld or delayed delivery of 
food and medicine intended for prisoners.
    Relatives of prisoners reported the deaths of several prisoners 
serving sentences, most of whom received sentences related to religious 
extremism. In some cases, family members reported that the body of the 
prisoner showed signs of beating or other abuse, but authorities 
pressured the family to bury the body before examination by a medical 
professional. Reported cases that fit this pattern included those of 
Nurullo Musaev and Shavkat Alimhojaev. There were no updates to the 
reported cases in 2009 that fit this pattern, including the deaths of 
Abdulatif Ayupov, Ismat Hudoyberdiyev, Negmat Zufarov, and Golib 
Mullajonov.
    The IGIHRDU reported that on March 20 prisoner Yiginov Farmon died 
in prison after being subjected to torture and on March 27, an unnamed 
Tashkent native died in a Bukhara prison as a result of torture.
    On June 17, Sunnatillo Zaripov died in prison, where he had been 
serving a 15-year term. Relatives reported to the press that he died as 
a result of torture.
    In November family members of inmates housed in the Jaslyk prison 
reported that several Jaslyk inmates participated in a hunger strike 
for three to four days after 14 fellow inmates were taken to a separate 
area in the prison and severely beaten.
    There were no updates to the cases of Muhammad Artykov, Nozimjon 
Mamadaliev, and family members of Nurillo Mazsudov. The family members 
reportedly died after being tortured in prison in 2008.
    According to family members and some NGOs, authorities failed to 
release prisoners, especially those convicted of religious extremism, 
at the end of their terms. Prison authorities often extended inmates' 
terms by accusing them of additional crimes or claiming the prisoners 
represented a continuing danger to society. For example, on July 15, 
Habibullo Madmarov, the son of human rights activist Akhmadjan 
Madmarov, had his prison term extended for getting out of bed to pray 
before the prison's daily wake up call, in violation of internal prison 
regulations. Trials for such offenses took place within the prisons, 
and defendants often were not given access to lawyers or relatives. 
Although it is technically possible for inmates to appeal such 
decisions, many inmates did not have the expertise to initiate an 
appeal.
    According to 2009 statistics, the Government held approximately 
42,000 inmates at 58 detention facilities. Men, women, and juvenile 
offenders were held in separate facilities. There were reports that in 
some facilities inmates convicted of attempting to overturn the 
constitutional order were held separately, and prison officials did not 
allow inmates convicted under religious extremism charges to interact 
with other inmates. Officials also held former law enforcement officers 
in a separate facility.
    Prison officials generally allowed family members to visit 
prisoners for up to four hours two to four times per month. Officials 
also permitted visits of one to three days duration, two to four times 
per year, depending on the type of prison facility. Family members of 
political prisoners reported that officials frequently delayed or 
severely shortened visits arbitrarily. The Government stated that 
prisoners have the right to practice any religion or no religion, but 
prisoners frequently complained to family members that they were not 
able to observe religious rituals that conflicted with prison 
scheduling. Such rituals included engaging in traditional Islamic 
morning prayers. Prisoners also were not allowed access to religious 
materials.
    According to a 2009 law, authorities at pretrial detention 
facilities are required to arrange a meeting between a detainee and a 
representative from the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office upon a 
detainee's request. Officials allowed detainees in prison facilities to 
submit confidential complaints to the Ombudsman's Office and to the 
Prosecutor General's Office, and both offices were authorized to 
initiate investigations into complaints. In its 2009 report, the 
Ombudsman's Office reported it received 48 prisoner complaints during 
the year and considered 31 of those cases, representing an increase 
from the 29 complaints it considered in 2008. The Ombudsman's Office 
reported it was able to intervene successfully in four of the 29 cases. 
The Ombudsman's Office is empowered to make recommendations on behalf 
of prisoners, including requesting changes to sentences to make them 
more appropriate to nonviolent offenders.
    The Ministry of Interior (MOI) performs regular inspections of all 
prison facilities, and representatives of other state bodies, including 
the parliament, the National Human Rights Center, and the Cabinet of 
Ministers also are allowed to access the prison system upon request.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) monitors all 
facilities under the responsibility of the prison administration, 
assessing the conditions of detention and the treatment of detainees. 
ICRC does not have access to pretrial detention facilities under the 
authority of the National Security Service. Between January and 
September, the ICRC carried out 37 humanitarian visits, visiting 19,906 
detainees held in 17 places of detention. During these visits, ICRC 
representatives monitored the cases of 647 detainees, including 117 
women and 67 minors. The ICRC also facilitated the exchange of 283 Red 
Cross messages between detainees and their relatives. The ICRC kept its 
findings confidential and shared them only with the Government. The 
Government also allowed limited independent prison monitoring by a 
local group in Bukhara.
    Prison administration officials reported that the World Health 
Organization has an active TB program in the prisons both to treat and 
stop the spread of tuberculosis, and an HIV/AIDS treatment and 
prevention program has been in place since 2008. Officials reported 
that hepatitis was not present in high numbers, and hepatitis patients 
are treated in existing medical facilities and programs.
    On May 11 and 12, the prison administration in conjunction with the 
OSCE trained 50 prison administration employees on the maintenance of 
human rights in the prison system. On May 20, the prison administration 
trained 20 medical personnel on identifying physical torture or banned 
cruel treatment.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention; however, authorities continued 
to engage in such practices.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Government 
authorizes three different organizations to investigate criminal 
activity. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) controls the police, 
who are responsible for law enforcement and maintenance of order and 
investigate general crime. The National Security Service (NSS), headed 
by a chairman who reports directly to the president, deals with a broad 
range of national security and intelligence issues, including 
terrorism, corruption, organized crime, and narcotics. Prosecutors 
investigate violent crimes such as murder, as well as corruption by 
officials and abuse of power. Where jurisdictions overlap, the agencies 
determine among themselves which should take the lead. The MIA's main 
investigations directorate maintained internal procedures to 
investigate abuses and discipline officers accused of human rights 
violations, but in practice the Government rarely punished officials 
who committed human rights abuses. A human rights and legal education 
department within the Ministry of Interior investigated some police 
brutality cases. The Human Rights Ombudsman's Office, affiliated with 
the parliament, also had the power to investigate cases, although its 
decisions on such investigations had no binding authority.
    In July the MIA trained 52 employees from various agencies and 
departments on fulfillment of the Convention Against Torture with 
respect to law enforcement bodies. In November the MIA in coordination 
with UNDP held seminars for police officers in two regions on 
``Implementation of the Convention against Torture in Police 
Activities,'' pursuant to its national action plan on implementation of 
the Convention.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Under the law, 
a judge must review any decision to arrest accused individuals or 
suspects, and defendants have the right to legal counsel from the time 
of arrest, although officials do not always grant that right in 
practice.
    According to judicial reforms made in 2008, detainees have the 
right to request hearings before a judge to determine whether they 
remain incarcerated or are released. The arresting authority is 
required to notify a relative of the detainee about the detention and 
to question the detainee within 24 hours of being taken into custody. 
Suspects have the right to remain silent. Detention without formal 
charges is limited to 72 hours, although a prosecutor can request an 
additional 48 hours, after which time the person must be charged or 
released. Implementation of these reforms has been slow. In practice 
judges granted arrest warrants in most cases, and authorities continued 
to hold suspects after the allowable period of time. The judge 
conducting the arrest hearing was allowed to sit on the panel of judges 
during the individual's trial. There were complaints that authorities 
tortured suspects before notifying either family members or attorneys 
of their arrests.
    Once authorities file charges, suspects can be held in pretrial 
detention for as long as three months while investigations proceed. The 
law permits an extension of the investigation period for up to one year 
at the discretion of the appropriate court upon a motion by the 
investigating authority. 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 without bail until trial on the condition that they provide 
assurance that they will appear at trial and register each day at a 
local police station. State-appointed attorneys are available for those 
who do not hire private counsel.
    In March 2009 the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a decree requiring 
that all defense attorneys pass a comprehensive relicensing 
examination. Several experienced and knowledgeable defense lawyers who 
had represented human rights activists and independent journalists lost 
their licenses in the process. As a result, several other activists and 
defendants faced difficulties in finding attorneys to represent them. 
Amendments to the criminal procedure code in 2008 abolished provisions 
that allowed unlicensed advocates to represent individuals in criminal 
and civil hearings; however, a court has the discretion to allow such 
an advocate if the advocate belongs to a registered organization.
    There were reports that police arrested persons on false charges of 
extortion, drug possession, or tax evasion as an intimidation tactic to 
prevent them or their family members from exposing corruption or 
interfering in local criminal activities.
    Authorities continued to arrest persons arbitrarily on charges of 
extremist sentiments or activities and association with banned 
religious groups. Local human rights activists reported that police and 
security service officers, acting under pressure to break up extremist 
cells, frequently detained and mistreated family members and close 
associates of suspected members of religious extremist groups. Coerced 
confessions and testimony in such cases were commonplace.
    Many of the year's arrests related to religious extremism resulted 
from two high-profile killings, an additional homicide attempt, and one 
exchange of gunfire that took place in Tashkent during the summer of 
2009. Between January and April, courts convicted at least 50 persons 
on charges of extremism in closed trials, issuing verdicts ranging from 
suspended sentences to 18 years in prison. There were reports that as 
many as 150 other persons were convicted in related trials across the 
country. The families of several defendants accused authorities of 
using torture and coercion to obtain confessions, and many raised 
questions regarding due process provisions.
    In general prosecutors exercised discretion over most aspects of 
criminal procedures, including pretrial detention. Detainees had no 
access to a court to challenge the length or validity of pretrial 
detention. Even when authorities filed no charges, police and 
prosecutors frequently sought to evade restrictions on the duration a 
person could be held without charges by holding persons as witnesses 
rather than as suspects. During the year pretrial detention typically 
ranged from one to three months. The Government did not provide the 
number of persons held in pretrial detention centers.

    Amnesty.--On August 28, the senate issued an amnesty decree. 
According to its terms, women, minors, men over 60 years old, foreign 
citizens, disabled individuals, and those who had developed serious 
illnesses in prison could apply for amnesty. Some first-time offenders 
were also eligible. Amnesty actions included full exemption from 
further incarceration, transfer to a prison with less severe 
conditions, or conclusion of a criminal case at the pretrial or trial 
stage. The Government reported that as of October 25, 84 women and 
1,101 men were released from their prison sentences as a result of the 
amnesty decree.
    Local prison authorities have considerable discretion in 
determining who qualifies for release as they determine whether a 
prisoner is ``following the way of correction'' or ``systematically 
violating'' the terms of incarceration. Officials often cited 
``violation of internal prison rules'' as a reason for denying amnesty 
and for extending sentences. Officials often determined that political 
and religious prisoners were ineligible for amnesty based on these 
provisions. For example, family members of Alisher Karamatov, widely 
considered a political prisoner, reported that shortly before the 
amnesty decree was announced, prison officials determined that he was 
ineligible because of prison dress code violations. In 2009 Jehovah's 
Witnesses Olim Turayev, Abdubannov Akmedov, and Farrukh Zaripov, 
convicted in 2008 for activities related to religion, applied for 
amnesty, but they were found ineligible due to violations of internal 
prison regulations.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, the judicial branch often took direction 
from the executive branch.
    Under the law, the president appoints all judges for renewable 
five-year terms. Removal of Supreme Court judges must be confirmed by 
parliament, which in practice generally complied with the president's 
wishes.
    The Karakalpakstan Supreme Court has jurisdiction over the 
Karakalpakstan Republic, a semiautonomous region of the country, and 
defendants may appeal decisions of district and provincial courts to it 
within 10 days of a ruling. In addition a constitutional court review 
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 that handles selected cases of national significance.

    Trial Procedures.--The criminal code specifies a presumption of 
innocence. There are no jury trials. Most trials are officially open to 
the public, although access was sometimes restricted in practice. 
Judges may close trials in exceptional cases, such as those involving 
state secrets or to protect victims and witnesses. Courts often 
demanded that international observers obtain written permission from 
the court chairman or from the Supreme Court before being allowed to 
observe proceedings. Judges granted international observers, including 
foreign diplomats, access to certain hearings. Authorities generally 
announced trials only one or two days before they began.
    Generally, a panel of one professional judge and two lay assessors, 
selected by either committees of worker collectives or neighborhood 
committees, presided over trials. The lay judges rarely spoke, and the 
professional judge usually accepted prosecutor recommendations on 
procedural rulings and sentencing.
    Defendants have the right to attend court proceedings, confront 
witnesses, and present evidence. The Government generally observed 
these rights, including in high-profile human rights and political 
cases. In the vast majority of criminal cases brought to court, the 
verdict was guilty.
    Defendants have the right to hire an attorney, and the Government 
improved access to attorneys after establishing a 24-hour on-call 
system in 2008. The Government provides legal counsel without charge 
when necessary. According to reports, state-appointed defense attorneys 
acted routinely in the interest of the Government rather than of their 
clients.
    By law a prosecutor must request an arrest order from a court, but 
it was rare for a court to deny such a request. Prosecutors have 
considerable power after obtaining an arrest order; they direct 
investigations, prepare criminal cases, and recommend sentences. The 
prosecutor decides whether a suspect is released on bail or stays in 
pretrial detention after formal charges are filed. Although the 
criminal code specifies a presumption of innocence, in practice a 
prosecutor's recommendations generally prevail. If a judge's sentence 
does not correspond with the prosecutor's recommendation, the 
prosecutor may ``protest'' (appeal) the sentence to a higher court. 
Judges often base their verdicts solely on confessions and witness 
testimony, which may be extracted through torture, threats to family 
members, or other means of coercion. Legal protections against double 
jeopardy are not applied in practice.
    The law provides a right of appeal to all defendants, but appeals 
rarely resulted in reversals of convictions. In some cases, however, 
appeals resulted in reduced or suspended sentences.
    According to 2009 reforms to the criminal procedure code, defense 
attorneys may access government-held evidence relevant to their 
clients' cases once the initial investigation is completed and the 
prosecutor files formal charges. There is an exception, however, for 
evidence that contains information that if released could pose a threat 
to state security. During the year courts invoked that exception 
frequently, leading to complaints that its primary purpose is to allow 
prosecutors to avoid sharing evidence with defense attorneys. In many 
cases, prosecution was based solely upon defendants' confessions or 
incriminating testimony from state witnesses, particularly in cases 
involving suspected religious extremists. Lawyers may, and occasionally 
did, call on judges to reject confessions and investigate claims of 
torture. Judges often did not respond to such claims or dismissed them 
as groundless.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Observers estimated that 
authorities held 13 to 25 individuals on political grounds. Officials 
released one political prisoner during the year, but at least one other 
individual was imprisoned on what appeared to be politically motivated 
charges. Family members of several political prisoners reported abuse 
in prison and deterioration of the prisoners' health.
    On January 13, an appellate court upheld the verdict and sentencing 
of human rights activist Ganikhon Mamatkhanov, who was sentenced to 
five years in prison on what were widely believed to be false charges 
of extortion and attempted bribery.
    On January 18, a Kashkadarya court sentenced human rights activist 
Gaybullo Jalilov for membership in an extremist religious group that 
allegedly planned terrorist attacks against a regional airport. 
Jalilov, who had been active in assisting others accused of extremism, 
claimed officials mistreated him while he was in custody and coerced 
him into signing a confession. On March 9, the Kashkadarya Regional 
Criminal Court upheld his conviction and sentence. Jalilov reportedly 
came to his appellate hearing with a swollen eye and told relatives 
that he had been punched and kicked repeatedly in his cell. In a closed 
hearing on August 5, the Kashkadarya court extended his sentence by 
four years for conducting anticonstitutional activities in prison.
    On April 30, an Andijan court sentenced Diloram Abdukadirova to 10 
years in prison for illegal border crossing and threatening the 
constitutional order. Abdukadirova fled the country after witnessing 
the 2005 Andijan events. She returned to the country in January after 
authorities reportedly gave repeated assurances to her family that she 
could come home without fear of prosecution, but she was immediately 
detained and later charged. A family member reported that Abdukodirova 
had bruises on her face during her trial.
    In June police charged Dmitry Tikhonov, a human rights activist 
from Angren, with attempted murder. His colleagues report that the 
charges are in retaliation for his attempts to expose local factory 
corruption and police collusion. The case had not been brought to trial 
by year's end.
    On July 28, a Kashkadarya court convicted political activist Azamat 
Azimov, a member of the opposition Birdamlik movement, of drug 
possession with intent to sell and sentenced him to seven years in 
prison. Azimov's colleagues reported that the charges were a result of 
his political activities.
    On September 16, a Tashkent court found human rights activist 
Anatoly Volkov guilty on charges of ``swindling'' money from a 90-year-
old pensioner who claimed that Volkov had represented him in court and 
not transferred money due him from the defendant. Many believed the 
case was retaliation for Volkov's human rights activities. Volkov 
appealed the decision on September 22, but the court did not issue a 
decision by year's end.
    On September 6, authorities arrested Matlyuba Kamilova, a human 
rights activist and school principal from Angren, for drug possession. 
Friends of Kamilova say that police planted the drugs in her purse in 
retaliation for her efforts to expose police corruption. At year's end, 
Kamilova was being held in a pretrial detention facility in Tashkent.
    In September a Tashkent court charged human rights activist Tatyana 
Dovlatova with ``hooliganism'' under the criminal code. Dovlatova was 
particularly active defending property owners' rights, and was working 
on exposing the involvement of officials in a black market currency 
exchange operation. Her trial was ongoing at year's end.
    On December 1, authorities released human rights activist Farhad 
Mukhtarov, who was sentenced in October 2009 to four years in prison on 
what many analysts believe were politically motivated charges of fraud 
and bribery. Under the terms of his parole, the court continued to 
require that he perform correctional work for another two-and-a-half 
years. Mukhtarov fled the country, however, because he feared 
government harassment.
    On December 20, a Yangiyul criminal court convicted human rights 
activist Habibulla Ilmuradov of fraud and drug possession and sentenced 
him to 14 years in prison. Ilmuradov's family claimed that police 
planted drugs in his home in retaliation for complaints he made about 
alleged unlawful actions of a local prosecutor and security officials.

    Civil 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. While no specific cases were 
reported this year, there were reports in the past that bribes to 
judges influenced civil court decisions.
    Civil courts operate on the city, interdistrict, and regional 
levels. Defendants in civil cases from the Karakalpakstan Republic may 
appeal to the Supreme Court.
    Economic courts with jurisdiction over the individual provinces, 
the city of Tashkent, and the Karakalpakstan Republic handle commercial 
disputes between legal entities. Litigants may appeal decisions of 
these courts to the High Economic Court.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution and law forbid such actions; however, 
authorities did not respect these prohibitions in practice. The law 
requires a search warrant for electronic surveillance, but there is no 
provision for judicial review of such warrants.
    There were reports that police and other security forces entered 
the homes of human rights activists and members of some religious 
groups without a warrant. On numerous occasions, members of Protestant 
churches who held worship services in private homes reported that armed 
security officers raided services and detained and fined church members 
for religious activity deemed illegal under the administrative or 
criminal code. On February 23, a court convicted 13 members of an 
unregistered Baptist church in Almalyk of unauthorized teaching of 
religion following a police raid on a private home and fined each 
defendant 3.2 million soum ($2,500). In March authorities in Kagan 
raided 11 houses belonging to Jehovah's Witnesses on the day that the 
Jehovah's Witnesses commemorate the death of Jesus Christ. Authorities 
convicted four persons of administrative violations and fined them 
accordingly.
    Human rights activists and political opposition figures generally 
assumed that security agencies monitored their telephone calls and 
covertly surveilled their activities.
    The Government continued to use an estimated 12,000 neighborhood 
committees (``mahallas'') as a source of information on potential 
extremists. Committees served varied social support functions, but they 
also functioned as a link among local society, government, and law 
enforcement. Mahalla committees in rural areas tended to be more 
influential than those located in cities.
    There were credible reports that police, employers, and mahallah 
committees harassed family members of human rights activists. In 
September officials threatened the son of human rights group Ezgulik's 
chairperson, Vasila Inoyatova , with criminal charges after he was 
stabbed by an unknown assailant on September 7. Inoyatova claimed her 
son's treatment by authorities was a direct result of her human rights 
activities. In November an Internet news source reported that the son 
of Habibulla Ilmuradov, a human rights activist charged with drug 
possession, was fired from his job on November 1 as part of a campaign 
against his father.

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, but the Government generally did 
not respect these rights in practice. Freedom of expression was 
severely limited.
    The law limits criticism of the president, and public insult to the 
president is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. The law 
specifically prohibits publication of articles that incite religious 
confrontation and ethnic discord or that advocate subverting or 
overthrowing the constitutional order.
    The law holds all foreign and domestic media organizations 
accountable for the accuracy of their reporting, bans foreign 
journalists from working in the country without official accreditation, 
and requires that foreign media outlets be subject to mass media laws. 
The Government prohibits the promotion of religious extremism, 
separatism, and fundamentalism, as well as the instigation of ethnic 
and religious hatred. It bars legal entities with more than 30 percent 
foreign ownership from establishing media outlets in the country.
    During the year police arrested individuals who possessed 
literature and audio-video materials from groups considered to be 
religious extremist groups.
    The Uzbekistan National News Agency (UzA) cooperated closely with 
presidential staff to prepare and distribute all officially sanctioned 
news and information. In June the Uzbek Agency for Press and 
Information reported that 1,172 newspapers, magazines, news agencies, 
electronic media outlets, and Web sites were registered with the 
Government. The Office of the Cabinet of Ministers owns and controls 
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, or government-
controlled political parties or social movements, and the Tashkent 
municipal government and regional ``hokimiyats'' (administrations) own 
or control several other daily and weekly publications. Articles in 
state-controlled newspapers reflected the Government's viewpoint. The 
main government newspaper published selected international wire 
stories.
    The Government also published news stories on the official Internet 
sites of various ministries. A few purportedly independent Web sites 
consistently reported the Government's viewpoint.
    The Government allowed publication of a few private newspapers with 
limited circulation containing advertising, horoscopes, and some 
substantive local news, including infrequent stories critical of 
government socioeconomic policies. Three private national Russian-
language newspapers carried news and editorials exclusively favorable 
to the Government, as did two Uzbek-language newspapers. Russian 
Federation newspapers and a variety of Russian Federation tabloids and 
lifestyle publications were available, and a modest selection of other 
foreign periodicals was available in Tashkent.
    The four state-run channels dominated television broadcasting. 
Cable and satellite television channels also were watched widely in 
Tashkent and other major cities. Much of the programming available via 
cable and satellite was from Russia. Numerous privately owned regional 
television stations and privately owned radio stations were influential 
among local audiences.
    The Government tightly controlled broadcast and print media. 
Journalists and senior editorial staff in state media organizations 
reported that there were officials whose responsibilities included 
censorship. Government officials allegedly provided verbal directives 
to journalists to refrain from covering certain events sponsored by 
foreign embassies. There were reports, however, that regional 
television outlets broadcast some moderately critical stories on local 
issues.
    The Government continued to refuse Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 
Voice of America, and BBC World Service permission to broadcast from 
within the country. It also continued to use accreditation rules to 
deny foreign journalists and media outlets, as well as international 
NGOs, the opportunity to work in the country. Among Western media 
outlets, only Agence France Press (AFP) had a reporter working in the 
country with official accreditation, and AFP must renew the 
accreditation every six months. In June a few Western reporters, 
including from CNN and BBC, were able to enter and work in the country 
following the violence in Kyrgyzstan and ensuing refugee crisis. Those 
reporters left the country when the crisis ended.
    During the year harassment of journalists increased. Police and 
security services subjected print and broadcast journalists to arrest, 
harassment, intimidation, and violence, as well as to bureaucratic 
restrictions on their activity.
    On January 7, the Tashkent City Prosecutor's office called in for 
questioning six well-known journalists who worked for foreign media 
outlets. After presenting them with the Government-compiled files on 
their work, prosecutors questioned them about their articles, finances, 
and ties to foreign governments. In some cases, prosecutors told 
journalists that they possessed information that could lead to their 
arrests. One journalist, fearing prosecution, departed the country 
later in the year.
    On March 13, officials detained Vasily Markov, a freelance 
independent journalist covering the detention of a local human rights 
activist in the city of Parkent. Officials released him the same day. 
In June officials detained him again for several days in Andijan, where 
Markov had been covering the influx of ethnic Uzbek refugees from 
Kyrgyzstan. Officials did not formally charge him in either case.
    On May 27, a Tashkent court sentenced Hayrulla Khamidov, a well-
known sports commentator, Deputy Editor in Chief of Champion newspaper, 
and popular speaker on religious topics, to six years in prison for 
being a ``jihadist'' and for ``illegal distribution of materials that 
threaten the public order.'' Local human rights activists claimed that 
the Government targeted Khamidov for his public speeches and 
discussions involving sensitive subject matters. Khamidov did not 
appeal the decision.
    On June 13, authorities detained independent journalist Aleksei 
Volosevich after he was seen filming ethnic Uzbek refugees fleeing 
ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan. Officials detained him for three days 
before releasing him without charges.
    On August 23, two employees from Yoshlar (``Youth'') television 
station complained in a press conference that the channel was subjected 
to censorship and corruption. They asserted that officials had 
forbidden the broadcasting of reports critical of the Government. A 
station editor later denied the accusations. The journalists held a 
short protest on December 6 without interference, but on December 9, 
the station leadership dismissed them from their positions. Both 
journalists have reported harassment by authorities since their August 
press conference.
    On October 13, a Tashkent court found Russian citizen Vladimir 
Berezovsky guilty of libel and insult against the Uzbek people but 
immediately granted him amnesty from sentencing. Berezovsky was the 
editor of the news Web site vesti.uz and also reported for Russia's 
Parlamentskaya Gazeta. Berezovsky did not author several of the 
articles that prosecutors submitted as evidence during the trial, but 
posted them on the Web site. On October 29, a Tashkent city criminal 
court upheld the decision.
    On October 15, a Tashkent court found Voice of America (VOA) 
journalist Abdumalik Boboev guilty of libel, insult, and distribution 
of materials that pose a threat to public safety, based solely on his 
VOA reporting. The court imposed a fine of approximately 18 million 
soum ($11,000), and appellate courts sustained the verdict and sentence 
on November 12 and December 28.
    During the year there were no new developments regarding eight 
journalists from Yetti Iqlim newspaper and Irmoq magazine (private, 
Uzbek language, scientific publications) who were convicted in 2009 of 
membership in the banned Nur religious movement. Sentences in those 
cases ranged from six-and-one-half years to 12 years in prison.
    Independent journalist Dilmurod Sayid appealed his 2009 conviction 
based on charges of extortion and bribery that were widely believed to 
be fabricated. On August 10, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction 
and the resulting 12-and-one-half year prison term. In an open letter 
to the United Nations Secretary General written from his prison 
hospital bed, Sayid stated that while in prison he had lost a 
significant amount of weight and continued to suffer from significant 
health problems.
    Independent journalist Salijon Abdurahmanov from Nukus served the 
second year of his 10-year sentence for what were widely considered 
politically motivated drug charges. His family reported that his health 
improved after he was treated for a stomach ailment early in the year.
    During the year the Government harassed journalists from state-run 
and independent media outlets in retaliation for their contacts with 
foreign diplomats, specifically questioning them about such contacts. 
Some journalists refused to meet with foreign diplomats face-to-face 
because doing so in the past resulted in harassment and questioning by 
the NSS.
    Government security services and other offices regularly directed 
publishers to print articles and letters under fictitious bylines and 
gave 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. Journalists 
engaged in little independent investigative reporting. The number of 
critical newspaper articles remained low and narrow in their scope. 
Widely read tabloids, however, were able to publish some articles that 
presented mild criticism of government policies or which discussed some 
problems that the Government considered sensitive, such as trafficking 
in persons.
    The criminal and administrative codes impose significant fines for 
libel and defamation. The Government used charges of libel, slander, 
and defamation to punish journalists, human rights activists, and 
others who criticized the president or the Government.
    On February 10, a Tashkent court found photographer Umida Ahmedova 
guilty of defaming the Uzbek people through a book of photography and a 
documentary film but immediately granted her amnesty from punishment. 
On March 17, an appellate court upheld both the conviction and the 
amnesty. In May Ahmedova appealed to the Supreme Court, but there was 
no response by year's end.
    In February it was reported that in September 2009, a Tashkent 
court sentenced Maxim Popov, a psychologist and HIV/AIDS activist, to 
seven years in prison on charges related to an HIV/AIDS prevention 
booklet, as well as financial improprieties related to grant funding 
the NGO had received. None of the international organizations that had 
funded Izis, the NGO at which Popov had been Executive Director, had 
complained about his grant management, and it was widely believed that 
the Government targeted him because of the sensitive nature of his 
work.
    On September 28, a Tashkent court found for the plaintiff in a 
libel case against human rights defender Surat Ikramov, ordering that 
he pay 100,000 soum ($66) in damages and that he retract statements he 
made in an earlier report. Ikramov believed that the plaintiff brought 
the civil suit at the behest of law enforcement officials Ikramov had 
implicated in his reporting on the death of a popular singer. A court 
imposed fines of 550,000 soum ($370) against Ezgulik on libel charges 
related to the same case.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government allowed access to the Internet 
and reported that the number of Internet users in the country during 
the year was more than 2.9 million, exceeding 10 percent of the 
population. However, Internet service providers, at the Government's 
request, routinely blocked access to Web sites or certain pages of Web 
sites the Government considered objectionable. The Government blocked 
several domestic and international news Web sites and those operated by 
opposition political parties. On July 28, authorities blocked the Web 
site of the ``Expert Working Group,'' an unregistered think tank that 
comments on various political and economic issues.
    The media law defines Web sites as media outlets, requiring them, 
as is the case with all local and foreign media, to register with the 
authorities and provide the names of their founder, chief editor, and 
staff members. Web sites were not required to submit to the Government 
hard copies of publications, as was required of traditional media 
outlets.
    Several active online forums allowed registered users to post 
comments and read discussions on a range of social issues facing the 
country. In order to become a registered user in these forums, 
individuals were required to provide personally identifiable 
information. It is not clear whether the Government attempted to 
collect this information.
    A decree requires that all Web sites seeking ``.uz'' domain must 
register with the state Agency for Press and Information. The decree 
generally affected only government-owned or government-controlled Web 
sites. Opposition Web sites and those operated by international NGOs or 
media outlets tended to have domain names registered outside the 
country.
    Some human rights activists stated they believe their e-mail was 
monitored by the Government, but there was no corroborating evidence to 
support those claims. According to a Forum 18 March16 report, the 
Government prevented some individuals and groups from engaging in 
peaceful expressions of views via the Internet by blocking access to a 
number of sites, especially those with religious content.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government continued to 
limit academic freedom and cultural events. Authorities occasionally 
required department head approval for university lectures or lecture 
notes, and university professors generally practiced self-censorship. 
Numerous university students reported that universities taught 
mandatory courses on books and speeches of the president and that 
missing any of these seminars constituted grounds for expulsion.
    Although a decree prohibits cooperation between higher educational 
institutions and foreign entities without the explicit prior approval 
of the Government, foreign institutions often were able to obtain such 
approval by working with the MFA, especially for foreign language 
projects. Some school and university administrations, however, 
continued to pressure teachers and students to refrain from 
participating in conferences sponsored by diplomatic missions.
    There were a few instances of individuals choosing not to 
participate in international exchange programs after government 
officials threatened them with the loss of their jobs, but there were 
no reports of individuals losing their jobs after participating in such 
programs.

    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. Authorities 
have the right to suspend or prohibit rallies, meetings, and 
demonstrations for security reasons. The Government often did not grant 
the required permits for demonstrations. Citizens are subject to large 
fines for facilitating unsanctioned rallies, meetings, or 
demonstrations by providing space or other facilities or materials, as 
well as for violating procedures concerning the organizing of meetings, 
rallies, and demonstrations.
    Authorities dispersed and sometimes detained those involved in 
peaceful protests, and sometimes pressed administrative charges as a 
result of protest actions.
    On November 25, police detained and interrogated Gulshan Karaeva 
and Nodir Akhatov, members of the Karshi branch of the Human Rights 
Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU), for alleged involvement in a protest 
organized by a group of Muslim women over the arrest of their family 
members on extremism charges. On November 27, police summoned Karaeva 
and Akhatov to the local prosecutor's office and interrogated them for 
several hours about the incident.
    On December 6, police arrested human rights activists Abdullo 
Tadjiboy-ogli, Vladimir Khusainov, Victoria Bazhenova, and Dmitry 
Tikhonov for protesting in Tashkent's Independence Square. A court 
found them guilty of holding an unsanctioned protest and imposed fines 
between three million and 3.5 million soum ($2,000 to $2,300). In 
response, the leader of the Human Rights Alliance of Uzbekistan, Elena 
Urlaeva, called on authorities to adopt a law on a citizen''s right to 
non-violent protest. Urlaeva herself engaged in several protest actions 
throughout the year, and although authorities frequently detained her, 
they did not press charges.
    In several other cases, human rights activists reported that local 
residents protested economic conditions, and human rights activists 
occasionally held small protests, without interference and apparently 
without prior permission of the authorities.

    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 NGO activity and expressed 
concerns about internationally funded NGOs fomenting public dissent and 
unregulated Islamic and minority religious groups. There are strict 
legal restrictions on the types of groups that may be formed, and the 
law requires that all organizations be registered formally with the 
Government. The law allows for a six-month grace period for new 
organizations to operate while awaiting registration from the Ministry 
of Justice (MOJ), during which time the Government officially 
classifies them as ``initiative groups.'' Several NGOs continued to 
function as initiative groups for periods longer than six months.
    NGOs that intend to address sensitive issues such as HIV/AIDS or 
refugee issues often faced increased difficulties in obtaining 
registration. The Government allowed nonpolitical associations and 
social organizations to register, but complicated rules and a 
cumbersome government bureaucracy made the process difficult and 
allowed opportunities for government obstruction. The Government 
compelled most local NGOs to join a government-controlled NGO 
association that allowed the Government some control over the NGOs' 
funding and activities. The degree to which NGOs were able to operate 
varied by region because some local officials were more tolerant of NGO 
activities.
    The administrative liability code imposes 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 the Government suspended or closed or 
those that were simply unregistered. The administrative code also 
imposes penalties against international NGOs for engaging in political 
activities, activities inconsistent with their charters, or activities 
the Government did not approve in advance. The Government enforced the 
2004 banking decree that, although ostensibly designed to combat money 
laundering, also complicated efforts by registered and unregistered 
NGOs to receive outside funding. The MOJ requires NGOs to submit 
detailed reports every six months on any grant funding received, events 
conducted, and planned events for the next period.
    The Government reported that in October there were more than 5,000 
registered NGOs. Credible sources estimated approximately 400 
independent NGOs remained following the closure of more than 300 local 
NGOs and 17 or more foreign-funded NGOs in the post-Andijan period. The 
Government also reported that there were 17 professional unions and 
more than 100 sports associations.
    In 2009, the Finance Ministry issued an order requiring all 
humanitarian aid and technical assistance recipients to submit 
information about their bank transactions, and that requirement 
remained in force during the year.
    The law criminalizes membership in organizations the Government 
deems extremist, including ``jihadchilar'' and other groups branded 
with the general term ``Wahhabi.'' The law also banned the extremist 
Islamist political organization Hizb-ut Tahrir (HT), stating it 
promoted hate and condoned acts of terrorism.
    Following the 2005 Andijan events, the Government pressured and 
prosecuted members of the now-disbanded Islamic group Akromiya 
(Akromiylar). Independent religious experts claimed that Akromiya was 
an informal association promoting business along Islamic religious 
principles. The Government claimed that it was a branch of HT and that 
it attempted, together with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), 
to overthrow the Government through armed rebellion. During the year 
there were no reported criminal cases against Akromiya members, but 
family members of those who fled the country or were imprisoned 
following the Andijan events reported continued harassment, including 
police summons for interrogation and threats of confiscation of 
property.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country and across its borders, although 
the Government limited this right in practice. The Government at times 
delayed domestic and foreign travel and emigration during the visa 
application process. The Government allowed more than 100,000 refugees 
from the Kyrgyz Republic to enter the country following ethnic violence 
in June but closed the border after their return. Subsequently, it 
tightly controlled vehicular and pedestrian traffic to and from the 
Kyrgyz Republic, frequently closing the border for short periods with 
no advance notice.
    On May 24, officials reportedly closed the border with Tajikistan 
for 10 days following several reported cases of polio in Tajikistan. 
Borders are sometimes closed around national holidays due to security 
concerns. Permission from local authorities is required to move to 
Tashkent City or Tashkent Region. The Government rarely granted 
permission to move to Tashkent, and local observers reported that 
persons had to pay bribes of approximately 1,500,000 soum ($1,000) to 
obtain the registration documents required to move.
    Citizens are required to have a domicile registration stamp in 
their passport before traveling domestically or leaving the country. 
The Government also requires citizens to obtain exit visas for foreign 
travel or emigration, although it generally grants the visas. For 
expedited issuance, local officials often demanded bribes. There were 
reports during the year that the Government delayed exit visas for 
human rights activists to prevent their travel abroad; in some cases, 
they were delayed for many months. Citizens generally continued to be 
able to travel to neighboring states. Land travel to Afghanistan 
remained difficult. Citizens needed permission from the NSS to cross 
the border.
    The Government requires hotels to register foreign visitors with 
the Government on a daily basis. Foreigners who stay in private homes 
are required to register their location within three days of arrival. 
Government officials closely monitor foreigners in border areas, but 
foreigners generally can move within the country without restriction.
    The law does not provide for dual citizenship. In theory returning 
citizens must prove to authorities that they did not acquire foreign 
citizenship while abroad or face loss of citizenship. In practice 
citizens who possessed dual citizenship generally traveled without 
impediment.
    The Government noted that citizens residing outside the country for 
more than six months can register with the country's consulates, and 
such registration was voluntary. Unlike in some previous years, there 
were no reports that failure to register rendered citizens residing 
abroad and children born abroad stateless.
    The law does not address forced exile. In 2009, however, political 
opposition leader Bahodir Choriev, an Uzbek citizen with U.S. 
residency, was forced to leave the country after he returned and tried 
to organize a ``founding congress'' for his party. No persons were 
forcibly exiled during the year.

    Protection of Refugees.--Following an outbreak of ethnic violence 
in Kyrgyzstan in June, the Government accepted approximately 100,000 
ethnic Uzbek refugees into its territory. In cooperation with the 
international community, the Government provided food, water, and 
shelter, in addition to limited medical and psychological services 
between June 11 and June 25. For the first time since the 2005 Andijan 
events, the Government invited the Office of the UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR) into its territory to help meet refugee needs, and 
officials from UNHCR and other international organizations reported 
high levels of cooperation throughout the crisis.
    After approximately two weeks, the Government in concert with the 
Government of Kyrgyzstan sought to repatriate the refugees. The 
majority of refugees reportedly returned voluntarily, although there 
were some reports of coercive tactics employed by authorities from both 
countries to return some of the refugees to Kyrgyzstan. The Government 
provided no resettlement options that would allow the refugees to 
reside in the country legally and permanently, but neither did it 
pressure the remaining refugees to depart its territory. There were 
some reports of Kyrgyzstani refugees buying property without government 
impediment in anticipation of permanent relocation. The Government did 
not approve a UNHCR request to maintain a continuing presence in the 
country, and all UNHCR personnel were required to depart not long after 
the crisis ended.
    The country is not a party to the 1951 Convention relating to the 
Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Its laws do not provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the Government has not 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the Government provided some protection against the expulsion or return 
of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be 
threatened due to their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion. In a departure from the 
previous two years, there were no reported cases of the Government 
forcibly removing Afghan refugees from the country.
    During the first 10 months of the year, the UN Development Program 
(UNDP) continued to assist with monitoring and resettlement to another 
country of approximately 370 refugees, most of them Afghans, who 
remained in the country. The UNDP also performed some of the UNHCR's 
humanitarian functions, as it has done since the UNHCR office closed in 
2006.
    Since 2007 the MFA has not considered UNHCR mandate certificates as 
the basis for extended legal residence, and persons carrying such 
certificates must apply for the appropriate visa or face possible 
deportation. The Government considered the UNHCR mandate refugees from 
Afghanistan and Tajikistan to be economic migrants, and officials 
sometimes subjected them to harassment and bribery. Most refugees from 
Tajikistan were ethnic Uzbeks; and, unlike refugees from Afghanistan, 
those from Tajikistan were able to integrate into the local 
communities, and the local population supported them. Some refugees 
from Tajikistan were officially stateless or faced the possibility of 
becoming officially stateless, as many carried only old Soviet 
passports rather than Tajik or Uzbek passports.
    The UNHCR reported that Afghan refugees had no access to legal 
employment and therefore had limited means to earn a livelihood. There 
have been reports that Afghan refugees frequently failed to seek police 
protection or redress through the courts because they feared harassment 
or retribution by officials. The Government provided access to 
education and some basic services, but the Government does not provide 
for durable solutions such as naturalization.

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. In practice this was not possible through 
peaceful and democratic means. The Government severely restricted 
freedom of expression and suppressed political opposition. The 
Government was highly centralized and ruled by President Karimov and 
the executive branch through sweeping decree powers, primary authority 
for drafting legislation, and control over government appointments, 
most of the economy, and the security forces.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2008 President Karimov 
began a third term as president as a result of elections held in 2007 
that did not meet international democratic standards. The OSCE's 
limited election observation mission noted that while there were more 
candidates than in previous elections, all the candidates publicly 
endorsed President Karimov's policies. There was no expression of 
competing political views. Administrative hurdles kept some potential 
candidates off the ballot, and the Government tightly controlled the 
media coverage of the election. The OSCE mission noted procedural 
problems and irregularities in vote tabulation.
    The constitution prohibits a president from seeking a third term in 
office, an apparent contradiction the Government has never addressed 
publicly. The OSCE declined to monitor the 2000 election in which 
President Karimov was reelected to a second term, determining that 
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.
    The country held parliamentary elections in December 2009. Changes 
to election law ensured that only members of political parties (all of 
whom supported the president) were eligible to run for office. For the 
first time, however, the political parties engaged in debate and 
criticized each other's proposed policies. Election observers noted 
that the elections themselves appeared to be conducted with fewer 
irregularities than in previous years. Multiple voting instances were 
the most commonly observed problem, attributed to a tradition of 
``family voting,'' in which one person casts votes for an entire 
family. The OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights' 
Election Assessment Mission acknowledged that the elections were 
administered ``in a competent manner and according to schedule,'' but 
that the ``field of candidates did not offer real political 
alternatives to voters,'' and that some ``serious irregularities 
undermined the principle of equality of the vote and raised questions 
about the integrity of the elections.''
    Registered political parties included Milliy Tiklanish (``National 
Rebirth''), the People's Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, the Adolat 
(``Justice'') Social-Democratic Party, and the Liberal Democratic Party 
of Uzbekistan. The Government controlled all registered political 
parties and provided their funding.
    The law allows independent political parties, but the MOJ has broad 
powers to interfere with parties and to withhold financial and legal 
support to parties that they judge as being opposed to the Government.
    The law makes it extremely difficult for genuinely independent 
political parties to organize, nominate candidates, and campaign. To 
register a new party requires 20,000 signatures. The procedures to 
register a candidate are burdensome. The law allows the MOJ to suspend 
parties for as long as six months without a court order. The Government 
also exercised control over established parties by controlling their 
financing and media exposure.
    Only registered political parties may nominate candidates. In 2008 
the number of deputies in parliament's lower house (the Oliy Majlis) 
expanded from 120 to 150, with half of the new seats reserved for 
members of the new ``Ecological Movement of Uzbekistan.'' With this 
change, 10 percent of the Oliy Majlis members were appointed rather 
than elected. All members of the senate either are appointed by the 
president (16 members) or chosen in limited elections open only to 
elected members of local councils (84 members). The executive branch 
can initiate legislation, and a Tashkent-based research group reported 
that between 2004 and 2009, the executive branch initiated 93 percent 
of all legislative acts. In this year's opening session of parliament, 
President Karimov urged members of parliament to take a more active 
role in initiating and developing legislation.
    The law prohibits judges, public prosecutors, NSS officials, 
persons serving in the armed forces, foreign citizens, and stateless 
persons from joining political parties. The law prohibits parties based 
on religion or ethnicity; those that oppose the sovereignty, integrity, 
security of the country, and the constitutional rights and freedoms of 
citizens; those that promote war or social, national, or religious 
hostility; and those that seek to overthrow the Government.
    The Government banned or denied registration to several political 
parties following the 2005 Andijan events. Former party leaders 
remained in exile, and their parties struggled to remain relevant 
without a strong domestic base.
    There were 32 women in the 150-member lower chamber of the 
parliament and 15 women in the 100-member senate, along with one woman 
in the 28-member cabinet. In 2008 Dilorom Toshmuhammedova, leader of 
the progovernment Adolat Social-Democratic party and one of four 
officially recognized presidential candidates in the December 2007 
election, became the first female speaker of the lower house of 
parliament, the highest government position a woman has held.
    There were 11 members of ethnic minorities in the lower house of 
parliament and 11 members of ethnic minorities in the senate.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
    Corruption among law enforcement personnel remained a problem. 
Police routinely and arbitrarily detained citizens to extort bribes. 
There were at least 11 publicized prosecutions of law enforcement 
officials on corruption-related charges during the year, representing a 
substantial increase over previous years. In a speech on December 7 to 
mark Constitution Day, the president notably stated that the time has 
come to ``stop tolerating'' cases of corruption, extortion, and abuse 
of office.
    The Government reported that during the year, it convicted 6,025 
government officials on corruption-related charges, including 245 
representatives of law enforcement bodies. Of these, 945 were sentenced 
to imprisonment, 3,272 to correctional work, 1,615 to financial 
penalties, and four to suspended sentences. Under the amnesty decree, 
1,098 persons were excused from punishment. Some of the charges against 
these persons were embezzlement, tax evasion, abuse of office, 
excessive use of power, official negligence, forgery, and bribery.
    In 2008 the president signed a law ratifying the United Nations 
Convention Against Corruption. The law states that all government 
agencies must provide citizens with the opportunity to examine 
documents, decisions, and other materials affecting their freedoms. 
Implementation of the law was inconsistent; but in July the Prosecutor 
General's Office created a special working group to bring the 
legislation in line with the UN convention. That office charged the 
working group with developing a five-year national action plan of anti-
corruption measures that will seek to address prevention and detection 
of corruption, as well as legal education for citizens.
    The World Bank corruption indicators gave the country particularly 
low marks for accountability and control of corruption, with both 
indicators dropping over the last five years. The public generally did 
not have access to government information, and the Government seldom 
reported information normally considered in the public domain.
    Corruption was a severe problem in the university, law, and traffic 
enforcement systems. There were several reports that bribes to judges 
influenced the outcomes of civil suits. On January 15, a state-
controlled television station broadcast a report on corruption in the 
education system in the Samarkand region. The report questioned the 
value of a corrupted education system and highlighted cases of teachers 
arrested and sentenced for taking bribes.
    An independent Web site reported on August 16 that officials 
arrested the provost of the Tashkent Institute of Law for bribery. On 
August 14, it reported that officials also arrested two deputy mayors 
and the head of public education in the Jizzakh region's Zarbdor 
district for taking bribes. On August 4, the same Web site reported 
that the Tashkent region criminal court sentenced former head of the 
interrogation office of Parkent district to 11 years in prison for 
bribery.
    On February 19, a state-controlled newspaper reported that the 
Government sentenced three investigators from the Tashkent region to 
15, 12, and seven years in prison for taking bribes to cover up cases 
of fraud and embezzlement.
    On March 24, a state-controlled newspaper reported that the 
Kashkadarya regional court sentenced two police investigators from the 
Nishon district to 10.5 and 11 years in prison for extortion.
    On March 31, an independent Web site reported that the Government 
launched criminal cases against at least 10 officials in the Jizzakh 
region accused of taking bribes, including eight from the tax 
department. On May 14, the same source reported that a former deputy 
governor of the Samarkand region and a deputy head of the Kattakurgan 
region had been sentenced to 11 and eight years respectively in prison 
for taking bribes.
    On June 27, an independent Web site reported that a Tashkent city 
prosecutor fired in May was arrested for abuse of office and bribery.
    On July 16, a state-controlled newspaper reported that the 
Surkhandarya regional criminal court sentenced the mayor of the town of 
Termez to 11 years in prison for abuse of office and taking bribes.
    On October 22, a state-controlled newspaper reported that a 
Surhandarya Regional court convicted Korahon Tursunov, the mayor of 
Termez city, of bribery, extortion, and abuse of office and sentenced 
him to 11 years in prison.
    On December 17, the president personally removed Uktam Barnoyev 
from his position as the governor of the Samarkand Region, reportedly 
for corruption and abuse of authority.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic human rights groups operated in the country, 
although the Government often hampered their activities by creating 
fear of official retaliation. The Government frequently harassed, 
arrested, and prosecuted human rights activists.
    The Government officially acknowledged two domestic human rights 
NGOs--Ezgulik and the Independent Human Rights Organization of 
Uzbekistan. Others were unable to register but continued to function at 
both the national and local levels. Between January and September, the 
Humanitarian Legal Center in Bukhara submitted four applications for 
registration and each time was denied without explanation. The NGO 
continued to conduct activities, however, and local authorities even 
participated in round table discussions on certain topics.
    Organizations that attempted to register in previous years and 
remained unregistered included the HRSU, the Expert Working Group 
(EWG), and Mazlum (``Oppressed''). These organizations do not exist as 
legal entities, but they continued to function despite difficulty 
renting offices and conducting financial transactions. They could not 
open bank accounts, making it virtually impossible to receive funds 
legally. Unregistered groups were vulnerable to government prosecution. 
In rare cases, however, government representatives participated with 
unregistered groups in certain events. For example, the EWG held a 
half-day seminar involving migration issues that was attended by 
members of government-organized entities.
    Government officials spoke informally with domestic human rights 
defenders, some of whom noted that they were able to resolve cases of 
human rights abuses through direct engagement with authorities.
    Police and security forces continued to harass domestic human 
rights activists and NGOs during the year. Security forces regularly 
threatened and intimidated human rights activists to prevent their 
activities and dissuade them from meeting with foreign diplomats; 
occasionally police and other government authorities ordered activists 
to cease contact with foreigners. Unknown assailants occasionally 
attacked human rights activists. Authorities regularly detained or 
arrested human rights activists and subjected them to house arrest or 
false criminal charges. One activist reported being kept under house 
arrest on April 5 during the visit of UN Secretary General Bank Ki Moon 
and of being under strict control during the annual meeting of the 
Asian Development Bank in the first week of May. At least seven 
activists were effectively under house arrest on May 13, the five-year 
anniversary of the Andijan events. Eight activists reported being under 
house arrest or strict control of law enforcement officers for two days 
around the September 1 Independence Day holiday.
    On December 17, an unknown assailant struck human rights activist 
Dmitriy Tikhonov in the leg with a metal bar, injuring his left knee. 
Tikhonov believed the assault was in retaliation for his human rights 
activities.
    The Government continued to restrict the work of international 
bodies and foreign diplomatic missions and severely criticized their 
human rights monitoring activities and policies. The Government 
followed a standard policy of auditing all international NGOs annually.
    The Government required 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.
    Human Rights Watch (HRW) remained registered, but has not been able 
to obtain accreditation for an international staff person since 2008. 
In October the Government granted a short-term visa to HRW's proposed 
director for its Tashkent office, who immediately applied for 
accreditation. The Government extended the term of the visa while the 
proposed director waited for a decision, but on December 24, the 
Government denied the accreditation request.
    Although the OSCE has been able to do only limited work on human 
rights issues since 2006, the Government approved several proposed OSCE 
projects during the year, including in the ``human dimension,'' the 
human rights part of the OSCE's work.
    The Human Rights Ombudsman's Office stated that its goals included 
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's Office mediates disputes between citizens who contact 
it and makes 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 Republic and Tashkent. The Ombudsman's Office 
reported that in 2009, it received 10,409 petitions throughout the 
country. The central office in Tashkent received 7,394 complaints, took 
action in 3,515 of those, and positively resolved 452 complaints. The 
majority of these complaints dealt with the rights to life, freedom, 
privacy, human treatment, and respect for dignity, as well as the right 
to a fair trial.
    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.
    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 that the Government complies with 
its international obligations to provide human rights information. 
During the year the center's director responded to questions under the 
ICCPR Review, accepting some criticism but denying many of the 
allegations or stating that the issues involved the country's internal 
affairs.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law and constitution prohibits discrimination on the bases of 
race, gender, disability, language, and social status. However, 
societal discrimination against women and persons with disabilities 
existed, and child abuse persisted.

    Women.--The law prohibits rape, including rape of a ``close 
relative,'' but the criminal code does not specifically prohibit 
marital rape, and the court did not try any known cases. Cultural norms 
discouraged women and their families from speaking openly about rape, 
and the press rarely reported instances of rape.
    The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, which 
remained common. While the law punishes physical assault, police often 
discouraged women from making complaints against abusive partners, and 
officials rarely removed abusers from their homes or took them into 
custody. Society considered the physical abuse of women to be a 
personal affair rather than a criminal act. Family members or elders 
within the mahallah usually handled such cases, and they rarely came to 
court. Local authorities emphasized reconciling husband and wife, 
rather than addressing the abuse. Although prohibited by law, polygamy 
still existed.
    As in past years, there were reported cases in which women 
attempted or committed suicide as a result of domestic violence. Those 
active in women's issues suggested that many 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 
exercises complete control over a wife, as the usual reason for 
suicide. There were no government-run shelters or hotlines for victims 
of domestic abuse, and very few NGOs focused on domestic violence.
    The law does not explicitly prohibit sexual harassment, but it is 
illegal for a man to coerce a woman who has a business or financial 
dependency into a sexual relationship. Social norms and the lack of 
legal recourse made it difficult to assess the scope of the problem.
    The Government generally allowed couples and individuals to decide 
freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their 
children, and it granted access to information and the means to do so 
free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. There were, however, 
several reports of involuntary sterilizations of women and allegations 
that the Government pressured doctors to sterilize women to control the 
birth rate. The Government's official policy is for doctors to 
encourage all forms of family planning including sterilization, which 
may not be done without the informed consent of the patient.
    Contraception generally was available to both men and women. In 
most districts, maternity clinics were available and staffed by fully 
trained doctors, who gave a wide range of prenatal and postpartum care. 
There were reports that women in rural areas chose in greater numbers 
than in urban areas to give birth at home without the presence of 
skilled medical attendants.
    Men and women generally are diagnosed and treated equally for 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    The law prohibits discrimination based on gender, and the National 
Women's Committee (NWC) exists to promote the legal rights of women. 
Women historically have held leadership positions across all sectors of 
society, although not with the same prevalence as men, but cultural and 
religious practices limited their role. The Government provided little 
data that could be used to determine whether women experienced 
discrimination in access to employment, credit, or pay equity for 
substantially similar work.
    The NWC works with the UNDP on implementation of both the UN 
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against 
Women (CEDAW) and the 2007 National Action Plan to address 
recommendations of the CEDAW committee.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory and from one's parents. The Government generally registers 
all births immediately.
    On September 29, the president signed a new law on the prevention 
of child neglect and juvenile delinquency, with the stated intentions 
of preventing child neglect, homelessness of children, and the criminal 
and antisocial activities of minors, and identifying and addressing the 
causes and conditions contributing to such problems. The law provides 
for children's rights and for free compulsory education for 12 years 
through basic and secondary school, and does so equally for both boys 
and girls. In practice shortages and budget difficulties meant many 
families had to pay education expenses. Teachers earned extremely low 
salaries and often expected regular payments from students and their 
parents in return for good grades.
    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. With some exceptions, those without an 
officially registered address, such as street children and children of 
migrant workers, did not have access to government health facilities.
    Society generally considered child abuse to be an internal family 
matter, and government officials were reluctant to discuss the issue 
openly with international organizations. 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 community.
    The law states that the minimum age for marriage is 17 years old 
for women and 18 years old for men, but a mayor of a district may lower 
the age by one year in exceptional cases. Child marriage was not 
prevalent, although in some rural areas girls as young as 15 
occasionally were married in religious ceremonies not officially 
recognized by the state.
    The law protects children from ``all forms of exploitation,'' 
including involvement in criminal activity and prostitution. Involving 
a child in prostitution is punishable with a fine of 25 to 50 times the 
minimum monthly wage and prison time of an unspecified length.
    A statutory rape law states that a child younger than 16 years old 
cannot legally consent to having sexual relations with an adult, and 
the punishment for statutory rape is 15 to 20 years of imprisonment. 
The production, demonstration, and distribution of child pornography 
(of persons younger than 21years old) are punishable by fine or up to 
three years' imprisonment.
    There were isolated reports of women being pressured into 
institutionalizing children who were born with birth defects or other 
illnesses. According to these reports, this action was more likely to 
occur when the mother was single or had no means to care for the child.
    Men are required to serve one year of military duty at the age of 
18. The Government offers ``alternate service'' to a person who has 
been designated by a medical commission to be physically unable to 
serve. The alternative usually means paying 30 percent of one's salary 
to the Ministry of Defense for one year. University students can defer 
their service, and some universities have programs that will substitute 
for military service. There were other options to pay a fee in lieu of 
service.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction at http://
travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--
4308.html well as country-specific information at http://
travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Jewish leaders reported high levels of acceptance 
in society. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts or patterns of 
discrimination against Jews. The Jewish community was unable to meet 
the registration requirements necessary to have a centrally registered 
organization, but there were eight registered Jewish congregations 
throughout the country. Observers estimated the Jewish population to be 
approximately 10,000 persons, concentrated mostly in Tashkent, 
Samarkand, and Bukhara. Their numbers continued to decline due to 
emigration, largely for economic reasons.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities. In 2009 the Government signed the UN 
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The convention 
clarifies the rights of persons with disabilities and identifies areas 
where adaptations must be made to allow persons with disabilities to 
exercise their rights effectively. The Government has not yet ratified 
the convention.
    Between January and March, the National Center for Children's 
Social Adaptation held a series of trainings on inclusive education, 
with the intention of working toward better integration of children 
with disabilities into both education and society.
    In April the Government began a campaign to confirm the disability 
levels of citizens who receive government disability benefits. 
Ostensibly, the confirmations were conducted to ensure the legitimacy 
of the payments, but there were reports that some persons with 
disabilities had their benefits unfairly reduced in this process.
    There was some societal discrimination against persons with 
disabilities. The Government provided care for persons with mental 
disabilities in special homes.
    The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection continued to 
participate in the Accessibility, Civic Consciousness, Employment, and 
Society Support for Persons with Disabilities (ACCESS) project with 
several international partners, including the UNDP. The purpose of the 
project is to combat societal discrimination against persons with 
disabilities and expand social integration, employment, and inclusive 
educational opportunities, in addition to improving the implementation 
of national legislation. In July ACCESS coordinators held a two-day 
training session for professionals of the State Architecture and 
Construction Committee to ensure the accessibility of newly planned and 
constructed public buildings; a three-day training for media 
representatives on understanding and media coverage of disability 
issues; and a conference on the implementation of the UN Convention on 
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Disability activists report 
that accessibility remains inadequate, noting that many of the high 
schools constructed in the last few years have exterior ramps, but no 
interior modifications that would allow wheelchair accessibility.
    During the year there were no reports of fines imposed for 
facilities being inaccessible to persons with disabilities. In 2008 the 
Government amended the law to include provisions imposing stiff fines 
for such violations.
    Although many public places lacked access for persons with 
disabilities, there was some wheelchair access throughout the country. 
The law does not provide effective safeguards against arbitrary or 
involuntary institutionalization. There were no reports this year of 
persons being held at psychiatric hospitals despite showing no signs of 
mental illness. The Ministry of Health controlled access to health care 
for persons with disabilities, and the Ministry of Labor and Social 
Protection facilitated employment of persons with disabilities. There 
were no reports of problems regarding accessibility of information and 
communications. No information was available regarding patterns of 
abuse in educational and mental health facilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The constitution states that 
all citizens are equal, regardless of ethnic background, and provides 
equal protection by the courts to all residents irrespective of 
national, racial, or ethnic origin. The country has significant Tajik 
(5 percent) and Russian (5.5 percent) minorities and smaller Kazakh and 
Kyrgyz minorities. There also was a small Romani population in 
Tashkent, estimated at less than 50,000 individuals. Complaints of 
societal violence or discrimination against members of these groups 
were rare.
    The constitution also provides for the right of all citizens to 
work and to choose their occupations. Although the law prohibits 
employment discrimination on the bases of ethnicity or national origin, 
ethnic Russians and other minorities occasionally expressed concern 
about limited job opportunities. Officials reportedly reserved senior 
positions in the Government bureaucracy and business for ethnic Uzbeks, 
although there were numerous exceptions.
    The law does not require Uzbek language ability to obtain 
citizenship, but language often was 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 is spoken widely in the main cities, and Tajik 
is spoken widely in Samarkand and Bukhara.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexual activity among men 
is punishable by up to three years' imprisonment. Although convictions 
under this criminal provision are rare, there were reports that police 
used informants to extract heavy bribes from gay men. The law does not 
criminalize sexual activity among women.
    Homosexuality generally was a taboo subject in society, and there 
were no known lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
organizations. There was also no known perpetrated or condoned violence 
against the LGBT community. There were no known reports of official or 
societal discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, 
housing, statelessness, or access to education or health care, but this 
circumstance may be attributed to the social taboo against discussing 
homosexual activity rather than to equality in such matters.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was a social 
stigma against HIV/AIDS patients. Persons 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. The military summarily expelled recruits in the 
armed services found to be HIV-positive. The Government's restrictions 
on local NGOs left only a handful of functioning NGOs to assist and 
protect the rights of persons with HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides workers the right to 
form and join unions of their choice. In practice workers generally did 
not exercise this right out of fear that attempts to create alternative 
unions would be quickly repressed. 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. The state-run Board of the Trade Union 
Federation of Uzbekistan was the largest union, with official reports 
of 60 percent of employees in the country participating. Leaders of the 
federation are appointed by the president's office rather than elected 
by the union board. All regional and industrial trade unions at the 
local level were state-managed. There were no independent unions. The 
law prohibits discrimination against union members and officers, but 
this prohibition was irrelevant due to the unions' close relationship 
with the Government. The law neither provides for nor prohibits the 
right to strike.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Unions and 
their leaders were not free to conduct activities without interference 
from the employer or from government-controlled institutions. The law 
provides the right to organize and to bargain collectively; in practice 
this right was not exercised. Unions were government-organized 
institutions with little bargaining power aside from some influence on 
health and work safety issues.
    The law states that unions may conclude agreements with 
enterprises, but because the state heavily influenced the unions, 
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, set 
wages for government employees. In the small private sector, management 
established wages or negotiated them individually with persons who 
contracted for employment. There is no state institution responsible 
for labor arbitration.
    The law gives unions oversight for individual and collective labor 
disputes.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor law 
within the free trade zone established in Navoi.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and 
law prohibit forced or compulsory labor, including by children, except 
as legal punishment for such offenses as robbery, fraud, or tax 
evasion, or as specified by law. However, such practices occurred 
during the cotton harvest, when authorities compelled schoolchildren, 
university students, teachers, medical workers, government personnel, 
military personnel, and nonworking segments of the population to pick 
cotton. Credible reporting indicated the use of forced adult labor 
during the cotton harvest was higher than in the previous year. Local 
officials, under central authority, reportedly compelled the adults 
under threats of adverse employment actions or denial of social benefit 
payments. Authorities expected teachers and school administrators to 
participate in the harvest either as supervisors or by picking cotton 
themselves; schoolteachers often bore responsibility for ensuring their 
students met quotas. Students and adults who did not make their quotas 
were sometimes subject to ridicule or abuse by local administrators or 
police. The loss of public sector workers during the cotton harvest 
adversely affected communities, as medical procedures often were 
deferred, essential public services delayed, and internationally funded 
development projects put on hold while implementing partners worked the 
fields.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws 
to protect children from exploitation in the workplace provide both 
criminal and administrative sanctions against violators of the child 
labor laws; however, these laws were not effectively enforced. Children 
worked in family businesses in cities during school holidays and 
vacations, and some children worked as street vendors, often helping 
their parents.
    Children also worked in the planting and picking of cotton. Many 
thousands of schoolchildren and university students worked in the 
cotton fields during the annual harvest as a result of government 
mobilization. The national labor code establishes the minimum working 
age at 16 years old and provides that work must not interfere with the 
studies of those younger than 18 years old. The law establishes a right 
to a part-time job beginning at age 15, and children with permission 
from their parents may work a maximum of 24 hours per week when school 
is not in session and 12 hours per week when school is in session. 
Amendments in 2009 abolished a provision that allowed 14-year-olds to 
be involved with ``light work'' that did not interfere with education 
or hinder the health or development of the child. Children between the 
ages of 16 and 18 years old may work 36 hours per week while school is 
not in session and 18 hours per week while school is in session.
    The use of forced child labor in the cotton sector was widespread. 
During the fall harvest, local administrators throughout the country 
closed schools and universities for up to eight weeks and transported 
students to work in the cotton fields. Although the majority of 
students appeared to be over the age of 12 years old, 11-year-olds were 
not uncommon, and there were isolated reports of some students as young 
as 10-years-old having to work in the fields. Observers reported that 
older students often worked 10-hour days and frequently were housed in 
tents or barracks away from their families. For the second year in a 
row, the majority of classes remained in operation at the younger grade 
levels.
    Students and adults made between 100 and 120 soum ($.06) per kilo 
(2.2 pounds) of cotton picked. Younger students were expected to pick 
20 to 45 kilograms of cotton per day, while older students and adults 
were expected to pick 50 to 60 kilos per day. The resulting daily wage 
was between 2,000 and 5,400 soum ($1.30 to $3.60) for younger students 
and 5,000 to 7,200 soum ($3.30 and $4.80) per day for older students. 
Many universities reportedly threatened to expel students who did not 
participate in the harvest, and at least one university expelled a 
student for refusing to participate.
    Working conditions varied greatly by region. There were some 
reports of inadequate food and lodging for the children; there were 
also reports of students without access to clean drinking water.
    For additional information on forced child labor, see the 
Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 
www.state.gov/g/tip.
    In 2009 Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MOL) and Ministry of 
Health (MOH) published a joint decree prohibiting the employment of 
minors under 18 years old in occupations on the list of hazardous work 
that included the manual harvesting of cotton. A February joint decree 
from MOL and MOH states that the law prohibits children under 18 years 
old from working in any of the unfavorable conditions of work listed by 
the ministries. The law stipulates that public officials who violate 
labor legislation involving a minor are subject to stiff fines and 
private individuals to fines of lesser amounts.
    Labor legislation does not explicitly provide jurisdiction for 
inspectors from the MOL to focus on child labor enforcement. 
Enforcement of child labor laws is under the jurisdiction of the MOL, 
the prosecutor general, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), and MIA 
general criminal investigators. It is unclear whether the MIA conducts 
inspections in the agricultural sector. There were no known 
prosecutions for using child labor during the year.
    The Government's 2008 National Action Plan called for an end to the 
worst forms of child labor, including forced labor; however, most of 
its goals have not been reached. The Government does not allow 
independent organizations to assess comprehensively child labor in the 
cotton sector, nor does it provide figures on the use of child labor in 
the country.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage from December 
2009 until August was 37,680 soum ($25) per month; on August 1, it was 
raised to 45,215 soum ($28). This wage 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 rarely was 
paid in practice.
    The MOL establishes and enforces occupational health and safety 
standards in consultation with unions. Reports suggested that 
enforcement was not effective. Although regulations provide for 
safeguards, workers in hazardous jobs often lacked protective clothing 
and equipment. Labor inspectors conducted inspections of small- and 
medium-sized businesses once every four years and inspected larger 
enterprises once every three years. The MOL or a local governor's 
office can initiate a selective inspection of a business as well, and 
special inspections are conducted in response to accidents or 
complaints. In accordance with the Law on Workers' Safety, workers 
legally may remove themselves from hazardous work if an employer has 
failed to provide adequate safety measures for the job. Generally 
workers did not exercise this right as it was not effectively enforced, 
and employees feared retribution by employers. According to a 2009 law, 
employers are required to insure against civil liability for damage 
caused to the life or health of an employee in connection with a work 
injury, occupational disease, or other injury to health caused by the 
employee's performance on the job. No cases have been reported under 
this law to date.
    The country has bilateral labor migration agreements with Russia 
and South Korea to increase protections on a range of labor rights for 
the country's labor migrants.

                               __________



                           WESTERN HEMISPHERE

                              ----------                              


                          ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

    Antigua and Barbuda is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy with a 
population of approximately 100,000. In parliamentary elections in 
March 2009, which observers described as generally free and fair, the 
United Progressive Party (UPP) defeated the ruling Antigua Labour Party 
(ALP), and Baldwin Spencer was reelected as prime minister. Security 
forces reported to civilian authorities.
    There were human rights problems in some areas, including excessive 
use of force by police, poor prison conditions, some limits on press 
freedom, societal discrimination and violence against women, sexual 
abuse of children, and discrimination against homosexuality.

                        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 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 persons on basis of 
sexual orientation or gender identity, and allegations of abuse by 
prison guards.
    In response to several incidents during 2009 involving foreign 
citizens in which police used excessive force and threats of violence, 
police received training regarding international conventions and 
consular access, the latter of which reportedly improved.
    In 2008 authorities placed a police officer on administrative leave 
for the beating of a 17-year-old. The deputy police commissioner 
promised an investigation, and the officer retired. Although the 
officer faced criminal charges, he was never prosecuted.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
very poor. Her Majesty's Prison, the country's only prison, was 
overcrowded, did not have toilet facilities, and slop pails were used 
in all 122 cells. It held 295 convicted prisoners as of December 15.
    Prison overcrowding was attributed in part to a law that limits the 
ability of magistrates to grant bail to those accused of certain 
offenses. This resulted in an increase in the number of persons held on 
remand or awaiting trial. Due to space limitations, authorities 
sometimes held persons on remand together with convicted prisoners.
    Seven female prisoners were held in a separate section and were not 
subject to the same overcrowding problems encountered in the men's 
prison. Seven juvenile prisoners were held with adult inmates.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors, were 
permitted religious observances, and had reasonable access to complaint 
mechanisms and the ability to request inquiry into conditions.
    The Government investigated and monitored prison conditions and 
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.--Security forces consist 
of a police force, the small Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, and the 
Office of National Drug Control Policy, which coordinates law 
enforcement and prosecutorial action to counter narcotics trafficking. 
The police force had approximately 750 officers.
    The police discipline department, which investigates complaints 
against the police, is headed by the deputy police commissioner and 
decides whether an investigation is conducted. The police fall under 
the prime minister's area of responsibility; the prime minister can 
call for an independent investigation into an incident as needed.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in 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. There were cases in which authorities denied foreign 
national criminal detainees prompt consular access and delayed 
notification of detention to the foreign government, although training 
appeared to improve access and notification. In 2009 some foreign 
national detainees claimed police used excessive force and threats of 
violence against them while in detention; the Government investigated 
these allegations and found no evidence to support them. The bail 
system requires 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.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides that criminal 
defendants should receive a fair, open, and public trial, and an 
independent judiciary generally enforced this right. 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.

    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 EC$1,500 ($550); three magistrate's courts deal 
with summary offenses and civil cases of not more than EC$500 ($185) in 
value. Persons may apply to the High Court for redress of alleged 
violations of their constitutional rights.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press, but the Government respected these 
rights on a somewhat limited basis. Privately owned print media, 
including daily and weekly newspapers, were active and offered a range 
of opinion. Politicians in both parties often filed libel cases against 
members of the other party.
    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. The ALP claimed that government-
operated ABS TV and Radio did not allow fair access to the opposition.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that government monitored e-mail or Internet 
chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. There were 
75 Internet users per 100 inhabitants, according to Internet World 
Statistics.

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it 
in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government has not established a 
system for providing protection to refugees. The Government did not 
expel or return refugees to a country where their lives or freedom 
would be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, 
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; however, 
no such cases arose during the year.
    The Government did not grant refugee status or asylum 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, but normally the Government 
immediately deported foreigners who could not provide legal 
documentation.

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 March 2009 elections 
the then opposition UPP won nine of 17 seats in the House of 
Representatives and 50 percent of the popular vote. Members of the 
Organization of American States observer group reported that the 
elections were generally free and fair. After the opposition ALP 
challenged the results of election, the Court of Appeal upheld the 
decision despite some technical problems in the election process.
    Political parties could operate freely without restriction or 
outside interference.
    There were two women in the 19-seat House of Representatives and 
five women appointed to the 17-seat Senate. The governor general, the 
speaker of the House of Representatives, and the president of the 
Senate, all appointed positions, were women. There were two women in 
the cabinet.
    There was one member of a minority in parliament.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were 
isolated reports of government corruption during the year. Both 
political parties frequently accused the other of corruption, but 
investigations yielded little or no results.
    The Integrity in Public Life Act requires public officials to 
disclose all income, assets (including those of spouses and children), 
and personal gifts while in public office. The law established an 
Integrity Commission, appointed by the governor general, to receive and 
investigate complaints regarding noncompliance with or contravention of 
any provisions of this law or the Prevention of Corruption Act. The 
commission responded to isolated reports of corruption, administered 
the act, and received the required disclosure reports.
    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 citizens 
found it difficult to obtain documents, possibly due to government 
funding constraints rather than obstruction.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
    The Government cooperated with international organizations and 
consulted regularly with UN representatives.
    There is an ombudsman, an independent authority appointed by the 
prime minister, to deal with complaints regarding police and other 
government officials. However, the office lacked the resources to 
provide effective oversight for the entire government and did not 
produce regular reports.

Section 6. 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.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal and carries 
maximum sentences (rarely imposed) ranging from 10 years' to life 
imprisonment. It was a pervasive problem, with multiple rapes reported 
every month. The Directorate of Gender Affairs, part of the Ministry of 
Labor, Public Administration, and Empowerment, established and 
publicized a crisis hotline for victims and witnesses to sexual 
assault, and managed a sexual assault center that coordinates responses 
to sexual assault. When rape cases are reported to the police, a female 
police officer accompanies the victim for both questioning and medical 
examinations at the center. Once the doctor's report is completed, an 
investigation commences. If a suspect is arrested, he is placed in a 
line-up and must be identified by the victim face to face, without use 
of a one-way mirror. There were nine rape cases and 37cases of unlawful 
sexual intercourse reported, of which four rape cases and 30 unlawful 
sexual intercourse cases led to prosecution during the year. In 
situations where the victim did not know her assailant, the cases 
rarely came to trial.
    Violence against women, including spousal abuse, was a problem. The 
law prohibits and provides penalties for domestic violence, but many 
women were reluctant to testify against their abusers. 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 hotline and worked with a nongovernmental 
organization (NGO) to provide safe havens for abused women and 
children. Services for victims of domestic violence included counseling 
and an advocacy case worker who accompanied the victim to the hospital 
and police station.
    Sexual harassment is illegal, but it was rarely prosecuted. 
According to the Labor Department, there was a high incidence of sexual 
harassment incurred by employees in both the private and public 
sectors. However, only approximately 20 cases were formally reported 
during the year; the small number was believed to result from concerns 
about retaliation.
    Reproductive rights of women were protected. Couples and 
individuals had the right to decide freely and responsibly the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children and had the information to do so 
free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. There was adequate 
access to contraception. Most pregnant women had at least one antenatal 
care visit, and most women gave birth in hospitals. A 2008 UNICEF 
report indicated that skilled attendance at birth was 100 percent and 
estimated the contraceptive prevalence rate at 53 percent. Incidence of 
maternal mortality was not available. Women were equally diagnosed and 
treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    Women in society enjoy the same rights as men under the law. 
However, 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. Despite these limitations, 
women were well represented in the private and public sectors. There 
was no legislation requiring equal pay for equal work, but women faced 
no restrictions involving ownership of property. The Directorate of 
Gender Affairs is charged with promoting the rights of women.

    Children.--Citizenship is acquired by birth in the country, and all 
children were registered at birth. Children born to citizen parents 
abroad can be registered by either of their parents.
    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.
    Statutory rape is illegal; the minimum age for consensual sex is 
14. Despite a maximum penalty of 10 years to life, authorities brought 
charges against few offenders, and those convicted did not serve long 
jail terms due to lack of witness cooperation. Child pornography is 
illegal and subject to fines of up to EC$250,000 ($92,500) and 10 years 
in prison.
    The Government is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on 
International Child Abduction. For information on international 
parental child abduction, please see the Department of State's annual 
report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html, as well as country specific 
information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--
3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexual acts for both sexes 
are illegal under indecency statues, and some male homosexual acts are 
also illegal under anal intercourse laws. Indecency statutes carry a 
maximum penalty of five years, and anal intercourse carries a maximum 
penalty of 15 years in prison.
    Societal attitudes towards homosexuality impede operation and free 
association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
organizations. Some LGBT persons claimed that being openly LGBT would 
result in discrimination and possible violence. However, there were no 
reports of actual violence or discrimination based on sexual 
orientation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Rastafarians complained 
of discrimination, especially in hiring and in schools, but the 
Government took no specific action to address such complaints.
    Some LGBT persons claimed that homophobia impairs the willingness 
of HIV-positive persons to obtain treatment; however, there were no 
reports of violence or discrimination directed toward persons with HIV/
AIDS. The Ministry of Health supported local NGO efforts to register 
human rights complaints and seek assistance related to cases of 
discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS. The Ministry of Labor 
encouraged employers to be more sensitive to employees with HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--Workers have the right to associate 
freely and to form labor unions. Approximately 60 percent of workers in 
the formal sector belonged to a union. Unions were free to conduct 
their activities without government interference. Labor unions formed 
an important part of the base of both political parties.
    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 court mediation, 
strikes are prohibited under penalty of imprisonment. Because of the 
delays caused by mediation and required notice periods, unions often 
resolved labor disputes before calling a strike. The Industrial 
Relations Court may issue an injunction against a legal strike when the 
national interest is threatened or affected.
    Labor law prohibits retaliation against strikers, and the 
Government effectively enforced this prohibition.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
labor organizations to organize and bargain collectively without 
interference, and the Government protected this right. The law 
prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers but does not 
specifically require reinstatement of workers illegally fired for union 
activity.
    There were no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
export processing zones (EPZs). There was one inactive EPZ, with no 
workers.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children. For more 
information, please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 child labor.

    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. Tripartite consultations helped set the 
minimum wage. The minimum wage was EC$7.00 ($2.59) 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 or compulsory overtime is not specifically 
prohibited.
    Although the Government had not developed occupational health and 
safety laws or regulations apart from those regarding child labor, the 
labor code includes provisions regarding occupational safety and 
health. While not specifically provided for by law, in practice workers 
could leave a dangerous workplace situation without jeopardy to 
continued employment.

                               __________

                               ARGENTINA

    Argentina is a federal constitutional republic with a population of 
approximately 40.1 million. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner won the 
presidency in October 2007 in multiparty elections that media and 
various nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) described as generally 
free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities, but 
occasionally acted independently of civilian control.
    The following human rights problems were reported: killings and use 
of excessive force by police or security forces; police abuse and 
alleged torture of criminal suspects and prison guard brutality toward 
prisoners; overcrowded and substandard prison and jail conditions; 
occasional arbitrary arrest and detention; prolonged pretrial 
detention; continued concerns about judicial efficiency and 
independence; official corruption; domestic violence against women; 
child abuse; trafficking in persons for sexual and labor exploitation, 
primarily within the country; 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, 
there were reports of deaths as a result of police using unwarranted or 
excessive force.
    A November report by the NGO Coordinator Against Police Repression 
claimed that security forces using excessive force killed 219 persons 
between mid-November 2009 and mid-November of this year. The Center for 
Legal and Social Studies (CELS) reported a 12 percent increase in 
deaths as a result of police using unwarranted or excessive force from 
June 2008 to June 2009.
    On June 17, police officer Sergio Colombil reportedly shot and 
killed 15-year-old Diego Alexandre Bonefoi in Bariloche. Police claimed 
Bonefoi was attempting to escape from an armed robbery. A provincial 
court charged Colombil with homicide qualified by abuse of his 
authority as a police officer. On December 23, a Bariloche criminal 
court judge announced the case would go to trial. Colombi remained in 
pretrial detention at year's end. At a march to protest Bonefoi's death 
hours after the shooting, police shot and killed teenagers Nicolas 
Carrasco and Sergio Cardenas. An investigation into the killings 
continued at year's end.
    On August 12, a trial began in the case of an off-duty police 
officer who killed a 26-year-old man at a nightclub in Zarate in July 
2009. On September 7, the First Oral Tribunal of Zarate sentenced the 
officer to life imprisonment for homocide.
    Officers Daniel Alberto Fern dez and Jorge Alberto Conde,who 
reportedly shot 15-year-old Juan Carlos Quiroz in Pergamino in October 
2009, were arrested during the year according to a report by CELS. Fern 
ndez was charged with homicide qualified by abuse of authority, and 
Conde was charged as a participant in the crime. Both remained in 
pretrial detention at year's end.
    On December 21, a trial began in the case of Sergeant Sergio 
Borgino,charged with the 2009 killing of a 16-year-old boy in Mendoza 
Province. The trial continued at year's end.
    There was no prosecution or investigation in the case against two 
police officers allegedly involved in the 2008 killing of Sergio Enciso 
in Buenos Aires Province.
    On April 30, a criminal court in La Plata sentenced ex-sergeant 
Santiago Regalia to life imprisonment for the 2007 killing a 17-year-
old who was handcuffed in a patrol car.
    On August 25, a criminal court annulled the 2009 acquittal of five 
police officers and the police chief of Ramos Mejia in Buenos Aires 
Province, who were charged with the 2008 murder of Gaston Duffau. The 
court called for the officers to be retried.
    The investigation regarding the 1991 police killing of Walter 
Bulacio continued as recommended by the Inter-American Court on Human 
Rights. On September 20, CELS requested that the Council of Magistrates 
initiate a suit against Alicia Lemini, the judge in charge of the 
Bulacio case, for ``favoring impunity'' in the investigation.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    Authorities continued to investigate and prosecute individuals 
implicated in disappearances, killings, and torture committed during 
the 1976-83 military dictatorship, a focus of the Government's human 
rights policy. CELS estimated that there were 284 ongoing judicial 
investigations and 726 persons charged for crimes against humanity 
committed during the military dictatorship. Of those charged, 422 
remained in pretrial detention. According to the Supreme Court's Office 
for Follow-up on Crimes Against Humanity, during the year the courts 
convicted 98 perpetrators of human rights abuses committed during the 
1976-83 military dictatorship and continued trials that were suspended 
in 1989-90 when the Government pardoned such perpetrators. An 
additional 70 cases were pending at year's end. High-profile cases 
included:
    OnApril 13, the Federal Court of Santa Fe sentenced former military 
intelligence officer Horacio Americo Barcos to 11 years in prison for 
illegal deprivation of freedom and torture in two cases. This 
conviction combined with an earlier punishment for extortion increased 
Barcos' total sentence to 15 years' imprisonment.
    On April 21, a federal criminal court convicted and sentenced 
former president and general Reynaldo Benito Antonio Bignone to 25 
years in prison for crimes committed during the military regime. 
Bignone, along with five other military officers, was convicted on 56 
counts of kidnapping and torture at Campo de Mayo, one of the country's 
largest clandestine detention centers during the military dictatorship.
    On June 3, a trial for 10 former military officers involved in the 
``Margarita Belen Massacre'' began at the Federal Court of Resistencia. 
The officers were accused of torturing and killing more than 20 
political prisoners on December 13, 1976, in the province of Chaco. The 
trial continued at year's end.
    On July 2, a trial began in Cordoba against ex-president Jorge 
Rafael Videla. Videla, former military general Luciano Benjamin 
Menendez, and 29 other defendants were charged for the murder of 31 
political prisoners between April and October of 1976. In the trial, 
Videla declared that he accepted responsibility as the highest military 
authority during the dictatorship, and subordinates followed his 
orders. On July 8, Menendez was sentenced to life imprisonment for 
illegal deprivation of freedom, aggravated torture, and homicide. On 
December 22, Videla was sentenced to life imprisonment for the torture 
and murder of the 31 prisoners.
    There were no developments in the investigation of Ernesto 
Barreiro, who remained in pretrial detention for human rights abuses he 
allegedly committed while serving as army officer and chief 
interrogator at the La Perla clandestine torture center during the 
military dictatorship.
    There were no developments in the trial of former police officers 
Fernando Esvedes and Carlos Vercellone, arrested in 2008 for their 
alleged role in political kidnappings and torture in the clandestine 
detention center Pozo de Arana during the military dictatorship.
    Judicial authorities continued to investigate cases of kidnapping 
and illegal adoption by members of the former military dictatorship of 
children born to detained dissidents. At year's end, 102 of an 
estimated 500 persons born to detained and disappeared dissidents and 
illegally adopted had been identified and made aware of their 
backgrounds, according to the NGO Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or 
degrading treatment or punishment and provides penalties for torture 
similar to those for homicide. However, CELS, The National Public 
Prosecutor, Amnesty International (AI), the Buenos Aires Provincial 
Memory Commission's Committee against Torture, and the Inter-American 
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) rapporteur on the rights of persons 
deprived of liberty, reported that some police and prison guards 
continued to employ torture and brutality.
    CELS and the National Public Prosecutor reported police brutality 
and occasional alleged torture of suspects, particularly during prison 
transfers. While the Government investigated such reports, there were 
few convictions.
    A Neuquen court announced on May 4 that it would hear a case 
against 27 correctional service officers for alleged torture committed 
against 45 detainees at detention facilities in the province in 2004. 
On May 27, the court sentenced six officers to three to four years in 
prison for ``severe brutality and humiliation,'' declaring that the 
case lacked the specific conditions to qualify as torture. The court 
acquitted the remaining 21 officers.
    According to a June report of the Buenos Aires Provincial Memory 
Commission's Committee against Torture, an autonomous office 
established by the provincial government, practices such as beatings, 
the use of a cattle prod, cold water showers, and forced isolations 
within Buenos Aires prisons were common.
    In June the IACHR rapporteur on the rights of persons deprived of 
liberty expressed ``deep concern'' about detention center conditions. 
The rapporteur reported that from February to June, there were 241 
cases involving alleged torture and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading 
treatment, of which 115 cases were formally reported to authorities.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions often 
were poor. Inmates in many facilities suffered from extreme 
overcrowding, poor nutrition, inadequate medical and psychological 
treatment, inadequate sanitation, limited family visits, and frequent 
degrading treatment, according to various reports by human rights 
organizations and research centers. The number of prisoners in Buenos 
Aires provincial penitentiaries exceeded facility capacity by an 
estimated 66 percent. A UN Human Rights Committee report released in 
March commented on the frequent use of torture and cruel or degrading 
treatment in police stations and prisons.
    A report by the Center for Studies in Criminal Policy and Human 
Rights (CEPOC), an NGO that promotes public policies that respect 
prisoners' rights, estimated that there were 80 prison deaths in 2009. 
Of these deaths, 37 percent were by hanging while others were 
attributed to fights, general injuries, and diseases. CEPOC indicated 
the majority of suicides were linked to poor prison conditions.
    In November 2009 the Supreme Court of Justice ordered Mendoza 
Province to improve the Boulogne Sur Mer prison facilities, giving the 
province 60 days to develop a working plan. In February a group of 
human rights lawyers from Mendoza appealed to the Inter-American Court 
of Human Rights on behalf of prisoners, claiming that the Government of 
Mendoza failed to develop such a plan.
    While women were held separately from men, the law permits children 
to stay in prison with their mothers until age four. According to the 
Federal Penitentiary Service, 50 children under the age of four lived 
with their mothers in federal prisons as of August. CELS reported that 
91 children remained with their mothers in Buenos Aires provincial 
prisons as of July. There were 789 women in federal prisons as of 
December. Women constituted 9 percent of the overall prison population, 
which included 30,000 in the Buenos Aires provincial prisons. In 
general men's prisons were more violent, dangerous, and crowded than 
women's prisons.
    Overcrowding in juvenile facilities often resulted in minors being 
held in police station facilities, although separate from adult 
detainees. The Buenos Aires Provincial Memory Commission's Committee 
against Torture estimated overcrowding in Buenos Aires Province 
juvenile facilities at 30 percent.
    According to the NGO United Civil Association for Justice, juvenile 
detention facilities in Buenos Aires Province were often in a poor 
state of security, health, and infrastructure. The association reported 
overcrowded conditions, with inadequate psychological services and 
understaffing. The Buenos Aires Provincial Memory Commission's 
Committee Against Torture indicated that approximately 6,500 complaints 
of human rights violations against juvenile detainees were filed in 
provincial prisons and juvenile detention facilities in Buenos Aires 
Province in 2008, the majority of which were pending investigation at 
year's end. The Provincial Memory Commission's 2010 annual report 
indicated that there is a grave lack of information published by the 
Government about juvenile prisons. The commission reported that 
currently neither the provincial ministry of social development nor the 
provincial ministry of security has published statistics describing the 
situation of juvenile detainees. CELS estimated that 53 percent of 
those in federal prison were awaiting trial. According to 2009 press 
reports, 85 percent of female pretrial detainees and 76 percent of male 
pretrial detainees were held in locations with convicted prisoners.
    In October an appeals court in La Plata acquitted 15 prison guards 
accused of abandoning prisoners in a 2005 fire that killed 33 
prisoners. However, on December 10, the Buenos Aires Provincial Memory 
Commission announced it would appeal the decision. The Provincial 
Prison Director, Carlos Tejeda, remained under investigation for 
manslaughter at year's end.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and 
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without 
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions.
    The IAHCR rapporteur reported examples of authorities unwilling to 
investigate cases and reprimand officials found of wrongdoing and 
document the results of such investigations in a publicy accessible 
manner.
    The Government permitted independent prison visits by local and 
international human rights observers, and such visits took place during 
the year. The Government investigated and monitored prison and 
detention center conditions. The National Public Prosecutor's Office, 
which serves as an ombudsman on behalf of prisoners and detainees, was 
established as an autonomous governmental institution when congress 
ratified the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture in 
2004.
    The IACHR rapporteur reported government efforts to improve prison 
conditions in the province of Buenos Aires. Provincial authorities 
informed the rapporteur about a program to build 23 departmental 
detention centers with a new system for provisional detention, and the 
provincial government inaugurated the first center built under the 
program on December 13. The provincial government also operated a group 
home program for prisoners in order to deal with the issue of 
overcrowding, with 12 houses for 108 prisoners in use as of May, 
according to press reports.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions; however, police reportedly arrested and detained citizens 
arbitrarily on occasion.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The federal police have 
jurisdiction for maintaining law and order in the federal capital and 
for federal crimes in the provinces. Other federal police authorities 
include the airport security police, the gendarmerie, the Coast Guard, 
and the bureau of prisons. Additionally, each province has its own 
police force that responds to a provincial security ministry or 
secretariat, and the City of Buenos Aires formed its own metropolitan 
police force in 2008. Individual forces varied considerably in their 
effectiveness and respect for human rights.
    The federal security forces have the authority to conduct internal 
investigations into alleged abuses and to fire individuals who have 
allegedly committed a human rights violation. The federal government 
can also file complaints with the federal courts; provincial 
governments may do the same for provincial security forces. Members of 
security forces convicted of a crime were subject to stiff penalties. 
Generally, officers accused of wrongdoing were administratively 
suspended until completion of an investigation. Authorities 
investigated and, in some cases, detained, prosecuted, and convicted 
the officers involved. The Government established a new Ministry of 
Security in December, in part to address police abuse and corruption.
    According to the Ombudsman's Office of the City of Buenos Aires, 
complaints of police misconduct increased since 2008. The Ombudsman 
Office's report, issued in December 2009, analyzed 20 cases involving 
the federal police and warned of a tendency toward excessive or 
disproportionate use of force, often applied against persons from 
vulnerable social sectors. The Ombudsman's Office concluded that such 
cases failed to comply with international standards of human rights and 
constituted crimes worthy of investigation by criminal courts. 
According to a follow-up report the Ombudsman's Office released on 
September 23, excessive use of force by federal police continued to be 
a grave problem during the year, and the Government took no significant 
actions to address it.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Persons 
generally were apprehended openly with warrants based on sufficient 
evidence and issued by a duly authorized official; however, 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 are unable to determine 
the suspected person's identity. Human rights groups reported that the 
police occasionally arrested persons arbitrarily and detained 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 lower criminal court judge, who determines whether 
to proceed with an investigation. There were some delays in this 
process and in informing detainees of the charges against them.
    The law provides for the right to bail, except in cases involving 
narcotics, violent crimes, and firearms violations. In April the City 
of Buenos Aires passed a law reducing the possibility of bail for 
crimes in which firearms were involved and for crimes committed by 
minors. Although the bail system was used, civil rights groups claimed 
that the new law encouraged judges to order the holding of indicted 
suspects in preventive or pretrial detention instead of allowing 
suspects to remain free pending their trial, putting extra stress on 
already-overcrowded prisons.
    Detainees were allowed prompt access to counsel, and public 
defenders were provided for detainees unable to afford counsel, 
although such access sometimes was delayed due to an overburdened 
system. Strong demand and a lack of resources for the Public Defender's 
Office resulted in an excessive caseload for public defense attorneys. 
Although there were no official statistics on the percentage of 
detainees requesting public defense attorneys, human rights 
organizations estimated that 80 percent requested public defense 
attorneys. According to the Provincial Memory Commission's Committee 
against Torture, 95 to 97 percent of pretrial detainees in Buenos Aires 
Province cannot afford a lawyer. Detainees were allowed access to 
family members, although not always promptly.
    The law provides for investigative detention of up to two years for 
indicted persons awaiting or undergoing trial; the period may be 
extended for one year in limited situations. The slow pace of the 
justice system often resulted in lengthy detentions beyond the period 
stipulated by law. CELS reported that prisoners waited an average of 
three years to be tried, with some cases taking as long as six years. A 
convicted prisoner usually received credit for time already served.
    CELS indicated that nearly 74 percent of detainees in Buenos Aires 
Province were in pretrial detention. According to several human rights 
organizations, 30 percent of pretrial detainees were eventually 
acquitted.
    During the year there were occasional reports of arbitrary arrests 
for expressing views critical of the Government. According to press 
reports, Guillermo Gonzalez del Castillo, a journalist from Corrientes, 
was beaten while detained following a minor altercation in April, two 
years after he had criticized the former governor of Corrientes for 
alleged embezzlement of government advertising funds.
    In April 2009 a witness to the burning of a prison in Santiago del 
Estero was detained without court order and did not receive 
notification of a trial. A local court rejected his release without 
having formalized his detention. While in prison, he was reportedly 
beaten by prison guards and raped by another prisoner since being 
incarcerated.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for the right to 
a fair trial, and the judiciary generally enforced this right. However, 
judicial scholars continued to report inefficiencies and delays in the 
judicial system. Additionally, there were complaints that judges were 
at times subject to political manipulation.
    The Study Forum on the Administration of Justice and the 
Association for Civil Rights expressed concern for an increasing number 
of public clashes between the Supreme Court and the executive branch. 
On several occasions, the forum asserted that the executive failed to 
take actions prescribed by certain rulings, high-level officials 
exerted public pressure on judges, and the executive branch imposed 
budgetary restrictions upon the court. For example, the federal 
government refused to enforce a Supreme Court order to restore a 
previously dismissed official to his position. In October NGOs Poder 
Ciudadano and the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies for 
Equity and Growth sent a letter to the UN Human Rights Committee's 
special rapporteur on magistrate and lawyer independence to express 
concern over the situation. Other analysts commented that the Supreme 
Court exerted its independence over the executive branch in these 
conflicts.
    The judicial system was hampered by delays, procedural logjams, 
changes of judges, inadequate administrative support, and general 
inefficiency. 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 as well as in federal courts located in the provinces were more 
frequent than in federal courts with jurisdiction over the city and 
province of Buenos Aires, which reflected strong connections between 
the executive and judicial branches at the provincial level.
    The country continued to lack a sufficient number of judges. As of 
September, 208 federal judgeships ( approximately 20 percent of the 
total) were vacant. Candidates for 113 of those positions had been 
nominated by the Council of Magistrates and awaited executive approval. 
Approximately 50 judgeships were held by justice officials acting as 
temporary judges, a mechanism ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme 
Court in 2007.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and defendants have the right 
to legal counsel and to call defense witnesses in federal courts and 
some provincial courts that have an accusatory system of criminal 
justice. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and have the right 
to appeal. If needed, a public defender is provided at public expense 
when defendants face serious criminal charges. During the investigative 
stage, defendants can submit questions in writing to the investigating 
judge. A panel of judges decides guilt or innocence. Although 
defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence, 
in practice they sometimes experienced obstacles or delays in obtaining 
such evidence. Lengthy delays in trials occurred nationwide, with many 
cases taking five or more years to resolve.
    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 had not been passed by year's end. In 
Cordoba Province, however, defendants accused of certain serious crimes 
have the right to a trial by jury.
    The human rights organization, Fundacion Sur, observed that the 
juvenile justice system does not provide adolescents due process 
protections equal to the rights extended to adult defendants in 
criminal trials. In addition this organization expressed concern that 
the broad discretion judges have in such cases increased the 
possibility of arbitrary rulings. Fundacion Sur asserted that 16- and 
17-year-old offenders frequently were transferred to adult criminal 
courts or held in juvenile detention facilities for longer periods than 
warranted by their offenses.
    An unofficially organized juvenile justice system operated in eight 
of 18 districts in Buenos Aires City. It provides minors between the 
ages of 16 and 18 with the same procedural rights as adults and limits 
sentences to 180 days in prison.

    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. Citizens have access to the 
courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages or the protection of rights 
provided by the constitution. Administrative and judicial remedies are 
available for alleged wrongs.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such actions, and the 
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. However, 
there were press reports and judicial investigations of electronic 
eavesdropping, possibly perpetrated by government agents without due 
authorization.
    Opposition leaders, journalists, and judges continued to allege 
that the Kirchner administration used the intelligence community to 
wiretap private conversations. In July the opposition in congress 
initiated an investigation into these claims through the Joint 
Intelligence and Security Agency Oversight Committee.
    Allegations of wiretapping extended beyond the federal level of 
government. Ciro James, a former federal police officer with alleged 
links to the Government of Buenos Aires City,who had been arrested and 
indicted for illegally wiretapping numerous individuals, was released 
from pretrial detention on December 23 and remained free at year's end. 
As a consequence of the highly politicized scandal, federal prosecutors 
also initiated a case against Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri. The 
case and investigation led by a special committee in the city 
legislature continued at year's end.

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 numerous and active, expressing a wide 
variety of views.
    Most media outlets were owned by large, private holding companies 
that had a wide range of outside business interests and political 
connections that influenced the content of reporting. Observers noted 
that some media conglomerates used media as a tool to generate 
criticism of government policies, while certain progovernment outlets 
consistently ran stories supporting the Government's critical line 
against specific media organizations and individuals.
    On March 20, the Inter American Press Association released a report 
asserting that the Government conducted ``campaigns against the right 
to inform'' and attempted to ``damage the credibility of the media.'' 
Less than a month later, the Association of Press Institutions of 
Argentina issued a statement warning that the press was ``facing one of 
its worst moments in history, as a result of the high level of 
intolerance to information and dissident opinion.''
    During the year critics noted that the Government sought to silence 
dissenting opinions in the media through various actions. NGOs Poder 
Ciudadano and the Association for Civil Rights asserted that state 
advertising was used as a tool to support progovernment media and 
undermine reporting critical of the Government. In addition the 
Government's decree enacting the 2009 media law reduced the number of 
broadcast licenses an individual or company can hold from 24 to 10 and 
barred cable providers from owning open-air television channels. The 
media law set a one-year deadline for private companies to comply with 
its regulations. Clarin Group, the country's largest media 
conglomerate, filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the 
one-year deadline, and on October 5 the Supreme Court upheld a lower 
court's temporary suspension of it.
    The Government also introduced a resolution to reorganize cable 
television channel grids as of October 1 and to regulate content in 
prime time television. Cable companies legally challenged the 
resolution, arguing the changes would negatively affect their 
businesses and favor progovernment news channels. Two court rulings 
suspended the Government's resolution on the grounds that it would 
``harm freedom of expression.''
    On March 27, the car of Adela Gomez, a journalist who had 
investigated allegations of corruption in the local government in the 
province of Santa Cruz, was set on fire. Gomez declared she would leave 
her profession and accused government supporters of trying to silence 
her investigations with the attack.
    On April 29, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, an NGO with a public 
television program on the Government-financed channel Canal 7, carried 
out mock trials known as ``ethics trials'' against seven journalists 
and five publishers who allegedly failed to report human rights 
violations during the former military dictatorship. The head of the 
Chamber of Deputies Press Freedom Committee, in collaboration with 
opposition lawmakers, submitted a report to the Special Rapporteur for 
Freedom of Expression of the Inter American Human Rights Commission 
denouncing the ``ethics trials.''
    On August 24, in a televised national address President Fernandez 
de Kirchner accused private shareholders of Papel Prensa, the only 
active manufacturer of newsprint in the country, of having made an 
``illegal pact'' to favor newspapers Clarin, La Nacion, and La Razon 
with discretionary prices that hindered their competitors. Clarin had 
an approximately 50 percent stake in Papel Prensa, while La Nacion and 
the Government each owned 25 percent of the company. During the 
address, President Fernandez de Kirchner declared that the production 
and distribution of newsprint paper should be a ``matter of public 
interest'' under governmental supervision. The Inter American Press 
Association and some opposition congressmen criticized the declaration 
as a violation of the national constitution.
    The Government formally requested the judiciary to investigate the 
directors and former directors of Clarin, La Nacion, and La Razon for 
their involvement in alleged human rights abuses and irregularities in 
the sale of Papel Prensa in 1976-77. The Government's petition asserted 
that Clarin Group chief executive officer, Hector Magnetto, and the 
group's main shareholder, Ernestina Herrera de Noble, as well as former 
owners of La Nacion and La Razon, colluded with the 1976-83 military 
dictatorship and pressured Papel Prensa's owners, the Graiver family, 
to sell their shares in the company under duress from the 1976-83 
military dictatorship. The Government claimed that such alleged actions 
represented human rights violations against the Graivers and therefore 
invalidated the sale of the stock.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The 
International Telecommunication Union reported that 30 percent of the 
population used the Internet.
    Consumer protection advocates expressed concerns over a government 
resolution ordering one of the country's leading Internet providers to 
halt operations. On August 20, the Ministry of Planning ordered 
Fibertel, an Internet provider owned by the Clarin Group, to halt 
operations within 90 days because its license had expired. The 
Government announced that Fibertel's approximately one million users 
should transfer to other providers and should be allowed to do so free 
of charge.
    On September 24, the Court of Civil and Commercial Affairs in the 
city of La Plata ordered the Government to refrain from implementing 
the Ministry of Planning's ordered shut-down of Fibertel on the grounds 
that it would violate rights established by the national constitution. 
In late December the Federal Appeals Court of La Plata overturned the 
decision and ruled in favor of the Government, while in a separate case 
on the same issue a federal judge in the Cordoba District ruled in 
favor of Fibertel. Despite the conflicting rulings, Fibertel held the 
right to appeal to the Supreme Court, barring the Government from 
enforcing the shut-down and continued to operate at year's end.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the Government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, and 
other persons of concern.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not employ 
it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The laws provide for the granting of 
refugee status, and the Government has established a system for 
providing protection to refugees.
    The National Committee for Refugees (CONARE), an interministerial 
body under the Ministry of the Interior, held regular sessions to study 
requests and make decisions. During the first nine months of the year, 
562 persons sought asylum, and the National Committee for Refugees 
granted refugee status to 30 persons. Colombians and Africans 
constituted the majority of the resettlements, with a lesser number 
from Asia.
    In May the Government passed legislation to implement the National 
Migration Law. It provides full recognition of migrants' rights.
    In practice the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in particular social group, or political 
opinion.
    In late September CONARE granted refugee status to Galvarino Sergio 
Apablaza Guerra, a former Chilean guerrilla leader and spouse of an 
Argentinian government official for whom a Chilean extradition request 
was pending in connection with the 1991 killing of Chilean Senator 
Jaime Guzman Errazuriz and the kidnapping of Christian Edwards. Chilean 
President Sebastian Pinera criticized the decision, as did many local 
and international observers.
    The law allows the Government to provide temporary protection for 
humanitarian reasons, including family reunification, to individuals 
who may not qualify as refugees and provided it to approximately 12 
persons during the year. Legislation implemented by executive decree in 
May provides for temporary protection for humanitarian reasons to 
victims of trafficking in persons and victims of natural catastrophes.

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 October 2007 Cristina 
Fernandez de Kirchner of the Front for Victory Party won the presidency 
in elections described by media and various NGOs as free and fair. In 
legislative elections in 2009, voters elected one-half of the members 
of the chamber of deputies representing all 24 provinces and one-third 
of those in the senate representing eight provinces. Local observers 
considered these elections generally free and fair.
    Political parties generally operated without restriction.
    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 26 women in the 72-seat senate and 99 women in the 
257-seat chamber of deputies. The president, two of the seven Supreme 
Court justices, and three cabinet ministers were women. Women 
constituted approximately 17 percent of top executive-branch positions 
at the federal level.
    One indigenous person served in the chamber of deputies. There were 
no other known ethnic or racial minorities in the national legislature. 
There were no known indigenous, ethnic, or racial minorities in the 
cabinet or on the Supreme Court.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, there were frequent press reports that executive, legislative, 
and judicial officials engaged in corrupt practices, suggesting a 
failure to implement the law effectively.
    According to the World Bank's worldwide governance indicators, 
corruption was a serious problem. Weak institutions and an often 
ineffective and politicized judicial system made eliminating corruption 
in any systemic fashion difficult.
    Cases of corruption were reported in some security forces. The most 
frequent abuses included extortion of, and protection for, those 
involved in drug trafficking and prostitution. Internal controls to 
counter police abuses were weak.
    According to La Nacion newspaper, federal security forces opened 
new investigations into police officials on a daily basis for suspected 
participation in ``serious administrative infractions'' during the 
year. These infractions included exploiting their position of authority 
for financial gain.
    La Nacion reported that in 2008-09, authorities investigated 13,619 
police for acts of corruption, violence, or irregularities in job 
performance in Buenos Aires Province, representing approximately 25 
percent of the provincial police force and a 75 percent increase in 
investigations from 2006-07. Of those investigated, 872 were relieved 
of duty and 1,779 were reassigned to different positions. Between 
January and December, approximately 300 officers were relieved of duty 
for acts of corruption, violence, or irregularities in job performance.
    Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws, and the 
Ministry of Justice's Anti-Corruption Office (ACO) is responsible for 
analyzing and investigating federal executive branch officials based on 
their financial disclosure forms. The ACO is also responsible for 
investigating corruption within the federal executive branch or in 
matters involving federal funds, except for funds transferred to the 
provinces. As part of the executive branch, the ACO does not have 
authority to prosecute cases independently, but it can refer cases to 
other agencies or serve as the plaintiff and request a judge to 
initiate a case.
    The ACO issued a report in August regarding the case of Ricardo 
Echegaray, the head of the Federal Agency for Tax Collection. The ACO 
alleged that Echegaray had used his authority as head of the National 
Office for Agricultural Commercial Oversight to grant subsidies to 
companies he owned. Opposition members in the chamber of deputies 
initiated a congressional investigation of Echegaray's actions, which 
continued at year's end.
    During the year evidence of illegal campaign financing emerged from 
the investigation of an alleged money laundering scheme involving drug 
distribution companies, according to press reports. Judge Norberto 
Oyarbide charged President Fernandez de Kirchner's 2007 chief 
fundraiser and former supervisor of health services, Hector Capaccioli, 
for his involvement in the operation. On December 22, Capaccioli 
testified before Judge Oyarbide, denied accusations of wrongdoing, and 
at year's end awaited the judge's decision whether to continue the 
trial.
    Ricardo Jaime, the former secretary of transportation, was indicted 
on April 21on 15 charges of corruption that reportedly occurred during 
his tenure. He was also indicted on December 3 for allegedly receiving 
gifts and favors from transportation companies and for questions 
regarding his annual income. Jaime remained free and the investigation 
continued at year's end.
    On April 20, the country's ambassador to Venezuela from 2002 to 
2005, Eduardo Sadous, testified to congress that, while at his post in 
Caracas, he observed that Argentine companies were allowed to export 
farm equipment to Venezuela only in exchange for making side payments 
to officials in the Argentine Planning Ministry. A federal case 
investigating these allegations continued at year's end.
    Several judicial investigations into alleged fraud committed by 
prosecutors and judges filling vacancies at the federal level 
continued. Some applicants reportedly negotiated with members of the 
examining board to receive answers to questions before taking the exam. 
On August 13, Alberto Pravia, a former member of an examining board, 
renounced his post as judge facing accusations of fraud during the 
examination process.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
usually were cooperative and generally responsive to their views.
    During the year the Government met with representatives of numerous 
international and nongovernmental human rights groups, including 
representatives from Human Rights Watch, the UN Human Rights Committee, 
the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the IACHR to discuss 
human rights.
    The Government cooperated with international governmental 
organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives and other 
organizations during the year.
    The Government has a Human Rights Secretariat. Its main objective 
is to collaborate with the secretary of justice, security, and human 
rights to promote policies, plans, and programs for the protection of 
human rights. During the year it published leaflets and books on a 
range of human rights topics.
    The Government also has a Human Rights Ombudsman's Office. It 
focuses on the defense and protection of rights, guarantees, and 
interests granted by the national constitution. The Ombudsman's Office 
publishes an annual report based on the cases it receives throughout 
the year.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status, and the Government generally enforced these 
prohibitions in practice.

    Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is a crime, but evidentiary 
requirements, either in the form of clear physical injury or the 
testimony of a witness, often presented difficulties in prosecuting 
such crimes. The penalties for rape ranged up to 20 years' 
imprisonment. There were no reports of police or judicial reluctance to 
act on rape cases; however, women's rights advocates claimed that 
police, hospital, and court attitudes toward sexual violence victims 
often revictimized the individual.
    The Rape Victims' Association reported more than 1,500 rape cases 
in Buenos Aires City and Buenos Aires Province during the year and 
clarified that more than 9,000 such cases were reported between 2003 
and 2009. Eighty percent of those cases involved victims under the age 
of 18, representing an increase of 20 percent from 2009. The NGO noted 
that these figures did not include rapes reported directly to the 
municipal, provincial, and national governments. According to the 
Attorney General's Office, complaints were filed in three out of every 
10 cases, and one in three of these cases was prosecuted.
    The law prohibits domestic violence, including spousal abuse, 
although the law defines violence against women as a misdemeanor, and 
complaints are addressed in civil rather than criminal courts. Family 
court judges have the right to bar a perpetrator from a victim's home 
or workplace. The law, however, prescribes penalties for domestic 
violence only when it involves crimes against sexual integrity, in 
which case the penalty can be as much as 20 years' imprisonment. 
However, lack of vigilance on the part of the police and the judicial 
system often led to a lack of protection for victims.
    The law enacted in March 2009 to prevent and punish violence 
against women came into full effect on July 19, when the president 
signed the regulatory implementing decree. The National Council of 
Women (NCW) is the implementing body for standards pertaining to the 
law. Human rights organizations in the country as well as the UN Human 
Rights Committee criticized the low budget allocated to the NCW. The 
NCW had a 2010 budget of six million pesos ($1,495,000), while just one 
program, a domestic violence telephone hotline in the province of 
Buenos Aires, required three million pesos ($747,000) to operate.
    Domestic violence against women was a problem. In October 2009 AI 
reported that a woman died every three days as a result of domestic 
violence. The civil society organization La Casa del Encuentro reported 
that 260 women died during the year as a result of domestic or gender-
based violence, an increase of 12 percent from 2009 figures. 
Approximately one third of these cases occurred in Buenos Aires 
Province. Of these murders, 64 percent involved a husband, boyfriend, 
or ex-boyfriend; in 27 cases, the woman had filed a complaint against 
the aggressor for domestic violence. In six cases, the woman had 
obtained a restraining order.
    The Office of Domestic Violence provided protection and resources 
to victims of domestic violence 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 
During the year the office hired additional staff members to handle the 
approximately 600 cases of domestic violence it received each month. An 
estimated 80 percent of adult domestic violence cases received by the 
office involved violence against women. The office also carried out 
risk assessments necessary to obtain a restraining order, a service it 
completed for victims in three days as opposed to three or four months 
before the office opened. Between February 2009 and August 2010, 2,080 
women received free legal assistance through the office. During the 
year ending September, 12,762 persons had cases filed against them for 
acts of domestic violence.
    Family and civil courts in Buenos Aires Province, in compliance 
with a provincial Supreme Court order, created hotlines to receive 
complaints of domestic violence and assist victims after normal hours. 
Criminal courts worked with police stations, police offices for women's 
issues, and prosecutors' offices to enable victims to file domestic 
violence complaints 24 hours a day.
    The Ministry of Justice continued to operate mobile units to assist 
victims of sexual and domestic violence in Buenos Aires City. A free 
hotline servicing the city offered consultations and received 
complaints.
    Public and private institutions offered prevention programs and 
provided support and treatment for abused women. The Buenos Aires 
municipal government operated a small shelter for battered women; 
however, few other shelters existed.
    Sexual harassment in the public sector is prohibited under laws 
that impose disciplinary or corrective measures. In some jurisdictions, 
such as Buenos Aires City, 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. There was no information on the extent 
of the problem.
    Couples and individuals generally had the right to decide the 
number, spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and 
means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Access 
to information on contraception, and skilled attendance at delivery and 
in postpartum care were widely available. The UN Population Fund 
reported in 2008 the maternal mortality rate at 70 deaths for every 
100,000 live births. Women and men were given equal access to 
diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. 
In May the National Health Ministry created a national free hotline to 
answer questions about where to find reproductive health care services 
and register complaints.
    In August Human Rights Watch released a report documenting the 
obstacles women and girls faced in obtaining access to reproductive 
health care services such as contraception and voluntary sterilization 
procedures. The most common barriers to care were long delays in 
providing services, unnecessary referrals to other clinics, demands for 
spousal permission contrary to law, and, in some cases, denial of care. 
The report also identified a lack of oversight and accountability for 
carrying out existing laws regarding reproductive rights. The 
Population Reference Bureau recorded modern contraceptive use of 64 
percent among married women.
    Although women enjoyed equality under the law, including property 
rights, they encountered economic discrimination and held a 
disproportionately high number of lower-paying jobs. According to a 
study released by the Center for Women and Labor Studies in Argentina, 
women earned on average 24 percent less than men in similar positions. 
The report emphasized that, despite the country's overall economic 
growth, gender gaps persisted in the workplace.
    The Office of Women was established by the Supreme Court in 2009 
with the aim of training judges, secretaries, and clerks to deal with 
cases related to women. Its key function is to sensitize judicial 
actors to domestic violence, victims of abuse, trafficking in persons, 
and other women's issues. The office also seeks to ensure equal access 
for women to positions in the court system. In September the office 
carried out its first training workshop for 120 provincial Supreme 
Court actors.
    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.--The country provided universal birth registration, and 
citizenship was derived both by birth within the country's territory 
and from one's parents.
    Parents have 40 days within which to register births, and the state 
has an additional 20 days to do so. A February 2009 decree permits the 
Ministry of Interior to issue birth certificates to children under age 
12 whose births have not been previously registered.
    Child abuse was not uncommon; for example, a University of Buenos 
Aires study released in April found that 9 percent of university 
students in Buenos Aires claimed to have suffered some form of sexual 
abuse before the age of 19. The survey investigated child abuse among a 
sample of 2,750 persons.
    According to media sources, approximately 5,000 children are 
recruited every year for pornography and sex tourism. The minimum age 
of consensual sex is 18. There is a statutory rape law with penalties 
ranging from three to 15 years in prison, depending on the age of the 
victim. Additionally, regardless of age, if a judge finds evidence of 
deception, violence, threats, abuse of authority, or any other form of 
intimidation or coercion, the minimum sentence increases to 10 years.
    The law prohibits the production and distribution of child 
pornography with penalties ranging from six months to four years in 
prison. While the law does not prohibit the possession of child 
pornography by individuals for personal use, it provides penalties 
ranging from four months to two years in prison for possession with the 
intent to distribute child pornography. Additionally, the law provides 
penalties ranging from one month to three years of imprisonment for 
facilitating access to pornographic shows or materials to minors under 
the age of 14. During the year prosecutors and police pursued cases of 
Internet child pornography. On November 25, federal police arrested a 
31-year-old man accused of filming and distributing child pornography 
through an international network. According to press reports, during a 
search of the man's house, police found approximately 90 hours of 
pornographic footage and 26,000 photos of children ages six to nine 
years old. The man remained in pretrial detention at year's end.
    Several cases of child sexual abuse were reported during the year. 
In May the Oral Court of San Martin sentenced nine persons to prison 
sentences ranging from 25 to 42 years for sexual abuse of a 16-year-
old. In July a court sentenced a man to seven and a half years in 
prison for sexual abuse of an 11-year-old girl.
    On September 14, a criminal appeals court in the province of Buenos 
Aires confirmed the sentence of priest Julio Cesar Grassi to 15 years 
in prison for two aggravated charges of sexual abuse of minors. On 
September 21, the Oral Court of Moron refused the request of 
prosecutors that Grassi be detained, claiming that the possibility of 
appeal remained. Grassi remained free at year's end.
    According to credible local press reports, dozens of child victims 
of violence from poor families were lodged in juvenile detention 
facilities under judicial protection orders. City government observers 
continued to be barred from visiting the centers.
    The National Council for Children, Adolescents, and the Family 
continued to conduct public awareness campaigns and operated a national 
hotline, which children used to call for advice, make complaints, and 
report instances of abuse or other rights violations.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on 
International Child Abduction. For information on international 
parental child abduction, please see the Department of State's annual 
report on the convention at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Sporadic acts of discrimination and vandalism 
continued against religious minorities, particularly the Jewish 
community, consisting of 250,000 to 300,000 members. The Delegation of 
Jewish Argentine Associations (DAIA) received 503 complaints of anti-
Semitism during 2009, representing an increase of 60 percent over 2008. 
DAIA indicated that the spike in anti-Semitic acts was related to 
conflicts in the Gaza Strip in early 2009.
    The most commonly reported incidents were anti-Semitic graffiti, 
verbal slurs, and the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, including 40 
graves at the Jewish cemetery in Misiones in May. A majority of the 
complaints were filed in Buenos Aires City. DAIA claimed that cases in 
the provinces were likely underreported.
    In February a judge sentenced Juan Carlos Beica, the leader of a 
minority left-wing party, to a six-month suspended sentence for his 
role in organizing the January 2009 anti-Israeli demonstrations in 
Buenos Aires in protest of Israeli military operations in Gaza. The 
protests, which took placeoutside the Israeli embassy, AMIA's 
headquarters, and a hotel owned by a Jewish Argentine businessman and 
treasurer of the World Jewish Congress, exhibited anti-Semitic imagery. 
On July 21, a Buenos Aires Appeals Court absolved Beica of the charges 
and revoked the six-month sentence.
    In November an Appeals Court cleared Revolutionary Action Front 
leader Roberto Martino of charges for an anti-Semitic attack outside 
the Israeli embassy in 2009. Despite the ruling, Martino remained in 
pretrial detention at year's end on separate charges, which provoked 
some left-wing groups supporting Martino to block main transit routes 
in downtown Buenos Aires to protest his detention.
    The investigation into the 1994 bombing of the AMIA building in 
Buenos Aires that killed 85 persons continued. With Interpol 
assistance, the federal prosecutor investigating the case continued to 
seek the arrest of eight Iranians for their alleged involvement in the 
bombing. In March AMIA case prosecutor Alberto Nisman met with Iranian 
officials at Interpol's headquarters. The Iranians rejected a proposal 
for a third state to provide for a fair trial. In September President 
Fernandez de Kirchner advocated the third-state proposal during her 
address to the UN General Assembly, but the Government of Iran again 
rejected the proposal in a September 28 letter to the UN.
    In March a federal appeals court confirmed the 2009 decision to 
prosecute former president Carlos Menem, former secretary of 
intelligence Hugo Anzorreguy, and former federal judge Juan Jose 
Galeano for their alleged role in the bombing ``cover-up.'' In August a 
federal judge publicly urged prosecutor Nisman to speed up the 
investigation regarding Carlos Telledin to bring the case to oral 
trial. The investigation continued at year's end.
    The Government continued to support public dialogue to highlight 
past discrimination and to encourage religious tolerance, including the 
celebration of Freedom of Religion Day. In October the Ministry of 
Education and the Ministry of Tourism cosponsored an international 
colloquium entitled ``Two Argentine Centuries of Christian-Judeo-
Islamic Multiculturalism.'' The event included documentaries, 
exhibitions, and religious community speakers.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and laws prohibit 
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, 
and mental disabilities in employment, education, access to health 
care, or the provision of other state services. A specific law also 
mandates access to buildings for persons with disabilities. While the 
federal government has protective laws, many states have not adopted 
the laws and have no mechanisms to ensure enforcement. While the 
Government does not restrict the right of persons with disabilities to 
vote or participate in civic affairs, access to a voting location is 
often not possible for those with disabilities, and the required 
accommodations are often not met. There are accounts of persons with 
mental health conditions being denied the right to vote by election 
officials.
    On June 1, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional an article 
of a law putting certain limits on the right to travel on buses free of 
charge between home and places of work, assistance, education, or other 
social integration. The ruling effectively widened access to public 
transportation for persons with disabilities.
    On November 3, congress unanimously passed a law requiring all 
government entities to respect international Web site design standards, 
facilitating equal access to Web information for persons with 
disabilities. The law gives entities two years to comply with design 
standards.
    On November 25, congress passed the Mental Health Act, which 
broadens the number of treatment alternatives for persons with mental 
health conditions. It prohibits the creation of new psychiatric 
asylums, promotes medical care at general hospitals, and incorporates 
issues related to addiction into the mental health field. A 2007 CELS 
report indicated that 25,000 persons were confined to psychiatric 
asylums and that 80 percent of those persons were confined for more 
than one year.
    An estimated 82 percent of persons with disabilities lacked 
employment. Due to lengthy procedures for obtaining a certificate of 
disability, a key document to access services including rehabilitation, 
only 15 percent of unemployed persons with disabilities received a 
certificate of disability.
    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.
    The Government took a number of actions to improve respect for the 
rights of persons with disabilities. Santa Fe Province passed a law 
that mandates provincial tax forms in Braille be provided upon request 
to persons with visual disabilities. Chaco Province established a free 
hotline offering persons with disabilities information regarding their 
rights and benefits and general assistance.
    The Government responded to civil society requests to improve 
respect for the rights of persons with disabilities in education. In 
Neuquen approximately 1,000 students received approval from the 
Provincial Education Council to leave a special education school and 
enter the general public school system upon request of their parents. 
The National University of Cordoba, in response to requests from blind 
students, digitized 20,000 pages of text in five different fields of 
study to make them accessible to the visually impaired.
    The Government's Secretariat of University Policies signed an 
agreement in June at the Ministry of Education to finance renovations 
to make university buildings accessible to persons with disabilities 
seeking to ensure that the buildings and grounds of all national 
universities are safe and accessible for all users.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although discrimination against 
national, racial, and ethnic minorities was generally not a problem, in 
June the DAIA published a book describing instances of discrimination 
faced by 16 minorities, including Afro-Argentines, Koreans, Chinese, 
and other immigrants in 2008-09. The book outlined historical 
prejudices faced by the various groups; examples of discrimination 
against them in employment, education, and housing; and modern-day 
stereotypes, often based on physical appearance.
    In October the Government carried out the first census to contain a 
question recognizing the Afro-Argentine population. INADI underlined 
the importance of using the data to recognize the importance of the 
population's cultural and historical contribution to social diversity.

    Indigenous People.--The constitution recognizes the ethnic and 
cultural identities of indigenous people and states that the 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 
responsibility for implementing the law is delegated to the 23 
provinces, only 11 of which have constitutions recognizing indigenous 
rights.
    Although there is no formal process to recognize indigenous tribes 
or determine who is an indigenous person, indigenous communities can 
register with the provincial or federal government as civic 
associations.
    Estimates of the indigenous population ranged from 700,000 to 1.5 
million. Poverty rates were higher than average in areas with large 
indigenous populations. Indigenous people had greater than average 
rates of illiteracy, chronic disease, and unemployment. The lack of 
trained teachers hampered government efforts to offer bilingual 
education opportunities to indigenous people.
    Deforestation in Salta Province continued in violation of a 2008 
Supreme Court ruling that ordered the Salta governor to suspend 
clearing of forested areas pending completion of a study on the 
environmental effect of deforestation on indigenous persons living in 
the area. On April 22, representatives of indigenous groups met with 
the chief justice of the Supreme Court to advocate for the enforcement 
of the 2008 ruling. The representatives also highlighted the lack of 
national and international laws that protect the land rights of 
indigenous communities against encroachment by soy farming, logging 
companies, and other business interests. On September 15, the Supreme 
Court rejected a request from the indigenous communities to investigate 
and verify claims of deforestation in Salta using satellite images of 
the province.
    In July the NGO Human Rights Watch released a report, Indigenous 
Peoples in Argentina, denouncing the ``institutionalized 
discrimination'' against the Mapuche people in Neuquen Province. It 
described repression of the aboriginal community, the criminalization 
of indigenous protests, and the failure of private companies and the 
provincial goverment to comply with laws protecting indigenous rights. 
The report cited specifically the provincial government's expropriation 
of Mapuche lands.
    The two former policemen and one landowner charged with an October 
2009 killing of an indigenous person were released from pretrial 
detention, although charges remained pending.
    The Lhaka Honhat indigenous association continued to advocate for 
an IACHR decision on the petition regarding the national government's 
failure to implement a titling policy that would return their 
traditional land.
    An April report by AI investigating the situation of the indigenous 
population of Formosa Province concluded that the indigenous 
inhabitants had experienced a ``systematic violation of human rights'' 
by a state apparatus that ``marginalizes and coerces indigenous 
peoples.'' The report alleged violation of constitutional rights and 
international laws that protect indigenous peoples, as well as 
institutional abuse and discrimination in violation of Law 26.160, 
which prohibits forced evictions. AI cited violations of community 
property rights when the provincial government appropriated land and 
dug deep canals, which had a negative effect on resources available to 
the indigenous population.
    On November 23, police clashed with protestors from the indigenous 
Toba group of Formosa, leaving dead an indigenous man and a police 
officer as well as numerous serious injuries according to press 
reports. The violence came after protestors barricaded a provincial 
road for four months to demand the return of claimed ancestral lands, 
which the provincial government sought to use for a proposed university 
campus. The Ombudsman's Office of the Nation, national legislators, 
indigeneous leaders, and AI expressed concern for the role of the 
provincial government in the clash.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Three provinces still have 
laws that either criminalize transgender behavior or single out 
homosexual activity when referring to prostitution; however, INADI 
reported that these laws were rarely enforced. During the year nine 
provinces enacted laws to repeal articles criminalizing transgender 
behavior in prostitution.
    During the year INADI received 96 complaints of discrimination on 
the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender organizations operated 
freely. They worked closely with academic institutions, NGOs, and 
government authorities without interference.
    Numerous gay pride marches occurred throughout the country and 
received government authorization. Police provided protection to 
participants.
    On July 15, Congress passed a law to legalize same-sex marriages. 
The legislation removes all gender specification from existing marriage 
laws; permits gay and lesbian couples to marry; grants spouses 
immigration rights, medical benefits, pensions, and social security; 
and defines rights of inheritance for such couples by marriage law. 
Although the right to adopt children jointly is not explicitly granted 
in the bill, the removal of gender from the framework of marriage means 
that gay and lesbian parents receive the same treatment as heterosexual 
parents.
    Following the passage of the law, approximately 835 same-sex 
couples were married as of late December, according to figures provided 
by the Federation of Gays, Lesbians, Transvestites, and Bisexuals.
    In December 2009 the First Criminal Court of Salta sentenced Sergio 
Alfredo Nunez and Silvio Elias Soria to life imprisonment for their 
roles in the 2006 killing of transgender activist Pelusa Liendro.
    There was no official or overt societal discrimination based on 
sexual orientation in employment, housing, statelessness, or access to 
education or healthcare.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no known 
reports of societal violence against persons with HIV/AIDs, but there 
were occasional reports of discrimination against persons with HIV/
AIDS.
    There was an increase in reports of violence against the elderly in 
Buenos Aires City. More than 800 complaints of violence against the 
elderly were recorded during the first four months of the year.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides all workers, with 
the exception of military and law enforcement personnel, the right to 
form and join ``free and democratic labor unions, recognized by 
inscription in a special register,'' and workers exercised this right. 
An estimated 42 percent of the workforce was organized. Union 
participation varied among sectors; affiliation was as high as 99 
percent of the Electrical Workers Union and 70 percent in the Food 
Workers Union.
    The law allows unions to register without prior authorization, and 
registered trade union organizations may engage in certain activites to 
represent their members-including petitioning the Government and 
employers and adopting direct action measures. However, the law grants 
official trade union status to only one union deemed ``most 
representative'' per industrial sector within a specific geographical 
region. Only unions with such official recognition receive trade union 
immunity for their officials, are permitted to directly deduct union 
dues, and may bargain collectively. The International Labor 
Organization (ILO) raised concerns with the Government with respect to 
these provisions of the law.
    The Argentine Workers Central (CTA) and other labor groups not 
affiliated with the General Confederation of Labor continued to contend 
that the legal recognition of only one union per sector conflicts with 
ILO Convention 87 and prevents these unions from obtaining full legal 
standing. Despite a 2009 Supreme Court ruling in favor of the CTA and 
other unions seeking formal legal recognition, which would necesitate 
changes to current legislation and practice, the legislature had not 
modified labor legislation and the executive branch had not granted 
such recognition to the CTA at year's end. The IACHR continued to 
review the CTA's 2004 petition at year's end. In April the UN Human 
Rights Committee expressed concern with the Government's noncompliance 
with ILO Convention 87 and suggested it take measures to grant the CTA 
full legal standing.
    Unions have the right to strike, and workers exercised this right 
in practice. However, civil servants and workers in essential services 
may strike only after a compulsory 15-day conciliation process, and 
they are subject to the condition that undefined ``minimum services'' 
are rendered. Although ``minimum services'' have been defined in 
collective bargaining agreements in some cases, the law does not define 
``minimum services.'' Once the conciliation term expires, civil 
servants and workers in essential services must give five days' notice 
to the administrative authority and the public agency that they intend 
to strike. If ``minimum services'' have not previously been defined in 
a collective bargaining agreement, all parties then negotiate which 
minimum services will continue to be provided and a schedule for their 
provision. The public agency, in turn, must provide two days' notice to 
users about the intended strike. According to the Ministry of Labor, 
there were 497 labor conflicts that led to strikes in the first half of 
the year; 756,260 workers participated in the strikes.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides trade unions with official status the right to negotiate 
collective bargaining agreements, including recourse to conciliation 
and arbitration; this was effectively enforced in practice. The most 
representative union bargains on behalf of all workers and collective 
agreements cover both union members and nonmembers in the sector. 
Unions without official trade union status recognition by the 
Government (that is, those that are not the ``most representative'') in 
their sector, have made membership gains within the workplace. Some 
leaders of unions with official status reported that membership gains 
in unofficial unions impaired their ability to negotiate. The law 
requires the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Security to 
ratify collective bargaining agreements, which covered approximately 75 
percent of the formally employed workforce. There were no known cases 
during the year of the Government refusing to approve a collective 
agreement.
    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, there were reports that such 
practices occurred.
    Through December the International Organization for Migration 
assisted 29 victims and seven minor dependents that had been trafficked 
from Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina, nine of whom were 
exploited in sweatshops. Victims of forced labor also included eight 
persons working in fruit and vegetable stores, three in domestic 
services, two in street vending, and seven in other activities. 
Additionally, on December 30, the Government discovered 130 forced 
labor victims working in San Pedro for the Nidera agricultural company. 
The victims were predominantly from the provinces of Santiago del 
Estero and Tucuman in Argentina and included 30 children.
    In April police raided three textile workshops in La Matanza, where 
they found more than 80 Bolivian citizens working in an overcrowded 
environment. A police report suggested that the workers were underfed. 
A federal court was investigating the case for violations for the 
country's antihuman trafficking law at year's end.
    The 2008 case of 30 Bolivians working in exploitative conditions at 
a poultry farm in Buenos Aires Province had not gone to trial at year's 
end. Press reports indicated the company had not paid the fine by 
year's end. The Ministry of Labor was reviewing additional forced labor 
complaints, including two deaths, lodged against the company at year's 
end.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
While the law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, 
child labor persisted. A 2004 government survey revealed that an 
estimated 450,000 children were working, or 7 percent of children 
between the ages of five and 13 years old and 20 percent of children 
over the age of 14.
    In May the minimum age for employment was raised to 16 years old. 
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 16 and 
18 years old may work in a limited number of job categories and for 
limited hours if they have completed compulsory schooling, which 
normally ends at age 18. Legal penalties for employing underage workers 
ranged from 1,000 to 5,000 pesos ($269 to $1,344) for each child 
employed. Provincial governments and the city government of Buenos 
Aires are responsible for labor law enforcement.
    In rural areas, children worked in family and third-party farms 
producing such goods as blueberries, cotton, garlic, grapes, olives, 
strawberries, tobacco, tomatoes, and yerba mate. Children working in 
the agriculture sector often handled pesticides without proper 
protection. In urban areas, some children engaged in domestic service 
and worked on the street selling goods, shining shoes, and recycling 
trash. According to government sources, some children worked in the 
manufacturing sector producing such goods as bricks, matches, 
fireworks, and garments. Children were also found working in the 
mining, fishing, and construction sectors.
    The National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labor (CONAETI 
) continued to conduct seminars with the 22 provincial commissions for 
the eradication of child labor to train provincial authorities 
responsible for enforcing labor laws and raising awareness regarding 
exploitive child labor. It also continued providing technical 
assistance to NGOs addressing child labor in the tobacco and trash-
picking sectors, including workshops with tobacco producers to 
encourage corporate social responsibility on child labor issues. 
CONAETI also trained members of the Network of Businesses against Child 
Labor and developed ``Harvest Gardens'' which provided seven daycare 
centers for children in tobacco-producing zones.
    In 2009 the Government extended its Heads of Household initiative, 
a cash transfer and employment training program, to workers in the 
informal economy. The program targets vulnerable and unemployed 
populations with at least one child under the age of 18 by improving 
employability, reducing dependence on income from children's work, and 
providing scholarships. The Government provided scholarships to 13,684 
children and incorporated 653 adults into the Heads of Household 
program during the year. Also, as part of the implementation of the 
National Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor, 
CONAETI implemented awareness raising activities such as a national 
campaign against forced child labor as part of the ILO's World Day 
Against Child Labor; identified and strengthened direct action programs 
to prevent and combat child labor; and conducted trainings for health 
professionals on child labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government increased the 
monthly minimum wage in September to 1,740 pesos ($435). This exceeded 
the amount of 1,252 ($315) a month that the National Census and 
Statistics Institute (INDEC) estimated was 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. Generally 
speaking, the minimum wage served to mark the minimum pay an informal 
worker should get, although formal workers' pay was usually higher. In 
July La Nacion reported that, according to INDEC, wages of workers in 
the informal sector grew at a faster rate than workers in the formal 
sector. The Ministry of Labor, which is responsible for enforcing 
legislation related to working conditions, continued inspections to get 
companies to register their informal workers. According to a 2007 ILO 
study, 60 percent of employed citizens ages 15 to 24 were engaged in 
informal labor.
    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.The law 
requires that employers either provide insurance through a Labor Risk 
Insurance (ART) entity or provide its own insurance to employees to 
meet specified requirements set forth by the national insurance 
regulator.
    The Superintendence of Labor Risks serves as the enforcement agency 
to monitor compliance of health and safety laws and the activities of 
the Labor Risk Insurance companies. 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 was typically 
very lengthy.

                               __________

                              BAHAMAS, THE

    The Commonwealth of The Bahamas is a constitutional, parliamentary 
democracy with a population of approximately 354,000, including an 
estimated 30,000 undocumented Haitians. Prime Minister Hubert 
Ingraham's Free National Movement (FNM) regained control of the 
Government in May 2007 elections that observers found to be generally 
free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Human rights problems reported included complaints of abuse by 
police and prison and detention center guards; poor detention 
conditions; a poorly functioning judicial system, leading to delays in 
trials and lengthy pretrial detention; violence against women and 
children; and 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, 
police fatally shot individuals in the performance of their duties. 
Police investigated such incidents and referred them to a coroner's 
court when necessary for further evaluation. The public expressed 
concerns about escalation of force after several fatal shootings during 
the year.
    The May 4 fatal police shooting of Ricardo Knowles, who escaped 
from police custody, was before the coroner's court at year's end.
    An investigation determined that a 13-year-old boy who died in 
police custody in July died of natural causes. His family claimed he 
was choked to death.
    A patrol officer fatally shot a man on Bay Street in September 
after a verbal altercation allegedly resulted in the man brandishing a 
box cutter. Onlookers told the press that the man asked to be left 
alone and was walking away from the scene when the officer followed him 
and a scuffle ensued. Police launched an investigation into the 
shooting.
    On November 20, police fatally shot a young man in Bain Town after 
he was stopped and questioned about an illegal firearm. The police 
commissioner told the press an investigation into the matter had been 
launched and an autopsy scheduled.
    In March 2009 police shot a Nassau man in disputed circumstances. 
The victim later died, and the case was before the court at year's end.
    The May 2009 case in which a 15-year-old boy allegedly hanged 
himself in a holding cell while in police custody was ruled a suicide, 
although family members alleged that the hanging was a cover-up for a 
beating by police.
    The coroner's court received the case of the 2007 fatal shooting by 
police of two armed men who failed to stop when fleeing the scene of a 
crime. An investigation continued into another 2007 incident involving 
an individual killed by police at Rand Memorial Hospital on Grand 
Bahama.
    Authorities brought manslaughter charges against two officers in 
connection with the 2007 fatal beating of a suspect, Desmond Key. The 
case was before a magistrate's court at year's end.
    At year's end a magistrate's court was hearing the case against the 
police officer who fatally shot a man on Bimini Island in 2007.
    The coroner's court faced a heavy backlog of more than 129 cases, 
including 10 police shootings.

    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.
    A government investigation was under way into a complaint filed by 
Deborah Bostfield alleging that police beat her son, Jermaine Storr, 
outside a nightclub in January.
    Authorities charged police reservist Craig Hepburn with having 
unlawful intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in February and forcing 
her to cohabit with him. The matter was before the courts at year's 
end.
    An investigation was under way into allegations made by Lynette K. 
Oliver, who claimed she was repeatedly punched in the face and choked 
by police on April 25.
    In June a police reservist was convicted of sexually assaulting a 
woman during a traffic stop. He remained in custody pending sentencing.
    Police were awaiting forensic analysis results in an investigation 
opened after a woman in Grand Bahama accused police of sexual assault 
and death threats in September.
    In November police arrested Godfrey Hepburn in connection with a 
robbery. Hepburn's attorney told the magistrate that he was brutalized 
while in police custody.
    An investigation was conducted into allegations made by Barry 
McPhee Jr., who claimed he was violently beaten and given an electric 
shock after being arrested for stealing a cell phone in January 2009. 
The investigation was completed, and the matter was referred to the 
Police Tribunal.
    At year's end the investigation continued in the case of police 
officer Dwight Williamson, accused of raping a 15-year-old girl at the 
police station in August 2009.
    In December 2009 authorities charged police constable Daniel Paul 
Smith with raping a 19-year-old girl while on duty, suspended him, and 
placed him on half-pay. At year's end Smith's case was pending trial.
    An investigation continued into allegations that Royal Bahamas 
Defence Force officers Vaughn Saunders and Kendrick Ferguson beat James 
Demeritte in November 2009.
    Amnesty International reported that Emmanuel McKenzie, chairman of 
an environmental organization, was harassed and assaulted by police and 
defense forces during a fundraising event in April 2008. The Government 
responded to a UN Human Rights Committee request on this matter, denied 
the allegations of abuse, and stated that McKenzie was the subject of a 
criminal trial for possession of dangerous drugs with the intent to 
supply. A government investigation into McKenzie's claims that officers 
stole his property and abused him concluded that there was insufficient 
evidence to substantiate his claims.
    In February a court acquitted police officer Vaughn Pratt, arrested 
and accused of having sex with two minors in 2007. In July a court 
sentenced police reservist Charles Prince to five years in prison for 
the rape of a teenage girl in 2007.
    There were other allegations of police beatings and brutality 
throughout the year. The Government stated that no official complaints 
were received in reference to many of these allegations. Victims' 
families and community activists claimed that many officers had their 
cases thrown out of court or dropped by the Attorney General's Office. 
In addition many officers waited years for their court date, only to 
return to work without having their names cleared.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions at Fox Hill 
Prison, the country's only prison, remained harsh for many prisoners. 
Overcrowding was a major problem in the men's maximum-security block. 
Originally built in 1953 to hold 450 inmates, it held 624 of the 
country's 1,322 prisoners. The remaining prisoners were held in medium- 
and minimum-security units that were at intended capacity. Male 
prisoners in the maximum-security unit were crowded into poorly 
ventilated and poorly lit cells that generally lacked regular running 
water. During the year authorities installed composting toilets and 
acquired 100 mattresses for the maximum security unit, expanded access 
to medical and dental services, and expanded access to technical and 
vocational services. Despite these upgrades prisoners continued to 
report sleeping on concrete floors and inadequate access to medical 
care. A classroom within the maximum-security facility provided 
educational programs to high-risk offenders who could not attend 
classes within the correctional training institute. Maximum-security 
inmates were allowed outside for exercise four days a week for one hour 
per day. Inmates complained of inadequate potable water, lack of 
medical care, and poor treatment.
    Family members of prisoners raised concerns about the lack of 
potable water at the prison, but the Government insisted there was no 
shortage of potable water. Four reverse osmosis units were installed at 
various housing units from which each inmate was able to extract a 
minimum of one gallon of potable water during exercise time each day, 
free of charge. In addition bottled water was available for purchase 
from the inmate commissary.
    A remand center held 602 detainees; it has a medical facility and 
exercise yard, as well as a well-equipped health diagnostic unit and a 
pharmacy. That facility had water treatment units installed and the 
dental unit renovated and refurbished.
    There continued to be allegations of abuse by prison guards. Local 
attorneys and human rights observers asserted that the prison's 
internal affairs unit lacked the independence needed to investigate 
impartially allegations of abuse and misconduct; it conducted 128 
investigations during the year.
    Conditions for female prisoners were less severe than for men; 
however, women did not have access to the same work-release programs 
available to male prisoners.
    The prison has a separate section for juvenile offenders between 
the ages of 16 and 18. There was occasional mixing of juveniles with 
adult inmates depending on 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 held separately. Haitians and Jamaicans were the most commonly 
interdicted migrants. The highest occupancy during the year was 
approximately 252. Observers complained of continuing abuse by guards, 
although immigration officials stated that no such complaints were 
filed during the year. 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 except during weekly visitation. 
Despite the possibility of being held for months, children did not have 
access to education.
    The Government investigated and monitored prison and detention 
center conditions. A team of community leaders conducted a fact-finding 
mission during the year, but the results were not made public. 
Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. The Government asserted that there were 
no requests to submit complaints to judicial authorities during the 
year. However, officials stated that all credible allegations were 
investigated.
    Neither domestic nor international human rights groups made any 
requests to visit the detention center or prison during the year. 
However, organizations providing aid, counseling services, and 
religious instruction had regular access to inmates.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed 
these prohibitions, although police occasionally were accused of 
arresting and detaining persons arbitrarily.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Royal Bahamas 
Police Force (RBPF) maintains internal security, and the small Royal 
Bahamas Defense Force (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.
    A police officer involved in shooting or killing a suspect is 
automatically placed under investigation. The Police Complaints and 
Corruption Branch (PCCB), which reports directly to the deputy 
commissioner, 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. Due to concern that the PCCB lacked independence and 
that a perceived lack of impartiality discouraged full reporting of 
complaints, in August a new independent body--the Police Complaints 
Inspectorate Office--was established on New Providence and Grand Bahama 
in August to investigate complaints against police. The body was to be 
staffed by independent members of the public to probe complaints of 
police corruption and brutality.
    The Government reported that no official complaint was made after a 
police officer was accused of savagely beating his girlfriend in May 
2009. The 2009 case of four police officers charged with armed robbery 
and extortion was pending trial at year's end. The Government reported 
that no official complaint was made after authorities arrested two 
police officers for an unauthorized raid on a bar in November 2009.
    There were 233 complaints against police through October, compared 
with 257 in 2009. Of these cases, the PCCB recommended 23 to the Police 
Tribunal, informally resolved 19, found 31to be unsubstantiated, 
determined that 65 were unfounded, concluded that 57 had insufficient 
evidence, and discharged 11 officers in other cases. Complainants 
withdrew 25 cases, and two required no further police action. The 
overwhelming number of complaints involved allegations of assault, 
followed by unethical behavior and missing property.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in 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 request 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. The constitution provides the 
right for those arrested or detained to retain an attorney at their own 
expense; volunteer legal aides were sometimes available. Minors under 
the age of 18 have the right to communicate with a parent or guardian.
    There is a functioning bail system. 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, in view of 
possible delays in court cases and harsh conditions in the prison.
    Attorneys and other prisoner advocates continued to complain of 
excessive pretrial detention due to the failure of the criminal justice 
system to try even the most serious cases in a timely manner. The 
constitution provides that suspects can be held for a ``reasonable 
period of time'' before trial. Government officials stated that 
approximately 600 of the 1,332 prisoners at Fox Hill Prison were 
awaiting trial. Available government statistics suggested that 
approximately 100 prisoners had been held on remand without trial for 
more than two years. This was recognized as a major problem in the 
justice system, as criminals accused of serious crimes made bail, while 
many others were held indefinitely without trial.
    The authorities detained illegal immigrants, primarily Haitians, 
until arrangements could be made for them to leave the country or they 
obtained legal status. The average length of detention varied 
significantly by nationality, willingness of governments to accept 
their nationals back in a timely manner, and availability of funds to 
pay for repatriation. Haitians usually were repatriated within one 
week, while Cubans were held for much longer periods. 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.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and 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 bail system, 
but individuals who could not post bail were held on remand 
indefinitely. Defendants can elect to use a jury in criminal cases; 
serious offenses such as murder and fraud automatically go to a jury.
    During the year the Supreme Court reported a backlog of 450 cases, 
and other courts had a large and steadily expanding backlog of cases, 
which included hundreds of cases of the most serious violent crime. 
Estimates of the backlog in other courts ranged from 40,000 to 95,000 
cases. Delays reportedly lasted five years or more. Local legal 
professionals attributed delays to a variety of longstanding systemic 
problems, such as slow police investigation, inefficient prosecution 
strategies, lack of judicial capacity, lengthy legal procedures, staff 
shortages, and judicial inefficiency compounded by financial and space 
constraints.
    Defendants may hire an attorney of their choice, but the Government 
provided legal representation only to destitute suspects charged with 
capital crimes, leaving large numbers of defendants without adequate 
legal representation. Lack of representation contributed to excessive 
pretrial detention, as some accused lacked the means to pursue the case 
toward 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.
    In January the Court of Appeal affirmed the constitutionality of 
the Listening Devices Act, which had been challenged during an 
extradition hearing in 2008.

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 independent media were 
active and expressed a wide variety of views without significant 
restriction.

    Internet Freedom.--The Government did not impose restrictions on 
public access to the Internet. There were no reports that the 
Government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and 
groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the 
Internet, including by e-mail. According to the International 
Telecommunication Union, there were 42 Internet users per 100 
inhabitants in 2009.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events. However, the Plays 
and Films Control Board rates and censors entertainment.

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--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 
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened. When they occur, applications for 
political asylum were adjudicated on a case-by-case basis at the 
cabinet level. The authorities did not receive any requests nor grant 
asylum during the year.
    The Government generally cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The Government did not 
systematically share its prescreening notes with the UNHCR but did seek 
UNHCR advice on specific cases of concern.
    Local and international human rights observers criticized the 
Government for failing to screen potential asylum applicants 
adequately. Those requesting asylum screening often lacked access to 
legal counsel. Human rights observers claimed that the Government 
detained Cuban migrants for excessive periods. The Government asserted 
that all migrants who claim asylum are interviewed and screened 
adequately by trained immigration officials.

    Stateless Persons.--The Government has not effectively implemented 
laws and policies to provide certain habitual residents the opportunity 
to gain nationality in a timely manner and on a nondiscriminatory 
basis. Children born to non-Bahamian parents or to a Bahamian mother 
and a non-Bahamian father born outside the Bahamas do not automatically 
acquire citizenship. Bahamian-born persons of foreign heritage must 
apply for citizenship during the year after their 18th birthday, 
sometimes waiting many years for a government response. The narrow 
window for application, difficult documentary requirements, and long 
waiting times created generations of de facto stateless persons. 
However, the Government did not consider many of these individuals 
stateless, because they were often eligible for the citizenship of 
their parents and could apply for Bahamian citizenship on their 18th 
birthday. Individuals born in the country to Haitian parents were not 
required to pay the college tuition rate for foreign students while 
waiting for their request for citizenship to be processed. There were 
no reliable estimates of the number of de facto stateless persons.

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 governing FNM and the opposition Progressive Liberal 
Party (PLP). In 2007 national elections generally considered free and 
fair, the FNM won 23 of 41 seats in the House of Assembly and formed 
the new government under Hubert Ingraham. The election campaign under 
the incumbent PLP, however, was marred by instances of violence, 
alleged favoritism by the influential state-owned electronic media 
toward government candidates, and allegations of vote-buying.
    The House of Assembly had five elected female members; there were 
five appointed female senators, including its president, in the 14-seat 
Senate. There was one woman in the cabinet.
    Information on racial background was not collected, but there were 
several members of minorities in prominent positions in parliament and 
the cabinet.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were 
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
    Senior public officials, such as senators and members of 
parliament, were subject to financial disclosure under the Public 
Disclosure Act. Antibribery legislation designates the attorney general 
responsible for combating government corruption.
    The RBPF operated a complaints and corruption branch, which 
received 11 corruption reports during the year: it sent one to the 
police tribunal, found that one was unsubstantiated, recommended 
criminal charges in one case, and had eight cases under investigation 
at year's end.
    Police investigated two extortion cases involving the alleged 
corruption of police officers. One case was determined to have 
insufficient evidence, and one matter was under investigation at year's 
end. In March authorities accused several female police officers of 
operating an illegal male strip show. The matter was before the courts 
at year's end.
    At year's end an investigation continued into the March allegations 
of conspiracy to commit fraud against police officer Eddie Florival and 
prison officer Freeman Basden.
    Police charged Corporal Jay Sergeant and Constable Harold Sands 
with aiding the escape of two inmates at the Central Police Station; 
the matter was before the court at year's end.
    Authorities charged one person from the Department of Immigration's 
Passport Office with corruption in a bribery scheme; at year's end the 
matter was before the courts.
    In September authorities accused two paramedics of extortion after 
they reportedly forced injured tourists to prepay for treatment and 
transport to the hospital. Emergency Medical Services director Avery 
Hanna suspended the crew pending an official investigation of the 
matter.
    In August the RBPF discharged from the force police Constable 
Ricardo Kevin Bauld, arrested in 2007, after he was convicted of drug 
possession.
    Media reports alleged that millions of dollars in government 
contracts were awarded inappropriately to the close friend of a senior 
civil servant. Both political parties were subject to corruption 
allegations concerning the inappropriate transfer of government-owned 
land. The opposition party also charged the FNM government with 
corruption in relation to a controversial relocation of the container 
port.
    In January 2009 authorities charged a former PLP senator and an 
ambulance driver with conspiracy and abetting an alleged extortion 
attempt. A mistrial was declared in the first trial and the defendants 
faced retrial, but the complainant declined to pursue the case at 
year's end. At year's end an investigation continued in the July 2009 
case of a former PLP treasurer who was indicted on money laundering 
charges in a foreign jurisdiction.
    In July 2009 authorities suspended 16 customs officials over 
allegations that included falsifying documents, bribery, stealing, and 
evasion of customs duties. Later, authorities dismissed nine of the 
officers, retired four in the public interest, and redeployed two 
elsewhere in the public service. Police investigations into government 
contract corruption in the wake of 2004 hurricanes Frances and Jeanne 
continued at year's end.
    The PLP accused Minister of the Environment Earl Deveaux of 
corruption after he submitted development plans from the same company 
for which he accepted free helicopter rides. The prime minister 
declined Deveaux's letter of resignation and told the press he did not 
believe the incident was a dismissible offense.
    Media representatives criticized the lack of laws providing for 
public access to government information. Members of the local press 
also 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 police and prison and detention center guards, citing 
a lack of transparency in investigations and publication of 
investigative reports.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
usually were cooperative and responsive to their views.
    A governmental ``commissioner'' with ombudsman-like duties enjoyed 
the Government's cooperation and was considered effective.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, 
place of origin, political opinion, or creed, and the Government 
generally enforced these prohibitions. However, the constitution and 
the law contain provisions that discriminate against women.
    The country consists of 700 islands and cays, 30 of which are 
inhabited. Information reflects the situation in the highly populated 
areas on New Providence and Grand Bahama. Limited information was 
available from the lesser populated out islands.

    Women.--Rape is illegal, but the law does not address spousal rape, 
except if the couple is separating, in the process of divorce, or if 
there is a restraining order in place. The maximum penalty for all 
offenses, including a first-time offense, is life imprisonment. 
According to the RBPF, 72 rapes were reported by October 14, a decrease 
from 90 reported in 2009. Prosecutions and convictions on rape charges 
were common. In August the RBPF activated a Victim Support Unit on the 
island of Grand Bahama to assist victims of rape and other serious 
crimes, a new unit created in response to a sharp increase in reports 
of rape on that island.
    Violence against women continued to be a serious, widespread 
problem. The law prohibits domestic violence as a crime separate from 
assault and battery, and the Government generally enforced the law. The 
police reported that eight of 78 killings recorded through October were 
related to domestic violence. 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 operated a toll-free hotline in New Providence and 
Grand Bahama, with trained volunteers to respond to emergency calls 24 
hours a day. Government and private women's organizations continued 
public awareness campaigns highlighting the problems of abuse and 
domestic violence. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development's 
Department of Social Services, in partnership with a private 
organization, operated a safe house to assist battered women. The 
ministry's Bureau of Women's Affairs was responsible for promoting and 
protecting women's rights.
    The law prohibits criminal ``quid pro quo'' sexual harassment and 
authorizes penalties of up to B$5,000 ($5,000) and a maximum of two 
years' imprisonment. The Ministry of Labor and Social Development 
received 10 reports of workplace sexual harassment during the year. 
Civil rights advocates complained that criminal prohibitions were not 
enforced effectively and that civil remedies, including a prohibition 
on ``hostile environment'' sexual harassment, were needed.
    Couples and individuals generally could decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and were 
not subject to discrimination, coercion, or violence regarding these 
choices. Access to family planning was universally available to persons 
age 18 and older and to younger persons with the consent of an adult. 
Pregnant teens were removed from government educational institutions 
and placed in a special school, Providing Access to Continued 
Education, until after the birth of their children. The Maternal and 
Child Health Unit of the Ministry of Health provided information 
pamphlets on maternal and child health to clinics. A government Web 
site provided information for maternal and child healthcare services 
provided by various clinics throughout the country. Women had access to 
maternal health services. According to UN data, skilled personnel 
attended 99 percent of births, and 98 percent of mothers received 
prenatal and postpartum care. UN agencies estimated the maternal 
mortality rate to be 49 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2008. The 
Population Reference Bureau estimated the infant mortality rate at 14 
per 1,000 live births. Services were available on a nondiscriminatory 
basis, although some illegal immigrants did not receive postpartum care 
because they had no fixed address.
    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 than for women with foreign 
spouses to confer citizenship on their children. The law does not 
include gender as a basis for protection from discrimination. Women 
were generally free of economic discrimination, and the law provides 
for equal pay for equal work.

    Children.--Children born to non-Bahamian parents or to a Bahamian 
mother and a non-Bahamian father born outside of the Bahamas do not 
automatically acquire citizenship. Otherwise, citizenship is acquired 
by birth in the country. There is universal birth registration; all 
births must be registered within 21 days of delivery. All residents, 
regardless of immigration status, had free access to education and 
social programs.
    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 hotline regarding missing or exploited children. 
The Child Protection Act of 2007 included increased penalties for child 
abuse, mandatory reporting to police of all forms of child abuse, a 
provision for fathers of children born out of wedlock to pursue custody 
of the children, and a provision for mothers of children born out of 
wedlock to pursue maintenance of those children up to age 18.
    The Department of Social Services reported 483 cases of child abuse 
between January and November. They included 55 cases of physical abuse, 
243 cases of neglect, eight cases of incest, and two cases of emotional 
abuse. All other forms of abuse accounted for less than 10 cases each. 
The ministry believed that only a minority of cases were reported. The 
Ministry of Education conducted investigations into allegations of 
sexual impropriety against 29 teachers during the year. The Public 
Service Commission terminated 18 teachers, five cases were pending 
before the courts, and insufficient evidence was found in the remaining 
six.
    The law requires all persons having contact with a child they 
believe to have been physically or sexually abused to report their 
suspicions to the police. Sexual exploitation of children through 
incestuous relationships occurred, and anecdotal reports suggested that 
this was a particular problem in the out islands. Observers generally 
acknowledged that a small number of children were involved in illicit 
or unlawful activities. The ministry may remove children from abusive 
situations if the court deems it necessary. The ministry provided 
services to 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 Department 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 abandoned children with physical 
disabilities when foster homes could not be found.
    The law prohibits statutory rape of persons under the age of 16; 
victims between the ages of 14 and 16 carry penalties of up to 14 
years' imprisonment, with harsher penalties involving persons under age 
14. While a victim's consent is insufficient defense against 
allegations of statutory rape, it is sufficient defense if an 
individual can demonstrate that the accused had ``reasonable cause to 
believe that the victim was above 16 years of age,'' provided the 
accused was under age 18.
    Child pornography is against the law. A person who produces it is 
liable to life imprisonment; dissemination or possession of it calls 
for a penalty of 20 years' imprisonment.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at www.travel.state.gov/abduction/
resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308 .html, as well as 
country-specific information at www.travel.state.gov/abduction/country/
country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The 
local Jewish community numbered approximately 200 persons.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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. However, provisions in other legislation address 
the rights of persons with disabilities, including a prohibition of 
discrimination on the basis of disability. 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.
    In its attempt to counter all forms of discrimination against 
persons with disabilities the Government, through its Disability 
Affairs Division, engaged in several outreach efforts. The division 
collaborated with disability-related NGOs and the community of persons 
with disabilities in the formulation of national antidiscrimination 
legislation, which was in its final stages of preparation. The division 
also established a national registry for persons with disabilities in 
order to obtain statistical data that provides the kind of information 
needed for the creation of inclusive policies and support services 
necessary for equal participation in all aspects of society. Daily sign 
language interpretation for national evening news broadcasts was 
provided.
    New measures were taken to provide training, education, and job 
placement services for adults and children with disabilities. The 
Government provided financial assistance for computer classes and 
technical skills training at the Bahamas Technical Vocational 
Institute. A disability allowance was provided to children with 
disabilities under the age of 16 to assist with caring for a child with 
special needs. Monthly self-esteem building support groups were held 
for men and women with disabilities. Free Braille classes were provided 
for individuals with vision loss as well as free sign language 
interpretation for individuals with hearing loss. Adaptive technology 
was provided for children with multiple disabilities at the Bahamas 
Association for the Physically Disabled (a school for children with 
multiple disabilities).
    In June media reports indicated a patient died, possibly due to 
neglect, at the Sandilands Psychiatric Hospital. The Government 
conducted a comprehensive investigation which included detailed 
accounts from medical and support personnel, as well as the submission 
of closed circuit television footage. The Government found that there 
was no evidence of negligence on the part of staff in this matter.
    The Social Development Ministry's Disability Affairs Unit worked 
with the Bahamas National 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 such persons. A mix of government and 
private residential and nonresidential institutions provided education, 
training, counseling, and job placement services for adults and 
children with both physical and mental disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's racial and ethnic 
groups generally coexisted in a climate of peace and mutual respect 
without overt racial or other tensions. However, anti-Haitian prejudice 
and resentment regarding Haitian immigration was common. According to 
unofficial estimates, between 10 and 25 percent of the population were 
Haitians or persons of Haitian descent, making them the largest ethnic 
minority. Many persons of Haitian origin lived in shantytowns with 
limited sewage and garbage services, law enforcement, or other 
infrastructure. Haitian children generally were granted access to 
education and social services, but interethnic tensions and inequities 
persisted. The Haitian community was characterized by high poverty, 
high unemployment, poor educational achievement, and poor health 
conditions. Haitians generally had difficulty in securing citizenship, 
residence, or work permits.
    Lawyers for an illegal Haitian resident in Nassau, whom an RBDF 
officer shot and injured in 2007, continued their civil suit seeking 
damages against the officer, the commander of the RBDF, and the 
attorney general, even though the man was subsequently deported. The 
case was scheduled to be heard in June 2011.
    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. 
Some also complained of tactics used by immigration officials in raids 
of Haitian or suspected Haitian communities. The economic recession led 
to an increase in resentment against the Haitian population and a 
tendency to blame Haitians for rising crime rates.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Societal discrimination 
against gay men and lesbians occurred, with some persons reporting job 
and housing discrimination based upon sexual orientation. Although 
homosexual activities between consenting adults are legal, no 
legislation addresses the human rights concerns of gay, lesbian, 
bisexual, or transgender persons. The 2006 Constitutional Review 
Commission found that sexual orientation did not deserve protection 
against discrimination.
    A jury acquitted Troyniko McNeil, accused of the 2008 killing of a 
reportedly gay person, handbag designer Harl Taylor. At year's end the 
Public Service Commission was still investigating two other 2008 
killings of reportedly gay individuals.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Stigma and 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS was high, but there were 
no reports of violence against persons with HIV/AIDS. Children with 
HIV/AIDS also faced discrimination, and teachers often were not told 
that a child was HIV positive for fear of verbal abuse from both 
educators and peers. The Government maintained a home for orphaned 
children infected with HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. 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. Almost one-quarter of the 
workforce (and 80 percent of the workers in the hospitality industry) 
belonged to unions. Members of the police force, defense force, fire 
brigade, and prison guards may not organize or join unions.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised 
this right in practice.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers freely 
exercised their right to organize and participate in collective 
bargaining, which the law protects. Employers can apply to have union 
recognition revoked if a collective agreement is not reached after 12 
months. Unions and employers negotiated wage rates without government 
interference.
    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 can be appealed in court only on a strict question of law. Some 
employers complained the industrial tribunal was biased unfairly in 
favor of employees. After a massive ``sick out'' by the Bahamas Nurses 
Union in 2009 over a health insurance dispute, the Government announced 
it would prosecute doctors who falsified sick notes. The nurses 
returned to work and secured health coverage during the year.
    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. 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.
    There were reports that Haitian laborers suffered abuses at the 
hands of their employers. Local sources indicated that labor 
exploitation of undocumented Haitians could be widespread, and some 
immigrants may be subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude. 
Employers could coerce migrants to work long hours for no pay or below 
the minimum wage by withholding documents or threatening arrest and 
deportation. Migrant workers usually did not have access to labor 
protections under local law.
    Smuggling rings continued to take advantage of the demand for labor 
by bringing in irregular migrants from Haiti. See also the Department 
of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor 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 Labor Ministry is responsible for 
enforcing these laws and did so adequately.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage was $4 per hour 
for hourly workers, B$30 ($30) per day for daily workers and B$150 
($150) per week for weekly-paid workers. The Labor Ministry was 
responsible for enforcing the minimum wage but did not 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 enforced effectively.
    The Labor Ministry 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, although 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, although the ministry actively 
sought international assistance to improve performance. 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 276,000. In January 2008 general elections the Democratic 
Labour Party (DLP), which had been in opposition since 1994, defeated 
the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), and DLP leader David Thompson became 
prime minister. In October Thompson died in office and was replaced by 
Deputy Prime Minister Freundel Stuart. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    Human rights problems included occasional use of excessive force by 
the police 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, but on 
rare occasions, there were police killings in the line of duty. All 
such killings were investigated and referred to a coroner's inquiry 
when appropriate.
    Both the June and December 2009 police killings of Hugh Springer 
and Denzil Headley, respectively, remained under investigation at 
year's end. The hearing in the Springer case began in November; one in 
the Headley case had not been scheduled by year's end. There was no 
information available about the outcome of investigations into the 2007 
police killing of Michael Davis or the 2006 killing of Richard Gordon.

    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 torture and 
inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment, but sometimes there 
were reports that police used excessive force. Most complaints against 
the police alleged unprofessional conduct and beating or assault. 
Police occasionally were accused of beating suspects to obtain 
confessions, and suspects often recanted their confessions during their 
trial. In many cases the only evidence against the accused was a 
confession. Suspects and their family members continued to allege 
coercion by police, but there was no evidence of systematic police 
abuse.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards. Dodds Prison, 
built in 2007 in St. Philip, was designed to meet modern international 
standards with a capacity of approximately 1,250 prisoners. According 
to prison officials, in October it held 910 prisoners, including 
pretrial detainees. Although prisoners occasionally complained about 
the quality of the food, Dodds has a canteen program permitting family 
members to make deposits into inmate accounts, and inmates may purchase 
popular food, snacks, toiletries, and dry goods. Prisoners may submit 
complaints to the officer in charge. If that officer cannot resolve the 
problem, it is referred to the warden.
    There were 37 female prisoners held in a separate wing. There were 
separate juvenile facilities for boys and girls.
    Authorities permitted reasonable access to visitors, and the 
Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
monitors.

    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.--At year's end the Royal 
Barbados Police Force (RBPF) numbered 1,452--including 74 special 
constables--and is responsible for internal law enforcement. While 
still a male-dominated profession, the number of female recruits 
increased to 238. 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. An armed 
special rapid-response unit continued to operate. The law provides that 
the police can request BDF assistance with special joint patrols.
    In 2004 the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) replaced the Office 
of Professional Responsibility in handling public complaints of 
inappropriate police conduct. The authority is headed by a retired 
judge. The authorities did not report the number of cases the PCA 
handled but stated that several cases have been heard. There were no 
convictions of police for unlawful conduct or abuse of authority.
    There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces 
during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in 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.
    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 between 50 and 100 persons in pretrial detention at 
various times during the year. While length of pretrial detention can 
vary from one case to another, there were no reports of extended 
periods of pretrial detention or abuse of the practice.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides that persons charged 
with criminal offenses be given a fair public hearing without 
unnecessary delay by an independent, impartial court and a trial by 
jury. The Government generally respected these rights in practice. 
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.

    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.
    In March 2009 the director of public prosecutions officially 
dropped the charges against two journalists who were arrested when 
attempting to cover the arraignment of a police officer charged with 
drug possession and trafficking charges in 2008.
    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 chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
According to the International Telecommunication Union, there were 74 
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2010.

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide 
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, 
and repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights 
in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government has not established a 
system for providing protection to refugees. The Government did not 
expel or return refugees to a country where their lives or freedom 
would be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, 
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, although 
no known cases occurred.
    The Government did not grant refugee status or asylum during the 
year. The Government was prepared to cooperate with the Office of the 
UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations 
in assisting refugees, asylum seekers, and other persons of concern.

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 general elections held 
in January 2008, the DLP, which had been in opposition since 1994, 
defeated the BLP, led by then prime minister Owen Arthur. The DLP won 
20 of the 30 seats in the parliament's House of Assembly, and DLP 
leader David Thompson became prime minister. Following Thompson's death 
in October, the DLP parliamentary group selected Deputy Prime Minister 
Freundel Stuart to become prime minister.
    There were no restrictions on the political opposition. Individuals 
and parties were free to declare their candidacy and stand for 
election.
    Two cabinet members were female; there were three women in the 
House of Assembly. There were four women and three minorities in the 
21-member appointed Senate.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively.
    After she was fired in August, the National Housing Corporation's 
(NHC) former board chairman alleged that the minister of housing 
improperly bypassed the NHC board in issuing insurance and building 
contracts. The opposition BLP threatened to draft a resolution of 
investigation and bring the matter to the Public Accounts Committee of 
Parliament.
    There is no law that subjects public officials to financial 
disclosure. Parliament's Public Accounts Committee and the auditor 
general conduct investigations of all government public accounts, which 
include ministries, departments, and statutory bodies.
    There is 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 5. 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.
    The Ombudsman's Office hears complaints against government offices 
for alleged injuries or injustices resulting from administrative 
conduct. The governor general appoints the ombudsman on the 
recommendation of the prime minister in consultation with the leader of 
the opposition; Parliament must approve the appointment. The ombudsman 
submits annual reports to Parliament, which contain both 
recommendations on changes to laws and descriptions of actions taken by 
the Ombudsman's Office.

Section 6. 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.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and the 
maximum penalty for it is life imprisonment. There were legal 
protections against spousal rape for women holding a court-issued 
divorce decree, separation order, or nonmolestation order. Authorities 
charged 112 persons with sex-related offenses, compared with 109 in 
2009. Charges were brought in 44 cases of rape, compared with 65 in 
2009; 19 cases of sex with a minor, compared with 17 in 2009; 42 cases 
of indecent assault, compared with 35 in 2009; and seven cases on other 
charges, compared with five in 2009 (some persons faced more than one 
charge). Many cases were pending in the courts for months or years.
    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.
    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 one 
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.
    The law does not specifically address sexual harassment, which was 
a problem. There were no statistics available on the prevalence of 
sexual harassment cases. Media reports often indicated that women were 
afraid to report sexual harassment because they feared retribution in 
the workplace.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and means to 
do so free from discrimination. Skilled attendance at delivery and in 
postpartum care were widely available, as was access to information on 
contraception. According to UN data, there were an estimated 64 
maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 2008. Women and men were 
given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually 
transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
    The Office of Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Family 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. According to the World Economic Forum's 2010 Global 
Gender Gap Report, women earned 26 percent less than men for comparable 
work. A government poverty eradication fund focused on encouraging 
entrepreneurial activities to increase employment for women and youth.

    Children.--Citizenship is obtained by birth in the country. There 
was universal birth registration.
    Violence and abuse against children remained serious problems.
    Pornography is illegal, but there was no information available 
about any specific prohibitions dealing with child pornography.
    The Ministry of Labor did not receive any complaints about child 
labor during the year. The Ministry of Family, Culture, Youth and 
Sports acknowledged that child prostitution occurred; however, there 
was no research to document that problem.
    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.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308. html, as well 
as country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small, and there were 
no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development 
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.
    While no legislation mandates 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, most new 
buildings had ramps, reserved parking, and special sanitary facilities 
for such persons.
    The Government's National Disabilities Unit continued numerous 
programs for persons with disabilities, including Call-a-Ride and Dial-
a-Ride public transportation programs, sensitization workshops for 
public transportation operators, inspections of public transportation 
vehicles, sign language education programs, integrated summer camps, 
and accessibility programs. In April the unit, along with the Barbados 
Fire Service, launched a program to install fire detectors in the homes 
of persons with disabilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes 
consensual homosexual relations, and 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 gays and lesbians occurred.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The Government 
continued a large country-wide media campaign to discourage 
discrimination against HIV/AIDS-infected persons and others living with 
them. While there was no systematic discrimination, HIV/AIDS-infected 
persons did not commonly disclose the condition due to lack of social 
acceptance.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--Workers freely exercised their right 
to form and belong to trade unions. Approximately 40 percent of the 
125,000-person workforce was unionized; unionized workers were 
concentrated in key sectors such as transportation, government, the 
hotel sector, and agriculture. There were two major unions, the 
National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) in the public sector and the 
Barbados Workers Union (BWU), focused on the private sector, with some 
overlapping representation in the state-owned enterprise sector. Of the 
20,000-member public sector workforce, 50 percent belonged to the NUPW, 
and an estimated 20 percent of private sector workers also belonged to 
that union. The unions wielded significant influence. Both unions 
belong to the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of 
Barbados (CTUSAB), which brings together all unions and staff 
associations. Police, firefighters, and prison officers are not allowed 
to unionize, but their associations function as quasi-unions and are 
members of the CTUSAB.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised 
this right in practice. All private sector employees are permitted to 
strike, but the Trade Union Act and the Better Service Act prohibit 
essential workers, such as police, firefighters, electricity, and water 
company employees, from engaging in strikes.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Workers 
exercised the legal right to organize and bargain collectively. 
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 2005. At year's 
end it was still in place, and a sixth protocol was under discussion. 
The Social Partnership Agreement provides for monthly meetings of 
labor, management, and government and is chaired by the prime minister 
or the minister responsible for labor affairs.
    The Trade Union Act governs trade union activities. Under the act, 
companies are not obligated to recognize unions or to accept collective 
bargaining. Although employers were under no legal obligation to 
recognize unions, most did so when a significant percentage of their 
employees expressed a desire to be represented by a registered union. 
In practice most major employers recognized unions, but smaller 
companies were often not unionized. The 25,000-member BWU took a number 
of actions when it had reason to believe companies were not respecting 
the rights of union members.
    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. Labor unions 
reported some companies engaged in antiunion discrimination and 
complained to the Labor Ministry on a number of occasions about what 
they deemed antiunion activity by employers. According to the BWU 
general secretary, some unspecified foreign firms engaged in antiunion 
activities.
    There are no export processing zones.

    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. 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. According to the chief 
labor inspector, no underage employment cases were filed during the 
past few years.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Shop Keepers Act 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 BDS5 (approximately $2.50) per 
hour, which was only marginally sufficient to provide a decent standard 
of living for a worker and family. The Ministry of Labor recommended 
companies use this as the de facto minimum wage, and the prevailing 
wage on the island was higher than the legal minimum wage. The Labor 
Department within that ministry was charged with enforcing the minimum 
wage. There were occasional press reports alleging that migrant workers 
received less than the minimum wage, but the chief labor inspector 
insisted all workers' salaries were above the minimum wage.
    The standard legal workweek is 40 hours in five days, and the law 
requires overtime payment of time and one-half for hours worked in 
excess. The law prescribes that all overtime must be voluntary.
    The 2005 Occupational Safety and Health at Work Act was never 
promulgated into law, as it was passed at the end of the last 
administration and was therefore still under review. The Labor 
Department enforced other health and safety standards, such as those in 
the 1986 Factories (Amendment) Act, and in most cases 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. The Ministry 
of Labor conducted a two-week basic occupational and safety standards 
course for business, government, and trade union officials.
    Civic organizations such as the Barbados Employer's Confederation 
worked closely with the Government to ensure worker safety was 
protected despite the nonimplementation of the 2005 law. Trade union 
monitors identified safety problems for government health and safety 
inspectors to ensure the enforcement of safety and health regulations 
and effective correction by management. The Labor Department's Health 
and Safety Inspection Unit conducted several routine annual inspections 
of government-operated corporations and manufacturing plants, with no 
serious problems noted. 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 333,000. In February 2008 Prime Minister Dean 
Barrow's United Democratic Party (UDP) won 25 of the 31 seats in the 
House of Representatives following generally free and fair multiparty 
elections. There were instances in which elements of the security 
forces acted independently of civilian control.
    Human rights abuses included civilian killings and the use of 
excessive force by security forces, which the Government took steps to 
prosecute administratively in some cases. Other problems included 
lengthy pretrial detention, domestic violence, discrimination against 
women, sexual abuse of children, trafficking in persons, discrimination 
based on sexual orientation, 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, 
there were isolated reports and allegations that security forces 
committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
    In February a Ladyville police officer shot and killed a Jamaican 
as he was riding away from a fight outside a bar. Eyewitnesses alleged 
that the victim posed no threat to the officers, but the police claimed 
that he carried a shiny object the officer mistook for a gun. 
Authorities charged a police corporal with manslaughter and another 
constable with abetment to commit manslaughter. The case against the 
officers was adjourned to January 2011.
    In March an unknown person, shooting from a vehicle, killed a 21-
year-old university student on a bicycle. The victim reportedly had 
been involved in an altercation with a police officer earlier the same 
evening, and the family alleged that a police officer committed the 
killing. The police commissioner stated that witnesses pinpointed ``no 
specific officer,'' and an investigation remained pending at year's 
end.
    In May a Caye Caulker police constable allegedly shot and killed a 
man who was in police custody after being arrested for disorderly 
conduct and assaulting a police officer. Authorities charged the 
constable with murder. The case was adjourned to January 2011.
    In September Carlos Espat, the older brother of a well-known 
opposition party member, was found dead in his home. An autopsy 
determined the cause of death was blunt trauma to the head and chest. 
An investigation remained pending at year's end.
    In March the Ministry of National Security presented the results of 
its inquiry into the December 2009 killing of Christopher Galvez, which 
family members alleged was committed by a police officer. While the 
inquiry reported irregularities and breach of Belize Police Department 
(BPD) standing orders, it found no evidence of professional misconduct 
in the police investigation itself. The investigation into the killing 
continued at year's end, while the family complained publicly of police 
harassment and threats.
    In February the trial of a police constable charged with murder in 
the 2008 killing of a man shot as he was pursued by police ended when 
the Supreme Court instructed the jury to find the officer not guilty; 
the decision followed a successful ``no case'' submission by the 
officer's legal counsel.

    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 used excessive 
force.
    The Government occasionally 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.
    Through December the BPD held 38 officers on interdiction or 
suspension as a result of alleged misconduct ranging, inter alia, from 
murder (two), manslaughter (three), extortion (six), keeping unlicensed 
ammunition (five) and theft (three). The Office of the Ombudsman 
reported that during the year its office received 104 complaints 
against the police department and its personnel, including 37 
allegations of police brutality.
    In March authorities charged an off-duty police officer with 
kidnapping, robbery and aggravated assault of a vegetable vendor in San 
Pedro. According to the victim, the police officer, accompanied by a 
Belize Defense Force (BDF) soldier, went to the vendor's boat, searched 
his premises, and robbed him of BZ$350 ($175). BDF authorities did not 
charge the soldier because he reportedly remained on the wharf where 
the vessel was moored and did not assist his confederate on the boat. 
The case against the police officer was adjourned until January 2011.
    In March a Dangriga policeman shot a fisherman in the back. Police 
asserted that the fisherman resisted arrest and tried to take the 
officer's weapon, but the victim and witnesses claimed he was running 
from the police when shot. Authorities did not charge the police 
officer despite a recommendation from the Office of Internal Affairs 
that the case be referred to the Office of Director of Prosecutions.
    In April a Belize City police inspector shot a man in the head when 
he fired upon the vehicle in which the victim was riding. Contrary to 
eyewitness accounts to the media, police claimed the inspector fired 
accidentally; a police spokesman said that the vehicle was similar to 
one used in another offense earlier that night. Authorities arrested 
the inspector on charges of attempted murder and dangerous harm and 
suspended him from duty, but the Supreme Court granted him bail in 
June. The victim remained partially paralyzed as a result of the 
incident. The case was adjourned to February 2011.
    In May authorities charged six Belize City policemen with wounding 
an electrical mechanic at the Mile Four police checkpoint on the 
Western highway. Reportedly police believed the mechanic fired shots at 
the checkpoint as he was driving past. In October the prosecution 
withdrew charges against four of the six police constables for lack of 
evidence. The other two officers were subsequently acquitted of the 
charges and remained employed by the police department.
    As of August the BDF reported four unresolved complaints of 
excessive force made against military personnel, including two where 
investigations resulted in charges and in which the cases were pending 
before the courts at year's end. One case involved a BDF soldier who 
was charged with aggravated assault in March and then released on bail.
    In a 2009 case in which a police and BDF patrol shot a man in 
Orange Walk District, BDF authorities reported that the patrol sought 
to subdue the man, who was intoxicated, and that he was shot in the leg 
only after he failed to respond to warning shots. The man subsequently 
succumbed to his injury while in the hospital. BDF authorities 
suggested that death resulted from negligent medical care. The case 
remained pending in court at year's end.
    In August the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution 
determined there was insufficient evidence to substantiate a case 
against a police corporal charged in November 2009 with sexual assault 
while on duty.
    There were no known developments, and none were expected, in the 
December 2009 case of a 14-year-old crime suspect who claimed that he 
had been beaten and sexually assaulted while in police custody.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
poor and did not meet international standards. Belize Central Prison, 
the country's only prison, is administered by a local nonprofit 
organization, the Kolbe Foundation, which also operates the 
Government's parole program. Although the Foundation received a 
government payment of BZ$13 ($6.50) per prisoner per day for operating 
costs and supplementary funding from independent sources, it operated 
with a deficit during the year and suspended some services, such as 
facility repair.
    The regular prison population was held in cells each accommodating 
approximately four to six persons. Prisoners on remand were held in a 
newer facility approximately three to four in a cell. Prisoners in the 
maximum security (Tango 10) facility were also held in the newer 
facility usually one inmate per cell. Isolation in a small, unlit, 
unventilated punishment cell, called a ``reflection room,'' was used to 
discipline inmates in the youth section.
    At the end of December, prison authorities reported approximately 
20 incidents of inmate-on-inmate violence, approximately 10 of which 
resulted in hospitalization and one resulted in death. Authorities 
investigated a complaint that a prison guard's use of pepper spray on 
an inmate constituted brutality but found no evidence that the prisoner 
had been abused.
    At the end of December, the prison held 1,410 inmates (190 fewer 
than capacity), of whom 24 were women and 47 were juveniles. In 
December the prison held approximately 400 prisoners in pretrial 
detention, approximately 48 percent of its capacity for such prisoners.
    Women and men were held in separate facilities. The prison includes 
a separate facility for women located 200 yards outside of the main 
compound. Conditions in the women's facility were significantly better 
than those in the men's compound. The judicial system occasionally sent 
female juveniles to the Belize Central Prison; however, there was no 
separate facility for female minors. In April the prison held five 
female minors for two weeks; they were held in a cell separate from 
other women.
    Male juveniles, both on remand and convicted, were held separately 
at the Wagner Youth Facility within the prison compound. They lived in 
a dormitory facility, not in cells. Prison authorities considered this 
a risky confinement arrangement, since most sentenced juvenile males 
were convicted of murder and many were gang members.
    The Belize Central Prison, which investigated formal complaints 
regarding prison conditions, reported no cases of abuse or excessive 
force by prison officials. The prison holds officer tribunals 
approximately twice a month to deal with officer misconduct, including 
such issues as absence without leave, dereliction of duty, and 
disobeying the rules. Disciplinary actions were taken in 80 to 90 
percent of the cases brought before the tribunal; 30 percent of those 
actions resulted in termination of employment. Prison officers 
committing criminal offenses do not go through the tribunal process but 
are immediately detained and processed through the judicial system.
    Inmates were given daily access to visitors, and there is no 
restriction on religious observance. A full-time chaplain coordinates 
visits by ministers from different denominations. The facilities have a 
hall where church services take place.
    The Government retains overall oversight and monitoring 
responsibility for management of the prison. Government authorities 
made few monitoring visits during the year. The ombudsman, who visited 
the prison in 2009, reportedly did not request such a visit during the 
year; however, then Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh and various 
magistrates did visit the prison early in the year.
    The Ombudsman Act authorizes inmates to make complaints to the 
ombudsman through prison authorities; however, prison authorities 
stated that inmates and their family members frequently submitted such 
complaints directly to the ombudsman.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution and 
law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, there were occasional 
charges that the Government failed to observe these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--National and local 
security personnel operate under two separate ministerial authorities. 
In June the Ministry of National Security split into two separate 
ministries: the Ministry of Defense and Immigration supervises the BDF 
and the Department of Immigration, while the Ministry of Police and 
Public Security supervises the BPD. Although primarily charged with 
external security, the BDF provides domestic security support to civil 
authorities, and increasing numbers of BDF soldiers worked alongside 
police officials, particularly in Belize City. BDF authorities 
indicated that BDF personnel assisting police have no powers of arrest, 
which remain with the police. Inadequate government resources, low pay 
for security officers, and corruption remained problems. During the 
year there were no reported cases of impunity for security-force 
members.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police must 
obtain search or arrest warrants issued by a magistrate, except in 
cases of hot pursuit, when there is probable cause, or when the 
presence of a firearm is suspected. 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 
officers informed detainees immediately of the charges against them.
    The law requires police to follow the Judges' Rules, a code of 
conduct governing police interaction with arrested persons. Although 
cases sometimes were 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 telephone call after arrest.
    Every person charged with an offense is eligible for bail; however, 
persons charged with prescribed crimes, such as murder, gang activity, 
and specified drug-trafficking or sexual offenses, must apply to the 
Supreme Court for bail.
    Case backlogs in the docket often caused considerable delays and 
postponement of hearings, occasionally resulting in prolonged pretrial 
detention. The time lag between arrests, trials, and convictions ranged 
from eight months to as long as two years.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence. 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.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for all citizens the right to a 
fair trial and trial by jury for serious crimes, and an independent 
judiciary generally enforced these rights. Decisions and judgments for 
lesser crimes are generally issued by a magistrate after deliberating 
on the arguments presented by the prosecution and defense. Defendants 
enjoy a presumption of innocence and have the right to defense by 
counsel (but only in capital cases), a public trial, and appeal. 
Defendants also have the right to be present at their trial unless the 
court determines that the opposing party has a substantiated fear for 
their safety, in which case the court can grant interim provisions that 
both parties be addressed individually.
    A Legal Aid and Advice Center, staffed by one attorney, provides 
legal services in civil and noncapital criminal cases in various courts 
including the Magistrate's Court, the Family Court, and the Supreme 
Court. The Supreme Court's registrar is responsible to appoint an 
attorney to act on behalf of indigent defendants charged with murder. 
There were, nevertheless, cases where defendants were unrepresented. 
For example, in August a jury returned a guilty verdict against a 
defendant charged with rape after proceedings in which the defendant 
was unrepresented.
    The constitution and law allow defendants to confront and question 
witnesses against them and to present witnesses on their behalf. 
Defendants have the right to produce evidence in their defense and to 
examine evidence held by the opposing party or within the hands of the 
court.
    Lengthy trial backlogs remained during the year, attributable in 
large part to an underresourced prosecution service and poor 
communication between police file readers, investigators, and 
prosecutors. Judges were often slow to issue rulings, sometimes taking 
a year or longer.
    The rate of acquittals and cases dropped from prosecution 
increased, particularly for murder and gang-related cases, often due to 
failure of witnesses to testify because of fear for life and personal 
safety. According to the director of public prosecution, approximately 
30 percent of all cases heard by the Supreme Court concluded with the 
witness not testifying. A law passed during the year allows written 
statements by witnesses to be admitted into evidence in place of court 
appearances, which has led judges to require a high degree of proof 
prior to admitting such statements.

    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 magistrates' courts have 
jurisdiction over civil cases involving sums of less than BZ$5,000 
($2,500). 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 increased during the year due to an 
increase in the number of cases.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and 
government authorities generally respected these prohibitions in 
practice.
    The Interception of Communication Act, which entered into force in 
December, provides for the use of intercepting software to allow law-
enforcement agencies to obtain information in the interest of 
``national security, public order, public morals, and public safety.'' 
The act encompasses the possibility to intercept telephone 
conversations, facsimile communications, e-mails, and chat and text 
messages. The Government stated these measures were necessary to the 
war on crime and maintained that sufficient safeguards were 
incorporated to ensure respect of the right to privacy. Other 
observers, especially members of the opposition party, criticized the 
measure as being too broad in scope and subject to abuse.

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 from questioning 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 BZ$5,000 ($2,500), 
imprisonment of up to three years, or both. There were no reports that 
this prohibition was invoked during the year.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
viewpoints without restriction. All newspapers were subject to libel 
laws that were enforced during the year.
    The Belize Broadcasting Authority regulated broadcasting and has 
the right to preview certain broadcasts, such as those with political 
content, and to delete any defamatory or libelous material. This right 
was not exercised during the year.

    Internet Freedom.--There were few government restrictions on access 
to the Internet and no reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
Lack of infrastructure and high costs limited public access to the 
Internet. The International Telecommunication Union reported that in 
2009 there were 12 Internet users per 100 inhabitants.
    The Interception of Communication Act, which entered into force in 
December, allows law-enforcement agencies to intercept telephone 
conversations, facsimile communications, e-mails, and chat and text 
messages (see section l.f.).

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    The constitution prohibits forced internal or external exile of 
citizens, and the Government did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The laws provide for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status, but the Government does not have an 
established system for providing protection to refugees. The 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Help For Progress, the UNHCR's 
implementing partner in the country, assisted with refugee and asylum 
cases. The Immigration and Nationality Department handled individual 
cases.
    A one-person refugee desk in the Immigration Department deals 
solely with renewing refugee residency visas; no refugee permits have 
been issued in almost 15 years.
    In cases of individuals claiming refugee status or asylum, the 
Immigration Department works with Help for Progress to determine if the 
individual is indeed eligible for refugee status. Help for Progress 
also operated a government-subsidized shelter for asylum applicants and 
refugees.
    Two Cubans remained in detention in the Belize Central Prison 
despite completing their sentence for entering the country illegally. 
Hubel Rodriguez was unable to return to Cuba because he left without 
following the proper channels. No other country was willing to accept 
him because of his criminal record. The second detainee, Pedro Venero 
Castro, lost his refugee status in Costa Rica after leaving the country 
without following the proper procedures.

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 by secret ballot and on 
the basis of universal suffrage for all citizens age 18 and older.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In February 2008 the UDP 
obtained a parliamentary majority in generally free and fair elections. 
There were five women, among them the president, in the 12-member 
appointed Senate, but there were no women in the 31-seat House of 
Representatives. Mestizo, Creole, Maya, Garifuna, Mennonite, and other 
minority and immigrant groups were represented in the National Assembly 
and at the highest levels of government.
    The two major political parties and independent candidates 
participated in village council elections held between April 11 and 
June 6. The governing UDP claimed to have won 122 out of 191 villages 
contested, and women accounted for approximately 10 percent of those 
elected as village council chairpersons.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, there have been no successful prosecutions for official 
corruption. The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected 
that corruption was an increasing problem.
    In February authorities detained three city council employees for 
misappropriation of BZ$60,000 ($30,000) from the Belize City Council 
between the period November 2009 and February 2010. An Audit Department 
investigation continued at year's end. Police reportedly recovered a 
portion of the funds.
    In March authorities charged a police constable and two other men 
with attempted robbery of a restaurant in Belize City. The charges were 
subsequently changed to conspiracy to commit robbery. The case 
continued at year's end and was adjourned to January 2011. The officers 
were suspended from duty.
    The Immigration Department opened internal investigations of 
alleged corruption among its officials. For instance, during the year 
an internal investigation verified allegations of fraud by an officer 
and forwarded the case to the Public Services Commission, after which 
the officer was demoted. In October authorities charged six immigration 
officials with offenses relating to the transit of 33 Chinese nationals 
through the country during September and October. While police 
investigations continued, the case against the immigration officials 
was pending before the court. In November the director of immigration 
was transferred to another office, although the prime minister stated 
that the move was not disciplinary.
    In 2009 authorities charged Belize City Mayor Zenaida Moya and 
three other council employees with 22 counts of ``uttering upon false 
documents'' and two additional counts of failing to comply with 
accounting regulations of the City Council. The charges were levied in 
relation to 22 false receipts for gasoline amounting to a total of 
BZ$1,540 ($770) paid by the council. Moya was expelled from her 
political party but continued to serve as mayor. One council employee 
died before court proceedings in his case started. In October a court 
dismissed charges against two other council members, and in November 
the charges against the mayor were similarly dismissed.
    The Prevention of Corruption in Public Life Act requires public 
officials to submit annual financial statements, which are to be 
reviewed by the Integrity Commission.
    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 Office of 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.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of domestic 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. The Office of the Ombudsman, 
consisting of the ombudsman, an investigator, and a secretary, is 
vested with a range of procedural and investigative powers, including 
the right to enter any premise to gather documentation and the right to 
summon persons. However, the office operated under both staffing and 
financial constraints. The ombudsman reported an inability to complete 
his 2009 report as provided for by law. According to unpublished data, 
between January and December, the ombudsman dealt with 131 formal and 
158 informal complaints, primarily relating to police brutality and 
land rights issues. Despite complaints of police brutality, there 
continued to be difficulty in receiving information from the BPD 
regarding those allegations. Similarly, the Human Rights Commission 
continued to operate but was constrained by funding and staffing 
limitations.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status, and the Government effectively 
enforced these prohibitions.

    Women.--The criminal code criminalizes rape, including spousal 
rape. The code states that a person convicted of rape or marital rape 
shall be sentenced to imprisonment of eight years to life although in 
practice sentences were often much lighter. Generally, challenges to 
the wider justice system have resulted in poor conviction rates for 
rape offenses. A number of cases resulted in acquittals or 
discontinuance because the accusing party dropped the charges or 
refused to testify at trial (see section 1.e.,Trial Procedures). In 
many instances the failure to proceed with a case was sparked by fear 
for personal safety on the victim's part. BPD statistics reported 19 
cases and 14 arrests made in relation to rape through September.
    The law prohibits domestic violence and contains penalties, 
including fines or imprisonment for violations, depending on the crime. 
The law empowers the Family Court to issue protection orders against 
accused offenders. Persons who may apply for protection orders against 
domestic violence include de facto spouses or persons in visiting 
relations. Protection orders may remain in place for up to three years 
and may include a requirement for child maintenance where applicable.
    The Women's Department continued its program of ``gender 
sensitization,'' as well as its campaign against gender-based and 
domestic violence. In March the Women's Department organized a legal 
clinic in Punta Gorda on family issues and gender-based violence. The 
department also initiated a batterers' intervention and prevention 
program for men who are abusive to women. It is court-connected and 
received its referrals from both the criminal and civil jurisdictions 
of the court. The 16-week program consisted of 12 participants.
    Despite these efforts domestic violence against women remained a 
significant problem. Through September the Epidemiology Unit of the 
Ministry of Health reported that police and health authorities recorded 
1,162 cases of domestic violence. Domestic violence was most prevalent 
in the Belize District, which includes Belize City. There were two 
women's shelters in the country (with a total of 18 beds) that offered 
short-term housing.
    Although sexual harassment legislation exists, consultative reviews 
undertaken by the Women's Department have determined that it remains 
largely ineffective, since the fear of dismissal without compensation 
remained a major deterrence to filing complaints.
    Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children, and they 
had the information and means to do so free from discrimination, 
coercion, and violence. Programs undertaken by the Ministry of Health 
and the Belize Family Life Association provided for information and 
access to family planning and reproductive health services. The 
reported contraceptive rate for women was 34 percent, and the estimated 
maternal mortality rate in 2008 was 94 deaths per 100,000 live births. 
Women and men were afforded equal access to diagnostic services and 
treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    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 participated 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 and 
experienced a more rapidly increasing unemployment rate than men.
    The Women's Department under the Ministry of Human Development and 
Social Transformation 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.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory, regardless of the nationality of the parents. Citizenship 
may also be acquired by descent if at least one parent is a citizen of 
the country; however, citizenship by descent is not automatic for a 
child born outside the country. The law requires the registration of 
the birth of children, and it was effectively enforced.
    Through June the Epidemiology Unit at the Ministry of Health 
recorded 81 cases of domestic violence and 18 cases of sexual abuse 
against children under 14, and the police reported 36 cases of carnal 
knowledge as of September. In many cases the Government was unable to 
prosecute individuals for sexual abuse and carnal knowledge because the 
victims or their families were reluctant to press charges.
    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. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) expressed concern about 
the criminal justice system's response to cases, as many of the 
perpetrators were not prosecuted and many cases were withdrawn due to 
lack of evidence and poor-quality investigations.
    The Family Services Division in the Ministry of Human Development 
and Social Transformation is 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, and worked with local 
and international NGOs and UNICEF to promote children's welfare.
    The legal age for consensual sex is 16. Carnal knowledge of a 
female child under the age of 14, with or without her consent, is an 
offense punishable by 12 years' to life imprisonment. Carnal knowledge 
of a girl who is 14 to 16 is an offense punishable by five to 10 years' 
imprisonment.
    There were reports children of both sexes were involved in 
prostitution, including sex tourism. Paid sex with a 16- or 17-year-old 
is a crime. The law criminalizes the procurement or attempted 
procurement of unlawful carnal knowledge with a female who is under the 
age of 18 and who is not a common prostitute or of ``known immoral 
character;'' an offender is liable to five years' imprisonment.
    There are no laws against pornography; however, the criminal code 
establishes a penalty of two years' imprisonment for persons convicted 
of publishing or offering for sale any obscene book, writing, or 
representation.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of societal abuses or 
discrimination, including anti-Semitic acts. There were fewer than 10 
members in the Jewish community.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 were 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.
    Informal government-organized committees for persons with 
disabilities were tasked with public education and enforcing 
protection. Private companies and NGOs, such as the Parents Association 
for Children with Special Needs and the Belize Council for the Visually 
Impaired, provided services to persons with disabilities. The Ministry 
of Education maintained an educational unit offering limited special 
education programs within the regular school system.
    During the year Kim Simplis-Barrow, the prime minister's wife, was 
named the official spokesperson for persons with disabilities. She 
launched public announcements, participated in numerous advocacy 
campaigns on behalf of persons with disabilities, and partnered with 
CARE-Belize to promote schools that made positive efforts to create 
inclusive environments for persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Ethnic tension, particularly 
resentment of recently arrived Central American and Asian immigrants, 
continued to be a problem, resulting in discrimination characterized 
largely by verbal mistreatment.

    Indigenous People.--The country's pluralistic society comprised 
several ethnic minorities and indigenous Mayan groups. Among the 
country's indigenous population, the Mopan and Kekchi 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, which 
comprised the Toledo Maya Cultural Council, the Kekchi Council of 
Belize, the Toledo Alcaldes Association, and the Toledo Maya Women's 
Council, monitored development in the Toledo District with the goal of 
protecting Mayan land and culture.
    In June the then chief justice, Abdulai Conteh, issued a Supreme 
Court judgment affirming Maya customary land tenure rights in 33 Mayan 
villages in the southern district of Toledo. The decision also ordered 
the Government not to take any action contrary to Maya land tenure 
practices, including leasing lands or resources or granting concessions 
for logging, mining, or petroleum exploration.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not protect 
sexual orientation or gender identity. The criminal code states that 
``carnal intercourse'' with ``any person'' ``against the order of 
nature'' shall receive a punishment of 10 years' imprisonment. The law 
is interpreted as affecting male-to-male sex but not female-to-female 
sex.
    The extent of discrimination based on sexual orientation was 
difficult to ascertain due to lack of reporting of instances of 
discrimination through official channels.
    The country's sole lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy 
organization, UNIBAM, reported that continuing harassment and insults 
by the general public and police affected its activities; however, its 
members were reluctant to file complaints. There were no gay pride 
marches organized in the past year due to UNIBAM membership concerns 
over the public's possible adverse reaction.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--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 under the Ministry of Human Development and through the Pan 
American Social Marketing Organization.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--By law and in practice, workers were 
generally free to establish and join trade unions. Twelve independent 
unions, whose members constituted approximately 8 to 10 percent of the 
labor force, represented a cross section of workers, including most 
civil service employees. The Ministry of Labor recognizes unions and 
employers associations after they are registered. Both law and practice 
effectively protect unions against dissolution or suspension by 
administrative authority.
    In the event that negotiations under the auspices of the Labor 
Commissioner fail, the law permits unions to strike. However, this 
right is limited for public and private sector employees who provide 
``essential services.'' The Settlement of Disputes in Essential 
Services Act empowers authorities to refer disputes for essential 
services to compulsory arbitration, prohibit strike, termination 
actions. Once a dispute involving an essential service is notified to 
the authorities, it may be refer the dispute to a tribunal. The 
national fire service, postal service, monetary and financial services, 
civil aviation and airport security services and the port authority 
pilots and security services are deemed to be essential services. The 
tribunal has 21 days from the date of reference to declare an award or 
furnish advice. The decision of the tribunal is binding on the parties.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
protects collective bargaining and it was freely practiced. The Trade 
Union and Employee's Organizations Act of 2000 establishes procedures 
for the registration and status of trade unions and employers' 
organizations and for collective bargaining. A trade union must be 
certified as a bargaining agent by the Labor Tripartite Body. 
Additionally, a trade union can only be certified as a bargaining agent 
if it receives 51 per cent of the vote of the employees. The Labor 
Commissioner has the authority to act as a mediator in deadlocked 
collective bargaining negotiations, offering nonbinding counsel. 
Additionally, the Act prohibits termination of employment of an 
employee on the ground of trade union membership and union activities.
    Although the law prohibits antiunion discrimination, in practice 
some employers blocked union organization by terminating the employment 
of key union sympathizers or members, usually on grounds purportedly 
unrelated to union activities. While a worker can file a complaint with 
the Labor Department, it is difficult to prove that a termination was 
due to union activity. Additionally, an aggrieved employee can seek 
redress from the courts. The judgments in the Christine Perriot and 
Maya King cases are examples where complaints were filed by aggrieved 
workers in the telecommunication and banana industries, respectively.
    In June the trade union movement registered what it considered a 
major achievement when the Supreme Court determined that the 2007 
termination of Christine Perriott violated the Trade Unions and 
Employers Organizations Act. Perriot was serving as the General 
Secretary of the Belize Communication Workers' Union at the time of her 
termination by the Belize Telemedia Limited. The court awarded her 
compensation of BZ$350,000 ($175,000) for her illegal termination.
    While a 2009 decision awarding each of six banana workers who were 
terminated from Maya King Farm BZ$70,000 ($35,000) for wrongful 
termination was an important milestone for the unions, in October the 
Court of Appeal reduced the award to BZ$40, 000 ($20,000) for each 
employee.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
export processing zones (EPZs). Export processing zones are subject to 
the labor laws of the country just as any other place of business. Even 
though unions are not banned, there is no union presence in the EPZs.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children. There were 
no verifiable reports of forced or compulsory labor, including by 
children.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
Labor Act prohibits the employment of children under age 14. Persons 
ages 14 to 18 may only be employed in an occupation that a labor 
officer has determined is ``not injurious to the moral or physical 
development of nonadults,'' typically light work that is not harmful to 
life, health, or education. Children under age 16 are excluded from 
work in factories and those under age 18 are excluded from working at 
night or in certain kinds of employment deemed dangerous. The National 
Child Labor Policy has an indicative list of hazardous occupations for 
young workers.
    The law permits children to work on family farms and in family-run 
businesses. Children in rural areas worked on family plots and family 
businesses after school, on weekends, and during vacations. National 
legislation does not address a situation in which child labor is 
contracted between a parent and the employer.
    Children in urban areas commonly shined shoes and sold food, 
crafts, and other small items. Children crossed from Guatemala on a 
daily basis to attend school in Benque and Arenal.
    The National Child Labor Policy distinguishes between children 
engaged in work that is beneficial to their development and those 
engaged in the worst forms of child labor. The policy identifies 
children involved in the worst forms of child labor as those engaged in 
hazardous work, in trafficking and child slavery, in commercial sexual 
activities, and in illicit activities. Credible sources expressed 
growing concern regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children 
with respect to sex tourism and intergenerational transactional sex.
    The Department of Labor has primary responsibility for implementing 
labor policies and enforcing labor laws but has limited resources to 
investigate complaints. Inspectors from the Departments of Labor and 
Education are responsible for enforcing these regulations. There were 
no current reports on whether child labor laws were well enforced.
    Under the National Child Labor Policy, the Labor Department is the 
primary stakeholder agency with oversight for child labor. There is 
also a Child Labor Sub-Committee under the National Committee for 
Families and Children.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor was 
charged with enforcing the minimum wage, which generally was respected 
in practice. In August the national minimum wage was adjusted to an 
across-the-board minimum wage of BZ$3.10 ($1.55) per hour. 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 enforced these regulations to 
varying degrees due to limited resources. The law prescribes that it is 
the duty of the employer to take reasonable care for the safety of his 
employees in the course of their employment. Labor law further states 
that every employer who provides or arranges accommodation for workers 
to reside at or in the vicinity of a place of employment shall provide 
and maintain sufficient and hygienic housing accommodations, a 
sufficient supply of wholesome water, and sufficient and proper 
sanitary arrangements. Workers have the legal right to leave a 
dangerous workplace situation without jeopardy to continued employment.

                               __________

                                BOLIVIA

    Bolivia is a constitutional, multiparty democracy with a population 
of approximately 9.7 million. In December 2009 in a process deemed free 
and fair by international observers, citizens reelected Evo Morales 
Ayma, leader of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, as 
president. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The principal human rights problems reported were killings and 
torture by security forces; harsh prison conditions; allegations of 
arbitrary arrest and detention; an ineffective, overburdened, and 
corrupt judiciary; a ``partly free'' media; corruption and a lack of 
transparency in the Government; trafficking in persons; child labor; 
forced or coerced labor; and harsh 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; however, 
in May police killed two youths during violent protests, and in July a 
man was killed while in police custody.
    On May 8, Bolivian National Police (BNP) officers killed two 
youths, Fidel Jimenez and Mario Hernani, during a conflict in the La 
Paz departmental town of Caranavi. Reports by the Government's 
ombudsperson, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights 
(UNHCHR), and the independent Permanent Assembly of Human Rights of 
Bolivia concluded that the deaths resulted from the use of excessive 
force; however, the parliament's Human Rights Committee concluded that 
the Government responded properly.
    On July 6, El Alto resident David Olorio Apaza allegedly was 
tortured and killed while in BNP custody. Police detained him for 
suspected robbery of a tollbooth. According to the report by the 
Government's ombudsman, BNP Colonel Israel Vega ordered Olorio removed 
from his cell for questioning during which he was allegedly tortured 
and killed. The autopsy revealed his cause of death to be asphyxia due 
to compression of the neck and chest. The prosecutor's office 
investigation involving the actions of Vega and BNP officers Lieutenant 
Omar Antezana, Sergeant Juan de la Cruz, and Officers Juan Villa and 
Luis Aquino Mamani, was ongoing at year's end. According to media 
reports and a report by the ombudsman, the prosecutor in charge 
received threats surrounding the case, and the members of the judiciary 
involved in the case wore bulletproof jackets to a September hearing in 
response to threats. The ombudsman's report stated that the prosecutor 
should investigate the involvement of police at higher levels than 
those who were on trial and included proceedings against Prosecutor 
Veronica Angula Viscarra, who the ombudsman alleged made false 
statements to the public during the initial hearings.
    Although the prosecutor has continued the investigation into the 
2009 killing of three alleged terrorists in Santa Cruz, there have been 
no developments in the use of force by police during this event.
    Mob violence, sometimes characterized by perpetrators as 
``indigenous justice'' or ``community justice,'' led to some violent 
deaths. Although the constitution discusses the concept of ``indigenous 
justice,'' the Government rejected the interpretation that it permits 
mob violence, noting that the constitution specifically bans capital 
punishment. Many observers attributed such ``community justice'' to the 
absence of effective police and judicial presence in many urban and 
rural areas. Killings committed in the name of community justice 
occurred during the year. While there were no official statistics for 
such crimes, the media reported approximately 15 cases of community 
justice that resulted in one or more deaths. According to the UNHCHR, 
lynching increased, especially in El Alto and Santa Cruz.
    On May 23, community members captured, reportedly tortured, and 
executed four police officers in the Potosi town of Uncia. The police 
officers, Nelson Alcocer Casano, Ruben Cruz Aruquipa, Esteban Alave 
Arias, and Miguel Ramos Palluni, were part of the BNP's Vehicle Robbery 
Prevention Unit. Community members claimed the police officers had a 
history of extorting bribes and killing those who could not pay. 
Government authorities and families of the slain police officers did 
not recover the bodies until after two weeks of negotiations with the 
community members. The Government's ombudsperson criticized the 
Government's slow reaction to the killings and unwillingness to order 
police to enter the community in force. Police arrested and detained 
community members Filomena Muruchi, Juan Coyo Rojas, Angel Coyo Aro, 
Eloy Janayo Choque, Anacleto Mendoza Aro, and Hilarion Escapa Gallego. 
Gallego was the only defendant to plead not guilty and requested 
termination of his detention, which was denied at a hearing on November 
5. The investigation was ongoing at year's end.
    On September 15, community members buried alive three brothers, 
Basil, Sabino, and Ignacio Flores, in the Cochabamba town of Tapacari. 
According to an ongoing investigation by Cochabamba Police Commander 
Hernan Trujillo, the brothers were killed following a border conflict 
among several farming communities that had left one farmer dead.
    On September 11, witnesses began testifying in the ongoing 
investigation of the 2008 deaths of 13 persons in the cities of 
Porvenir and Cobija in Pando. A June 19 Amnesty International statement 
urged that the judiciary proceed with this case. On October 12, within 
the 18-month period allowed for investigation, prosecutors brought 
formal charges against former prefect (governor) Leopoldo Fernandez and 
other defendants for their alleged roles in the 2008 Pando conflict. 
Fernandez remained in detention while awaiting completion of the trial. 
During the court sessions, the lawyer for Fernandez stated that due 
process was violated. There were no other developments at year's end.
    There were no developments in the prosecutor's investigation into 
the 2008 deaths of two miners during a confrontation with police in 
Cahuasi, near the border of Oruro and Cochabamba departments, or in the 
2008 request by the Supreme Court to authorize an impeachment trial for 
members of the Ministry of Government, including former government 
minister Alfredo Rada, implicated in the 2007 killings of three persons 
in Sucre allegedly by security forces.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    On February 17, after a nine-month standoff, Armed Forces Commander 
in Chief General Ramiro de la Fuente denied a civilian investigator 
access to archives that reportedly contained information regarding 
approximately 150 persons ``disappeared'' during the country's military 
dictatorship period. The minister of defense had previously assured the 
public that the investigator would have free access to the archives. 
There were no further developments by year's end.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution and laws prohibit such practices; 
however, there were several reports of torture by security forces.
    On March 16, six police officers of the Special Tactical Crime 
Investigation Group in Cochabamba reportedly tortured Colombian citizen 
Mauricio Escobar Suarez whom they arrested for suspected involvement in 
weapons trafficking and robbery. The victim claimed that he was 
tortured by electric shocks and suffocation that resulted in what the 
victim claims was physical and mental torture. Both the Ombudsman's 
Office and the district attorney requested an official investigation 
into the police officers who participated in the arrest of the victim. 
However, the prosecutor assigned to the case rejected the claim of 
torture, stating that there were no grounds to support a charge. The 
Cochabamba Office for Professional Responsibility began disciplinary 
processes, but by year's end there was no update on criminal 
proceedings.
    On April 17, Justo Romero Limon, an employee of a fishing and 
hunting store in Santa Cruz, alleged he was held and tortured for four 
hours by persons who he claimed were members of the BNP investigating a 
weapons-trafficking case. He stated that BNP officers covered him with 
a plastic bag and beat him while asking him where the weapons were 
located. The BNP refused to accept his formal complaints several days 
after the incident.
    On July 6, BNP officers allegedly tortured David Olorio Apaza 
before he was killed in El Alto according to a report by the ombudsman 
(see section 1.a.).
    There were no developments concerning allegations of abuse during 
the April 2009 arrest of Mario Tadic and Elod Toaso in connection with 
alleged terrorist activities or in the May 2009 claim of torture by 
Jhenieffer Wissemberg.
    On September 25, national television broadcast videotapes from 2009 
showing military trainers beating and apparently waterboarding 
conscripts, specifically conscript Guido Alvaro Lopez Cortez of Oruro. 
President Morales declared the allegations of torture as very serious 
and stated the perpetrators would be brought to justice. The ombudsman 
confirmed that said actions were torture. The accused military persons 
were suspended, but despite government pledges of cooperation, 
prosecutors in the case criticized the military's lack of 
responsiveness. The investigation continued at year's end.
    Two incidents of nonlethal mob violence were reported. On August 3, 
mobs attacked Potosi Governor Felix Gonzales with stones during a 19-
day blockade and strike. In the same protest, mobs attacked the home of 
Vice Minister for Coordination with Social Movements Cesar Navarro 
before being dispersed by police. During the week of December 27, mob 
violence was reported in La Paz and El Alto in reaction to the December 
26 government decree to remove gasoline subsidies. The protests ended 
after the Government repealed the decree on December 31.
    Following the 2009 mob invasion of his home, former vice president 
Victor Hugo Cardenas initiated criminal investigations against Alfredo 
Huanapaco, Cruz Alarcon, Beatriz Quispe, and Gonzalo Aduviri for not 
returning his home and property. The judge in the case has not yet 
given Cardenas permission to return to his house, and the trial was 
ongoing at year's end.
    In May 2009 the pro-MAS Federation of Indigenous People of Eastern 
Bolivia (CIDOB) announced they had applied ``community justice'' to 
Beni Department Director of Indigenous Development Marcial Fabricano by 
publicly whipping him 50 times. CIDOB leader Adolfo Chavez stated that 
Fabricano was punished for not appointing MAS leaders to prominent 
positions in Beni. Fabricano opened a case against CIDOB leaders, and 
the Government disavowed the attack and started a formal investigation. 
No results were announced by year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh. Prisons were overcrowded and in poor condition. Government 
authorities effectively controlled only the outer security perimeter of 
each prison. Prisoners usually maintained control, and gangs directed 
criminal activity from their cells.
    Violence among prisoners, and in some cases the involvement of 
prison officials in violence against prisoners, were problems.
    On November 25, in the maximum-security prison Chonchocoro La Paz, 
inmate Angel Fernando Mantilla Apaza, who had been declared a 
``dangerous'' inmate by then director of Chonchocoro prison Hernan 
Ramirez Mendez, killed Peruvian national Junco Alberto Caceres by 
multiple gunshots. According to his relatives, Caceres was killed 
because he had threatened to disclose alleged links between police and 
robbers in the Olorio Apaza case (see section 1.a.). Research by the 
Ombudsman's Office revealed that the prisons did not transfer dangerous 
inmates, including Mantilla Apaza, as they had stated they would. An 
investigation was initiated into the prison system's role in the death 
of Ramirez Mendez and continued at year's end.
    Corruption was a problem among low-ranking and poorly paid guards 
and prison wardens. Overcrowding and poor conditions in detention 
centers remained a problem. 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.
    The standard prison diet was insufficient, and prisoners who could 
afford to do so supplemented rations by buying food.
    The law provides that prisoners have access to medical care, but 
care was inadequate, and it was difficult for prisoners to get 
permission for outside medical treatment. NGOs and prisoners reported 
cases of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS in jails. 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, and sometimes they used 
children to traffic drugs inside the prisons. There were 8,300 inmates 
in facilities designed to hold 4,700 prisoners. 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.
    According to Ministry of Government officials, 700 convicted 
juveniles (16 to 21 years old) were not segregated from adult prisoners 
in jails. According to interviews, adult inmates sometimes abused the 
juvenile prisoners. Rehabilitation programs for juveniles or other 
prisoners were scarce to nonexistent. Pretrial detainees were held with 
convicted prisoners.
    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. (The law also permits spouses to live in prison.) 
Approximately 1,400 children lived with a parent in prison as an 
alternative to being left homeless. During school vacations the number 
of children in prison with parents sometimes doubled.
    Prison detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners to 
submit complaints periodically to a commission of district judges, 
which then investigate; however, many complaints of abuses are not 
submitted because inmates were afraid of prison retaliation.
    The Government generally 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; however, in one case security forces seized and 
held an individual under legally questionable circumstances.
    On March 10, police arrested and temporarily detained Eduardo Paz, 
president of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Industry, Trade, Services, and 
Tourism, for alleged connection to the 2009 terrorism case in Santa 
Cruz. There was no warrant or arraignment order against him, nor was 
there a subpoena for him to testify. There were no subsequent 
developments in this case.
    Jorge Melgar Quete remained in a La Paz jail awaiting trial after 
his 2008 arrest for publicly calling for the ``liquidation'' of 
President Morales. The opposition maintained Melgar was jailed for 
disseminating video of Presidency Minister Quintana calling for the 
``political burial'' of then Pando prefect Leopoldo Fernandez.

    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. The national police 
disciplined officers by issuing 826 administrative sanctions and 
arrested 281 police officers, suspending them from duty. Prosecutors 
were sometimes reluctant to prosecute security officials for alleged 
offenses committed while on duty, in part because they relied on the 
Judicial Technical Police to investigate its own officers. NGOs charged 
that several investigations into potential human rights violations by 
the military stalled or proceeded slowly due to an administrative 
policy prohibiting the military from commenting on its activities, a 
policy that can be overruled by civilian judges.
    During the year the Government provided in-depth human rights 
training to 3,129 police officers.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Arrests were 
generally carried out openly, but there were credible reports of 
arbitrary arrests and detentions.
    The law requires an arrest warrant, and police must inform the 
prosecutor of an arrest within eight hours. The law requires that a 
detainee see a judge within 24 hours (except under a declared state of 
siege, in which a detainee may be held for 48 hours), at which time the 
judge must determine the appropriateness of continued pretrial 
detention or release on bail. The judge 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.
    More than 75 percent of detainees awaited sentencing, but the 
courts provided release on bail for some detainees. Judges have the 
authority to order preventive detention for suspects deemed a flight 
risk. If a suspect is not detained, a judge may order significant 
restrictions on the suspect's movements. Detainees generally had prompt 
access to their families and were allowed access to lawyers, but 
approximately 70 percent could not afford legal counsel, and public 
defenders were scarce and overburdened.
    Denial of justice through prolonged detention remained a problem. 
Although the law establishes that a case's investigatory phase cannot 
exceed a maximum of 18 months and that the trial phase cannot exceed 
three years, some suspects were held in preventive detention longer 
than the legal limits. If the investigatory 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 jailed 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.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, but the judiciary was widely considered corrupt, 
overburdened, and weakened by vacancies at its highest levels.
    On June 9, Amnesty International characterized the justice system 
as beset by ``the pervasive culture of impunity and the widespread lack 
of trust in the justice system,'' while a representative of the Office 
of the UNHCHR expressed concerns about the politicization of the 
judicial process.
    The constitution states that high-level court judges should be 
elected by national elections. However, a controversial ``short law'' 
allowed President Morales to appoint 18 judges to vacancies on the 
Supreme Court, Constitutional Tribunal, and Judicial Council. The 
appointments continue until judicial elections (scheduled for April or 
May 2011) are held. Critics asserted that the interim arrangement 
compromised the judiciary's independence.
    The Supreme Court faced a backlog of more than 8,000 pending 
requests, some dating back to 2003. According to former president of 
the Supreme Court Julio Ortiz, during the year the court settled 1,600 
cases. The Supreme Court had only one vacancy compared with 2009 when 
five of the 12 positions were vacant.
    President Morales also filled all the vacancies on the 
Constitutional Tribunal, which had not functioned for almost a year.
    The Judicial Council, a legal oversight body created to fight 
corruption and malpractice by judges, had a backlog of more than 100 
disciplinary cases. 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, except that 
military personnel are supposed to be tried in civilian courts for 
human rights violations.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants have constitutional rights to a 
presumption of innocence, to a speedy and public trial by jury, to 
remain silent, to have an attorney, to confront witnesses, to present 
evidence on their own behalf, to due process, to 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. According to the Public Defender's 
Office, its staffing for the country's nine departments included only 
55 public defenders and 11 legal assistants. A study by the Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released in December 2009, 
indicated that only 55 percent of municipalities had judges, 23 percent 
government investigators, and 3 percent public defenders.
    The law provides for a system of transparent oral trials in 
criminal cases, requires that no pretrial detention exceed 18 months 
without charges, 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 that 
he must give suspects an opportunity to confront charges before a trial 
formally begins. However, the law was unevenly applied, and there were 
delays.
    The prosecutor instructs police regarding witness statements and 
evidence necessary to prosecute. The prosecutor pursues misdemeanor 
cases (with possible sentences of less than four years) before a 
sentencing judge and felony cases (with possible sentences of more than 
four years) before sentencing courts. Sentencing courts feature a five-
member panel of three citizens and two judges.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--Unlike last year, there were no 
reports of political prisoners or detainees. In 2009 the opposition 
alleged that former Pando prefect Leopoldo Fernandez and three others 
were held as political prisoners, while the Government maintained they 
were being held legally under judicial order (see section 1.d.) The 
Government allowed Fernandez to receive visitors, including 
international monitors, but did not allow press to enter the prison to 
interview Fernandez as part of his national election campaign. The 
UNHCHR continued to monitor this case at year's end.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary for civil matters. The law provides criminal 
remedies for human rights violations, and at the 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 the Government 
generally respected these prohibitions.
    In connection with the May 8 killing of two youths in La Paz 
Department, authorities twice raided the homes of the victims' lawyers, 
Jorge Quiroz and Claudia Lecona, after they filed suit against National 
Police Commander Oscar Nina and Government Minister Sacha Llorenti. 
According to the ombudsman's report, these raids violated the lawyers' 
human rights. The investigation continued at 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. Although the Government generally respected 
these rights, it maintained an antagonistic relationship with the 
press. In one example, on November 25, President Morales stated in 
response to a journalist's question, ``the largest and the greatest 
opposition [to this government] are the journalists. Who can deny that? 
Can you deny this? The greatest opposition, in reality, is the media, 
the owners of the media, and how they use our friends the 
journalists.'' Opposition members charged President Morales and 
government officials with making disparaging statements regarding the 
press, politicizing state-produced media content, and taking actions 
designed to restrict independent media or to encourage self-censorship.
    There were multiple independent media outlets, including printed 
press, television, and radio, and the airing of various viewpoints, 
many expressing opposition to the Government, continued. Radio and 
television stations generally operated freely. However, in rural areas 
state radio was often the only available media source.
    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 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 and to apply sanctions.
    In its 2010 Freedom of the Press report, the NGO Freedom House 
characterized the country's press as ``partly free.'' Freedom House 
reported ``significant slides continued'' in the country ``as attacks 
and official rhetoric against the media escalated.''
    On October 8, President Morales signed into law ``the Law against 
Racism and All Forms of Discrimination.'' While expressing their 
support for the general principles of the law, journalists, media 
groups, and the Catholic Church criticized two specific articles that 
would sanction media outlets that broadcast or print racist or 
discriminatory content. Media organizations held large protests and 
collected signatures calling for the articles in question to be 
removed. They claimed the sanctions could be applied selectively to 
restrict freedom of the press. Addressing the debate over the law, UN 
High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated during a visit in 
November that ``international law requires that the limitations (to 
freedom of expression) be stipulated by law, be defined in a clear and 
precise way, and be implemented by an independent entity.''
    On September 20, the offices of Radio Virtual 94.7 were damaged by 
a fire that consumed much of their office and equipment. The police 
continued to investigate this case, and the cause of the fire had yet 
to be determined at year's end.
    In March 2009 the Government sued the leading daily newspaper, La 
Prensa, for slander for publishing a story linking President Morales 
and Presidency Minister Juan Ramon Quintana to a plan to smuggle 33 
truckloads of contraband into Brazil. La Prensa editors rejected the 
claim and said they considered the trial an attempt to silence the 
press. The case had not been resolved at year's end.
    According to data from local NGO Unir's National Media Observatory, 
there were 60 reported cases of aggression (physical and verbal attacks 
and threats) affecting 111 journalists.
    In addition to the Anti-Racism Law, media organizations expressed 
concern over other legislation that they argued would restrict press 
freedom. They charged that the new Electoral Regime Law prohibited the 
media from discussing, in any way, candidates standing for election to 
Supreme Court and Constitutional Tribunal.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The 
International Telecommunication Union reported that in 2009 there were 
11 Internet users per 100 inhabitants.

    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 peaceful assembly, and 
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.
    While most demonstrations were peaceful, occasionally demonstrators 
carried weapons, including clubs, machetes, firearms, and dynamite. 
Security forces (police and occasionally the military) were frequently 
called upon to break up protest groups carrying weapons or threatening 
government and private facilities.

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

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. However, throughout the year both progovernment and 
opposition protesters as well as trade and industry groups prevented 
movement within the country by blockading major highways.
    The law prohibits the forced exile of citizens, and the Government 
did not employ the practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status, and the Government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees. In practice the Government 
provided some protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to 
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account 
of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social 
group, or political opinion.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern. The UNHCR reported 
that the recognized refugee population in the country was 737 persons, 
compared with 673 persons in 2009. The Government completed processing 
and agreed to provide refugee protection in 28 cases and denied refugee 
status to 13 cases. There were 46 new applications during the year.
    Several hundred thousand citizens lacked basic identity documents, 
which prevented them from obtaining international travel documents and 
accessing other government services. Some experts estimated the number 
of citizens lacking documents had decreased due to government efforts.

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 through periodic, free, 
and fair elections based on universal suffrage. Many citizens of voting 
age, particularly in rural areas, lacked the identity documents 
necessary to vote. A broad spectrum of political parties and citizens' 
groups functioned openly. Elections for national offices and municipal 
governments are scheduled every five years.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Monitoring groups, 
including the Carter Center and the EU, proclaimed the April 4 
gubernatorial and municipal elections peaceful, free, and fair. There 
were some allegations of fraud in the departments of Beni, Pando, 
Tarija, and Santa Cruz that led the electoral courts to invalidate some 
votes from polling stations in which fraud and irregularities were 
confirmed. Voters enrolled at these stations were called to recast 
their votes on April 18. President Morales and MAS members publicly 
denounced those election results as fraud-marred and initiated lawsuits 
against the four departmental electoral courts.
    Monitoring groups from the Organization of American States, the EU, 
and the Carter Center considered the December 2009 national 
presidential and legislative elections peaceful, free, and fair. 
Implementation of a new biometric electoral register greatly reduced 
accusations of fraud. There were no reports of significant violence.
    Every second candidate on municipal election ballots must be a 
woman, a requirement that had increased female representation to 
approximately 30 percent of municipal council positions. There were 52 
women among Congress' 166 deputies and senators and 10 women in the 18-
member cabinet. The number of indigenous members of Congress was 
estimated at 17 percent.
    The constitution and electoral law set aside seven special 
indigenous districts to increase indigenous political participation in 
the Plurinational Assembly (Congress). President Morales considered 
himself indigenous. Three of the nine departmental governors were 
indigenous.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of 
government often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Laws to 
combat corruption and promote transparency include the Financial 
Administration and Control Law, the State Employees Statute Act, and 
the Sworn Declaration of Property and Income Law. A cabinet-level 
presidential appointee is empowered to investigate corruption at any 
level in any branch of government.
    According to the World Bank's 2009 worldwide governance indicators, 
government corruption and lack of transparency were serious and 
worsening problems.
    Police corruption was a significant problem, partially due to low 
salaries and lack of training, although no reliable statistics existed 
to quantify the depth of the problem.
    In August the criminal court in La Paz put former vice minister of 
interior Gustavo Torrico under house arrest after an announcement by 
Presidency Minister Oscar Coca that Torrico was involved in extortion 
of Mennonite citizens in Santa Cruz. German citizen Dirk Schmidt, who 
helped create the network intended to extort money, was sentenced to 
prison for his involvement in the case.
    In September former president Jorge ``Tuto'' Quiroga was sentenced 
to two years and eight months in prison for slander and defamation for 
statements he made in February 2009 alleging corruption in a bank. 
Quiroga claims the sentencing is politically motivated and has filed an 
appeal.
    There were no developments in the January 2009 case of the killing 
of an oil executive and robbery of briefcases believed to be linked to 
a corruption scandal involving the state petroleum company.
    There were no developments in the April 2009 case regarding the 
purchase of land in Santa Cruz for mining purposes. The case centered 
on allegations that government officials profited illegally from the 
sale.
    A patchwork of laws requires public officials to report potential 
personal and financial conflicts of interest. Cases involving 
allegations of corruption against public officials require 
congressional approval before prosecutors can initiate legal 
proceedings.
    There were no laws providing access to government information.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views; however, NGOs 
and the human rights ombudsman complained that government security 
forces and ministries occasionally refused to cooperate with their 
investigations.
    The human rights ombudsperson is a position with a six-year term 
established in the constitution. Congress chooses the ombudsperson by a 
two-thirds majority vote. The ombudsman is charged with providing 
oversight of 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. The ombudsman issued annual reports, and the 
Government usually accepted the recommendations. In May, Congress 
elected Rolando Villena Villegas as the new ombudsman. Villena then 
named new departmental ombudspersons. The lower house of congress 
includes a permanent commission on human rights, which proposes laws 
and policies to promote human rights. Congressional deputies sit on the 
commission for one-year terms.
    In August and September, Villena released reports criticizing the 
Government's role in the deaths of two youths in Caranavi and in what 
the office reported as the torture and death of David Olorio Apaza (see 
section 1.a.). Villena also released an end-of-year report that was 
critical of the Government and the speed of the judicial process.
    In the aftermath of the April 2009 killing of three alleged 
international terrorists in Santa Cruz (see section 1.a.), President 
Morales initially rejected calls by the Governments of Hungary, 
Ireland, and Croatia for an international investigation but 
subsequently authorized police to cooperate with investigators from the 
three countries. An investigation by the Irish government concluded 
that the postmortem on one of the alleged terrorists, Michael Dwyer, 
was incomplete. There were no new developments by year's end.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution explicitly prohibits discrimination based on race, 
gender, language, sexual orientation, or social status. According to 
the human rights ombudsperson, there was significant discrimination 
against (in descending order) persons with HIV/AIDS, indigenous 
persons, gay persons, and women.

    Women.--Rape was a serious and underreported problem. . The law 
criminalizes statutory rape, with prison terms of 15 to 20 years for 
the rape of a child under the age of 14. In cases involving consensual 
sex with an adolescent 14 to 18 years of age, the penalty is two to six 
years' imprisonment. Forcible rape of an adult is punishable by 
sentences ranging from four to 10 years' imprisonment. . Spousal rape 
is not a crime.
    Violence against women was also a pervasive and underreported 
problem. According to the NGO 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.
    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.
    Through November, the police Family Protection Brigade handled 
70,792 cases nationally. However, the police brigade lacked financial 
support, structural support, and personnel to follow up and pursue all 
reported cases. Most cases of domestic violence went unreported.
    The law 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 age five.
    The Government recognized the basic right of couples and 
individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and 
timing of their children. Health clinics and local health NGOs were 
permitted to operate freely in disseminating information on family 
planning under the guidance of the Ministry of Public Health. The 
Government provided direct cash transfers to expecting and new mothers 
to encourage the use of basic public health services that contribute to 
reducing maternal and infant mortality. According to the 2008 
Demographic and Health Survey, the maternal mortality ratio was 
estimated to be 310 per 100,000 live births, and the reported 
contraceptive prevalence rate among women was 61 percent; however, only 
37 percent of women using contraceptives used modern methods.
    The 2008 Demographic and Health Survey reported that 90 and 71 
percent of women received prenatal care and services of skilled birth 
attendants, respectively. The survey reported that 85 percent of 
mothers and infants received postnatal care. Improvement in these 
indicators were explained by the Ministry of Public Health policy of 
providing cash in the form of bonuses to women that register at a 
health center and return for their prenatal visits, delivery, and 
postpartum care.
    Women are entitled to the same legal rights as men; however, many 
women were unaware of their 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. 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 
microbusiness, 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.
    Numerous domestic and international women's rights groups worked to 
advance women's rights and integrate women into the mainstream of 
society.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived through both birth within the 
country's territory (unless on diplomatic status) and from one's 
Bolivian parent(s). Birth certificates were registered either via a 
notary's affirmation of the certificate or through testimony of two 
adults regarding a child's parentage. Registered birth certificates 
were necessary to obtain national identification cards.
    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. Many children also lived on the 
streets of major cities. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 
estimated in 2007 that more than 3,700 children and adolescents lived 
on the streets in the cities of La Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz, 
Cochabamba, Tarija, and Sucre. 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. According to a report by Pastoral de Movilidad Humana in 
2008, the local representative of the UNHCR, each month between nine 
and 11 children in the southern part of the country disappeared and 
were presumed victims of trafficking. Several NGOs had active programs 
to combat child prostitution.
    There were 194 Defender of Children and Adolescents offices to 
protect children's rights and interests nationwide. The Government's 
plan to combat child labor included a public information campaign 
against child prostitution and raids on brothels.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The 
Jewish community numbered approximately 650 persons.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities and identifies the rights and 
benefits afforded them. There was no official discrimination against 
persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health 
care, or the provision of other state services. The Government did not 
effectively enforce these provisions, however, and 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 National Committee for Handicapped Persons was responsible for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--In October the Government 
enacted a new Anti-Racism Law making it illegal to discriminate or use 
racist language (see section 2.a.). This law includes punishments of up 
to a 360-day suspension of media outlets for use of alleged racist 
language. It also includes a mandate for all forms of media to 
highlight antiracism programming or literature in their shows and 
publications. 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 Afro-Bolivians lived in the Yungas region of La 
Paz Department.

    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 70 percent of indigenous persons lived in poverty or 
extreme poverty with little access to education or minimal services to 
support human health such as clean drinking water and sanitation 
systems. The Government carried out a wide-ranging program to increase 
access to potable water and sanitation in rural areas where indigenous 
persons predominated.
    Indigenous lands are not demarcated fully, and land reform remained 
a central political issue. Historically, a majority of indigenous 
persons shared lands collectively under the ``ayllu'' system, a system 
that was not legally recognized during the transition to private 
property laws. Despite laws mandating reallocation and titling of 
lands, recognition and demarcation of indigenous lands have not been 
fully accomplished. Indigenous people protested outside exploitation of 
their resources and sometimes complained that authorities did not 
properly consult them. The law states that indigenous peoples have the 
right to control natural resources in their territories.
    Indigenous peasants occupied several private properties that they 
did not own, often with the backing of the Landless Movement. Since 
2007 at least eight illegal seizures of mines by campesinos have been 
reported. In August campesinos seized Potosi mines during the 19-day 
blockade and strikes within the region. On August 16, the federal 
government met with the leaders of the strike and agreed to several of 
their requests to end the blockade and strikes, including: a commission 
to address a disputed border with neighboring Oruro; a commission to 
study the use and preservation of the Cerro Rico mountain in Potosi 
city; a declaration to construct an international airport; pledges to 
construct cement factories; and extended state control over the 
Karachipampa smelter upon completion of arbitration with Atlas Precious 
Metals Company. At year's end there were no further developments.
    Indigenous persons continued to be underrepresented in government 
and politics and bore a disproportionate share of poverty and 
unemployment. Government educational and health services remained 
unavailable to many indigenous groups living in remote areas. The 
Government continued to try to improve individual and family situations 
through the delivery of cash conditional transfer (money given to 
individuals if they meet a condition) and retirement payments to low-
income and the elderly. For example, under the cash conditional 
transfer program, pregnant women and children under the age of two 
receive money if they attend their medical checkups (an attempt to 
decrease infant mortality).

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law prohibits 
discrimination based on sexual orientation, including by police, and 
citizens are allowed to change their name and gender on their official 
identity cards. However, societal discrimination against gay, lesbian, 
bisexual, and transgendered persons was common and noted in local media 
editorials. Organizations advocating for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and 
transgender persons existed and marches occurred, including a small 
annual gay pride parade, which received appropriate government approval 
and police protection. One student was reportedly expelled from high 
school for being gay, although school authorities denied that was the 
reason for the expulsion.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The human rights 
ombudsman reported that persons with HIV/AIDS faced pervasive 
discrimination. There were few if any registered acts of violence 
against persons with HIV/AIDS. No formal government programs existed to 
combat HIV/AIDS discrimination.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and 
join trade unions, including in the public sector, with some 
exceptions. In practice this right was limited by government 
regulations and inefficient labor courts.
    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 also places restrictions on unions' 
internal affairs. For example, members of union executive boards must 
be Bolivian by birth, and labor inspectors are allowed to attend union 
meetings and to monitor union activities.
    Workers may form a union in any private company of 20 or more 
employees with at least 50 percent of the workforce in favor. The 
minimum requirement of 20 workers proved a heavy restriction, as an 
estimated 72 percent of enterprises had fewer than 20 employees. 
Approximately 25 percent of workers in the formal economy, which 
employed an estimated 30 percent of all workers, belonged to unions. 
Bolivian unions may not join international organizations.
    The law provides most workers with the right to strike but requires 
unions to seek prior government mediation; the law requires the same of 
employers before they initiate a lockout. According to the law, a legal 
strike requires the support of 75 percent of the workers. Workers who 
participate in an unlawful strike may be sentenced to prison terms of 
one to five years.
    The Government may initiate compulsory arbitration to end a strike 
or collective dispute in non-essential sectors. Public service 
employees, including those in banks and public markets, are prohibited 
from striking which exceeds the International Labor Organization (ILO) 
definition of essential services.
    Workers in the public sector (including teachers, transportation 
workers, and health care workers) frequently went on strike and were 
not penalized for such strike activities. General and solidarity 
strikes are illegal, but the Government neither prosecuted nor imposed 
penalties in such cases.
    The central government had close ties with certain umbrella labor 
organizations such as the Bolivian Workers' Union and the Confederation 
of Farm Workers. The Government exerted pressure on national leadership 
and local chapters of many of these organizations and funded parallel 
chapters in areas where the Government had less influence.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides workers the right to organize and bargain collectively; 
however, collective bargaining and voluntary direct negotiations 
between employers and workers without government participation was 
limited. Most collective bargaining agreements were restricted to 
addressing wages.
    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 rulings can take a year or more. The court ruled in 
favor of discharged workers in some cases and successfully required 
their reinstatement. However, union leaders stated that problems often 
were resolved or obsolete by the time the court ruled.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
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.
    In many cases indigenous Guarani 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. Many of these families lived in very poor conditions without 
water, electricity, medical care, or schools.
    Some workers, mostly indigenous persons, were forced to work 
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, cattle, corn, and peanut industries in Santa Cruz 
Department.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor remained a serious problem. The law prohibits all paid work 
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-old children under various 
formal but poorly enforced restrictions which have been criticized by 
the ILO and were considered by some to be tantamount to bondage.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor 
provisions but enforced them unevenly throughout the country. According 
to the ILO, 848,000 children between the ages of five to 17 worked. 
Roughly 800,000 children were under the age of 14 years and were 
working in risky labor conditions ,354,000 in urban areas and 446,000 
in rural areas.
    There was also evidence of exploitation of indigenous children in 
the Chaco region, the departments of Beni and Santa Cruz, and in cities 
across the country wherever individuals were migrating from the 
countryside. 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 mining 
gold, silver, tin, and zinc, as well as in other dangerous occupations 
in the informal sector.
    Child prostitution remained a problem. According to the human 
rights ombudsman, 3,000 children lived in the streets, and many were 
exploited sexually. The report stated that more than 100,000 children 
worked eight to 12 hours a day. The International Organization for 
Migration estimated that 2,000 girls worked, or were forced to work, as 
prostitutes.
    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.
    In addition significant numbers of children faced forced-labor 
situations in the production of sugarcane and Brazil nuts, mining, 
agriculture, and domestic service. See also the Department of State's 
annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The Government devoted limited 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. Nonetheless, according to the human rights ombudsman in 2009, 
3,800 children worked in mining.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--During the year the Government 
raised the minimum monthly wage 5 percent to 680 bolivianos ($97) for 
the public and private sectors, from 647 bolivianos ($92) in 2009. The 
minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker 
and family. Most private-sector workers earned more than the minimum 
wage. While the minimum wage fell below prevailing wages in most jobs, 
certain benefit calculations were pegged to it. Many independent 
workers were part of the informal economy and did not receive the 
minimum wage.
    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 poorly enforced. There were fewer than 37 
inspectors in 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 an office 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 with no scheduled rest for long periods in 
dangerous, unhealthy conditions and earned relatively little for their 
efforts; some earned only seven bolivianos ($1) per hour. Conditions 
have changed little in the past decades, as independent miners' 
cooperatives lacked the financial and technical resources needed to 
improve mine infrastructure. The law provides workers the right to 
remove themselves from dangerous situations without fear of losing 
their jobs. Since most miners in these conditions are self-employed, 
they leave mine work when prices are lower, often to work in the 
Chapare as coca growers. However, few have transferrable skills. Miners 
return to work in the mines when prices are high and they can earn 
higher wages.

                               __________

                                 BRAZIL

    Brazil is a constitutional federal republic with a population of 
approximately 191million. In a second-round vote on October 31, voters 
elected Dilma Rousseff as president for a four-year term. The elections 
were generally free and fair. There were instances in which security 
forces acted independently of civilian control. State-level security 
forces committed numerous human rights abuses.
    The following human rights problems were reported: unlawful 
killings; excessive force, beatings, abuse, and torture of detainees 
and inmates by police and prison security forces; inability to protect 
witnesses involved in criminal cases; harsh prison conditions; 
prolonged pretrial detention and inordinate delays of trials; 
reluctance to prosecute as well as inefficiency in prosecuting 
government officials for corruption; violence and discrimination 
against women; violence against children, including sexual abuse; 
trafficking in persons; discrimination against indigenous persons and 
minorities; failure to enforce labor laws; forced labor; and child 
labor in the informal sector. Human rights violators often enjoyed 
impunity.

                        RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS


Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom 
        From:
    a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life.--The federal 
government or its agents did not commit politically motivated killings, 
but unlawful killings by state police (military and civil) were 
widespread, particularly in the populous states of Sao Paulo and Rio de 
Janeiro.
    In many cases police officers employed indiscriminate lethal force 
during apprehensions. In some cases civilian deaths followed severe 
harassment or torture by law enforcement officials.
    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.
    In Rio de Janeiro, both on- and off-duty police employed 
indiscriminate use of force, including killings, primarily in the 
city's poorer northern section. Residents of the city's approximately 
1,050 favelas (shantytowns), where approximately 1.2 million persons 
lived, were at particular risk. Impunity for such killings remained a 
problem. According to Amnesty International (AI), specialized Police 
Pacification Units (Unidades Pol!cia Pacificadora, UPP) significantly 
reduced violence in a dozen communities, but AI stated that policing in 
Rio de Janeiro continued to depend on repressive methods. On November 
26, AI claimed that Rio police killed more than 500 persons during the 
year in ``acts of resistance,'' often without sufficient or independent 
investigations of whether the suspects were resisting arrest and 
threatening the life of police officers or the public.
    AI reported that few killings were effectively or independently 
investigated and that perpetrators were seldom prosecuted successfully. 
Under its Favela Pacification Program, the Rio de Janeiro State 
Secretariat for Public Security assigned 12 specially trained 
community-policing units to 12 different favelas. A poll by the 
Brazilian Institute of Social Research found that 93 percent of 
residents in UPP areas felt safer. According to that poll, 70 percent 
of residents of communities without UPPs would like to have one.
    In mid-December there were 13 community-policing units in 16 
different favelas. Implementations of UPP police units assigned to 
these communities occurred with no reported casualties.
    On November 28, Rio de Janeiro police units supported by the 
military entered the massive Complexo do Alemao slum as part of the 
wider Favela Pacification Program and in response to a wave of violent 
attacks against the population by drug gangs. Ensuing clashes between 
the suspected drug traffickers and the police killed 42 persons, some 
of them bystanders, including a 14-year-old girl, as reported by O 
Globo newspaper. Citizens and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 
reported excessive use of force on the part of law enforcement during 
the pacification. Then secretary of human rights Paulo Vannuchi 
undertook to investigate alleged human rights violations, while also 
attributing the relatively low number of deaths for such a large 
operation to restraint on the part of law enforcement.
    The Sao Paulo State Secretariat for Public Security reported that 
Sao Paulo State police (civil and military) killed 392 civilians in the 
state from January to September, compared with 400 during the same 
period in 2009. Cases involving extrajudicial executions were either 
under police investigation or before the state courts; observers 
believed that it could take years to resolve such cases. During the 
year there were reports of multiple killings (called chacinas) in Sao 
Paulo State, often drug related with suspected police involvement; in 
the Sao Paulo metropolitan region, there were 12 chacinas resulting in 
46 deaths from January to October.
    Between April 17 and 26, a group of approximately five military 
police officers on the coast of Sao Paulo State killed at least 23 
persons, reportedly in retaliation for the April 18 killing of a fellow 
officer. The case remained under investigation at year's end.
    On May 27, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or 
arbitrary executions presented a follow-up report to her 2007 findings 
and recommendations. The 2007 report included recommendations in the 
areas of policing strategies, police involvement in organized crime, 
police accountability, forensic evidence, witness protection, public 
prosecutors, judicial and legal framework, and prisons.
    The follow-up report noted some improvements made by police 
officials in Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Paraiba, and Sao Paulo in 
implementing recommendations to reduce the activities of groups 
conducting extrajudicial killings, for example, by investigating 
militias and arresting those involved in the killings, but noted that 
such groups continued to operate. In September nine militia members 
arrested during Operation Leviathian II in Rio de Janeiro were found 
guilty of conspiracy and illegal possession of firearms and sentenced 
to prison terms ranging from eight to 12 years.
    Groups with links to law enforcement officials carried out 
killings, in some cases with police participation. Although new 
statistics on such killings were not provided in the special 
rapporteur's follow-up report, it was noted that the state governments 
of Pernambuco and Para!ba made efforts to address extrajudicial 
killings. The state government of Pernambuco reported that it 
imprisoned approximately 400 individuals, and the state government of 
Para!ba investigated a group that may be responsible for as many as 300 
killings. Credible, local human rights groups reported the existence in 
some states of groups linked to police forces that targeted suspected 
criminals and persons considered problematic or undesirable by 
landowners. States where such groups were known to operate included Sao 
Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, and Paraiba.
    In August 2009 authorities arrested five suspects, including 
military policemen, in the January 2009 killing in Pitimbu, Paraiba, of 
Manoel Bezerra de Mattos Neto, vice president of the Pernambuco branch 
of the Workers' Party and a human rights advocate. The NGO Global 
Justice reported that on June 9, Maximiano Rodrigues Alves, a witness 
in the investigation, was shot in Itambe, Pernambuco, in an attempt on 
his life allegedly stemming from the Mattos case. On October 27, in 
response to an appeal from the Pernambuco branch of the Brazilian Bar 
Association, the Superior Court of Justice transferred the Mattos case 
and those of other killings suspected to be the work of off-duty police 
to the federal courts. The case was pending trial at the federal court 
in Paraiba at year's end.
    The case of the March 2009 killing by military police in Rio de 
Janeiro of Jose Carlos Barbosa remained under investigation at year's 
end. According to the Rio de Janeiro Bar Association Human Rights 
Commission, witnesses testified in the case despite receiving threats.
    In April 2009 in Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro, police killed six 
youths allegedly involved in drug trafficking in Morro da Coroa favela. 
According to the NGO Rede Contra a Violencia, prosecutors brought 
charges against four police officers (Vagner Barbosa Santana, Carlos 
Eduardo Virginio dos Santos, Jubson Alencar Cruz Souza, and Leonardo 
Jose de Jesus Gomes) for the killings. The case remained pending at 
year's end.
    At year's end two military police officers were in jail pending 
trial for the 2009 killings of four persons in Guaratiba District, Rio 
de Janeiro.
    On July 30, a court sentenced four military police officers to 18 
years and eight months for the 2008 murder of Antonio Carlos Silva 
Alves. The four, all of the 37th Battalion (Sao Paulo), were among 14 
military police officers arrested in 2009 following an investigation 
into the activities linked to organized crime. Nine of the 14 remained 
in custody at year's end, pending the outcome of judicial proceedings.
    There were no known developments in the following cases:
    The August 2009 killing of Elton Brumda Silva during a military 
police operation to remove Silva and approximately 500 other Landless 
Rural Workers Movement members from a farm in Sao Gabriel, Rio Grande 
do Sul State.
    The August 2009 arrest of retired police sergeant Jairo Francisco 
Franco for killing an unknown black man in the greater Sao Paulo area.
    The investigation of military policeman Pascoal dos Santos Lima in 
connection with the 2008 killing in Sao Paulo of military police 
Colonel Jose Herminio Rodrigues, who was investigating extrajudicial 
killings allegedly committed by Lima, who was serving a prison sentence 
related to another conviction.
    More than 40 deaths that occurred during November 2009 military 
police operations in Rio de Janeiro favela communities following an 
October 2009 helicopter shoot-down.
    The 2008 beating death in Rio de Janeiro of Andreu Luis da Silva 
Carvalho at a detention facility. The NGO Legal Project reported that 
prosecutors did not bring charges against the five agents allegedly 
involved in the killing, and Legal Project filed a suit in August 
against Rio de Janeiro State seeking compensation for the family of the 
victim.
    On April 12, a jury in Para sentenced Vitalmiro ``Bida'' Bastos 
Moura to 30 years in prison for the 2005 murder of Catholic nun Dorothy 
Mae Stang. On May 18, Judge Maria de Nazare Gouveia, of the state 
superior court of Para, ruled that Reginaldo Pereira Galvao, also 
accused in the killing, and originally sentenced to 30 years, would 
remain free while awaiting an appeal.
    On September 29, Rio de Janeiro Military Police Officer Paulo Marco 
da Silva Em!lio, was acquitted of killing Thiago da Costa Correia da 
Silva and three other youths in Borel favela, in northern Rio de 
Janeiro in 2003. According to Rede Contra a Violencia, three of the 
five Rio de Janeiro military police officers charged were acquitted. 
Washington Luis de Oliveira Avelino was awaiting trial, and Marcos 
Duarte Ramalho, whose conviction was cancelled in March 2009, was 
awaiting a new trial at year's end.
    There were no known developments in the death-in-custody case, 
reopened in September 2009, of Manoel Fiel Filho, who was arrested and 
allegedly tortured before his death in 1976. Authorities charged a 
police detective, a specialist, and the medical examiner who performed 
the autopsy with murder and cover-up.

    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 treatment and 
provides severe legal penalties for its use, torture and other cruel 
treatment by police and prison guards remained a serious and widespread 
problem. In 2009 the federal government's Special Secretariat for Human 
Rights (SEDH) acknowledged that police institutions have been 
historically marked with violence, generating a cycle of insecurity, 
inefficiency, abuse, torture, and impunity.
    Fourteen of the country's 26 states have formally adhered to the 
National Plan for the Prevention and Control of Torture, which includes 
the installation of cameras in prisons and penitentiaries; frequent 
unannounced visits by prosecutors, public defenders, and NGOs; and 
videotaping of interrogations.
    During the first half of the year, the Sao Paulo State Ombudsman's 
Office received 13 complaints of torture by police, compared with seven 
during the same period of 2009.
    According to the Rio de Janeiro State Police ombudsman, Luiz Sergio 
Wigderowitz, there were two complaints of torture by the police in Rio.
    According to the Minas Gerais State Ombudsman's Office, it received 
87 complaints of physical aggression by police during the first six 
months of the year but no complaints of torture. Comparatively, in the 
first six months of 2009 it received 105 complaints of physical 
aggression and 17 complaints of torture by the police.
    The Bahia State Ombudsman's Office reported 27 complaints of 
physical aggression by the police and no complaints of torture from 
January to December 17. In 2009 it reported 79 complaints of physical 
aggression and no complaints of torture.
    Police continued to abuse transvestite prostitutes in Rio de 
Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, and Salvador, according to the NGO Bahia Gay 
Rights Group. Complaints were investigated but rarely resulted in 
punishment (see section 6, Societal Abuses).
    In Rio de Janeiro, militia members--many of them off-duty or former 
law enforcement officers--reportedly continued to use physical abuse, 
degrading treatment, and torture to spread fear and establish control 
over favela residents.
    In the June 2009 case in which five indigenous Tupinambas in 
Ilheus, Bahia, charged that Federal Police officers applied electric 
shocks to their backs and genitals, a Federal Police investigation 
found that there was no abuse of power by the agents, as the Government 
did not consider pepper spray or Tasers to constitute weapons. The 
Federal Police internal investigation reportedly cleared Federal Police 
officers of acting inappropriately.
    There were no known developments regarding the prosecution of an 
individual arrested in 2008 and three police officers arrested in 
January 2009 in the cases of two O Dia newspaper investigative 
journalists and their driver who were kidnapped, tortured, and released 
in Batan favela, Rio de Janeiro, in 2008. Two other militia leaders 
charged in the case were convicted and sentenced in August 2009.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
throughout the country often ranged from poor to life threatening; 
however, some states made efforts to improve conditions. Abuse by 
prison guards, poor medical care, and severe overcrowding occurred at 
many facilities.
    Prison officials frequently resorted to brutal treatment of 
prisoners. Harsh or dangerous working conditions, official negligence, 
poor sanitary conditions, abuse and mistreatment by guards, and lack of 
medical care led to deaths in prisons. Poor working conditions and low 
pay for prison guards encouraged widespread corruption. Prisoners who 
committed petty crimes were held with murderers. According to the 
National Penitentiary Department, in June there were 494,237 prisoners, 
including 29,707 women, incarcerated in a prison system designed for 
approximately 300,000.
    The federal constitution prevents minors who are less than 18 years 
old from being tried as adults and being incarcerated in federal, 
state, or city prisons. Crimes or misdemeanors committed by minors are 
classified as infractions. The penalties for such acts are classified 
as socioeducational measures. By law juveniles should not be held 
together in jails with adults, but this was not always respected in 
practice. Multiple sources reported accounts of adolescents jailed with 
adults in prison units in inhumane, poor, and crowded conditions. 
Insufficient capacity in juvenile detention centers was widespread. A 
government official from the Secretariat of Human Rights reported a 
first-hand account of adolescent boys and girls incarcerated with 
adults in a prison in Goias during the year. Moreover, in May a news 
source reported minors being held with adults in an overcrowded prison 
in the state of Sao Paulo.
    According to the SEDH, 60,000 adolescents were sentenced to 
socioeducational corrective measures. The majority of these youth were 
not confined, but 14,000 were detained in special youth detention 
centers found in every state and the Federal District. Of these, 3,000 
were confined under a work release regime. The detention centers were 
marked by the same overcrowding and violence faced by the prison system 
for adults. The National Council of Justice noted, for example, that 
the detention center CAJE (Center for Training Skilled Youth) in 
Brasilia was built to house 160 adolescents and had a population of 
more than 320. In September the Council for the Rights of Children and 
Adolescents recommended that CAJE be closed down, claiming that since 
2004 more than 20 adolescents under its supervision died and that it 
received numerous reports of other forms of violence such as the 
beatings of those being detained, riots, and arson by the inmates.
    The Government was aware of the abuse that takes place in both its 
prisons and juvenile detention centers and took steps to address the 
problem, as evidenced by its sponsoring of the First National Seminar 
on Torture and Violence in the Prison System and in the System for 
Socio-Educational Measures through the President's Secretariat for 
Human Rights and the National Council of Justice in November.
    In Rio de Janeiro and most other states, pretrial detainees were 
held with convicted prisoners due to overcrowding.
    Police killed three prisoners and injured 24 during a prison riot 
in Recife in May at a facility with a capacity of 1,400 that held 3,600 
men. Police reported killing at least three prisoners in an 18-hour 
hostage situation during a prison uprising in January at the state of 
Parana's central penitentiary. On February 25, detainees rioted at 
Serrinha Prison in Bahia, demanding transfer to a different 
penitentiary in the state. Prisoners killed a fellow inmate during the 
riot. On November 9, at least 18 prisoners were killed in two separate 
riots in Sao Luis, Maranhao. The rioters were demanding better 
conditions, including adequate food and an end to overcrowded 
conditions.
    The NGO Conectas reported that penitentiary centers in the Sao 
Paulo metropolitan area remained overcrowded. There were seven centers 
in the city of Sao Paulo, each holding a population that was double its 
intended capacity. The Vila Independencia Center, for instance, had 
space for 768 inmates but held approximately 1,900. According to a 
Conectas representative, these centers were temporary prisons for those 
awaiting trial or a more permanent situation in the penitentiary 
system. Because these prisons are temporary, they are not held to the 
same standard as the long-term prison system, and the buildings were 
old with few facilities. Conectas reported that some individuals were 
held in these centers for years without sentencing.
    In 2009 the National Council for Criminal and Penitentiary Policy 
reported seriously deficient conditions at two detention facilities in 
Serra, Espirito Santo. At the Cascuvi facility in Viana city, 25 
individuals guarded more than 1,170 prisoners crowded into three spaces 
lacking individual cells in a facility designed for 370 persons. The 
report described the absence of electricity and showers, privacy, legal 
counsel, inmate advocacy, and reformative activity; rodents and pests 
roaming freely; drinking water provided once daily; food served 
sporadically; limited medical access; inmate skin disease; and 
allegations of inmate-on-inmate attacks. According to Global Justice, 
authorities demolished the penitentiary in Cascuvi in May to build a 
provisional detention center (CDP). In 2009 the state government of 
Espirito Santo created CDPs as maximum-security prisons, which are part 
of the state's program of modernization and improvement of the prisons 
system.
    Global Justice, however, reported that the CDPs held both pretrial 
detainees and convicted prisoners and were already at capacity.
    In August Espirito Santo prison officials announced that they would 
discontinue the use of metal ship-container cells as holding 
facilities. Global Justice reported a lack of information from prison 
officials on prisoner status and conditions in its facilities. Global 
Justice also asserted that there was no information available 
concerning the investigation or punishment of the agents and detainees 
involved in cases of killings and torture in Espirito Santo 
penitentiaries. The NGO reported a lack of information on the 
whereabouts and status of the prisoners who were transferred from the 
penitentiaries that used metal ship-container cells.
    In June 2009 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights granted 
precautionary measures for inmates of the Polinter-Neves penitentiary 
in Sao Goncalo, Rio de Janeiro State, because of inadequate access to 
medical services and asked the Government to ensure adequate medical 
care, reduce overcrowding, and report its actions to the court. There 
was no government response to the Inter-American Court, and according 
to the NGO Rio de Paz, the situation at Polinter-Neves penitentiary 
remained unchanged. The facility has capacity for 350 detainees but 
held 656 at year's end. The Public Defender's Association reported 
filing suits to shut down the penitentiary. According to the 
Coordinator of the Rio de Janeiro Public Defenders Association, Denis 
Sampaio, the suits were pending resolution and the penitentiary 
continued functioning at year's end.
    On June 24, the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro approved a 
law creating a Torture Prevention Committee and Mechanism. The law 
provides for state monitoring and supervision of jails, penitentiaries, 
socioeducational centers, and mental institutions. Implementation of 
this law continued at year's end.
    The situation in the Women's Penitentiary of Santana in Sao Paulo 
remained poor, although there were some improvements in the areas of 
health care and food quality. The prison, a converted men's facility in 
an old, deteriorating building, was overcrowded and did not have 
educational and social development programs for inmates. Women who give 
birth in prison or are the mothers of newborns when arrested are 
permitted to keep their babies with them in the facility for six 
months. The Santana Penitentiary provides special cells and assistance 
for 120 inmates and their children. These facilities are located in the 
hospital building.
    Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo states and the Federal District 
provided separate prison facilities for women; elsewhere, according to 
the NGO Pastoral Carceraria, women were held with men in some 
facilities. Male officers who served in women's prisons abused and 
extorted the prisoners for sexual favors.
    While authorities attempted to hold pretrial detainees separately 
from convicted prisoners, overcrowding often required holding convicted 
criminals in pretrial detention facilities. Abuses continued in 
municipal jails and detention centers throughout the country.
    There were no developments reported concerning the 12 persons, 
including 10 police officers, indicted but never jailed for the 2007 
repeated sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl in a cell in Abaetetuba, 
Para. However, on April 20, the National Council of Justice unanimously 
decided to force the retirement of the judge who sent the girl to the 
cell but took no action when she became aware of the abuse suffered by 
the victim.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors. They 
were permitted religious observance and permitted to submit complaints 
to judicial authorities, although this was not always respected in 
practice.
    Government policy permits prison visits by independent human rights 
observers; however, in practice authorities did not always follow this 
policy. A Conectas representative confirmed that it was at times 
difficult for outside observers to obtain permission to visit prisons.
    Human rights advocates visiting juvenile detention centers in Sao 
Paulo reported continuing improvements in their general conditions. The 
foundation Center for the Socio-Educational Care of the Adolescent 
dismantled large out-of-date detention centers prone to inmate violence 
and built smaller facilities for easier management of the inmate 
population. This process began in 2006 and has continued, with five new 
centers opening during the year, which brought the total to 132. Each 
center had space for 56 adolescents, with approximately 7,000 held in 
the system. Conectas reported that the new facilities improved living 
conditions and that there were no cases of physical abuse, riots, or 
deaths in the smaller facilities. However, the temporary center for 
juvenile criminals did not have facilities for social and educational 
activities.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention and limits arrests to those caught in the act of 
committing a crime or arrested by order of a judicial authority; 
however, police at times did not respect this prohibition in practice.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Federal Police, 
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 
uniformed officers charged with maintaining order and preventing crime. 
Although the individual state governments control their respective 
military police forces, the constitution provides for calling them into 
active military service in the event of an emergency, and they maintain 
some military characteristics and privileges, including a separate 
judicial system.
    In Rio de Janeiro's favelas, militia groups often begun as off-duty 
and former law enforcement officers took community policing into their 
own hands. However, many militia groups came to resemble drug-
trafficker groups in intimidating residents and conducting illegal 
activity such as extorting protection money, imposing tribute fees, and 
providing pirated utility services. Punishing police involved in 
militia activity was difficult due to solidarity and fear of reprisals. 
Police often did not operate in militia-dominated communities. State 
authorities estimated that militias had taken over nearly 100 favelas 
from drug-trafficker control, mostly in the city's west.
    In a September media interview, former Rio de Janeiro State 
secretary for public security Marcelo Itagiba alleged that communities 
controlled by militias increased from 42 to 171 over the past four 
years.
    In October the local press reported that Rio de Janeiro military 
police officers arrested eight members of the militia gang Piraque, 
which included a civil police officer, two military police officers, 
and an army officer. Press reports alleged the gang charged local 
residents for the provision of security and utility services.
    In January the Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat for Public Security 
and Civil Police started a human rights training course for Rio de 
Janeiro military police officers. During the year an estimated 500 
officers received the course, a ``train-the-trainer'' program, that 
ultimately was delivered to approximately 38,000 officers. According to 
the secretariat, human rights courses were a mandatory component of 
training for entry-level military police officers. Other states, such 
as Santa Catarina, also integrated human rights elements into police 
training.
    The Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat for Public Security reported 
that 29,873 police officers took online training courses in human 
rights during the year, in partnership with the National Secretariat 
for Public Security.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--With the 
exception of arrests of suspects caught in the act of committing a 
crime, 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 arrest 
or before being taken into custody for interrogation.
    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 police have indications that a 
suspect may leave the area. This may be renewed under specific 
circumstances. Occasionally detainees--typically poor and uneducated--
were held longer than the provisional period.
    Defendants arrested in the act of committing a crime must be 
charged within 30 days of arrest. Other defendants must be charged 
within 45 days, although this period may 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; indigent detainees had the right 
to a lawyer 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.
    The law does not provide for a maximum period for pretrial 
detention, which is defined on a case-by-case basis. Time in detention 
before trial is subtracted from the sentence.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice; however, the judiciary was underfunded, 
inefficient, and often subject to intimidation and to political and 
economic influences, particularly at the state level, a situation that 
resulted in vigilante action. 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, which is defined according to individual circumstances, the 
nationwide backlog in state and federal cases frequently led courts to 
dismiss old cases unheard.

    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. For instance, 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. After an arrest a judge 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 enjoy a presumption of innocence and have the rights to 
confront and question witnesses and to appeal. A large case backlog 
hindered the ability of appellate-level courts to ensure fair and 
expeditious trials.
    While the law provides for the right to counsel, the Ministry of 
Justice estimated that approximately 90 percent of prisoners could not 
afford an attorney. In most cases the court must furnish a public 
defender or private attorney at public expense. The Public Ministry 
continued hiring public defenders, but staffing deficits remained in 
all states. For example, according to the Human Rights Commission of 
the Rio de Janeiro Bar Association, there were 700 public defenders in 
Rio de Janeiro State, a personnel deficit of 18 percent.
    The law mandates that special police courts exercise jurisdiction 
over state 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 civilian courts, which have jurisdiction over killings by 
police, received very few case referrals involving police killings. In 
addition the requirement that the initial investigation be carried out 
by police internal affairs officers increased the potential for drawn-
out investigations. The police themselves were often responsible for 
investigating charges of torture and excessive force carried out by 
fellow officers, although independent investigations increased. Long 
delays in the special military police courts allowed many cases of 
alleged torture and lesser charges to expire due to statutes of 
limitations.

    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 judiciary, courts were overburdened 
with significant backlogs and sometimes were 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 NGOs credibly 
reported that police conducted searches without warrants. Human rights 
groups, other NGOs, and the media reported frequent incidents of 
violent police invasions in shantytowns and poor neighborhoods. During 
these operations police stopped and questioned persons and searched 
cars, residences, and business establishments without warrants. During 
its law-enforcement operations in November and December, the military 
entered the massive Complexo do Alemao slum as part of the wider Favela 
Pacification Program. NGOs, including Rede Contra Violencia, claimed 
those authorities forcibly entered homes without warrants and looted 
some residences. Victims reported searches without warrants, including 
abusive and violent searches of women. Wiretaps authorized by judicial 
authority were permitted. The inviolability of private correspondence 
generally was respected.
    On June 22, a Brazilian Bar Association spokesman denounced the 
installation by federal authorities of recording equipment in visiting 
rooms reserved for conversations between lawyers and federal prisoners 
in four prisons in the country as a violation of attorney-client 
privilege, making it ``impossible to exercise the right of defense.'' 
Seven correctional officers in a maximum security federal penitentiary 
in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul brought the installation to the 
attention of the bar association. Federal authorities stated that the 
equipment was there purely for security purposes and that attorney-
client conversations were not regularly recorded unless authorized by a 
judge.
    On September 27, a federal judge in Sao Paulo ruled evidence gained 
by illegal wiretaps inadmissible in a case involving racketeering 
charges against 12 persons, including two tax officials, stemming from 
a 2007 investigation.

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. The independent media were active and expressed a 
wide variety of views with minimal restriction; however, criminal as 
well as other elements, such as political party activists, continued to 
subject journalists to violence because of their professional 
activities (see also sections 1.a. and 1.c.).
    The National Association of Newspapers (ANJ) continued to report 
cases of imprisonment, aggression, censorship, and failure to respect 
freedom of the press. Between August 2008 and November 2010, the ANJ 
reported 74 cases of censorship, threats, direct violence against 
journalists, and other forms of pressure against news organizations and 
professionals. Of these, 34 occurred during the year, including two 
deaths, one imprisonment, 11 cases of censorship, 10 of assault and 
battery, and two bombings. Of the 74 cases, 26 represented court 
decisions, and 10 were electoral court decisions restricting the 
ability of journalists to report on specific election stories. In four 
cases members of the judiciary were plaintiffs in legal actions 
involving news reports mentioning them.
    On October 19, a gunman shot and killed journalist Francisco Gomes 
de Medeiros, of Radio Caico in Rio Grande do Norte. According to 
police, the defendant killed Gomes de Medeiros because of accusations 
the journalist made on the radio, connecting the assailant with drug 
trafficking. The Union of Professional Journalists of Rio Grande do 
Norte considered the case an intimidating example of organized crime 
retaliation.
    The ANJ regarded the most serious threat to press freedom to be the 
growing number of court decisions prohibiting the media from reporting 
on certain activities. Among the highest-profile cases reported by the 
ANJ were two instances of judicial prior censorship where the courts 
barred newspapers from reporting on continuing investigations.
    In September the Regional Federal Court in Tocantins State forbade 
84 publications--including O Estado de S. Paulo and leading circulation 
newsmagazine Veja--from reporting on an investigation by the Sao Paulo 
State Prosecutor's Office against the Tocantins governor and candidate 
for reelection, Carlos Gaguim. The ruling was subsequently lifted, but 
not before the local police were dispatched to the airport at the state 
capital to seize a shipment of a national circulation magazine 
containing a report on that subject.
    Pursuant to a July 2009 court ruling, the newspaper O Estado de S. 
Paulo and its associated Web site remained barred from reporting on the 
Federal Police investigation of alleged corruption by Fernando Sarney, 
the son of the Senate president.
    In August during the Eighth Congress of Brazilian Newspapers 
(sponsored by the ANJ), presidential candidates Jose Serra and Dilma 
Rousseff signed the Chaputelpec Declaration, which obliges its 
signatories to respect and defend the freedom of the press.
    On August 26, in response to an appeal by the Brazilian Association 
of Radio and Television Broadcasters, the Supreme Federal Tribunal 
(STF) suspended legislation prohibiting satire of politicians during 
the electoral campaign, The NGO Reporters Without Borders had called 
the law a vestige of the authoritarian period.
    During the final stage of the election campaign in September, 
President Lula publicly criticized press reporting of the resignation 
of Chief of Staff Erenice Guerra for alleged influence peddling, 
claiming the reporting was politically motivated.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. In 
March Google reported high rates of government requests for content to 
be removed and high levels of requests for personal data. Observers 
attributed this to government investigations into child pornography and 
racism and to the relative ease in filing private lawsuits to demand 
removal of content and to request data to identify the original poster.
    As with freedom of expression in the press, government restrictions 
on freedom of expression extended to the Internet with court orders 
requiring the removal of a wide variety of material, far more than 
child pornography. Information ordered taken down included coverage of 
judicial misconduct and business dealings. The Committee to Protect 
Journalists (CPJ) estimated that one congressional representative filed 
more than 44 lawsuits against 38 journalists.
    The IBOPE-Nielsen Net Ratings reported that 39.2 million persons 
regularly used the Internet in their home, and the International 
Telecommunication Union reported that Internet usage increased to 
approximately 39 percent in 2009.
    In July new electoral rules were issued regulating presidential 
campaigns on the Internet, allowing debates to take place on blogs, 
social networks, and Web sites, along with advertising via e-mail and 
short message service (SMS) messages. The new rules prohibited 
candidates from buying advertising space online, restricting online 
campaign presences to sites run by the candidate. The regulations also 
required that all Web sites be registered with the Electoral Court and 
made online slander and defamation punishable by fine.

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice, although there were restrictions on entry into protected 
indigenous areas.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, and 
other persons of concern.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and no instances of forced exile 
occurred.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status, and the Government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees. In practice the Government 
provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to 
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account 
of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social 
group, or political opinion. In July 2009 President Lula approved a law 
that allowed foreigners who arrived in the country illegally by 
February 1 to apply for a two-year temporary residency; by February 
approximately 43,000 persons received amnesty under the new law. The 
largest group of beneficiaries, an estimated 17,000, were Bolivians, 
many of whom benefitted from regularized status to leave exploitive 
labor conditions.
    According to the Interministerial and Interinstitutional National 
Committee for Refugees, of the 4,294 recognized refugees from 76 
different countries in the country as of June, the largest numbers were 
from Angola (1,688), Colombia (589), and the Democratic Republic of 
Congo (420); 132 were from Cuba. Two-thirds were women, and 399 were 
resettled in the country.

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. 
Military conscripts may not vote.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In the 2010 national 
election, generally considered free and fair, Workers' Party candidate 
Dilma Rousseff won a four-year term as president. According to the 
Electoral Supreme Court (TSE), more than 150 international observers 
from 36 nations accepted invitations to witness the October elections. 
Among those represented were the Organization of American States, 
Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, Mercosur, and various NGOs 
from Africa and Haiti.
    Political parties operated without restriction or outside 
interference.
    Women have full political rights, and in October the country 
elected its first woman president. The law requires that 30 percent of 
the candidates registered by each political party must be women, but 
this was not always respected in practice. According to the TSE, there 
were 3,968 female candidates in the October elections, compared with 
15,504 male candidates. In the October elections, 11 women were elected 
to the 81-member Senate and 43 women to the 513-member Chamber of 
Deputies. Of the 27 governors elected, two were women. There were three 
women in the outgoing 37-member cabinet, two on the 11-member Federal 
Supreme Court, five on the 33-member Superior Court of Justice, and one 
on the 14-member Military Superior Court. Women won 12.9 percent of 
elected seats at the state level (a slight increase from 11.2 percent 
in 2006) and 12.6 percent at the municipal level. In December 
President-elect Rousseff selected nine women to join her cabinet to be 
sworn in on January 1, 2011.
    There were 25 Afro-Brazilians elected to Congress (three senators 
and 22 deputies), and 21 Afro-Brazilians elected to state assemblies, 
according to the Institute of Politics, Public and Business 
Administration and Technologies. There were two self-identified Afro-
Brazilians in the cabinet and one each on the Federal Supreme Court and 
Superior Court of Justice.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption and 
strengthened penalties for corruption during the year; however, the 
Government did not always implement the law effectively, and officials 
frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The World Bank's 
worldwide governance indicators reflected that corruption continued to 
be a serious problem.
    The Government recovered $390 million diverted from public funds 
via corruption, a 35 percent increase over 2009. During the year the 
Office of the Federal Solicitor General (AGU), a government 
accountability body that provides legal guidance to the executive 
branch, ensures government compliance with legal and administrative 
requirements, and can represent the Government in court, filed 3,706 
actions in an effort to recover a total of $2.498 billion suspected to 
have been diverted by corruption. According to the AGU's Web site, more 
than $566 million of that amount was found in bank accounts of mayors, 
former mayors, public servants, and business executives involved in 
illegal operations. The funds in question have been blocked or seized 
pending filings by the AGU.
    The Ficha Limpa (Clean Record) law passed by Congress in May bars 
politicians from seeking elected office if they face corruption 
charges. A lower federal court in June ruled that Ficha Limpa, 
originally set to take effect only for the 2012 elections, would also 
apply to the state and national elections during the year. On October 
28, the STF upheld the September decision by the TSE to apply the law 
for the October elections, in cases where a politician previously 
resigned from elective office to avoid impeachment. The decision 
involved an appeal by disqualified Senate candidate Jader Barbalho of 
Para.
    In cases where candidates were removed from previous office by 
rulings or impeachment, the STF's October 28 decision did not apply, 
leaving the several other legislators elected on October 3 awaiting 
decisions on individual appeals. In September previous electoral court 
decisions that Ficha Limpa would apply forced some politicians facing 
corruption allegations, such as former Federal District governor 
Joaquim Roriz, to withdraw from races because they subsequently could 
be found ineligible to hold office.
    In November 2009 videotapes became public of then Federal District 
governor Jose Roberto Arruda and several of his political allies in 
state government apparently receiving bribes in past years. In February 
Arruda stepped down and subsequently was arrested and held without bail 
for two months. On March 16, the Regional Electoral Tribunal ruled to 
remove Arruda from office. On April 12, he was released on bail and was 
awaiting trial at year's end. The story received national press 
coverage and Arruda did not run for reelection.
    On September 10, the Federal Police arrested Amapa Governor Pedro 
Paulo Dias and 17 others on charges of corruption. The previous 
governor and then Senate candidate Waldez Goes was among those 
arrested, for theft of public funds and involvement with organized 
crime. On September 18, the governor was released, along with the 
former governor, and returned to assume his office for the remainder of 
his term, which ended December 31. Dias lost his reelection bid on 
October 31.
    There were no known developments in the trial of Romero Menezes, 
former executive director of the Federal Police and its second-ranking 
official, suspected of leaking information to his brother about a fraud 
investigation and fired in 2008.
    Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws. A 2009 
law required more transparency in campaign financing. Federal 
government entities such as the Federal Audit Court, the Federal 
Controller General, the Public Ministry, the Federal Police, the 
judiciary, the Department of Revenue and Control of Financial 
Activities, and the Federal Treasury existed to fight corruption. The 
agencies identified public spending as a source of financial 
corruption; however, they had limited powers to function effectively.
    The law provides for public access to unclassified government 
information upon application to the Commission for Public Ethics, 
although the release of such information was often slow.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. 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--
particularly by members of the state police--for their efforts to 
identify and take action against human rights abusers.
    While most states had police ombudsmen, NGOs and human rights 
observers questioned their independence and effectiveness. The 
ombudsmen's accomplishments varied considerably, depending on such 
factors as funding and outside political pressure, and they issued no 
significant reports or recommendations during the year.
    The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate had human rights commissions 
that operated without interference and participated in several 
activities nationwide in coordination with domestic and international 
human rights organizations.

Section 6. 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, gays and lesbians, and indigenous 
persons continued.

    Women.--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. From January to June, the Sao Paulo State Secretariat 
for Public Safety registered 4,796 rape cases, compared with 1,996 
during the same period in 2009. Part of this sharp increase was 
attributable to enactment of a federal law broadening the definition of 
rape and therefore the number of cases included in the statistic.
    Domestic violence remained both widespread and underreported to the 
authorities, although reporting increased. The federal government 
continued to operate a toll-free 24-hour nationwide hotline for women. 
Of the domestic violence complaints registered through the hotline 
during the year, 78 percent were considered physical violence, and 22 
percent were threats. For such cases the Maria da Penha law increases 
the penalty from one to three years in prison and created special 
courts. There was no information available on the numbers of 
prosecutions or convictions for domestic violence, although in July CNN 
reported 10 women were killed in domestic violence each day. The 
Institute of Public Safety reported that in Rio de Janeiro 128 women 
were threatened by their husbands every day while 44 suffered attempts 
by their spouses to kill them.
    According to hotline data from January to September recorded by the 
Special Secretariat of Policies for Women, the number of registered 
calls received nationwide rose to 552,034, a 23 percent increase over 
the same period in 2009. Of the complaints received, 51,736 concerned 
physical abuse, a 113 percent increase from the previous year. In 
almost 70 percent of reported cases, children were said to have 
witnessed the abuse. Fifty-eight percent of the callers reported daily 
physical abuse; the majority blamed domestic partners, who were 
commonly under the influence of alcohol or drugs. According to press 
reports, 58 percent of the registered cases involved partners living 
with the victim, 58 percent of whom were married. Another 15 percent of 
the cases involved ex-boyfriends.
    Officials considered the increase in reports of domestic violence a 
sign that more women overcame fear and societal pressure and were 
willing to break their silence over abuse. Federal District Civil 
Police Chief Sandra Gomes Melo, chief of the central district's 
Delegacia de Mulher (Women's Precinct), stated that the increase in 
reporting did not signify increased violence, but more awareness among 
women in the Federal District of all ages, education levels, and social 
classes. Approximately 4,000 cases a year were filed in the precinct, 
out of approximately 9,000 in the Federal District (population 2.5 
million). According to Chief Gomes Melo, perhaps one-third of reports 
result in a prosecution, but many judges opted for alternative 
sentencing such as therapy. The lack of confidence that the judicial 
system or the police could protect abused women contributed to the 
reluctance on the part of some women to bring lawsuits against their 
abusers.
    According to a nationwide Avon Institute/Brazilian Institute of 
Public Opinion and Statistics poll conducted in February 2009, 62 
percent of women and 48 percent of men knew a woman who suffered from 
domestic violence. Of those interviewed, 24 percent said that women 
continued to stay with an abusive partner for economic reasons; 23 
percent, for the well-being of children; and 17 percent, because of 
fear for their lives. Fifty-six percent of those polled lacked 
confidence that the police or judicial system could protect an abused 
woman.
    Protection of women who reported threats was not always adequate. 
In October in Itajai, Santa Catarina, Marcia Regina de Souza Pacheco 
was killed by her ex-husband in front of a police station after filing 
seven reports of aggression and threat. In January in Belo Horizonte, 
Minas Gerais, Maria Islaine de Morais, a hairdresser, was killed at her 
workplace by her ex-husband. She had previously reported him five times 
to the authorities for threatening to kill her.
    Since March 2009 the federal government has encouraged the creation 
of special courts for domestic and family violence, and according to 
the National Council of Justice, in October there were 43 special 
courts in 23 of the 26 states plus the Federal District. Sao Paulo 
State's Special Court of Domestic and Family Violence against Women 
doubled its capacity to handle cases.
    Each state secretariat for public security operated police stations 
dedicated exclusively to addressing crimes against women (DEAMs), for a 
total of 475 countrywide, in 397 municipalities (7 percent of the 
country's 5,565 municipalities). The quality of services varied, and 
availability was particularly limited in rural areas. For example, most 
of the DEAMs were in the south and southeast while the north and 
northeast regions, which contained approximately 35 percent of the 
country's population, possessed only 24 percent of the country's DEAMs. 
The stations provided psychological counseling, temporary shelter, and 
hospital treatment for victims of domestic violence and rape (including 
treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases) as well as 
criminal prosecution assistance by investigating and forwarding 
evidence to courts. There were also 496 reference centers and 262 
women's shelters.
    The DEAM in the Federal District, considered a model, included 24-
hour coverage by shift consisting of a female police chief, four 
policewomen, and a clerk, as well as a social anthropologists, two 
psychologists, and a social worker. Women who came to the precinct had 
a right to shelter, a forensic examination, and a kit containing 
clothing and toiletries. A mobile unit precinct van also provided 
service to underserved communities and trained community leaders, 
doctors, teachers, and volunteer prosecutors.
    In Rio de Janeiro the city's Special Coordination to Promote Policy 
for Gender Equality (CEPIG) provided assistance to female victims of 
domestic violence who received death threats. When necessary, victims 
were sent to specific shelters, which also provided psychological and 
legal aid. CEPIG operated the Cora Coralina shelters to assist 42 
domestic violence victims, two other municipal governments operated 
shelters (in Campos and Volta Redonda), and the state government 
operated one shelter with a capacity to assist 80 women. In addition to 
CEPIG, domestic violence victims could obtain assistance at the Center 
for Women's Support, an initiative of the Rio de Janeiro state 
government that offered a complaint hotline, shelters, and 
psychological and legal aid. CEPIG reported that Rio de Janeiro's 
Municipal Government launched a temporary shelter to assist women 
victims of domestic violence who need assistance when other shelters 
are closed.
    The law requires health facilities to contact the police regarding 
cases in which a woman was harmed physically, sexually, or 
psychologically in order to collect evidence and statements should the 
victim decide to prosecute.
    While no specific laws address sex tourism, it is punishable under 
other criminal offenses. The Government issued a code of conduct to 
combat sex tourism and sexual exploitation and conducted campaigns in 
the most affected areas. The Federal District and the states of Rio de 
Janeiro, Bahia, Pernambuco, Espirito Santo, Amazonas, and Parana have 
laws requiring certain businesses to display signs listing the 
penalties for having sexual intercourse with a minor. Women's groups 
reported that prostitutes encountered discrimination when seeking free 
medical care.
    Sexual harassment is a criminal offense, punishable by up to two 
years in prison. 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 law was enforced, accusations were rare, and the extent of 
the problem was not documented.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and means to 
do so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception 
and skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care was generally 
available in urban, but not in rural, areas. The Population Reference 
Bureau recorded contraceptive use among married women at 81 percent, 
and the estimated maternal mortality rate in 2008 was 58 deaths per 
100,000 live births. Women and men were given equal access to 
diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV.
    Women have the same political and legal rights as men, and in 
October a woman was elected president (see section 3).
    A cabinet-level office, the Secretariat for Women's Policy, 
oversees a special entity charged with ensuring 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. According to the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE), 
women were often paid less than men in the same functions. According to 
research published in December by the Institute of Applied Economics 
and based on data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and 
Statistics (IBGE), there were significant wage disparities between men 
and women.
    The law provides 120 days of paid maternity leave to women and 
seven days of paternity leave 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 of up to two years for employers, while the company may 
be fined 10 times the salary of its highest-paid employee.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived from birth in the country or from 
a parent. According to the SEDH, approximately 9 percent of the 
children born in the country in 2008 were not registered, and an 
estimated total of 248,000 children did not have birth certificates. 
The federal government's year-old campaign to increase reported births 
and standardize certification focused on the north and northeast 
regions and on the more vulnerable and rural populations and aimed to 
reduce unregistered births to5 percent by year's end. However, 
registration discrepancies remained between the more affluent states of 
the south and southeast and the poorer states of the north and 
northeast regions of the country. The states with the highest incidence 
of unregistered children were Amazonas, Para, and Maranhao. On 
September 6, the National Justice Council published a provision 
establishing a network between registries and hospitals intended to 
speed up the process of issuing birth certificates.
    While the law prohibits subjecting any child or adolescent to 
negligence or abuse, such abuse was a major problem and included rape, 
molestation, and impregnation of girls by family members. The SEDH 
oversees the National Program to Confront Sexual Violence Against 
Children and Adolescents, which established nationwide strategies for 
combating child sexual abuse and best practices for treating victims. 
The SEDH funded municipal and NGO projects throughout the country to 
support services for victims of sexual abuse.
    From January to June, the SEDH-operated National Hotline of Sexual 
Abuse and Exploitation against Children and Adolescents registered 
20,263 reports of abuse, approximately the same as for that period in 
2009. There were 2,478 reported cases of sexual exploitation, 4,741 
cases of sexual abuse, 5,769 cases of neglect, and 7,209 of physical or 
psychological violence. Approximately 58 percent of the victims were 
girls; in such cases, the usual complaints were negligence and sexual 
violence. Approximately 80 percent of victims of child and adolescent 
sexual abuse were girls, who also suffered slightly more than boys from 
physical and psychological aggression. Allegations of abuse of minors 
and prosecution of crimes against children were not pursued adequately 
or aggressively.
    According to the NGO Children's Network to Combat Violence, which 
operated three centers in the Sao Paulo municipal area, the number of 
reported cases of sexual abuse and physical aggression against children 
increased, outpacing the centers' capacity and creating a waiting list 
for those seeking treatment. The NGO reported a decrease in the average 
age of victims.
    Child prostitution was a problem, with extreme poverty the primary 
contributor. The Federal Police continued to estimate that more than 
250,000 children were involved in prostitution. The law sets a minimum 
age for consensual sex of 14 years, with the penalty for statutory rape 
ranging between eight and 15 years in prison. The national telephone 
hotline registered 9,600 reported cases of sexual exploitation of 
children and adolescents between January and September.
    On August 23, the SEDH signed an agreement with 24 major state and 
private companies, including Petrobras and Vale, to combat sexual 
exploitation of children and adolescents related to major construction 
projects throughout the country.
    According to the NGO Reference Center on Children and Adolescents, 
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, sex tourism exploiting children continued and involved networks 
of travel agents, hotel workers, taxi drivers, and others who actively 
recruited children and trafficked them outside the country. Child 
prostitution also developed in the areas served by the country's 
navigable rivers, particularly in ports and at international borders.
    The law criminalizes child pornography. The penalty for possession 
of child pornography is up to four years in prison and a fine. Those 
who produce, reproduce, or offer for sale child pornography or recruit 
a child to participate in a pornographic production may be imprisoned 
up to eight years and fined.
    Although the country is not a large-scale producer of child 
pornography, such material was spread during the year on social-
networking Web sites.
    The primary federal program to assist child victims of commercial 
sexual exploitation, according to the Ministry of Social Development, 
was the Service to Fight Violence, Abuse, and Sexual Exploitation of 
Children and Adolescents (formerly the Sentinel Program). It provided 
victims with psychological, social, and legal services through Social 
Assistance Specialized Reference Centers that are managed locally and 
raised awareness through information campaigns, workshops, and 
partnerships.
    The Ministry of Tourism continued to promote the code of conduct it 
developed to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children in 
the tourism industry, distributed public awareness campaign materials 
for display within tourism-related establishments, and continued to 
distribute awards to entities responsible for combating sexual 
exploitation of children within the industry. Five states had laws 
requiring businesses such as hotels and restaurants to display such 
materials. The Federal Highway Police and the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) published data on places such as gas stations, bars, 
restaurants, motels, and nightclubs along highways considered to be 
areas for sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.
    The SEDH provided federal government support for programs to 
identify, protect, and assist victims of child sexual abuse in the 26 
state capitals and in the Federal District. In the city of Rio de 
Janeiro, the Secretariat for Social Assistance coordinated aid to 
street children and minors who were victims of sexual abuse and 
exploitation. According to the Rio de Janeiro Human Rights Center, the 
city maintained five centers that provided social services, counseling, 
and shelter, although the city discontinued its hotline for reporting 
cases of child sexual abuse and exploitation in January. The Sao Paulo 
city government continued to operate several programs for street 
children, including one that used rehabilitation and social reinsertion 
into other geographic areas to save the lives of adolescents condemned 
to death by drug traffickers.
    Rio de Janeiro's Municipal Specialized Reference Centers of Social 
Assistance (CREA) reported that in the first half of the year, 13.3 
percent of victims that received CREA support were children and 
adolescents, up from 8.6 percent in 2009 and 5.4 percent in 2008. The 
Rio de Janeiro Municipal Secretariat for Social Assistance had 11 CREAs 
and 17 shelters (eight public and nine private) to provide assistance 
to child and adolescent victims of sexual abuse and exploitation.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html as well as 
country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--According to the country's Jewish Confederation, 
there were approximately 125,000 Jewish residents, of whom 
approximately 65,000 were in Sao Paulo State and 40,000 in Rio de 
Janeiro State. It is illegal to write, edit, publish, or sell books 
that promote anti-Semitism or racism. The law enables courts to fine or 
imprison anyone who displays, distributes, or broadcasts anti-Semitic 
materials and mandates a two- to five-year prison term. Nonetheless, 
there were manifestations of anti-Semitism in the comparison of Israel 
to Nazis in the media.
    Anti-Semitism was rare; however, there were reports of anti-Semitic 
graffiti, other acts of vandalism, harassment, and threats via 
telephone and e-mail. Anti-Semitic Web sites continued to operate. 
Small groups of skinheads, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists operated 
on the political fringe in Rio Grande do Sul and Sao Paulo states, 
perpetrating harassment and violence toward Jews and other minority 
groups. Law enforcement agents monitored these groups.
    Jewish community leaders expressed concern over the continued 
appearance on Web sites of anti-Semitic material compiled by neo-Nazi 
and ``skinhead'' groups. The Jewish Federation of Sao Paulo reported 
that the violence against Jews decreased within the state due to the 
police work to control skinhead group's actions, but there were anti-
Semitic epithets directed at Orthodox Jews in some of Sao Paulo's 
traditionally Jewish neighborhoods.
    In Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, members of the political Party 
of Socialism and Liberty called for the end of the Israeli state during 
their allotted electoral campaign television time. The city of Porto 
Alegre, which has an estimated 15,000 Jews, experienced several neo-
Nazi attacks in the past, including the desecration of a cemetery and 
synagogue. A 2009 plot to bomb two synagogues was also discovered.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 federal and state laws have provisions 
ensuring access to buildings for persons with disabilities, states did 
not have programs to enforce them effectively. For instance, 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 continued difficulty in securing 
necessary accommodations.
    Federal laws establish the basic rights to accessibility and access 
to information for persons with disabilities. According to the IBGE, 30 
million citizens had some form of disability. The 2010 census included 
improved reporting techniques identifying persons with disabilities for 
the purpose of creating reliable statistics to be used for the creation 
of future public policy. The National Council for the Rights of 
Handicapped Persons and the National Council for the Rights of the 
Elderly, both within the SEDH, have primary responsibility for 
promoting the rights of persons with disabilities. According to the 
Secretariat of Human Rights, specific challenges included the short 
supply of affordable orthotics and prosthetics for those who could 
benefit from them but could not afford them; availability of affordable 
housing with special adaptations to those with special needs; 
accessibility to public transport able to accommodate the needs of 
physically disabled persons, (for example, by adapting bus and subway 
terminals with handicap ramps, elevators); accessibility to schools 
with facilities (restrooms, classrooms, sidewalks, ramps) for 
physically challenged persons; combating social exclusion; and raising 
awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities through the 
advancement of Internet access and media campaigns.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Although the law prohibits 
racial discrimination, darker-skinned citizens, particularly Afro-
Brazilians, frequently encountered discrimination.
    The law specifically prohibits 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 approximately 45 percent of the 
population, were significantly underrepresented in the Government, 
professional positions, and the middle and upper classes. They 
experienced a higher rate of unemployment and earned average wages 
below those of whites in similar positions. There was also a sizeable 
racial education gap.
    The Racial Equality Statute was approved by the Senate on June 16 
and signed into law by the president on July 20. Among its many 
provisions, the new law provides for the establishment of nonquota 
affirmative action policies in education and employment, stipulates 
access to health care, reaffirms compulsory teaching of African and 
Brazilian black history in schools, and recognizes the right of 
communities of descendants of escaped slaves (quilombos) to receive 
title to their land.
    Seventy universities maintained affirmative action programs, 
including 18 major public universities in the Federal District and the 
states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Parana, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, 
Espirito Santo, and Bahia. For instance, the University of Brasilia 
(UnB) was the first federal university to establish quotas, in 2005, 
and 18 percent of students taking the entrance exam that year were 
beneficiaries. Prior to the quota, approximately 2 percent of UnB 
students were black. The UnB enrolled 963 self-declared students of 
color during the year, compared with 785 in 2009, using a 20 percent 
quota for admissions tests. Approximately 17 percent of the total 
number of enrolled UnB undergraduates at the end of 2009 benefitted 
from quotas, including small numbers of indigenous students.

    Indigenous People.--The National Indigenous Foundation (FUNAI) 
estimated that there were more than 600,000 indigenous persons in 225 
societies on indigenous lands, speaking 170 different languages. These 
indigenous persons lived in 4,774 villages in 615 indigenous lands 
covering 12 percent of the national territory. Approximately 99 percent 
of the indigenous lands were concentrated in the Amazon and center-west 
of the country. An additional 100,000 to 190,000 indigenous persons 
lived outside these indigenous lands, including in urban environments. 
The newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported increased indigenous 
political representation, including five mayors and 90 city council 
members.
    The Government estimated that more than half of the country's 
indigenous persons lived in communities whose traditional ways of life 
were threatened on a variety of fronts, including land development, 
agricultural expansion, and mining. FUNAI reported that indigenous 
persons also faced other problems, including disease, poor health care, 
and loss of native culture.
    The law grants the indigenous population broad protection of their 
cultural patrimony and exclusive use of their traditional lands. 
Although problems persisted, the Government made some progress in 
securing these rights. The law provides indigenous persons exclusive 
beneficial use of the soil, waters, and minerals on indigenous lands, 
but Congress must approve each case. The Government administered the 
lands but must consider the views of affected communities regarding 
their development or use, and communities had the right to 
``participate'' in the benefits gained from such use. However, 
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. In February the Government decided to proceed with 
construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam on the Xingu River in 
Altamira, Para, despite the objections of indigenous leaders.
    While the 1988 constitution charges the federal government with 
demarcating indigenous areas within five years, the Government had not 
completed the four phases of demarcation (identification, declaration, 
approval, and registration).
    The landmark March 2009 decision by the Supreme Court upholding 
demarcation of the Raposa Serra do Sol indigenous reserve bordering 
Venezuela and Guyana set a precedent in favor of demarcation of 
indigenous lands as single contiguous territories.
    A December 2009 presidential decree defined significant structural 
changes to FUNAI, including closure of many field posts. In protest 
against what was perceived as limited dialogue with indigenous leaders, 
a large number of indigenous men, women, and children camped in front 
of the Congress and Justice Ministry in Brasilia early in the year. 
Attempted forced removal of this group in April by Federal District 
police led to charges of violence and police brutality.
    Most conflicts between indigenous and nonindigenous persons 
concerned land ownership or resource exploitation rights. In Mato 
Grosso do Sul State, denial of access to traditional lands as well as 
extreme poverty and related social ills led to high rates of infant 
mortality and violence, including murder and suicide. There were no 
known developments in the investigation into the January 2009 suicides 
of six members of the Guarani-Kaiowa tribe in Mato Grosso do Sul.
    There were no known developments in the Public Ministry 
investigation into the September 2009 attack on the Guarani-Kaiowa 
community of Apyk'y.
    A March 24 provisional measure by the federal government created 
the Special Indigenous Health Secretariat. After approval by both 
houses of Congress, President Lula signed creation of this special 
secretariat into law on October 19. The project transfers 
responsibility for all indigenous health and village sanitation matters 
from the National Health Foundation to the Ministry of Health.
    According to the Ministry of Education, 70 state and federal 
universities continued to reserve entrance slots for indigenous 
persons. The number of indigenous university students, almost 5,000 or 
approximately 1 percent of total university students, remained 
unchanged.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Federal law does not prohibit 
discrimination based on sexual orientation, but several states and 
municipalities such as Sao Paulo had administrative regulations that 
bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and provide for equal 
access to government services.
    On April 27, the STF decided in favor of a gay couple adopting a 
child, rejecting a request from the state prosecutor's office of Rio 
Grande do Sul that the STF overturn a state court decision in favor of 
the couple.
    NGOs organized gay pride or sexual diversity parades in 
approximately 30 cities during the year, with cooperation and support 
from most large municipal governments. The Sao Paulo Gay Pride Parade 
Association estimated that more than three million persons participated 
in the annual parade on June 6.
    Many municipalities conducted public awareness programs during the 
year aimed at reducing homophobia. In August the Rio de Janeiro state 
Secretariat for Public Security created a public security taskforce to 
promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights and established 
a hotline for reporting crimes motivated by homophobia. This taskforce 
also informed training courses for military police recruits.
    Between January and September, the NGO Bahia Gay Group received 165 
reports of killings in the country based on sexual orientation and 
gender identity, an increase from 115 during the same period in 2009. 
Gay men were the most affected group, followed by transvestites and 
lesbians. On June 21, 14-year-old Alexandre Thome Ivo Rajao was beaten 
and killed after he and his friends reported threats by a group of 
skinheads to a police precinct in Rio de Janeiro; three suspects were 
arrested. Activist groups claimed that violence against gay, lesbian, 
and transgender persons and, in particular transvestites, was 
underreported (see also section 1.a.). NGOs reported routine police 
harassment of transvestite prostitutes.
    On December 7, military police announced their intention to 
increase foot patrols on Avenida Paulista, a major thoroughfare in Sao 
Paulo, after what were believed to be homophobia-related attacks on 
five persons in the space of three weeks. On November 14, a group of 
five individuals allegedly beat four persons in three separate attacks 
while shouting homophobic epithets. Authorities arrested four suspects 
in the case.
    In January the Rio de Janeiro state government created the 
Reference Center against Homophobia and Religious Intolerance. The 
center provides legal, psychological, and social assistance to the 
victims of violence and/or discrimination.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no reported 
cases of societal violence or discrimination based on persons with HIV/
AIDS during the year.

Section 7. 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 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 Secretariat for Labor 
Relations has 15 days to consider the validity of the objection. If the 
objection is found valid, the MTE does not register the union. Union 
organizers may challenge this decision in 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 Trade Union Confederation 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 law extends legal recognition to trade union centrals that meet 
certain requirements regarding membership and regional representation. 
Such recognition allows qualifying centrals legally to represent 
workers in courts, public councils, and other bodies.
    The Single Central Organization of Workers estimated in 2009 that 
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 their labor rights fully. According to government 
statistics, the informal sector accounted in 2009 for 28.2 percent of 
the labor force, a decrease from 2008; most unregistered workers were 
in agriculture.
    Intimidation and killings of rural union organizers and their 
agents continued. The Catholic Church's Pastoral Land Commission 
reported that violence in rural areas victimized labor leaders, with 
most perpetrators enjoying impunity (see section 1.a.).
    There were no known developments in the August 2009 shooting of 
Elio Neves, president of the Rural Salaried Employees of Sao Paulo 
State and known for his representation of sugarcane workers, in Riberao 
Bonito, Sao Paulo. Neves survived the shooting.
    The law provides the right to strike to all workers except the 
armed forces, military police, and firefighters. The civil police are 
allowed to conduct strikes, and workers exercised this right in 
practice.
    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.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective 
bargaining was widespread in the formal sector. The law obliges a union 
to negotiate on behalf of all registered workers in the professional 
category and geographical area it represents, regardless of whether an 
employee pays voluntary membership dues to it.
    The law permits the Government to reject clauses of collective 
bargaining agreements that conflict with government policy. The ILO 
Committee of Experts has called for this provision's repeal. Collective 
bargaining is effectively prohibited in the public sector; the 
constitution allows it, but implementing legislation has never been 
enacted.
    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; however, 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. Most 
complaints were resolved in the first hearing; however, the appeals 
process introduced many delays, and some cases remained unresolved for 
up to 10 years.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the country's free trade zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
``reducing someone to a condition analogous to slavery,'' and the 
Government acted to enforce the law. The concept of slave labor 
includes not only forced and compulsory labor but also extremely 
arduous labor and labor performed in degrading working conditions. Such 
labor, including by children, occurred in some states, in activities 
such as forest clearing to provide cattle pastureland, logging, raising 
livestock, and agriculture, such as citrus cultivation. According to 
the MTE's Secretariat of Labor Inspections, forced labor in production 
of charcoal and harvesting sugarcane decreased. Forced labor often 
involved young men drawn from the impoverished northeast states--
Maranhao, Piaui, Tocantins, Para, and Ceara--and Goias, to work in the 
northern and central-western regions of the country. Women and 
adolescents, the latter typically working with their parents, also were 
involved in forced labor activities. The ILO estimated that there were 
approximately 25,000 forced laborers at any given time during the year.
    The National Commission to Eradicate Slave Labor coordinated the 
Government's efforts to eliminate forced labor. The MTE's enforcement 
arm, the Special Group for Mobile Inspection, had responsibility for 
locating and freeing victims of forced labor, and the MTE increased 
resources dedicated to conducting inspections. Federal Police 
accompanied mobile unit inspectors on raids to provide protection. The 
Federal Labor Prosecutor's Office participated in inspections by 
receiving complaints and establishing fines that violators had to pay 
to receive financing and credit, sell products, have their accounts 
unfrozen, or obtain access to governmental loans. Mobile teams levied 
fines on estate owners who used 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 
faced resistance and often worked under dangerous conditions.
    Labor intermediaries trafficked many forced laborers to remote 
estates, where victims were forced to work in harsh conditions until 
they repaid inflated debts related to 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.
    Violators of forced or compulsory labor laws faced sentencing of 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 various 
government bodies. 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. In March 2009 there were 27 prosecutions in one landmark 
decision from a federal judge in Para. The 2009 decision to clarify the 
competence for forced and child labor cases rests with the federal 
judiciary, and not the states, has brought an increase in sentences. 
However, the 12-year statute of limitations and long case backlogs 
allows for employers to avoid serving their sentences. The large number 
of labor courts makes it difficult for the judiciary to compile 
accurate statistics on prosecutions.
    The number of labor inspections conducted by the MTE increased 
during the year. From the beginning of the year through September 17, 
the MTE's Mobile Inspection Unit freed 1,479 slave laborers in 69 
operations on 168 properties. Of the workers freed, 338 were in Para, 
343 in Goais, and 228 in Santa Catarina. Payments of indemnities to the 
workers totaled approximately 5.4 million reais ($3.2 million).
    There were the following notable cases:
    On March 17, labor inspectors in Sao Paulo State conducted a raid 
in which 16 Bolivian nationals and one Peruvian were found working in a 
sweatshop under forced labor conditions. Labor inspectors recorded 43 
infractions and issued fines totaling 637,000 reais ($381,000). Workers 
were constantly monitored and paid by the piece for sewing women's 
clothing for suppliers of a national retail chain. Their documents were 
withheld, and they had to work to pay inflated debts incurred while 
crossing the border illegally. They worked, ate, and slept in 
unsanitary conditions in a workshop in Vila Nova Cachoerinha, an area 
in the northern part of greater Sao Paulo.
    On August 11, an MTE Mobile Inspection Unit released 45 rural 
workers working under forced labor conditions at the Fazenda Zonga in 
Maranhao State, the sixth such federal intervention made at this firm 
in the previous 14 years. Workers received less than minimum wage, the 
housing offered was a small wooden shack shared by 30 men with hammocks 
for beds, there were no showers, and according to an inspection by the 
Federal Police, the food served was rotten and contained worms. The 
owner of the fazenda had never been convicted for any of these crimes, 
although federal courts have filed four lawsuits since 2003.
    On December 1, Sao Paulo labor inspectors conducted a raid on a 
facility between the city of Sao Paulo and the port city of Santos. 
Authorities found approximately 40 persons in forced labor conditions, 
with their documents and salary withheld. The men, half of whom were 
from the northeastern part of the country, were hired to do maintenance 
on railroad tracks. Inspectors found overcrowded housing, poor 
sanitation, and unsafe living conditions (primarily related to faulty 
electrical wiring), as well as reports of physical threats and verbal 
abuse. Authorities arrested the owner of the company, a subcontractor, 
and investigated possible fines for others who had benefited 
financially from the forced labor.
    In November 2009 a judge convicted Eduardo Dall Magro, owner of a 
rice and soy plantation in Ribeiro Goncalves, Piaui State, for having 
21 workers in conditions analogous to slavery and sentenced him to 
three years and four months in prison, his farm manager to two years 
and eight months in prison, and his labor recruiter to three years' 
imprisonment. All three were also fined and, at year's end, were free 
pending appeal.
    The MTE punished those who used slave labor by imposing fines, 
requiring that indemnities be paid to workers, and placing the names of 
violators on a ``dirty list'' (lista suja) that is published every six 
months on the Internet. The December 31 list included 220 employers in 
19 states that used their workforce in conditions analogous to slave 
labor, with 88 new names of employers listed and 17 removed. A large 
number of companies listed were in the states of Para, Maranhao, and 
Mato Grosso. Each listed employer is reviewed after two years to 
determine if the irregularities identified have been corrected, in 
which case the employer is removed from the list. Although the decree 
that created the list does not prohibit granting credit to listed 
persons or companies, the Ministry of National Integration recommended 
denying financing and other assistance to violators, and some financial 
institutions decided to do so on their own initiative. The Bank of 
Brazil, National Development Bank, and the Caixa Economica Federal 
denied credit to landowners using slave labor, and some sectors of the 
economy refused to buy products from producers on the list. In one case 
involving the world's largest sugarcane producer, its listing generated 
legal action that resulted in a ruling on January 8 by the federal 
Superior Labor Court requiring that the company be removed from the 
list.
    On September 8, a judge in Para upheld civil penalties in the 2008 
slave labor case against a cacao plantation employer in Placas, Para.
    The National Pact for the Eradication of Slave Labor is a 
multistakeholder initiative that included more than 220 companies and 
NGOs with a public commitment to restrict economic relations with 
anyone who uses slave labor. The NGOs Social Observatory Institute, 
ETHOS Institute, and Reporter Brasil monitored the actions to combat 
forced labor implemented by those who signed the pact. Companies that 
have signed the pact represent more than 20 percent of the country's 
gross domestic product.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although child labor is prohibited, it continued to be a problem, 
particularly in homes and the informal sector. Children were found 
working on cotton, manioc, pineapple, rice, and tobacco farms. A 2008 
study by the Government's Applied Economic Research Institute showed 
that 1.7 million children between the ages of five and 14 
(approximately 5 percent of the total in that age group) worked in the 
country's economy, based on data from the 2007 National Household 
Survey . According to the 2009 National Household Survey conducted by 
the IBGE, the number of children between the ages of five and 17 
working in the economy fell from 8.4 million in 1992 to 4.25 million in 
2009. According to the IBGE's National Household Survey, 0.7 percent of 
the population age five to nine was working, 6.9 percent of the 
population aged 10 to 14, and 27.4 percent of the population age15 to 
17. In a quadrennial report released on May 7, the ILO recognized the 
country's government and civil society for their comprehensive efforts 
aimed at preventing and eliminating child labor, as well as cooperation 
with other countries such as South Africa and India. The Government 
continued to cooperate with the ILO in projects to eradicate child 
labor in the states of Bahia and Mato Grosso.
    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 that occurs in nocturnal, unhealthy, 
dangerous, or morally harmful conditions; however, 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. Inspectors may punish violators of child labor laws by 
drawing up infringement assessments and issuing fines.
    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. 
The ILO estimated that approximately 9 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.
    Children were involved in a range of activities, including 
livestock raising and agriculture, including sugarcane, cotton, rice, 
pineapples, and manioc, as well as the production of ceramics, bricks, 
charcoal, and sisal. The hidden and informal nature of child labor made 
children especially vulnerable to workplace accidents. They suffered 
from dismemberments, gastrointestinal disease, lacerations, blindness, 
and burns caused by applying chemical products with inadequate 
protection.
    The MTE is responsible for inspecting worksites to enforce child 
labor laws; its regional offices have 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.
    The MTE reported that from January to August, inspectors found and 
released 2,656 children and adolescents working illegally, a decrease 
compared with 2009. MTE units dedicated to detecting illegal child 
labor conducted 1,741 inspections during that period, representing an 
increase over the previous year. In most cases inspectors reportedly 
attempted to reach agreements and convince employers to desist from 
labor law violations before levying fines of 402 reais (approximately 
$240) per violation up to a maximum fine of 2,013 reais ($1,205); the 
fine doubles for a second violation and triples for a third. In 
practice few employers received fines for employing children.
    The Government implemented innovative programs to prevent child 
labor, including the Program to Eradicate Child Labor (PETI), 
coordinated by the Ministry of Social Development and Combating Hunger 
with state and local authorities. Through PETI, families with children 
seven to 15 years of age working in selected hazardous activities 
receive monthly cash stipends to keep their children in school, and the 
children may participate in after-school programs that provide 
nutritional snacks, sports, art, and cultural activities. Through the 
Social Development Ministry, the Bolsa Familia program provided a 
monthly stipend to low-income families that keep their children up to 
age 17 in school and meet certain child-health requirements. PETI 
serviced more than 850,000 children in 3,500 municipalities. The Bolsa 
Familia served more than 12 million households nationwide.
    The NGO, Centers for the Defense of Children and Adolescents, was 
active in many parts of the country and reported violations of 
children's rights to the guardianship councils, the social assistance 
network, and the organizations that defended children and family 
rights.
    In collaboration with the Government, civil society also took 
actions to prevent and abolish child labor. The National Forum for the 
Eradication and Prevention of Child Labor, which includes governmental 
and civil society representatives, mobilized institutional agents 
involved in developing policies and programs to eliminate 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. All major labor organizations had 
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 Government adjusts the 
minimum wage annually through a provisional measure from the president, 
citing a percentage increase for inclusion in the annual budget based 
on consultations among the Ministries of Finance and Social Security, 
Congress, and the presidency (but not with workers or employers). In 
January the minimum wage increased to 510 reais (approximately $310) 
per month. The IBGE estimated that approximately 26 percent of workers 
earned the minimum wage or less in 2008. According to the IGBE, 19 
percent of urban families' income was less than half the minimum wage 
per capita in 2009, down from a reported 26 percent in 2008. In the 
North (30.7 percent) and Northeast (36.3 percent), percentages were 
higher than the national average; the region with the least poverty was 
the South (10.9 percent in this situation), followed by the Southeast 
(12.2 percent) and Central West (16.4 percent). The national minimum 
wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and 
family. According to the Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic 
Studies, a worker would need a monthly salary of 2,223 reais to cover 
basic living expenses, a figure 4.35 times the minimum wage.
    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.
    The MTE sets occupational, health, and safety standards that are 
consistent with internationally recognized norms. MTE labor inspectors 
worked closely with the Federal Labor Prosecutor's Office, an 
independent agency responsible for prosecuting labor infractions. 
However, the Government devoted insufficient resources for adequate 
inspection and enforcement of standards.
    Unsafe working conditions were prevalent throughout the country. 
There were no figures available on workplace accidents during the year. 
According to data from the Ministry of Social Security, the Government 
granted benefits to 32,949 persons for work-related accidents from 
January to September. Employees or their unions may file claims related 
to worker safety with regional labor courts, although this was 
frequently a protracted process.
    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. 
However, such firings occurred, and legal recourse usually required 
years for a resolution. The Federal Prosecutor's Labor Office 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.

                               __________

                                 CANADA

    Canada, with a population of 34.2 million, is a constitutional 
monarchy with a federal parliamentary form of government. In a free and 
fair multiparty federal election held in 2008, the Conservative Party, 
led by Stephen Harper, won a plurality of seats and formed a second 
successive minority government. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Human rights problems included harassment of religious minorities, 
violence against women, and 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.--The Government or 
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings, but a few 
law enforcement-related deaths remained under investigation.
    On June 24, an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer shot Aron 
Firman with a Taser during a confrontation in Collingwood, Ontario. 
Firman subsequently died at a nearby hospital. On December 7, the 
Special Investigations Unit (SIU) released a report concluding that the 
Taser caused Firman's death but that the officer's use of the Taser did 
not constitute excessive force because the officer was not aware that 
the Taser could be lethal.
    On July 17, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers shot and 
killed Corey Lewis of Okotoks, Alberta, after a three-hour standoff at 
Lewis' home. A preliminary investigation by the Alberta Serious 
Incidents Response Team found that Lewis was holding an umbrella, 
rather than a weapon, when the RCMP officers killed him.
    On August 29, a Pickering, Ontario, police officer fatally shot 
Reyal Jensen Jardine-Douglas after a confrontation between the officer 
and Jardine-Douglas. The family of Jardine-Douglas asserted that he 
suffered from a mental illness. An SIU inquiry remained pending at 
year's end.
    On September 29, Toronto police shot and killed Eric Osawe during 
the execution of a search warrant at Osawe's apartment. On December 1, 
the SIU charged Constable David Cavanaugh with manslaughter in 
connection with Osawe's death after finding ``reasonable grounds'' to 
believe that Cavanaugh had committed a criminal offense.
    After reviewing the recommendations of a December 2009 Policing 
Standards Advisory Council report on Tasers, on March 29, Ontario 
announced new guidelines and training standards for the police use of 
Tasers. The new guidelines state that Tasers ``are generally intended 
for use in situations where subjects are threatening or displaying 
assaultive behavior,'' but police could use them in other 
circumstances, taking into account the need for control of a suspect. 
The guidelines standardize rules for Taser training and recommend that 
officers avoid using Tasers on ``vulnerable'' subjects, including 
persons who are handcuffed, pregnant, elderly, young, visibly frail, or 
in control of a moving vehicle.
    On May 5, the RCMP announced that it had tightened its rules for 
the use of Tasers. The new guidelines restrict Taser use to cases in 
which a person is causing bodily harm or an officer has ``reasonable 
grounds'' to believe a person will ``imminently'' harm someone. The 
guidelines also require a verbal warning ``when tactically feasible'' 
before an officer fires a Taser.
    On December 12, the Commission for Public Complaints Against the 
RCMP issued a report stating that RMCP officers were still hog-tieing 
suspects even though RCMP regulations generally forbade the technique. 
The RCMP had used the hog-tieing method in 40 percent of cases in which 
a suspect died after being hit by a Taser. The Commission recommended 
that RCMP officers receive more training on identifying, dealing with, 
and using force on the mentally ill and those with drug and alcohol 
problems. It also suggested the creation of a national database of all 
deaths occurring in police custody.
    There were no developments in the inquests into two 2008 deaths at 
the hands of Peel, Ontario police: the shooting of Gregg Moynagh of 
Mississauga and the Taser death of Sean Reilly of Brampton.
    On July 19, the mother of Michael Langan filed a civil lawsuit 
against the city of Winnipeg, several Winnipeg police officers, and 
Taser International, Inc. in connection with the 2008 death of her son 
after Winnipeg police stunned him with a Taser.
    On April 1, the RCMP issued a formal apology to, and reached a 
financial settlement with, the mother of Robert Dziekanski, who died in 
2007 after four RCMP officers used a Taser to subdue him at the 
Vancouver International Airport. On April 2, the Commissioner of the 
RCMP acknowledged that its officers ``fell short'' in handling the 
Dziekanski case and stated that investigation of future incidents 
involving RCMP officers would be turned over to British Columbia's 
civilian oversight body. On June 18, a British Columbia inquiry into 
the fatality issued the second of two reports. The report found that 
the four RCMP officers were ``not justified'' in using a Taser during 
the incident and that the deployment of the Taser ``contributed 
substantially'' to Dziekanski's death. The report recommended, among 
other measures, that British Columbia create a civilian-based criminal 
investigative body to investigate all incidents occurring in the 
province in which a person suffers ``serious harm'' at the hands of the 
police. On June 30, the British Columbia attorney general announced the 
appointment of a special prosecutor to reexamine whether the province 
should bring criminal charges against the RCMP officers involved in 
Dziekanski's death. The attorney general also stated that the province 
would within one year establish an independent civilian agency to 
investigate police-related deaths and serious injuries. The agency 
would have the authority to investigate the RCMP and municipal police.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, and there were no 
reports that government officials employed them.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards, and the 
Government permitted monitoring visits by independent human rights 
observers.
    There were on average 38,000 prisoners and detainees, including 
1,900 juveniles, on any given day in 2008, the year for which 
statistics were most recently available. Women composed approximately 4 
to 6 percent of the total number of prisoners. Prisoners and detainees 
had reasonable access to visitors and prison officials permitted 
religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to 
submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to 
request investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. 
Authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane behavior and 
documented the results of such investigations in a publicly accessible 
manner. The Government investigated and monitored prison and detention 
center conditions.
    On September 8, the Correctional Investigator of Canada (CIC) 
issued a report concerning deaths in official custody. The report 
reviewed the 2007 death of a mentally ill teenager in prison and nine 
other deaths in custody. The report recommended that prisons avoid 
placing mentally ill detainees in prolonged segregation, provide round-
the-clock health-care coverage, and train front-line staff on how to 
manage prisoners at risk of self-injury.
    On September 23, the CIC reported that the prison system was 
``warehousing'' mentally ill offenders because of a lack of funding for 
services and gaps in accountability. The CIC focused on the 
correctional service's failure to implement ``intermediate'' mental 
health care for those who fell between needing primary care and acute 
inpatient care. The CIC contended that many inmates suffering from 
mental illness ``fell through the cracks'' because they do not meet the 
admission criteria for psychiatric hospitals. The CIC recommended that 
Correctional Services Canada fully fund its mental health program, 
develop mental health delivery partnerships with the provinces, and 
focus on care guidelines for mentally ill prisoners.
    On December 7, the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) asked the OPP to 
investigate allegations of abuse arising from videotapes that allegedly 
showed Ottawa police officers kneeing, kicking, and strip searching 
prisoners in the OPS's cellblocks. On December 19, a former detainee 
filed a C$1.2 million ($1.17 million) lawsuit against the OPS, 
contending the police violated her rights after an officer kicked her 
and cut off her bra and shirt while she was in custody.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities 
maintained effective control over the RCMP and provincial and municipal 
police forces, and the Government has effective mechanisms to 
investigate and punish abuse and corruption. There were no reports of 
impunity involving the security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in 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, independent judicial determination of the legality of the 
detention; authorities respected this right in practice. Authorities 
provided detainees with timely information as to the reason for the 
arrest, ensured prompt access to a lawyer of the detainees' choice, 
and, if indigent, to one provided by the state, and granted prompt 
access to family members. Bail generally was available. Detainees were 
released immediately after being charged, unless a judge deemed 
continued detention necessary to ensure the detainee's attendance in 
court, for the protection or safety of the public, or due to the 
gravity of the offense.
    In late June police arrested approximately 1,105 individuals for 
alleged criminal acts related to protests, vandalism, and property 
damage during the G20 leaders' summit in Toronto. Police held 
individuals in a temporary detention facility. Civil liberties groups 
alleged that police arrested individuals arbitrarily, detained some 
individuals for longer than 36 hours, denied them access to lawyers, 
threatened them, or used excessive force. Police released more than 800 
individuals unconditionally or without filing charges. According to the 
Ontario attorney general, police charged 304 individuals. After court 
appearances, authorities dismissed, stayed, or withdrew charges in 166 
cases, six individuals pled guilty, and police issued arrest warrants 
for four individuals who failed to appear at court. Charges against 128 
individuals remained pending at year's end.
    The Ontario attorney general, the SIU, the Toronto Police Services 
Board, and the Ontario ombudsman announced that they would launch 
separate investigations of police conduct during the G20 summit. The 
Toronto police also initiated an internal review of police methods 
employed during the protests.
    On August 6, a plaintiff filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of 
the estimated 800 persons whom police arrested and released without 
charge. On September 1, two individuals filed a second class action 
lawsuit on behalf of those the police detained at the temporary 
detention center.
    On November 3, the chief of the Toronto police announced that the 
Toronto Police Service would bring administrative charges against 
``approximately 90 officers'' for removing their name tags during the 
G20 summit protests.
    On November 23, the SIU announced that after investigating six 
separate cases involving the Toronto police's alleged use of excessive 
force during the G20 summit, it would not bring any charges. The SIU 
stated that although ``reasonable grounds'' existed to believe that the 
police used excessive force, it could not identify the individual 
officers involved. On December 1, the SIU reopened its investigation 
after receiving new evidence about the Toronto police's alleged use of 
excessive force. On December 21, the SIU charged Police Constable Babak 
Andalib-Goortani with one count of assault with a weapon for his 
involvement in the arrest of a bystander.
    On December 7, the Ontario ombudsman released a report criticizing 
the Government of Ontario for using ``in secret'' a World War II-era 
law to grant the police extra powers to question and detain individuals 
during the G20 summit. The ombudsman said Ontario's action was ``likely 
illegal and unconstitutional.'' The ombudsman recommended that the 
provincial government should either repeal the law or revise it so that 
the public had more notice when it was invoked.
    The investigations of the Ontario attorney general, the Toronto 
Police Services Board, the Toronto police, and the lawsuits remained 
pending at year's end.
    Noncitizens may be detained and deported on national security 
grounds under immigration security certificates. The Government issues 
certificates on the basis of confidential evidence presented to two 
cabinet ministers by intelligence or police agencies and reviewed by a 
federal court judge who determines its ``reasonableness'' and upholds 
or revokes the certificate. A judge may order an individual detained 
during the security certificate removal process if the Government 
considers that the individual presents a danger to national security or 
is unlikely to appear at the proceeding for removal. If a judge 
determines that an individual faces a risk of torture or death in the 
individual's country of origin greater than the risk the person poses 
by remaining in the country, the judge may stay the removal order, and 
the individual may be detained pending deportation or released subject 
to monitoring.
    Individuals subject to a security certificate may see a summary of 
confidential evidence against them. Authorities provide full disclosure 
to court-appointed, security-cleared lawyers (``special advocates'') 
who can review and challenge the evidence on the behalf of these 
individuals, but may not show to or discuss the material with them. The 
law establishes strict rules on disclosure and use of secret evidence, 
prohibits the use of evidence if there are reasonable grounds to 
believe authorities obtained it as a result of torture, and provides 
mechanisms for review and appeal.
    At year's end three individuals were subject to security 
certificates. On December 9, the Federal Court of Canada upheld the 
reasonableness of a certificate against one of the individuals who 
continued to live in the community under strict conditions pending 
appeal or deportation. Hearings into the validity of the certificates 
against the two other suspects remained in progress. Both lived in the 
community subject to restrictions. There were no reported developments 
in the December 2009 government review of the national security 
certificate program.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair trial, 
and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. The 
judicial system is based on English common law at the federal level as 
well as in most provinces. In Quebec, civil law is derived from the 
Napoleonic Code; however, criminal law is the same nationwide. The 
Government appoints 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. The 
Government provides an attorney 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 generally have access 
to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. Defendants also 
enjoy a presumption of innocence and have a right of appeal.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary in civil matters and access to a court to bring 
a suit seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights violation. 
Remedies can be monetary, declaratory, or injunctive. Federal or 
provincial human rights commissions may also hear alleged human rights 
violations, although these bodies follow differing standards and 
procedures.

    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. Individuals could criticize the Government 
publicly or privately without reprisal. The independent media were 
active and expressed a wide variety of views without restriction.
    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, the country's constitutional bill of rights. 
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.
    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. 
Laws prohibit speech or programming containing any abusive comment that 
would expose individuals or groups to hatred or contempt and empower 
the federal Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and the federal 
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) to enforce the law in areas of 
federal jurisdiction. In addition, each province has its own human 
rights code. Some persons argued that the hate speech laws limit 
freedom of speech and criticized the requirement that commissions 
process all complaints received, the procedures commissions used to 
investigate and adjudicate complaints, and the ability of complainants 
to file identical complaints with several provincial commissions, each 
of which may adjudicate without attention to others.
    On May 7, the Supreme Court found that journalists do not have a 
constitutional right to conceal confidential sources from law 
enforcement. The Court declared that journalists enjoy a qualified 
privilege to withhold confidential documents. However, the Court placed 
the burden on the media to invoke this privilege and emphasized that 
lower courts needed to consider each case on its own merits.
    On September 27, the Federal Court dismissed an appeal of the 
Government's decision to bar George Galloway, a former member of the 
British Parliament, from entering Canada. The court found that the 
Government's decision was based on its disagreement with Galloway's 
political views but rejected the appeal, brought by individuals who had 
invited Galloway to speak, because Galloway never actually tried to 
enter the country.
    On March 30, an individual filed an appeal of a December 2009 
Alberta provincial court decision that had overturned a 2008 order of 
the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission against Reverend 
Stephen Boissoin. The Commission found that Boissoin violated the 
province's human rights code by writing a letter critical of homosexual 
conduct. The appeal remained pending at the end of the reporting 
period.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet and no reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Internet 
access was readily available and widely used. The International 
Telecommunication Union reported that there were 80 Internet users per 
100 inhabitants in 2009.
    The CHRC investigates complaints about hate messages on Web sites 
and may forward cases to the CHRT for action.
    There were no known developments in the CHRC's appeal to the 
Federal Court of the CHRT's decision finding section 13(1) of the Human 
Rights Act, which prohibits the telephonic dissemination of hate 
speech, unconstitutional under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

    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.--For a complete discussion, please see the 
2010 International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/
rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's laws provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the Government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened 
on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion. 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 the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, 
including a ``pre-removal risk assessment'' as well as an appeal to the 
minister of citizenship and immigration for a waiver based on 
humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The Government accepted 
refugees for resettlement from third countries and facilitated local 
integration (including access to naturalization), particularly of 
refugees in protracted situations.
    On June 28, the country passed legislation to expedite processing 
times for refugee claims and ensure timely removals of failed 
claimants. Effective in 2011-12, the Immigration and Refugee Board 
(IRB) will interview an applicant within 15 days of the initial claim, 
conduct a hearing within 60 days, and render a decision within 90 days 
(or 60 days for applicants from countries designated as unlikely to 
generate legitimate refugee claims). The legislation created a new 
Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) within the IRB, which will rule on 
appeals within 120 days, or within 30 days for claimants from safe 
countries of origin. The legislation aims to remove refugee applicants 
from Canada within one year after a negative decision from the IRB.

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.--Political parties operated 
without restriction or outside interference.
    There were 67 women and five indigenous persons in the 308-member 
federal House of Commons; 37 members were born outside the country. 
There were 37 women and six indigenous persons in the 105-seat Senate 
(whose members are appointed by the governor general on the advice of 
the prime minister); 13 members were born outside the country. Women 
held 10 seats in the 38-member cabinet. Four of the nine members of the 
Supreme Court, including the chief justice, were women.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were 
isolated reports of government corruption during the year. The Federal 
Accountability Act provides for transparency and accountability in 
government. The Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner 
reports annually on allegations of corruption. A commissioner of 
lobbying administers a national registry of lobbying of designated 
public office holders.
    A conflict of interest and ethics commissioner administers the 
conflict of interest code for members of the House of Commons, as well 
as the Conflict of Interest Act in relation to public office holders. 
Provincial governments provide independent audits of government 
business and ombudsman services. Elected office holders (but not other 
public officials) are subject to financial disclosure laws for personal 
assets.
    The law permits public access to government information, and in 
practice the Government granted access for citizens and noncitizens, 
including foreign media. The law provides for denial of legal requests 
for information on limited and specific grounds, for which reasons are 
given and cited in law, and there is a mechanism to appeal denials. 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.
    On June 17, the Supreme Court announced a limited constitutional 
right to obtain suppressed information if the person seeking the 
documents shows that withholding them ``precludes meaningful discussion 
on matters of public interest.'' However, the Government may still 
refuse to produce the requested information if it is privileged or its 
disclosure would ``impact the proper functioning of affected 
institutions,'' said the Court.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
    Federal and provincial human rights commissions enjoyed government 
cooperation, operated without government or party interference, and had 
adequate resources. Observers considered them effective. Parliamentary 
human rights committees operated in the House of Commons and the 
Senate. The committees acted independently of government, conducted 
public hearings, and issued reports and recommendations to which the 
Government provided written, public, and timely responses.
    On January 29, the Supreme Court ruled that the Government must 
provide a remedy for breaching the constitutional rights of Omar Khadr, 
a Canadian citizen detained at Guantanamo Bay, when Canadian officials 
questioned him in custody in 2003 and 2004. The Supreme Court declined 
to specify an appropriate remedy, deferring relief to the discretion of 
the Government in recognition of the executive's exclusive jurisdiction 
over foreign affairs. On July 5, in a separate motion, the Federal 
Court of Canada found the Government's redress to Khadr insufficient, 
and directed the Government to submit a list of remedies (including 
potential repatriation) to the court by July 12. On July 22, the 
Federal Court of Appeal stayed the lower court's order pending appeal. 
On July 21, Khadr filed a contempt of court motion against the prime 
minister and the foreign minister for failing to meet the deadline for 
redress stated in the Federal Court order. The contempt motion remained 
pending at year's end. On October 25, Khadr pled guilty to five 
charges, including war crimes, murder, and providing material support 
to terrorism, as part of a plea bargain that capped his sentence at 
eight years in custody. After serving one year of his sentence, Khadr 
will become eligible to request a transfer to serve his remaining 
prison term in Canada.
    There were no further developments in the November 2009 arrest of 
Rwandan immigrant Jacques Mungwarere on war crimes charges related to 
the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Mungwarere was the second individual to be 
charged under the country's Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, disability, language, or social status, and the Government 
enforced the law effectively.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, as 
sexual assault, and the Government enforced the law effectively. 
Penalties for sexual assault carry sentences of up to 10 years in 
prison, up to 14 years for sexual assault with a restricted or 
prohibited firearm, and between four years and life imprisonment for 
aggravated sexual assault with a firearm or committed for the benefit 
of, at the direction of, or in association with, a criminal 
organization. The Government's statistical office reported there were 
20,931 reported incidents of sexual assault, sexual assault with a 
weapon or firearm causing bodily harm, and aggravated sexual assault in 
2009 against female and male victims. Government studies indicated that 
sexual assault victims reported less than one in 10 incidents to police 
and that the rate of sexual victimization for females was approximately 
five times the rate for males.
    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, aggravated 
assault, intimidation, mischief, or sexual assault. Persons convicted 
of assault receive up to five years in prison. Assaults involving 
weapons, threats, or injuries, carry terms of up to 10 years, and 
aggravated assault or endangerment of life carry prison sentences of up 
to 14 years. The Government enforced the law effectively. Studies 
indicated that victims of domestic violence and spousal abuse 
underreported incidents.
    Indigenous (Aboriginal) persons were more than three times more 
likely to be victims of spousal violence than nonindigenous persons.
    The federal statistical agency reported that there were 
approximately 569 shelters for abused women; the shelters provided 
emergency care, transition housing, counseling, and referrals to legal 
and social service agencies. Shelters admitted more than 101,000 women 
and children in 2008, of whom approximately three-quarters had fled 
abusive situations. Police received training in treating domestic 
violence, and agencies provided abuse hotlines. The Government's family 
violence initiative involved 12 departments and a cabinet ministry, the 
Status of Women Canada. These entities worked to eliminate systemic 
violence against women and advance women's human rights.
    Studies of culturally driven violence against women estimated that 
12 ``honor'' killings had occurred in the country since 2002. The law 
does not define the specific offense of ``honor'' killings. Police may 
charge suspects with homicide, which carries a maximum penalty of life 
in prison. The Government enforced the law effectively.
    On November 23, an Ontario court sentenced a Toronto-area Tamil man 
to five years in prison after he pled guilty to three counts of 
aggravated assault for ramming his teenage daughter, her boyfriend, and 
another family member with his minivan in 2007. The father allegedly 
disapproved of the boyfriend because he was of a lower social caste and 
because the father believed that his daughter's relationship with the 
youth would dishonor the family. In its ruling, the court emphasized 
that individuals could not use cultural differences to justify 
committing criminal acts.
    The law does not contain a specific offense of ``sexual 
harassment'' but criminalizes harassment (stalking), punishable by up 
to 10 years' imprisonment, and sexual assault, with penalties ranging 
from 10 years 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.
    Couples and individuals freely exercised their reproductive rights. 
The publicly funded medical system provided access to contraceptive 
services and information, prenatal care, skilled attendance during 
childbirth, and essential obstetric and postpartum care. In 2008, 
according to UN Inter-Agency estimates, the maternal mortality rate was 
12 deaths per 100,000 live births. Women had equal access with men to 
diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including 
HIV. A 2009 Canadian university obstetrical study indicated that 85 
percent of Canadian sexually active female respondents used some form 
of birth control.
    Women were well represented in the labor force, including business 
and the professions. Women did not experience economic discrimination 
in access to or in the terms of employment, credit, or pay equity for 
substantially similar work, or owning and/or managing businesses, 
although some equality and labor groups reported an erosion in women's 
economic and social status, including access to child care, and 
resources to protect equality rights. Status of Women Canada, headed by 
a cabinet-level minister, promoted the legal rights of women. According 
to the federal statistical agency, 62.6 percent of women age 15 and 
older were employed in the workforce in 2009. Employment equity laws 
and regulations cover federal employees in all but the security and 
defense services. Women have marriage and property rights, as well as 
rights in the judicial system, equal to those of men. However, 
Aboriginal women living on reserves (where land is held communally) 
lack matrimonial property rights.
    On November 15, an adjudicator appointed by the Newfoundland-
Labrador Human Rights Commission found that a private ambulance 
operator in the province had discriminated against a female applicant 
on the basis of gender in its hiring decisions and awarded her C$7,000 
($6,862) in damages.
    On December 16, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by the 
Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), a national trade union, and 
the Canadian Human Rights Commission of a lengthy pay equity case 
against Canada Post. The union had deemed a 2005 C$150 million ($123.9 
million in 2005 dollars) award by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal 
insufficient and appealed to the Federal Court of Canada. However, the 
Federal Court overturned the award in 2008, and the Federal Court of 
Appeal upheld the lower court decision. The case originated with a 
complaint by PSAC in 1983 that Canada Post discriminated against 6,000 
female employees by paying them less than men working in jobs of equal 
value. The appeal remained pending at year's end.

    Children.--The country provided universal birth registration, and 
citizenship was derived both by birth within the country's territory 
and from one's parents.
    The federal statistical agency recorded that more than 75,000 
children and youth were victims of police-reported violent crime in 
2008, including approximately 42,000 assaults and 13,600 sexual 
assaults. Studies indicated that family members or individuals known to 
the victim most commonly victimized children and youth and that 
incidents of violence, abuse or neglect of children and youth were 
underreported.
    Children under the age of 18 years were engaged in prostitution. 
Persons convicted of living off the earnings of prostitution of a child 
under age 18 face between two and 14 years' imprisonment. Persons who 
aid, counsel, compel, us, or threaten to use violence, intimidation or 
coercion in relation to a child under age 18 to engage in prostitution 
face between five and 14 years' imprisonment. Persons who solicit or 
obtain the sexual services of a child under age 18 face between six 
months and five years' imprisonment. On June 29, the Government amended 
the law to impose a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years up 
to a maximum of 14 years for trafficking a child under 18 years of age 
for the purpose of exploitation. A minimum sentence of six years to a 
maximum term of life in prison is applied for trafficking of a child 
under 18 years if an offender kidnapped, committed an aggravated 
assault, aggravated sexual assault, or caused the death of a victim 
during the commission of the trafficking offence.
    The minimum age of consensual sex is 16 years. The country does not 
have a statutory rape law but prosecutes a range of sexual offenses 
against children. Penalties for each offense range from 14 days to 10 
years' imprisonment.
    The law prohibits accessing, producing, distributing, and 
possessing child pornography. Maximum penalties range from 18 months' 
imprisonment for summary offenses to 10 years' imprisonment for 
indictable offenses. On July 15, the Supreme Court narrowed the legal 
defense against child luring, tightening the interpretation of 
``reasonable steps'' required of adults under the criminal code to 
verify that persons with whom they communicate over the Internet for 
sexual purposes are 18 years of age or older.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance with the Convention at http://
travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--
4308.html as well as country-specific information at http://
travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--3781.html

    Anti-Semitism.--Approximately 1.1 percent of the population was 
Jewish.
    The B'nai Brith Canada League for Human Rights received 1,264 
reports of anti-Semitic incidents in 2009, an 11 percent increase from 
2008. Four-fifths of such reports came from the provinces of Ontario 
and Quebec (672 and 373 incidents, respectively); the vast majority of 
the country's Jewish population resides in these two provinces. The 
1,264 reports included 884 cases of harassment, 348 cases of vandalism, 
and 32 cases of violence. There were 185 cases involving attacks on 
synagogues, Jewish homes, community centers, or cemeteries. Jewish 
students reported 137 cases of anti-Semitic incidents on university 
campuses in 2009, compared with 76 in 2008; another 73 involved primary 
and secondary school settings, compared with 57 in 2008. B'nai Brith 
also received 435 reports of Web-based hate activity, an 8 percent 
increase from 2008.
    In April a group of individuals in Gatineau, Quebec, allegedly 
struck a man on the head, yelled anti-Semitic slurs, and chased the man 
and his Jewish companion with a machete. The Gatineau police closed 
their investigation of the incident for lack of evidence.
    On March 18, police arrested a teenager for the November 2009 
spray-painting of anti-Semitic slogans on the Calgary Jewish Centre, 
the Holocaust War Memorial, and private residential property in 
Calgary. On July 19, he pled guilty to incitement of hatred to an 
identifiable group, and mischief against a religious facility. 
Sentencing remained pending at the end of the reporting period. The 
conviction constituted the city's first confirmed hate crime.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services or in other areas, and the Government 
effectively enforced these prohibitions. The Government effectively 
implemented laws and programs mandating access to buildings, 
information, and communications 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, the federal government's focal point, 
funded a range of programs, including programs to enable participation 
of persons with disabilities in the workforce, to improve physical 
accessibility infrastructure, to build the capacity of the voluntary 
sector, and to raise public education and awareness of disability 
issues.
    On July 28, an Ontario court accepted a class-action lawsuit by 
former residents of the Huronia Regional Centre, a former facility 
operated by the province of Ontario for persons with developmental 
disabilities. Former residents and their family members alleged 
systemic neglect and abuse at the institution over a prolonged period 
before it closed in 2009. The suit is the first against a government-
run residential institution for the developmentally disabled in 
Ontario.

    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, native English speakers in 
Quebec (5.7 percent of the province's population in 2006) and French 
speakers in other parts of the country generally lived and worked in 
the language of the majority. Provinces may grant French or English the 
status of an official language, but 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; requires the use of French in 
commerce, the workplace, education, and government; and protects 
minority language rights. The charter also restricts access to publicly 
funded English-language education to children who have received or are 
receiving elementary or secondary instruction in English and whose 
parents are citizens, and to students who are temporary residents in 
the province or have serious learning disabilities and who have 
obtained a waiver.
    The federal statistical agency reported 1,036 incidents of police-
reported hate crimes in 2008 (an increase of 35 percent from 2007), of 
which 55 percent or 563 incidents were motivated by race or ethnic 
bias. Blacks constituted the most commonly targeted racial group, 
accounting for 37 percent of racially-motivated incidents, followed by 
South Asians at 21 percent. Hate crimes that targeted multiple racial 
or ethnic groups constituted 53 percent of cases. Police classified 38 
percent of the racially motivated incidents as violent.
    In February the Ontario Human Rights Commission ordered the owner 
of an Ontario trucking company to pay a C$25,000 ($24,500) fine, create 
a workplace antiharassment policy, and undergo racial sensitivity 
training for subjecting an employee to racial taunts and subsequently 
firing her. The ruling also awarded the employee C$6,750 ($6,617) in 
lost wages.
    In February the mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova 
Scotia issued a public apology to the former residents of the black 
community of Africville for their forced removal in the 1960s to make 
way for new urban projects. The city, federal, and provincial 
governments provided a total of C$3 million ($3 million) for 
construction of a replica of a community church on the former site.
    On March 10, the Quebec Human Rights Commission announced hearings 
into alleged police racial profiling in the province. The commission 
reported that it had received at least 100 complaints of racial 
profiling since 2005.
    On October 1, one individual pled guilty to criminal harassment and 
in November was found guilty of public incitement of hatred for 
planting a burning cross on the lawn of an interracial couple in Hants 
County, Nova Scotia, on February 20, and for yelling racial slurs. 
Authorities dropped two other charges of uttering threats and mischief. 
Also in November, a court convicted a second individual of criminal 
harassment and public incitement of hatred in the same case. At year's 
end, both individuals awaited sentencing. The police also started an 
investigation of a separate incident in April in which unknown vandals 
torched a car belonging to the couple, but closed the investigation 
without bringing charges.
    On October 18, voters in Calgary elected the city's first visible 
minority mayor. Naheed Nenshi was also the first Muslim to become mayor 
of a major Canadian city.
    On October 19, the Quebec government passed legislation to tighten 
an exemption under the province's French language law for access to 
minority English education rights in the public education system. In 
October 2009 the Supreme Court had struck down as unconstitutional a 
law that had closed a legal loophole that had permitted parents to 
enroll their children in private elementary English schools in the 
province to establish their eligibility for minority English education 
rights, before transferring them to the public English education system 
to complete their education. The court had suspended its ruling for one 
year to allow the Government to rewrite the law. Under the legislation, 
the Government restricted publicly funded English-language education 
rights to students who had studied for at least three years in an 
approved, private English school and who had received specific 
permission to continue their education in English from provincial 
education officials.
    On November 8, masked assailants invaded the Calgary, Alberta, home 
of an anti-racism activist and beat the homeowner and his guest with a 
bat, hammer and other weapons. The homeowner suffered welts and 
bruises, and the guest a broken arm. Police said the victims were 
targeted, although they could not confirm whether the attack occurred 
in retaliation for the homeowner's public anti-racism activities. A 
police investigation into the attack remained pending at year's end.
    There were no developments in the coroner's inquest into the 
Montreal police's 2008 shooting death of a teenage immigrant from 
Honduras.

    Indigenous People.--The law recognizes three different groups of 
indigenous (also known as Aboriginal) persons: Indians (generally 
called First Nations), Inuit (formerly called Eskimos), and Metis 
(persons of mixed Indian-European ancestry). According to the 2006 
census, indigenous persons constituted approximately 4 percent of the 
national population and higher percentages in the country's three 
territories: Yukon, 25 percent; Northwest Territories, 50 percent; and 
Nunavut, 85 percent. Disputes over land claims, self-government, treaty 
rights, taxation, duty-free imports, fishing and hunting rights, and 
alleged police harassment continued to be sources of tension. 
Indigenous persons remained underrepresented in the workforce, 
overrepresented on welfare rolls and in prison populations, and more 
susceptible to suicide, poverty, and sexual violence than other groups. 
On January 25, the Canadian Medical Association reported that 70 
percent of Aboriginal preschoolers in Nunavut lived in homes with a 
shortage of food. According to a government study issued on March 10, 
Aboriginals experienced an infection rate for tuberculosis at a rate of 
27.8 cases per 100,000 persons, compared with a rate of 4.8 cases per 
100,000 persons for the entire Canadian population.
    The law recognizes and specifically protects indigenous rights, 
including those established by historical land claims settlements. 
Treaties with indigenous groups form the basis for the Government's 
policies in the eastern part of the country, but there were legal 
challenges to the Government's interpretation and implementation of 
treaty rights. Indigenous groups in the west that never signed 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, 
frequently depended on legal challenges. According to an August 2009 
Amnesty International report, approximately 60 Aboriginal claims over 
territory previously excluded from treaty making remained unresolved. 
An additional 765 specific claims related to interpretation of historic 
treaties remained unresolved.
    In its 2009 annual report to Parliament on March 30, the CHRC 
highlighted the plight of Aboriginal persons in Canada, stating that 
many ``do not have access to basic necessities.'' The CHRC stated that 
it is working to improve access to the Human Rights Act for more than 
700,000 Aboriginal Canadians who live on reserve who were specifically 
excluded from the ability to file complaints under the Act before 2008. 
Aboriginals on reserve are scheduled to receive protection under the 
Act in June 2011 when a three-year transitional period expires. The 
CHRC accepted Aboriginal complaints under the Act, and reported an 
``incremental increase'' in the small number of complaints in 2010 
(over 2009), but did not process them pending full application of the 
Act in 2011)
    On April 6, the Grassy Narrows First Nation released an independent 
medical study which stated that 79 percent of 187 persons tested at the 
Grassy Narrows reserve from 2002 to 2004 had, or may have had, Minimata 
disease, a condition arising from exposure to methyl mercury. In the 
1970s, the Ontario government banned fishing in the nearby Wabigoon-
English river system due to mercury pollution from a paper mill on the 
river in the 1960s. Reserve residents claimed that the Government had 
stopped testing individuals for mercury levels.
    On April 22, an NGO released a report that found that 62 indigenous 
women and girls either disappeared or were murdered in 2009. The report 
stated that nearly half of all murder cases involving First Nation, 
Metis, and Inuit women and girls were unsolved, compared with an 84 
percent clearance rate for murder cases involving nonindigenous women 
and girls.
    On July 7, the Government signed a land claim agreement with the 
Cree of Itschee in Quebec that settled longstanding land claims. The 
agreement covered 24,700 square miles along the Quebec shore in James 
Bay and southeastern Hudson Bay. Under the agreement, the Government 
agreed to pay the Cree C$50 million ($48.5 million) over 10 years, 
transfer title to more than 390 square miles, and establish a joint 
management scheme with the Cree and the territory of Nunavut.
    In July Nunavut's chief justice warned in a letter to the federal 
justice minister that Nunavut's court system faced an ``impending 
crisis'' due to insufficient resources and asked for the appointment of 
additional judges to the Nunavut Court of Justice to handle the rising 
rate of violent crime in the Territory. According to reports, Nunavut 
authorities bring sexual assault charges at a per capita rate that is 
10 times the national average. The court system relied on roving short-
term judicial visits from the outside to handle increasing workloads.
    On August 18, the Government apologized for the forced relocation 
of Inuit families in the 1950s from their traditional communities to 
the High Arctic.
    In September 800 Aboriginal persons from Vancouver Island joined a 
class-action lawsuit filed in August 2009 by former students of 
Aboriginal day schools in Manitoba against the federal government 
seeking C$15 billion ($14.7 billion) for alleged abuse suffered in the 
schools.
    In October the federal government settled one of Canada's largest 
single land claims with the Manitoba Peguis First Nation. The 
Government paid C$118 million ($115.6 million) to the approximately 900 
members of the Nation. On November 19, an Ontario court ordered the 
Haudenosaunee/Six Nations band to cease a campaign against development 
on land claimed by the band near Brantford, Ontario. The judge 
instructed the band to cease blockading construction sites, threatening 
construction workers, and collecting unauthorized fees from developers. 
The court found that the band's claim to the land was ``exceedingly 
weak.''
    On December 15, the Government passed legislation to implement an 
April 2009 decision by the Court of Appeal of British Columbia to 
ensure gender equity in Indian registration. The Appeal Court had ruled 
that the Indian Act unconstitutionally discriminated between men and 
women by denying registration under the Indian Act to the grandchildren 
of indigenous women who previously lost their Indian status by marrying 
a non-Indian.
    There were no developments in negotiations to settle four land 
claims of the Haudenosaunee/Six Nations in Ontario.
    The Government continued the process of claim settlements and self-
government negotiations with more than 350 First Nations communities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The federal statistical agency 
reported 159 incidents of police-reported hate crimes motivated by 
sexual orientation in 2008, constituting 16 percent of all hate 
incidents. The total almost doubled from 2007, and 75 percent of 
incidents involved a violent offense. The law prohibits discrimination 
based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and the criminal code 
provides penalties for crimes motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate 
based on personal characteristics, including sexual orientation. 
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations operated 
independently and without restriction. Federal, provincial, and 
municipal governments authorized, and sometimes provided financial 
support for, gay pride marches in communities across the country and 
provided police protection to marchers. There was no official 
discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment and 
occupation, housing, statelessness, or access to education or health 
care.
    On July 1, police charged two men with assault causing bodily harm 
in connection with a violent attack on a gay male couple in Vancouver, 
British Columbia, on June 12. The assailants allegedly uttered 
homophobic slurs during the attack.
    In June the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission closed its 
investigation into the 2009 complaint of a former employee of a 
provincial youth facility who had alleged that he had experienced 
severe and prolonged sexual harassment in the workplace based on his 
sexual orientation. The parties agreed that the facility would provide 
workplace programs and services to address discrimination against 
vulnerable groups, including homosexual youth.
    In June a gay man withdrew his complaint before the Ontario Human 
Rights Tribunal that his parish priest had removed him from his 
volunteer position as a church altar server in 2009 because of his 
sexual orientation. The complainant reconciled with church officials.
    There were no developments in a 2009 lesbian couple's complaint 
filed with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission alleging that a family 
doctor declined to accept them as patients because their sexual 
orientation offended her religious beliefs and because she had no 
experience treating gay patients.
    In May a provincial court heard an appeal of a lower court ruling 
that upheld a fine imposed by the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal on 
a provincial marriage commissioner in 2008 for refusing to conduct a 
same-sex ceremony contrary to his religious beliefs. The appellant 
argued for a duty exemption on the basis of his constitutional right to 
freedom of religion. The case remained pending at year's end.
    In April a British Columbia court sentenced an individual to 17 
months in prison for a 2008 hate-motivated violent assault on a gay 
couple in Vancouver.
    In November a British Columbia court sentenced an individual to six 
years in prison for a March 2009 aggravated sexual assault on a gay bar 
patron that left the victim permanently brain damaged. The judge found 
that the attack constituted a hate crime.
    On December 21, the Alberta government deleted homosexuality from 
its official diagnostic guide to mental disorders for physicians 
practicing in the publicly-funded medical system, and ordered a review 
of the wording of the manual.

    Other Societal Violence or Societal Discrimination.--There were no 
known reports of societal violence or discrimination against persons 
with HIV/AIDS. The criminal code provides penalties for violence 
against individuals. Courts generally interpreted prohibitions against 
discrimination on the basis of disability in federal and provincial 
human rights statutes to include discrimination against persons with 
HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. 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 or 
excessive requirements, and the Government applied the law effectively. 
The law allows unions to operate without government interference. An 
estimated 30 percent of the civilian labor force belonged to a trade 
union.
    All workers have the right to strike, and workers exercised this 
right in practice. However, workers in the public sector who provide 
essential services, including police and armed forces, do not have the 
right to strike, but have mechanisms to ensure due process and protect 
workers' rights. Workers in essential services had recourse to binding 
arbitration if labor negotiations failed. The law prohibits employer 
retribution against strikers and union leaders, and the Government 
generally enforced this provision in practice. Provincial governments 
have, and enforce, their own labor laws that apply to provincially 
regulated occupations.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
protects collective bargaining, and the Government effectively enforced 
this right. Workers freely practiced collective bargaining and 
collective agreements covered an estimated 25 percent of workers. The 
law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer interference in 
union functions, and the Government protected this right in practice. 
Agricultural workers in Alberta, Ontario, and New Brunswick do not have 
the right to organize and/or bargain collectively under provincial law.
    In April the Quebec labor relations board struck down a provision 
in the provincial labor code that effectively barred foreign migrant 
farm workers from joining unions. The law had restricted eligibility 
for unionization to farms with at least three permanent employees.
    There were no developments in an appeal before the Supreme Court of 
a 2008 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that struck down a provincial law 
prohibiting an estimated 32,000 agricultural workers (including foreign 
migrants) from bargaining collectively. On November 18, the 
International Labor Organization (ILO) reported that the law violated 
the human rights of agricultural workers. This was the second time in 
10 years that the ILO found that the Ontario government had denied farm 
workers the right to freedom of association.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that foreign 
(or noncitizen or foreign-born) adults were subjected to forced labor 
in the agricultural sector, food processing, hospitality industry, 
domestic servitude, and prostitution. NGOs reported that bonded labor 
and domestic servitude constituted the majority of cases of 
exploitation. The Government enforced the law, and federal and some 
provincial governments implemented programs to combat forced labor, to 
inform workers of their legal rights, and to hold employers of foreign 
migrant workers accountable. Also see the Department of State's annual 
Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Child labor legislation varies by province and there are sufficient 
laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace. Most 
provinces restrict the number of hours of work, and prohibit children 
under age 15 or 16 from working without parental consent, at night, or 
in any hazardous employment. During official school or academic breaks, 
the federal government has employed youths under age 17 for work that 
is unlikely to endanger their health or safety.
    Child labor laws and policies were effectively enforced and the 
child labor inspections were carried out by federal and provincial 
labor ministries.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Provincial and territorial 
governments set minimum wage rates and enforced them effectively 
through their respective departments of labor. In federally regulated 
industries, the minimum wage constitutes the general adult minimum wage 
of the province or territory in which the work is performed. Some 
provinces have minimum wage boards that represent the interests of 
employers and employees, and may recommend nonbinding changes to rates. 
Four provinces have legislation requiring an annual or biennial review 
of the minimum wage, but no governments have a legislated obligation to 
increase or otherwise modify rates. Minimum wage rates ranged from 
C$8.00 to C$10.25 ($7.84 to $10.04). Some provinces exempt 
agricultural, hospitality, and other specific categories of workers 
from minimum wage rates, and Ontario and British Columbia 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. The federal statistical agency 
calculates annual averages, or Low Income Cut Offs (LICOs), which vary 
by urban, rural, and size of community, below which individuals and 
families spend significantly more on food, shelter, and necessities 
than the average. During the year, the maximum national LICO for a 
family of four with a before-tax income of less than C$41,198 ($40, 
390) qualified as low income.
    Standard work hours vary by province, but in each, 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. Authorities 
effectively enforced these standards. 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 by industry.
    Federal law provides safety and health standards for employees 
under federal jurisdiction, while provincial and territorial 
legislation provides for all other employees, including foreign and 
migrant workers. Federal and provincial labor departments monitored and 
enforced these standards, and conducted inspections proactively through 
scheduled visits, reactively in response to complaints, and at random.
    Enforcement measures included a graduated response, with a 
preference for resolution via voluntary compliance, negotiation, and 
education, and prosecution and fines as a last resort. Some trade 
unions argued that limited resources hampered the Government's 
inspection and enforcement efforts. 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.
    On August 16, the Alberta Employment and Immigration Ministry 
announced a 10-point plan to improve workplace safety via improved 
enforcement of the province's occupational health and workplace safety 
regulations. The plan proposes the hiring of additional inspectors, 
implementing updated compliance and enforcement procedures, publishing 
safety records of Alberta companies, and piloting a weekend and evening 
worksite inspection regimen.
    On September 10, two Jamaican migrant agricultural workers died in 
a job-related incident at an Ontario apple orchard and processing 
facility. Provincial police and the Ontario Ministry of Labour opened 
an investigation into the fatalities.
    From October 8 to November 22, a team drawn from Alberta's 94 
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) inspectors conducted a safety 
``blitz'' inspecting 146 construction employers at 70 worksites across 
the province, and issuing 39 safety-related stop work orders.
    On November 5, the Alberta Federation of Labor (AFL) released its 
own 10-point proposal to improve the province's health and safety 
record, including increased inspections, more resources for 
prosecutions for workplace safety violations, extension of health and 
safety and employment standards legislation to farm workers, mandatory 
joint health and safety committees for workers and employers, and 
publishing employer safety records. The AFL claimed that Alberta had 
the highest number of workplace fatalities in the country and the most 
lax health and safety policies.
    On December 14, Alberta's employment and immigration minister 
updated the results of the province-wide safety blitz. He stated that 
it had resulted in 298 initial and follow-up inspections which brought 
70 worksites into conformity with provincial requirements. OHS 
inspectors had issued an additional 49 stop work orders for worksites 
that lacked adequate safety measures.
    On December 16, the AFL released a report that criticized the 
provincial government for inadequate monitoring and enforcement of 
policies to prevent abuse of temporary foreign workers. The AFL 
recommended the tightening of provincial and federal regulations on 
employment brokers and recruiters, increased inspections and more 
vigorous enforcement of employment standards, and easier access to 
permanent residency for foreign migrant workers.
    Also on December 16, an Ontario government panel recommended a 
major overhaul of the province's workplace health and safety system. 
The recommendations included the creation of a new office of accident 
prevention headed by a designated chief prevention officer within the 
provincial Labor Ministry, mandatory safety training for construction 
workers, and a major outreach campaign to educate vulnerable workers 
(including those in the ``underground'' economy) of their labor rights. 
The province commissioned the official report, and a year-long 
comprehensive review of health and safety practices and provincial 
legislation, in January following the December 2009 deaths of four 
immigrant unregulated workers in Toronto, and the critical injury of a 
fifth, due to unsafe working practices. In July the provincial 
government launched a three-month workplace safety campaign that 
targeted construction sites across the province.

                               __________

                                 CHILE

    Chile is a multiparty democracy with a population of approximately 
17 million. On January 17, in free and fair elections voters chose 
Sebastian Pinera Echenique of the center-right Coalition for Change as 
president. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    There were isolated reports of excessive use of force and 
mistreatment by police forces, physical abuse in jails and prisons, and 
generally substandard prison conditions. The Government generally took 
steps to investigate and punish abusers.

                        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 reports of two killings by security forces.
    On March 10, in Hualpen, a naval patrol allegedly detained and beat 
David Riquelme to death during the curfew imposed after the February 27 
earthquake. A military court accused five sailors of unnecessary 
violence resulting in death, and the case was pending at year's end.
    On June 26, police in Cabrero detained and beat Francisco Coronado, 
who died in the police van before it reached the police station. A 
military court indicted police Corporal Rafael Diaz of homicide, and 
the case was pending at year's end.
    On August 20, a military court convicted carabineros (the uniformed 
national police) Corporal Walter Ramirez of ``unnecessary violence 
resulting in death'' and sentenced him to three years on parole for the 
2008 shooting of Matias Catrileo during an indigenous occupation of 
private land. At year's end Ramirez continued on active duty, and an 
appeal was pending before the Supreme Court. On November 8, a military 
prosecutor recommended a sentence of 15 years for police Corporal 
Miguel Patricio Jara, indicted for the August 2009 shooting of Jaime 
Mendoza during an indigenous land occupation. The case was pending 
before a military judge at year's end (see section 6, Indigenous 
People).
    On September 10, Judge Alejandro Madrid convicted 14 former 
military officers of kidnapping, homicide, and criminal conspiracy in 
the 1991 kidnapping and subsequent death of former National 
Intelligence Directorate (DINA) agent Eugenio Berrios. The emblematic 
case uncovered actions of dictatorship security agents took to evade 
justice after the 1991 transition to democracy.
    In December 2009 Judge Madrid charged six persons in the poisoning 
death of former president Eduardo Frei Montalva in 1982. A DINA agent, 
a doctor, and Frei's driver were charged with murder; two other doctors 
who allegedly falsified the autopsy were charged as accessories to the 
crime, and another doctor was charged as an accomplice. The case 
remained pending at year's end.
    On April 28, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal to reopen the 
1993 kidnapping and murder case of dual Chilean-Spanish citizen Carmelo 
Soria, who was killed by DINA agents in 1976. The Supreme Court closed 
the case with no convictions in 1996, after applying the amnesty law. 
In September 2009 Judge Madrid charged seven former army officials with 
obstruction of justice in the Soria case. One of the seven was Sergio 
Cea, the military prosecutor in charge of investigating Soria's death. 
The case remained pending at year's end.
    On July 8, the Supreme Court upheld the 2008 convictions of nine 
former DINA agents, including former DINA director Manuel Contreras and 
two civilians, for the 1974 car-bomb assassination of former army 
commander Carlos Prats and his wife. However, the high court reduced 
some sentences, gradually applying the statute of limitations, which 
allows for the discretionary reduction of sentences.
    On November 15, the Santiago Appellate Court ordered Judge Jorge 
Zepeda to reopen his investigation into the 1974 death of former 
interior minister Jose Toha, characterized as a suicide at the time. 
The case was 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 a 
continuing crime, not covered by amnesty, unless the subsequent 
execution of the prisoner could be established concretely by 
identification of remains. In some cases, the Supreme Court upheld the 
statute of limitations or lessened sentences using the gradual 
application of the statute of limitations, allowing the convicted 
persons to serve time outside of prison.
    The Diego Portales University's Human Rights Observatory reported 
that as of July the Supreme Court had paroled or reduced sentences of 
approximately two-thirds of 213 former security agents convicted of 
dictatorship-era human rights abuses, including disappearance, 
execution, and torture, whose cases had reached the high court.
    Judge Zepeda continued his investigation into the 1985 
disappearance case of U.S. citizen Boris Weisfeiler. On March 4, 
Weisfeiler family members resubmitted the case to the Advisory 
Commission on the Classification of Disappearances, Political 
Executions, and Victims of Political Imprisonment and Torture (Valech 
Commission), which in February began accepting new and resubmitted 
requests to recognize dictatorship-era cases as human rights violations 
(see section 5). The first truth and reconciliation commission in 1991 
did not recognize the Weisfeiler disappearance as a human rights 
violation. A decision on the family's application was pending at year's 
end.
    More than 120 indictments of former members of the military, 
carabineros, plainclothes Investigations Police (PDI), and prison 
system (gendarmeria) for ``permanent kidnappings'' perpetrated by DINA 
agents from 1974 to 1976 were issued in September 2009 and remained 
pending at year's end.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution prohibits such practices, 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) received reports of abuse and 
mistreatment by carabineros, PDI members, and prison guards. Few 
reports of abuse or mistreatment led to convictions.
    On December 14, six carabineros were relieved from duty following 
allegations of psychological abuse against Juan Berrios, who was 
detained in a police van and threatened at gunpoint with 
``disappearance.'' The events were caught on video and broadcast on the 
local news. Lorena Fries, Director of the National Institute of Human 
Rights, called the actions torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading 
treatment. The case remained pending at year's end.
    The gendarmeria opened administrative investigations into 38 
allegations of abuse through June, compared with 88 in all of 2009. Of 
the 2009 cases, one resulted in officials receiving sanctions, 11 were 
closed, and 76 were pending at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
generally were poor. Prisons often were overcrowded and antiquated, 
with substandard sanitary conditions. The 2010 Diego Portales 
University Law School Annual Report on Human Rights reported that 
overcrowded prisons with substandard sanitary, food, and medical 
services were a problem in some prisons. It also described cases of 
prisoner abuse and use of excessive force.
    In isolated instances, prisoners died due to lack of clear prison 
procedures and insufficient medical resources. Prison officials 
reported that there were 61 deaths from preventable causes as of 
September, compared with 73 in all of 2009. Prisoners with HIV/AIDS and 
mental disabilities failed to receive adequate medical attention in 
some prisons.
    As of September government sources indicated there were 
approximately 56,000 prisoners in prisons designed to hold 34,000 
inmates. Prisons in the Santiago area were at nearly double their 
capacity. Prisoners included 4,697 women, who were held in separate 
sections of the same facilities. As of June there were 1,477 minors 
held in specially designated facilities. Nearly 800 minors were held 
provisionally during their trial.
    On December 8, 81 inmates died in a fire started during a fight 
between rival gangs at the San Miguel Prison in Santiago. Although 
reports varied, it is estimated that the prison held approximately 
1,900 prisoners although designed to hold only 1,100. A prosecutor's 
investigation remained pending at year's end.
    On December 21, 36 inmates, six guards, and one police officer were 
injured during an uprising at the Antofagasta prison. Prisoners were 
protesting the nationwide suspension of privileges following the 
December 8 prison fire at San Miguel. Approximately 800 inmates were 
also participating in a hunger strike in support of the San Miguel 
prisoners. The Antofagasta prison, which was designed to hold 684 
prisoners, held 1,326 at the time of the riot.
    The prosecutor's investigation of an April 2009 fire the Colina II 
penitentiary center that resulted in 10 deaths remained pending at 
year's end.
    In December 2009 an agreement to stay proceedings conditionally was 
reached in the case of six former employees of the National Children's 
Service (SENAME) charged with manslaughter for the 2008 death of 10 
adolescents in their care at the Tiempo de Crecer juvenile detention 
center in Puerto Montt.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and 
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without 
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. Authorities generally investigated these 
allegations and documented the results in a publicly accessible manner.
    The Government generally investigated and monitored prison and 
detention center conditions.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers, and such visits took place at both government and privately 
operated facilities. Prisoner and human rights groups continued to 
investigate alleged use of abuse or excessive force against detainees.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed 
these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities 
maintained effective control over the carabineros, overseen by the 
Ministry of Defense, and the PDI, overseen by the Ministry of Interior. 
The Government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse 
and corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the 
security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Only public 
officials expressly authorized by law can arrest or detain citizens and 
generally did so openly with warrants based on sufficient evidence 
brought before an independent judiciary. Authorities must immediately 
inform a prosecutor of an arrest and generally did so in practice.
    The prosecutor must open an investigation, receive a statement from 
the detainee, and ensure that the detainee is held at a local police 
station until the detention control hearing. Detention control hearings 
are held twice daily, allowing for a judicial determination of the 
legality of the detention within 24 hours of arrest. Detainees must be 
informed of their rights, including the right to an attorney and the 
right to remain silent until an attorney is present. Public defenders 
are provided to detainees if they do not select a lawyer of choice. 
Authorities must expedite notification of the detention to family 
members. If authorities do not inform the detainees of their rights 
upon detention, the process can be declared unlawful by the judge 
during the detention control hearing.
    The law allows judges to set bail, grant provisional liberty, or 
order continued detention as 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.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and 
have a right of appeal. 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, defendants have 
the right to be present and to consult with an attorney in a timely 
manner, 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 across the country provide professional legal 
counsel to anyone seeking such assistance. Defendants can confront or 
question witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on 
their behalf, although the law does provide for protected witnesses in 
certain circumstances. Defendants and their attorneys generally have 
access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases with some 
exceptions. 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 interrogation and trial.
    For crimes committed prior to the implementation of the 2005 
judicial reforms, criminal proceedings are inquisitorial rather than 
adversarial. At year's end two inquisitorial criminal courts remained 
open: each had extensive waits for trial.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees, although some indigenous Mapuche 
awaiting trial claimed to be political prisoners.

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--On September 17, the Inter-
American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) filed a case with the 
Inter-American Court on Human Rights in the 2004 petition of Karen 
Atala, a lesbian judge who claimed discrimination in the loss of 
custody of her three daughters. In April the IACHR had issued a report, 
which concluded that Atala's rights were violated and urged the 
Government to make reparations to her and to adopt legislation, policy, 
and programs to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 
response the Pinera administration announced it would set up a working 
group to address the IACHR's recommendations, but the Supreme Court 
refused to participate.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There is an independent 
and impartial judiciary in civil matters, which permits access for 
lawsuits regarding human rights violations. However, the civil justice 
system retains antiquated and inefficient procedures. The average civil 
trial lasted approximately five years and civil suits could continue 
for decades. There are administrative and judicial remedies available 
for alleged wrongs.

    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.
    Military courts may charge and try civilians for defamation of 
military personnel and for sedition, but their rulings can be appealed 
to the Supreme Court.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. President Pinera owned Chilevision (CHV), 
one of three major networks, until he completed sale of the company on 
October 6.
    The Government-funded National Television Council (CNTV) is 
responsible for ensuring that television programming respects ``the 
moral and cultural values of the nation.'' The CNTV's principal role is 
to regulate violence and sexual explicitness in both broadcast and 
cable television programming. Films and other programs judged by the 
CNTV to be excessively violent, to have obscene language, or to depict 
sexually explicit scenes may be shown only after 10 p.m., when ``family 
viewing hours'' end. The CNTV occasionally levied fines or pressured 
stations to reschedule programs. For instance, on October 5, CNTV 
sanctioned television channel CHV (Chilevision) for broadcasting a 
parody of Jesus Christ on a comedy club show in April.
    On January 18, a Santiago tribunal dismissed criminal libel charges 
brought against freelance journalist Pascale Bonnefoy in 2006.
    On April 22, the Villarrica penal court acquitted documentary 
filmmaker Elena Varela Lopez, who had been charged with ``illegal 
association with intent to commit an offense'' and ``links with a 
terrorist group'' related to bank raids in 2004-05.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
Internet access was widely available to citizens, and the International 
Telecommunication Union reported that there were 41 Internet users per 
100 inhabitants in 2009.
    The Net Neutrality Law, which prohibits Internet Service Providers 
from arbitrarily blocking, interfering with, or discriminating against 
access to Internet content or applications, went into effect on August 
26. The reform also establishes the obligation to make information 
about connection plans transparent.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedoms of assembly and association, and the Government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    The law prohibits forced exile and the Government did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's laws provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the Government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
    In practice the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. During the year 75 residents were given recognized refugee 
status, for a total of 1,614 residents with that status at year's end.

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.--On January 17, voters in a 
free and fair run-off election chose Sebastian Pinera Echenique of the 
center-right Coalition for Change as president. In December 2009 voters 
also elected 18 of the 38 senators and all members of the Chamber of 
Deputies in elections generally considered free and fair.
    Political parties can operate without restriction or outside 
interference.
    There were 17 women in the 120-seat Chamber of Deputies and five 
women in the 38-seat Senate. There were six women in the 22-member 
cabinet, down from 10 in 2009. Women were underrepresented in other 
elective offices.
    Indigenous people have the legal right to participate freely in the 
political process, but relatively few were active. No member of the 
legislature or the cabinet identified himself or herself as indigenous.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were 
isolated reports of government corruption during the year.
    On January 21, a judge convicted Andres Contardo, a former 
consultant for both the Civil Registry and Tata Consultancy Services, 
of disclosing secret civil registry information regarding a public 
tender for a new technology platform. Contardo was sentenced to more 
than four years in prison but was released on parole. On May 28, the 
prosecutor in charge indicted 37 other individuals, including the 
former Civil Registry director and Tata executives, for fraud, bribery, 
and disclosure of secret information. On July 20, three of the accused 
were convicted of being accomplices. On July 21, the prosecutor agreed 
to a stay in proceedings for 11 others who cooperated with the 
investigation and agreed to complete community service and return 
public funds. On November 8, a judge temporarily stayed proceedings 
until defense attorneys had full access to the case files, a decision 
upheld in December by the Santiago Appellate Court. The remainder of 
those indicted awaited trial at year's end.
    On January 1, a Santiago court absolved three former State Railroad 
Company executives, including former president of the board Luis 
Ajenjo, of fraud in a high-profile case dating from 2006.
    On July 1, a judge convicted Carlos Cruz, former minister of public 
works, transportation, and telecommunications, and Sergio Cortes, 
former finance director of the ministry's Highways Division of fraud 
for approximately 800 million pesos ($1.57 million) in a 2001 case. 
Cruz and Cortes were sentenced to prison but released on parole. In 
total the judge convicted 13 individuals and absolved 17 others in the 
case.
    On July 13, Public Prosecutor Victor Vidal brought charges against 
Margarita Cuadros Aedo for criminal association, bribery, falsification 
of public documents, and obstruction of an investigation into judicial 
corruption. Vidal also charged four former officials for their role in 
the ring. In 2009, 17 individuals from corruption rings within the 
judicial system were convicted of the same crimes. The criminal rings 
falsified certifications that a prisoner had completed time, misplaced 
files, and falsified judicial decisions. Those convicted included six 
current and two former PDI officers, two carabineros, and two judicial 
officials.
    The law subjects public officials to financial disclosure and 
assigns responsibility to the comptroller for conducting audits of 
government agencies and to the Public Prosecutor's Office for 
initiating criminal investigations of official corruption.
    The constitution requires the Government and its agencies to make 
all unclassified information about their activities available to the 
public. In practice the Government granted citizens and noncitizens, 
including foreign media, access to all unclassified information. An 
autonomous transparency council provides for the right of access to 
information and rules on cases in which information is denied. In such 
cases reasons for denial are generally provided and have legal basis. 
For the year the Transparency Council considered 985 cases of denials 
for information requests. The Council made decisions on 85 percent of 
those, while the remaining cases were under analysis.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
often were cooperative and responsive to their views.
    There is no human rights ombudsman. During the year the autonomous 
National Institute of Human Rights (INDH), created by a December 2009 
law, began functioning with a mandate to submit a human rights report 
to government bodies and international organizations, propose changes 
to government agencies to ensure the promotion and protection of human 
rights, and initiate legal action for gross human rights violations. On 
December 9, the INDH published its first annual report. The Senate and 
Chamber of Deputies also have standing Human Rights Committees that are 
responsible for drafting human rights legislation.
    On February 7, the Valech Commission began accepting new and 
resubmitted requests to recognize dictatorship-era cases of execution, 
disappearance, and torture as human rights violations. The application 
process was open for six months, and the Commission received more than 
32,500 petitions. In cases recognized as involving human rights 
violations, victims' family members and survivors are eligible for 
reparations. In addition the Ministry of Interior's Human Rights 
Program can become a plaintiff in cases recognized as human rights 
violations.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status, and the Government enforced these 
prohibitions. However, such discrimination continued to occur.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape. 
Penalties for rape range from five to 15 years' imprisonment, and the 
Government generally enforced the law.
    The law protects the privacy and safety of the victim making the 
charge. During the year the Public Prosecutor's Office investigated 
4,803 cases of rape, and the courts handed down 942 rape convictions. 
Experts, however, believed that most rape cases went unreported.
    The Ministry of Justice and the PDI operated several offices 
specifically dedicated to providing counseling and assistance in rape 
cases.
    Domestic violence against women remained a serious problem. During 
the year, 49 women were killed as a result of domestic or sexual 
violence, compared with 55 in 2009.
    The law prohibits domestic violence. Family courts handle cases of 
domestic violence and penalize offenders with fines up to 556,680 pesos 
($1,092). Additional sanctions include eviction of the offender from 
the residence shared with the victim, restraining orders, confiscation 
of firearms, and court-ordered counseling. Cases of habitual 
psychological abuse and physical abuse cases in which there are 
physical injuries are prosecuted in the criminal justice system. 
Penalties are based on the gravity of injuries and range from 61 to 540 
days' imprisonment. During the year the Public Prosecutor's Office 
initiated investigations into 117,475 cases of family violence, and 
14,257 offenders were convicted for domestic violence. The authorities 
generally enforced the law in cases reported to them. However, experts 
believed that most domestic violence cases went unreported.
    Government actions to confront domestic violence included a more 
aggressive national awareness campaign that began in October and a 
dating violence awareness campaign launched in November. The National 
Women's Service operated 92 assistance centers and 24 shelters for 
women and maintained partnerships with NGOs to provide training for 
police officers and judicial and municipal authorities on the legal and 
psychological aspects of domestic violence.
    On December 18, the Femicide Law went into effect, characterizing 
the murder of a woman by her husband or partner, current or past, as a 
crime in the Penal Code. The new law penalizes those convicted of 
femicide to the highest murder sentence possible (15 to 40 years' 
imprisonment).
    Sexual harassment generally was a problem. The law provides 
protection to victims of sexual harassment by employers and coworkers. 
It also provides severance pay to victims who resign due to sexual 
harassment if they have completed at least one year with the employer. 
By law sexual harassment is cause for immediate dismissal. The law 
requires employers to define internal procedures for investigating 
sexual harassment, and employers may face fines and additional 
financial compensation to victims if internal procedures are not met. 
The authorities generally enforced the law in cases reported to them. 
Through November the Labor Directorate received 82 complaints of sexual 
harassment.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children and had the 
information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and 
violence. Contraception and skilled attendance during childbirth, 
prenatal care, and essential obstetric and postpartum care were 
available. The Population Reference Bureau reported that the rate of 
contraceptive use among married women was 64 percent, and the incidence 
of maternal mortality in 2008 was 26 per 100,000 live births. On 
January 28, the Regulation of Fertility Law establishing norms for 
family planning and sexual health information and services went into 
effect. The law provides for the free distribution of emergency 
contraception in the public health system. It also mandates the 
establishment of sexual education programs in high schools.
    Women faced significant obstacles to preventing HIV infection, 
including socio-cultural norms, gender-based violence, and lack of 
information.
    The law on surgical sterilizations requires voluntary informed 
consent. However, in the Center for Reproductive Rights study, some 
HIV-positive women reported that healthcare workers pressured or forced 
them to undergo surgical sterilization.
    Women enjoy most of the same legal rights as men. Despite the 
possibility of a ``community property'' marital arrangement, in which 
each spouse maintains separate control of the assets brought into the 
marriage, the default and most common marital arrangement is ``conjugal 
society,'' which gives a husband the right to administer joint 
property, including his wife's property. Under a 2007 agreement with 
the IACHR, the Government committed to modify the law to give women and 
men equal rights and responsibilities in marriage. Implementing 
legislation remained pending at year's end.
    The commercial code provides that unless a woman is married under 
the separate estate regime, she may not enter into a commercial 
partnership agreement without permission from her husband; a man may 
enter into such an agreement without permission from his wife.
    The 2009 Supplemental Survey of Incomes estimated the overall 
gender income gap at 29 percent. Among those with university education, 
the income gap was 34.5 percent. In December 2009 a law providing for 
equal pay for equal work went into effect. The law requires companies 
with 10 or more workers to establish a formal internal complaint 
procedure, while those with 200 or more workers must also generate a 
registry detailing employee positions and functions. The labor code 
provides specific benefits for pregnant workers and mothers of children 
under two years old, including a prohibition against dismissal during 
pregnancy and throughout the 449 days after the birth of a child. The 
National Women's Service is in charge of protecting women's legal 
rights.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory or from one's parents or grandparents.
    Violence against children was a significant problem. According to 
press reports, there were almost 55,000 reported cases of child abuse 
between January and August, an increase of 2,000 from the same period 
in 2009.
    The law prohibits sexual abuse of minors and suspends the statute 
of limitations in such cases. During the year the Public Prosecutor's 
Office investigated 418 cases of commercial juvenile sexual 
exploitation, compared with 333 in 2009. During the year SENAME 
assisted 1,084 victims of commercial juvenile sexual exploitation, 
compared with 1,062 in all of 2009. SENAME ran 16 programs specifically 
for victims of commercial sexual exploitation and 84 additional 
programs for children and youth in high-risk situations, including 
commercial sexual exploitation. SENAME also collaborated with municipal 
governments to run 114 local branches of the Office for the Protection 
of Children's Rights throughout the country. SENAME, the carabineros, 
and the PDI cooperated with schools and NGOs to identify children in 
abusive situations, to provide counseling and other social services to 
abused children, and to keep families intact.
    Child prostitution was a problem. Children engaged in prostitution 
for survival with and without third party involvement. The criminal 
code considers 18 the age for consensual sex. Sex with a girl between 
ages 14 and 18 may be considered statutory rape, and sex with a child 
under age 14 is considered rape, regardless of consent or the victim's 
gender. Penalties for statutory rape range from three to 10 years in 
prison. Child pornography is a crime; penalties for producing child 
pornography range from 541 days to five years in prison.
    On July 7, the press reported that preparations continued for a 
trial against 10 individuals charged in 2009 for their involvement in a 
child prostitution ring in Valparaiso. On December 31, a Valparaiso 
penal court found four of the 10 guilty of obtaining sexual services 
from persons over 14 but under 18. Sentences were not decided as of 
year's end.
    On September 22, SENAME closed their internal investigation into 
commercial sexual exploitation of residents at their Capullo youth home 
in the Bio-Bio region without bringing charges against any of its 
officials. However, PDI detectives arrested nine individuals for 
alleged sexual exploitation of adolescent girls in exchange for small 
sums of money, drugs, food, or clothing. Four lawsuits resulted, three 
of which ended in convictions, while the fourth remained pending at 
year's end.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were various reports of anti-Semitic 
incidents during the year, such as acts of vandalism, verbal slurs, 
bomb threats, and online harassment. Vandalism included desecration of 
Jewish community institutions, such as schools, synagogues, and 
cemeteries. In an October 6 press article, the vice president of the 
Jewish Community of Chile noted various acts of vandalism of homes in 
Santiago, Lota, and Puerto Montt. There were approximately 15,000 
members of the Jewish community.
    Neo-Nazi and skinhead groups engaged in gang-type criminal 
activities and violence against immigrants, gays and lesbians, punk 
rockers, and anarchists. Some skinhead groups shared the anti-Semitic 
rhetoric of neo-Nazi groups.
    On June 17, the Vina del Mar penal court convicted Elliot Quijada, 
a neo-Nazi militant, of illegal arms possession as well as of hate 
crimes for his September 2009 harassment of Lily Perez, who is Jewish, 
during her campaign for senator. The court sentenced Quijada to 600 
days of prison for illegal arms possession and fined him approximately 
1.85 million pesos ($3,565) for hate speech.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, and 
access to state services, and the Government effectively enforced these 
provisions. However, such persons suffered forms of de facto 
discrimination. In 2008 the New Faces Foundation, an NGO that provides 
attention to impoverished adults with mental or psychological 
disabilities, reported an estimated 60,000 persons suffered from 
moderate or severe mental disability, nearly half of whom received no 
mental health attention. Approximately 100,000 persons under the age of 
27 with disabilities did not receive any special care or education.
    The Government did not effectively implement laws and programs to 
ensure that persons with disabilities have access to buildings, 
information, and communications. A majority of public buildings did not 
comply with legal accessibility mandates. An improved transportation 
system in Santiago provided additional, but still limited, 
accessibility for persons with disabilities. Public transportation 
outside of the capital remained problematic.
    The National Fund for Persons with Disabilities under the 
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Planning has responsibility for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and for creating 
programs to promote their better integration into society.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--In general, societal violence 
or discrimination against members of national, racial, or ethnic 
minorities or groups was not a problem. However, on December 27, the 
regional director of the Solidarity and Social Investment Fund (a part 
of the Ministry of Planning) in Arica-Parinacota resigned after an 
employee of African descent, who had been fired, accused him of racism 
and discrimination based on his skin color.

    Indigenous People.--The law gives indigenous persons (approximately 
5 percent of the total population) the right to participate in 
decisions affecting their lands, cultures, and traditions; and provides 
for bilingual education in schools with indigenous populations. 
However, both internal factors and governmental policies limited the 
participation of indigenous persons in these decisions. Indigenous 
persons also experienced some societal discrimination, and there were 
reported incidents in which they were attacked and harassed.
    There were isolated instances of violence between the Mapuche and 
landowners, logging companies, and police in the southern part of the 
country. The actions usually took the form of protests regarding 
historic Mapuche concerns about their rights to ancestral lands. 
Instances of rock throwing; land occupations; and burning crops, 
buildings, or vehicles occurred. Mapuche activists and police forces 
stationed in the area to guard private lands sometimes engaged in 
skirmishes.
    The Citizens' Observatory (OC) reported police searches of Mapuche 
homes without a warrant, arrests and releases of Mapuche individuals 
without a detention control hearing, and police use of intimidation and 
discriminatory statements against Mapuche individuals, including 
minors. The OC also reported that alleged police abuse of Mapuche 
individuals often occurred during the implementation of court-ordered 
arrests or search warrants.
    On November 16, the Temuco Appellate Court found that carabineros 
had violated the constitutional rights of children from the Mapuche 
community Muko Bajo. Carabineros had conducted interviews at the Blanco 
Lepin Rewe Kimun School during school hours, allegedly for the purpose 
of gaining information from youths about Mapuche individuals under 
investigation under the antiterrorism law. The students reported that 
they were harassed by the police. The appellate court put in place a 
protective order prohibiting such actions without a court order. The 
same appellate court put in place a similar protective order after PDI 
officers interrogated children from the same community on May 18. On 
December 3, the press reported that carabineros had again interviewed a 
10-year-old from the same indigenous community.
    On November 8, military prosecutor Rodrigo Vera completed his 
investigation and recommended a sentence of 15 years for Special Forces 
police Corporal Miguel Patricio Jara, indicted for the August 2009 
death of Jaime Mendoza. Mendoza was shot and killed while he and 
approximately 30 other Mapuche individuals occupied private land in 
Ercilla. The military prosecutor's report established that Jara was not 
attacked and that Mendoza did not use a firearm. The case was pending 
before a military judge in Valdivia at year's end.
    On August 20, a Santiago military court convicted carabineros 
Corporal Walter Ramirez of ``unnecessary violence resulting in death'' 
and sentenced him to three years in prison for the 2008 shooting of 
Matias Catrileo during an occupation by indigenous persons of private 
land. The ruling increased the sentence handed down by a Valdivia 
military tribunal on January 15, but allowed Ramirez to serve time on 
parole. Ramirez remained on active duty, and an appeal before the 
Supreme Court was pending at year's end.
    The Ethical Commission Against Torture's annual report noted that 
as of June the Government used the antiterrorism law to prosecute 57 
Mapuche individuals or sympathizers whose protests included destruction 
of property, attacks on farms, or confrontations with police. In 
addition seven Mapuche individuals were under prosecution in the 
military justice system. In 2009 the Working Group on the UN Human 
Rights Council Universal Periodic Review, the UN Committee on the 
Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, and the UN 
rapporteur on indigenous peoples all recommended that the Government 
limit its application of the antiterrorism law in the context of 
Mapuche protests.
    On July 12, more than 30 Mapuche prisoners, the majority of whom 
were awaiting trial, went on a hunger strike to protest their 
prosecution under the antiterrorism law and the military justice 
system. The Government entered into negotiations with the hunger 
strikers in September, and on October 1, a majority of them called off 
their strike after the Government agreed to reclassify its charges 
against the Mapuche prisoners under the ordinary penal code and to push 
forward reform of the military justice system. Congress passed reforms 
to the antiterrorism law September 30. The remaining Mapuche prisoners 
ceased their hunger strike on October 9 after the Government agreed to 
present legislation that would provide constitutional recognition of 
the country's indigenous peoples.
    However, trials of Mapuche individuals under the antiterrorism law 
continued at year's end. On November 8, a criminal trial began in 
Canete against 18 Mapuches charged by the public prosecutor with a 
series of antiterrorist crimes, including terrorist illicit association 
and frustrated homicide during a 2008 attack on a public prosecutor and 
police. The trial was pending at year's end. Five of the 18 were 
simultaneously prosecuted in the military justice system. On December 
16, the five individuals were acquitted by a military court in Valdivia 
on grounds of insufficient evidence.
    On December 11, the Network of NGOs for Children and the Support 
for Unprotected Children Foundation began an online campaign to protest 
the continued application of the antiterrorism law to three Mapuche 
youth held in a SENAME juvenile justice facility awaiting trial. On 
December 31, the Temuco Appellate Court upheld a lower court's denial 
of conditional release for one of the youths.
    On December 30, a legal reform of the military justice system went 
into effect that restricts the jurisdiction of the military courts to 
members of the armed forces and carabineros and explicitly prohibits 
the prosecution of minors in the military justice system. The law 
includes transition measures and procedures for the transfer more than 
4,600 cases to the ordinary criminal justice system. The reform did not 
change the jurisdiction of the military justice system for prosecuting 
all types of crimes committed by members of the Armed Forces or 
carabineros.
    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. CONADI also administered the Land and Water Fund, 
which provides mechanisms and financing for the acquisition of lands 
and water rights by indigenous communities. Indigenous rights experts 
pointed out that the majority of land transferred to indigenous 
communities via the Land and Water Fund was land already in use by 
indigenous communities. During the year indigenous groups staged 
protests over ancestral land disputes.
    On July 31, indigenous Rapa Nui families on Easter Island began a 
sit-in at private and public buildings, including Hotel Hanga Roa, to 
demand the restitution of ancestral lands. On September 7, a police 
contingent, accused of using excessive force, evicted the protesters. 
Protesters reoccupied the buildings afterwards, and the sit-in 
continued at some of the buildings at year's end. The press reported 
that the Rapa Nui protesters filed for a protection order before the 
IACHR on October 1 to prevent the violation of their civil and property 
rights. On December 3, a police contingent evicted 11 Rapa Nui 
protesters who had been occupying a government-owned property and 
detained three of them. Protesters alleged that the police used 
excessive force at that time and hours later when a group of Rapa Nui 
individuals returned to the site. The press reported nearly 40 injured 
in the clash, including three Rapa Nui and one carabinero who were 
airlifted to the continent for medical treatment. The Government 
announced a significant increase in the police contingent on the 
island. On December 27, a public prosecutor announced that he would 
indict 17 protesters involved in the Hotel Hanga Roa sit-in. On 
December 28, the Valparaiso Appellate Court agreed to process a 
protective order in favor of the Rapa Nui injured on December 3. On 
December 29, a police contingent evicted protesters from the Hanga Roa 
civic plaza, where they had constructed makeshift shelters and had been 
demonstrating since March; 10 protesters were injured and nine were 
arrested. On December 30, the INDH issued a statement deploring 
excessive use of force by police.
    In its 2010 annual report, the Observatory for the Protection of 
Human Rights reported arbitrary detention, intimidation, and harassment 
of Mapuche community leaders and legal representatives, as well as of 
NGOs associated with the promotion of indigenous rights and journalists 
who cover the issue.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Gay marches and rallies 
occurred in Santiago and elsewhere in the country without violence or 
other incidents. The events received appropriate government 
authorization. The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation 
(MOVILH) reported 124 cases of discrimination due to sexual orientation 
in 2009, compared with 65 reported cases in 2008, an increase the 
MOVILH attributed to the open debate over the rights of sexual 
minorities during the 2009 presidential campaign, the publication of a 
manual on diversity and sexual orientation education, and a decision by 
the family court to grant a gay man custody of his two children.
    In May 2009 a LGBT couple (former carabineros) sued the state for 
50 million pesos each ($96,000), alleging that their superiors 
threatened to make public their sexual orientations if they did not 
resign. The case remained pending at year's end.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law prohibits 
discrimination against persons on the basis of their HIV status, and in 
the area of healthcare, the law provides that neither public nor 
private health institutions can deny access to healthcare services on 
the basis of a person's serological status. However, several HIV-
positive women interviewed for a study by the Center for Reproductive 
Rights recounted receiving discriminatory treatment in the healthcare 
setting, especially in reproductive health services. Problems included 
delayed care, verbal abuse, pressure not to have children, or refusal 
of treatment.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--Workers have the right to form and 
join independent unions of their choice without previous authorization. 
The law enables some government interference in union political and 
financial activity. Union leaders are restricted from being members of 
political parties, and the Directorate of Labor has broad powers to 
monitor union accounts and financial transactions. The Government 
estimated that 13 percent of the total workforce (approximately 6.7 
million) was unionized in 9,801 registered unions. Police and military 
personnel may not organize.
    The law allows strikes, with some limitations, and the Government 
protected this right in practice. Public employees do not enjoy the 
right to strike, however, public sector strikes sometimes occurred. On 
August 26, an estimated 80,000 public employees began a 24-hour strike 
to protest significant layoffs in the public sector; on November 24, a 
reported 400,000 employees began an open-ended strike for higher wages. 
The strike ended on December 16 when public employees agreed to the 
originally offered 4.2 percent pay increase.
    While employees in the private sector have the right to strike, the 
Government regulated and placed some restrictions on this right. 
Strikes by agricultural workers during the harvest season are 
prohibited. The law also proscribes employees of 31 private sector 
companies, largely providers of services such as water and electricity, 
from striking, and stipulates compulsory arbitration to resolve 
disputes in these companies.
    The law does not specifically prohibit employers from dismissing 
striking workers; however, employers must show cause and pay severance 
benefits if they dismiss strikers.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective 
bargaining is protected by law, but the right of some public employees, 
entertainers, and temporary agricultural, construction, and port 
workers to bargain collectively is limited. The Government guarantees 
collective bargaining rights only at the company level, and where the 
employer agrees to negotiate with the collective. Collective bargaining 
in the agricultural sector remained dependent on employers' agreeing to 
negotiate. Intercompany unions are permitted to bargain collectively 
only when the individual employers agrees to negotiate under such 
terms.
    According to Freedom House and the International Trade Union 
Confederation, antiunion practices--including violence against union 
leaders, unfair dismissals of union leaders, and replacement of 
striking workers--continued to occur. NGOs reported companies also used 
subcontracts and temporary contracts as a form of antiunion 
discrimination and to increase the size of the workforce without 
collective bargaining rights.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that such 
practices occurred, primarily for domestic servitude and forced 
prostitution, including by children. Child prostitution remained a 
problem, and some children were forcibly employed in the drug trade. 
Foreign citizens were trafficked into the country for forced labor, 
notably in domestic servitude, mining, and agriculture.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace, and the 
Government generally enforced these laws. However, despite laws 
restricting child labor, the employment of children was a problem in 
the informal economy and in agriculture. Children worked in the 
production of ceramics and books, and in the repair of shoes and 
garments. In urban areas boys commonly worked and carried loads in 
agricultural loading docks and assisted in construction activities, 
while girls sold goods on the streets and worked as domestic servants. 
Children in rural areas were involved in caring for farm animals, as 
well as harvesting, collecting, and selling crops, such as wheat, 
potatoes, oats, and quinoa. Children also worked in fishing and 
forestry. Children continued to be exploited for commercial sex and 
used in the production and sale of drugs and to transport drugs in the 
border area with Peru and Bolivia.
    The law provides that children between the ages of 15 and 18 may 
work with the express permission of their parents or guardians, so long 
as they attend school. They may perform only light work that does not 
require hard physical labor or constitute a threat to health or the 
child's development. When attending school, children may not work more 
than 30 hours a week and in no case more than eight hours a day or 
between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Employers at the local Ministry 
of Labor inspector's office must register their work contracts.
    During the year there were 571 detected cases of children and 
adolescents involved in the worst forms of child labor, compared with 
288 cases in 2009; 44 percent of these cases involved girls. Most 
reported child and adolescent labor cases involved children over the 
age of 15 and children not enrolled in school. Examples included 
commercial sexual exploitation, workplaces lacking minimum safety and 
health conditions, and illegal activities.
    Ministry of Labor inspectors enforced regulations, and while 
compliance in the formal economy was high, children were employed in 
the informal economy. During the year the Ministry of Labor imposed 
some form of sanction in 104 cases involving violations of child labor 
laws, compared with 47 cases from January to October 2009.
    The Government devoted considerable resources and oversight to 
child labor policies. SENAME, in coordination with labor inspectors, 
identified and assisted children in abusive or dangerous situations. 
SENAME also implemented public education programs to raise awareness 
and worked with the International Labor Organization to operate 
rehabilitation programs. The Ministry of Labor convened regular 
meetings of a business-labor-government group to monitor progress in 
eradicating child labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The minimum wage is set by law 
and is subject to annual adjustment. A committee composed of 
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 4.2 percent to 
172,000 pesos ($331) a month. This wage did not provide a worker and 
family with a decent standard of living. As of March 1, the minimum 
wage for domestic servants was 92 percent of that for other 
occupations. The minimum wage for workers over age 65 and under 18 was 
128,400 pesos ($247) a month. 720,000 Chileans (11 percent of the 
workforce) make the minimum wage or less; over 1 million make between 1 
and 1.25 times the minimum wage. The Labor Directorate, under the 
Ministry of Labor, was responsible for enforcing minimum wage and other 
labor laws and regulations, and it did so effectively.
    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 some categories, such as caretakers and domestic servants, 
are exempt. The law mandates 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 country's 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 45 million. On June 20, Unity Party 
presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos was elected in elections that 
were considered generally free and fair. On August 7, President Santos 
assumed office from President Alvaro Uribe. The 46-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). Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities. There were instances in which elements of the security 
forces acted independently of civilian control.
    The following societal problems and governmental human rights 
abuses were reported during the year: unlawful and extrajudicial 
killings; insubordinate military collaboration with new illegal armed 
groups and paramilitary members who refused to demobilize; forced 
disappearances; torture and mistreatment of detainees; overcrowded and 
insecure prisons; arbitrary detentions; impunity and an inefficient 
judiciary subject to intimidation; illegal surveillance of civilian 
groups, political opponents, and government agencies; occasional 
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 
and activists, including unfounded prosecutions; violence against 
women, including rape; violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and 
Transgender (LGBT) persons based on sexual orientation; child abuse and 
child prostitution; trafficking in women and children for the purpose 
of sexual exploitation; some societal discrimination against women, 
indigenous persons, and Afro-Colombians; and illegal child labor.
    The FARC and ELN committed the following human rights abuses: 
political killings; killings of members of the public security forces 
and local officials; widespread use of landmines; kidnappings and 
forced disappearances; massive forced displacements; subornation and 
intimidation of judges, prosecutors, and witnesses; infringement on 
citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedom of movement; 
widespread recruitment and use of child soldiers; attacks against human 
rights activists; violence against women, including rape and forced 
abortions; and harassment, intimidation, and killings of teachers and 
trade unionists.
    New illegal armed groups, which included some former paramilitary 
members, also committed numerous human rights abuses. The last United 
Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) bloc demobilized in 2006, but AUC 
members who refused to demobilize, AUC members who demobilized but 
later abandoned the peace process, and other new illegal armed groups 
remained targets of arrest and criminal prosecution. These new groups 
lacked the political agenda, organization, reach, and military capacity 
of the former AUC and focused primarily on narcotics trafficking and 
extortion. The AUC demobilization led to a reduction in killings and 
other human rights abuses, but paramilitary members who refused to 
demobilize and new illegal armed groups continued to commit numerous 
unlawful acts and related abuses, including: political killings and 
kidnappings; physical violence; forced displacement; subornation and 
intimidation of judges, prosecutors, and witnesses; infringement on 
citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on freedom of movement; 
recruitment and use of child soldiers; violence against women, 
including rape; and harassment, intimidation, and killings of human 
rights workers, journalists, teachers, and trade unionists.
    The Government made demonstrable advances in improving the human 
rights environment. The Santos administration strengthened the 
Government's relationship with the human rights community by publicly 
expressing support for human rights defenders and engaging them in 
dialogue. In addition, the Santos administration implemented new 
policies to accelerate the return of land to displaced families and 
advanced a Land and Victims Law to provide for land restitution and 
victims' reparations. Extrajudicial executions continued to decline, 
and several senior military officers were convicted of 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.--Political and 
unlawful killings remained an extremely serious problem, and there were 
some reports that members of the security forces committed 
extrajudicial killings during the internal armed conflict (see section 
1.g.). There were significantly fewer reports of military officials 
presenting murdered civilians as killed in combat than in 2008 or 2009.
    The Jesuit-founded Center for Popular Research and Education 
(CINEP), a local human rights nongovernmental organization (NGO), 
reported excessive police violence against civilians. For example, on 
April 23, in Chiquinquira, Boyaca, police officers allegedly beat 67-
year-old Jaime Elias Rozo Salinas after arresting him for public 
drunkenness. The following day he was found seriously injured on a park 
bench. Rozo Salinas remained in a coma until he died from his injuries 
on June 29. The Prosecutor General's Office was investigating the case 
at year's end.
    CINEP reported that there were at least 155 political and unlawful 
killings, committed by all actors, during the first six months of the 
year, 37 fewer than those reported in the same period in 2009. Some 
NGOs, such as CINEP, considered the new illegal armed groups to be a 
continuation of the paramilitary groups and attributed reports of human 
rights violations committed by these groups directly to the Government. 
Those NGOs also included killings by these groups in their definition 
of ``unlawful killings'' (see section 1.g.).
    Some members of government security forces, including enlisted 
personnel, noncommissioned officers, and senior officials, in violation 
of orders from the president and the military high command, 
collaborated with or tolerated the activities of new illegal armed 
groups, which included some former paramilitary members. Such 
collaboration occasionally facilitated unlawful killings and may have 
involved direct participation in atrocities.
    For example, CINEP reported:
    On January 27, army troops in Miraflores, Guavire, allegedly 
committed the extrajudicial killing of two civilians, Jose Heli Gamboa 
Benilla and Henry Lopez Romero, who were farmers and representatives of 
their community. Men presumed to be soldiers arrived at Lopez Romero's 
farm and forced him, his family, and 12 others to the floor and killed 
the two men. Soldiers took their bodies to San Jose de Guaviare and 
presented them as having been killed in combat. The case was pending at 
year's end.
    On March 31, near Oripaya, North Santander, police officers 
allegedly committed the extrajudicial killing of Pedro Gustavo Ladino 
Sierra. Ladino Sierra, a publicist, was traveling on motorcycle between 
Cucuta and Puerto Santander when he was stopped at a police roadblock. 
His body was found on April 2. The case was pending at year's end.
    In certain areas, such as Medellin, Antioquia; Tierralta, Cordoba; 
Tumaco, Narino; Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca; the Uraba region of 
Antioquia and Choco; and Meta, corrupt dealings reportedly continued 
between local military and police forces and new illegal armed groups, 
which included some former paramilitary members. Although impunity for 
these military personnel remained a problem, the Ministry of Defense 
carried out investigations and handed over culpable parties to civilian 
authorities in a number of high-profile cases during the year. On 
December 30, Commander of the Army General Alejandro Navas said the 
army was investigating more than 100 soldiers for possible ties to an 
illegal armed group in Meta and Guaviare. Authorities continued to 
investigate the 2009 case of 11 members of the police accused of 
collaborating with the illegal group Oficina de Envigado.
    In conformity with the law, military or civilian authorities 
investigated killings committed by security forces. In December the 
Supreme Court elected a new prosecutor general after a 16-month 
vacancy. Investigations of past killings proceeded, albeit slowly. Some 
high-profile cases against military personnel resulted in convictions 
or were reopened in large part due to testimony in the Justice and 
Peace process.
    According to the NGO Landmine Monitor, nongovernmental actors, 
particularly the FARC and ELN, planted new landmines (see section 
1.g.).
    Guerrillas, notably the FARC and ELN, committed unlawful killings 
(see section 1.g.).
    New illegal armed groups, which included some former paramilitary 
members, committed numerous political and unlawful killings, primarily 
in areas under dispute with guerrillas or without a strong government 
presence (see section 1.g.).
    The Presidential Program for Human Rights reported that through the 
end of August, illegal armed groups killed 127 persons in 26 massacres 
(defined by the Government as killings of four or more persons), a 65 
percent increase in the number of massacre victims from the same period 
in 2009 (see section 1.g.).

    b. Disappearance.--Forced disappearances, many of them politically 
motivated, continued to occur. A joint report by NGOs Latin America 
Working Group and U.S. Office on Colombia in December reported that the 
Government's National Search Commission had documented a total of 
51,000 forced disappearances registered in Colombia as of November 
2010, with 7,197 found alive, 1,366 found dead, and 460 listed as 
``annulled.'' The report said more than 42,000 either remained 
disappeared or may have been victims of forced disappearance. The 
Prosecutor General's Office charged three members of the armed forces 
in cases of forced disappearance during the year. According to the 
Presidential Program and the Disappeared Persons registry, coordinated 
by the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science, 2,900 
persons were reported as forcibly disappeared during the first eight 
months of year. In 2009 the Government presented a new interagency plan 
to improve efforts to identify remains of victims of forced 
disappearances. The Government returned 1,295 remains to family 
members.
    On July 7, retired colonel Alfonso Plazas Vega was sentenced to 30 
years in prison for his role in the forced disappearance of 11 persons 
during the 1985 Palace of Justice siege. Plazas Vega was not convicted 
for violence that occurred during the siege, but rather for the forced 
disappearance of 11 survivors, who went missing after they left the 
Palace in military custody. At year's end Plazas Vega remained in 
custody in a military base and had not been transferred to prison while 
his case was pending appeal.
    In June 2009 the Prosecutor General's Office reopened the 1989 case 
of the Rochela massacre, in which paramilitary forces, working in 
collaboration with elements of the military, killed 12 judicial 
officials investigating the forced disappearances of 19 merchants. 
Retired generals Juan Salcedo Lora and Alfonso Vaca Perilla were 
implicated in the massacre and were under investigation. The case was 
pending at year's end.
    Kidnapping, both for ransom and for political reasons, remained a 
serious problem. The Government's National Fund for the Defense of 
Personal Liberty (Fondelibertad) estimated 282 people were kidnapped 
during the year (64 by the FARC, 35 by the ELN, and the rest by other 
illegal groups). Fondelibertad reported that 188 of the kidnappings 
were for extortion, an increase of more than 17 percent from 2009. 
Fondelibertad reported that 79 people were held in captivity as of 
April and more than 600 cases were under review. Some human rights 
groups questioned the Government statistics, arguing that many cases 
went unreported and that several hundred kidnapping victims were held 
at year's end.
    The Unified Action Groups for Personal Liberty, military, and 
police entities formed to combat kidnapping and extortion, and other 
elements of the security forces freed more than 60 hostages during the 
year; Fondelibertad reported that at least six kidnapping victims died 
in captivity through August, compared with two in 2009. The FARC and 
ELN, as well as new illegal armed groups, which included some former 
paramilitary members, and bands of common criminals continued the 
practice of kidnapping. All illegal groups, including guerrillas, 
sometimes killed kidnapping victims (see section 1.g.). The FARC 
voluntarily released 26 individuals through August.

    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 generally were tried in civilian rather than 
military courts. CINEP asserted that during the first six months of the 
year, government security forces were involved in 16 incidents of 
torture, the same as in the first six months of 2009. The Human Rights 
Unit of the Prosecutor General's Office charged three members of the 
armed forces with torture during the year. On December 31, a court in 
Antioquia sentenced one army officer and four professional soldiers to 
40 years in prison for the May 2005 torture and death of Maria Graciela 
Santamaria Galeano.
    CINEP reported, for example, that:
    On April 7, members of the 19th Mobile Brigade arbitrarily detained 
and beat three individuals at a roadblock. Soldiers allegedly pushed 
the men to the ground and beat and kicked them while the men held their 
hands on their heads.
    On April 20, a prison guard at the Dona Juana Penitentiary 
allegedly grabbed inmate Rigoberto Garcia Gutierrez by the neck, 
dragged him to the dining room and beat and kicked him before sending 
him to the prison infirmary.
    There were no developments in the following cases from 2009: the 
alleged detainment and torture of Gerardo Barona Avirama and James 
Barona Avirama; the alleged torture of 16-year-old Neftali Blanco; and 
the alleged detainment and torture of Oscar Gomez Zapata.
    CINEP reported that demobilized paramilitary members were 
responsible for at least seven cases of torture through June, compared 
with 24 in the same period of 2009.
    On October 14, three children were found dead in a shallow grave in 
Arauca; the eldest, a 14-year-old girl, had been raped. On November 2, 
Commander of the Army, General Navas, announced that he was suspending 
seven soldiers from the army's Fifth Mobile Brigade for failing to 
control their troops: Lt. Col. German Belalcazar Arciniegas, Lt. Col. 
James Edison Pineda Parra, Maj. James Alberto Granada, Lt. Raul Munoz 
Linares, Sgt. Luis Giovani Torrijos Medina, Cpl. Juan Estevan Sanchez 
Bonilla, and Cpl. Robinson Javier Castro. On November 3, the Prosecutor 
General's Office charged Lieutenant Raul Munoz Linares with raping the 
girl and killing her and her brothers and with raping another 
adolescent girl on October 2. The case remained under investigation by 
the civilian justice system at year's end.

    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 142 national prisons and is responsible for 
inspecting municipal jails. A 2009 Committee in Solidarity with 
Political Prisoners (CSPP) report on prison conditions noted 
overcrowding contributed to poor ventilation, overtaxed sanitary and 
medical facilities, and inadequate food in some detention centers. 
Prisoners in some high-altitude facilities complained of inadequate 
blankets and warm clothing, while prisoners in more tropical facilities 
complained that overcrowding and inadequate ventilation caused high 
temperatures in prison cells.
    Overcrowding, lack of security, and an insufficient budget remained 
serious problems in the prison system. More than 84,000 prisoners were 
held in facilities designed to hold fewer than 64,000; overcrowding 
rates exceeded 29 percent. Many of INPEC's prison guards were poorly 
trained, but the NGO CSPP noted that improved training, increased 
supervision, and more accountability for prison guards helped. INPEC 
spent 5,300 pesos ($2.95) per day on each inmate for food. Private 
sources continued to supplement food rations of many prisoners.
    INPEC reported that through August there were16 violent deaths 
among inmates related to fighting and the 26 riots that occurred at 
various penal institutions. The Prosecutor General's Office continued 
to investigate allegations that some prison guards routinely used 
excessive force and treated inmates brutally. According to INPEC, 23 
prison guards were convicted of extortion and conspiracy during the 
year.
    The law prohibits holding pretrial detainees with convicted 
prisoners, although this sometimes occurred. Minors were not held with 
adults; however, minor children of some of the 5,684 female prisoners 
could stay with their mothers in some cases.
    The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by local and international human rights groups, and such 
monitoring occurred during the year. Prisoners had reasonable access to 
visitors and were allowed to continue their religious practices. 
Prisoners were allowed access to legal representatives and the ability 
to submit complaints to judicial authorities and request investigations 
of inhumane conditions. While authorities investigated such claims, 
some prisoners complained that the investigations were slow and not 
accessible to the public. The Government continued a pilot program with 
local universities and other organizations to identify and attend to 
human rights issues within prisons. Prisoners could seek out third 
parties from local NGOs or government entities such as the Ombudsman's 
Office to represent them in legal matters and in seeking investigations 
of prison conditions.
    The FARC and ELN continued to deny the International Committee of 
the Red Cross (ICRC) access to police and military hostages.

    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 
Administrative Department of Security (DAS) and the Prosecutor 
General's Corps of Technical Investigators (CTI). 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 Government 
continued to expand education and training for the armed forces in 
human rights and international humanitarian law (IHL). The Government's 
comprehensive human rights and IHL policy for the public security 
forces emphasized designing better instruction processes and practical 
training in human rights. During the year the Prosecutor General's 
Human Rights Unit issued 28 arrest orders for armed forces personnel 
involved in extrajudicial killings, the majority of which occurred 
before 2010. However, claims of impunity continued to be widespread, 
due in some cases to obstruction of justice, a lack of resources for 
investigations and protection for witnesses and investigators, delay 
tactics by defense attorneys, and inadequate coordination among 
government entities that sometimes caused terms of incarceration to 
end, thereby resulting in a defendant's release from jail before trial. 
Many human rights groups criticized the Prosecutor General's Office for 
indicting low-ranking military personnel while avoiding investigations 
of high-ranking intellectual authors. The Ministry of Defense relieved 
from duty four officers and 10 noncommissioned officers and soldiers of 
the armed forces for inefficiency, unethical conduct, corruption, and 
other reasons through the end of August. Since 2000, 496 officers and 
1,245 noncommissioned officers and soldiers have been retired from the 
army for these reasons.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in 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, members of the 
CTI, who accompanied military units, could issue such warrants.
    Under the accusatorial system that took effect nationwide in 
January 2008, persons detained must be brought before a judge within 36 
hours to determine the validity of the detention. Formal charges must 
then be brought within 30 days, and a trial must start within 90 days 
of the initial detention.
    Bail is available for all but serious crimes such as murder, 
rebellion, or narcotics trafficking. Nearly 1,600 public defenders from 
the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman assisted indigent defendants. 
Detainees were granted prompt access to legal counsel and family as 
provided for under the law.
    Prominent human rights NGOs complained that the Government 
arbitrarily detained hundreds of persons, particularly social leaders, 
labor activists, and human rights defenders. CINEP reported that 
security forces arbitrarily detained 30 persons during the first six 
months of the year, compared with 113 in the same period of 2009. Many 
of these detentions took place in high-conflict areas (notably in the 
departments of Caqueta, Antioquia, and Putumayo) where the military was 
engaged in fighting insurgents.
    The Government and prominent local NGOs frequently disagreed on 
what constituted ``arbitrary detention.'' While the Government 
characterized detentions based on compliance with legal requirements, 
NGOs applied other criteria in defining ``arbitrary detention,'' such 
as arrests based on tips from informants about persons linked to 
guerrilla activities, detentions by members of the security forces 
without a judicial order, detentions based on administrative authority, 
detentions during military operations, large-scale detentions, and 
detentions of persons while they were ``exercising their fundamental 
rights.''
    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.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, much of the judicial system was overburdened, 
inefficient, and hindered by subornation and intimidation of judges, 
prosecutors, and witnesses. In these circumstances impunity remained a 
serious problem, although the Government took action to address these 
issues. The Superior Judicial Council (CSJ) reported that the civilian 
judicial system suffered from a significant backlog of cases, which led 
to large numbers of pretrial detainees. Implementation of the oral 
accusatory system, which was enacted throughout the criminal justice 
system in 2008, significantly increased conviction rates on newer cases 
while also lessening the delays and getting rid of the secrecy that 
encumbered the old system. However, a large backlog of old-system cases 
remained.
    Judicial authorities were subjected to threats and acts of 
violence. According to the protection program in the Prosecutor 
General's Office, from January through August 119 judicial employees 
sought varying forms of protection from the CSJ for reasons including 
threats. Although the Prosecutor General's Office ran a witness 
protection program for witnesses in criminal cases, witnesses who did 
not enter the program remained vulnerable to intimidation, and many 
refused to testify.
    There was little change in situation reported in 2009 by the UN 
special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers that the 
existence of a high level of threats and attacks against judicial 
personnel contributed to a high rate of impunity.
    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 human rights violations are 
considered unrelated to military service and must be handled by the 
civilian justice system, although this did not always happen in 
practice. More than 231 homicide cases were transferred during the year 
from the military to the civilian justice system. Of these, 140 were 
sent directly by the military system. In 91 cases the Superior Judicial 
Council decided jurisdiction in favor of the civilian courts. The 
military penal code specifically excludes civilians from military 
jurisdiction, and civilian courts must try retired military and police 
personnel, although military courts are responsible for service-related 
acts committed prior to 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 army has discretionary authority to dismiss 
personnel who may be implicated in human rights abuses.
    The Prosecutor General's Office is responsible for investigations 
and prosecutions of criminal offenses. Its Human Rights Unit, which 
includes 13 satellite offices, specializes in investigating human 
rights crimes, and its 100 specialized prosecutors were handling a 
total of 5,728 active cases at the end of November.
    The Inspector General's Office 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 Inspector General's Office opened disciplinary 
processes against 34 members of the armed forces for human rights 
offenses. In addition, the Prosecutor General's Office achieved 
convictions of 95 military personnel during the year.

    Trial Procedures.--Under the new accusatorial criminal procedure 
code, the prosecutor presents an accusation and evidence before an 
impartial judge at an oral, public trial. The defendant is presumed 
innocent and has the right to confront the evidence against him at 
trial and to present his own evidence. No juries are involved. Crimes 
committed before implementation of the new code were processed under 
the prior written inquisitorial system in which the prosecutor is an 
investigating magistrate who investigates, determines evidence, and 
makes a finding of guilt or innocence. The ``trial'' was actually the 
presentation of evidence and finding of guilt to a judge for 
ratification or rejection.
    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 
private fund.
    On August 17, Congress passed law 1407, which creates the legal 
mechanism for the military justice system to transition to an oral 
accusatory system and allows for government-appointed defense attorneys 
for military personnel accused of crimes. The roll-out of the new 
system occurred regionally and was scheduled to be completed in 2012.
    Civilian courts convicted military members for past human rights 
violations, for instance:
    On January 14, a judge from the San Juan del Cesar circuit court in 
La Guajira sentenced three officers and four professional soldiers to 
24 years for the homicides of four job seekers who were presented as 
combat deaths in 2006.
    On May 5, the Superior Court of Medellin sentenced four officers 
and six professional soldiers to 30 years in prison for the homicides 
of two street vendors presented as combat kills in 2005.
    On July 21, the Third Circuit Court of Antioquia sentenced seven 
soldiers from the Pedro Nel Ospina Battalion to 31 years in prison for 
the 2005 death of an 18-year-old student who was presented as killed in 
combat.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Government stated that it 
did not hold political prisoners. Some human rights advocacy groups 
characterized as political detainees were held on charges of rebellion 
or terrorism in what the groups reported were harassment tactics by the 
Government against human rights advocates (see section 5). According to 
INPEC, there were 1,829 detainees accused or convicted of rebellion or 
aiding and abetting insurgence. The Government provided the ICRC access 
to these prisoners.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens can sue a state 
agent or body in the Administrative Court of Litigation for damages for 
a human rights violation. Although critics complained of delays in the 
process, the court generally was considered impartial and effective.
    On April 21, the Supreme Court declared inadmissible tutelas, writs 
of protection of fundamental rights, which can be filed before any 
judge of any court at any stage of the judicial process to seek 
compensation from the Government. The court announced that those 
wishing to file such a protection may still appear before competent 
judicial and administrative authorities to seek redress.

    Property Restitution.--The Santos administration proposed a new 
Land and Victims Law that would provide a means for some victims of 
violence, including internally displaced persons and victims of state 
violence, to recuperate land and receive compensation. The legislation 
was approved by the House of Representatives in December and was 
awaiting Senate approval at year's end. In addition, the Santos 
administration began implementing a land restitution ``shock plan'' to 
return land to displaced families in high-priority areas. Through 
December the Government had delivered titles for more than 300,000 
acres--including approximately 65,000 acres to indigenous communities 
and 223,000 acres to Afro-Colombian communities--to 38,167 families. 
For many small landowners, formal land titling remained inaccessible. 
Government agencies and human rights groups estimated that illegal 
groups, including guerrillas, have seized between 1.1 and 2.7 million 
acres of land from small landowners during the decades-long conflict. 
Paramilitary groups had stolen the majority, only a fraction of which 
was reclaimed by the Government after the demobilization of the AUC in 
2006.

    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 notable 
exceptions by some intelligence agencies. 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, although evidence obtained in such a manner could not be 
used in court.
    Surveillance by the DAS of high court magistrates, journalists, 
human rights organizations and activists, opposition leaders, and the 
Vice Presidency prompted an investigation by the CTI in 2009 that 
continued at year's end. Press reports indicated DAS surveillance 
included physical monitoring of individuals and their families, 
telephone and e-mail intercepts, and collection of personal and 
financial data. A CTI report described a two-fold strategy to mount 
prosecutions against the victims of the surveillance and to disrupt 
human rights groups' activities through ``offensive intelligence.'' A 
2009 report by the National and International Campaign for the Right to 
Defend Human Rights cited examples of DAS harassment, including 
operations involving diverse attacks, setups, and death threats. 
Reporters Without Borders published a report in May, Chuzadas: 
Colombian Media Targeted by Intelligence Services, that described DAS 
activities against journalists. In December local NGO Foundation for 
Press Freedom (FLIP) published a report, Espionage Against Journalists: 
The Word of Justice, in which FLIP describes DAS activities against 
journalists and progress in the administrative and criminal 
investigations. During the year the Prosecutor General's Office 
investigated numerous DAS employees and had achieved four convictions 
by year's end.
    On October 20, the Bogota Superior Court sentenced Jorge Alberto 
Lagos, who served as the DAS's counterintelligence subdirector between 
2005 and 2009, to eight years in prison for his role in directing and 
coordinating illegal activities against Supreme Court judges and former 
senators Piedad Cordoba and Gustavo Petro.
    On December 16, the Bogota Superior Court sentenced DAS's former 
intelligence director Fernando Tabares to eight years in prison for 
illegal wiretapping of magistrates, journalists, opposition leaders, 
and human rights defenders.
    Lagos and Tabares both received reduced sentences in exchange for 
providing information on the illegal wiretaps.
    On October 4, the Inspector General's Office suspended several 
former DAS employees from future government service for their role in 
the scandal, including Jorge Noguera, ex-director of the DAS and Jose 
Miguel Narvaez, ex-subdirector, both suspended for 20 years. The office 
suspended for 18 years Bernardo Moreno, former secretary to former 
president Uribe; Maria del Pilar Hurtado, former director of the DAS; 
and Mario Aranguren, former director of the Treasury Ministry's 
Information and Financial Analysis Unit. On October 12, an 
investigative commission in the House of Representatives opened an 
investigation into former president Uribe's role in the illegal 
wiretapping scandal. On November 19, Maria del Pilar Hurtado was 
granted asylum in Panama, days before the Prosecutor General's Office 
reportedly was set to file criminal charges against her. DAS Director 
Felipe Munoz told the press on December 28 that disciplinary processes 
had been opened against more than 900 employees, more than 160 
employees had been fired, and more than 45 legal complaints had been 
filed against employees. Criminal and administrative investigations 
into the surveillance continued at year's end.
    The Government continued to use voluntary civilian informants to 
identify terrorists, report terrorist activities, and gather 
information on criminal gangs. Some national and international human 
rights groups criticized this practice as subject to abuse and a threat 
to privacy and other civil liberties.
    New illegal armed groups, which included some former paramilitary 
members, and FARC and ELN guerrillas routinely interfered with the 
right to privacy. These groups forcibly entered private homes, 
monitored private communications, and engaged in forced displacement 
and conscription. The standing orders of the FARC, which had large 
numbers of female combatants, prohibited pregnancies among its troops. 
There were numerous credible reports of compulsory abortions to enforce 
the order.

    g. Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal Conflicts.--
The country's 46-year-long internal armed conflict, involving 
government forces, two terrorist guerrilla groups (FARC and ELN), and 
new illegal armed groups, which included some former paramilitary 
members, continued. The conflict and narcotics trafficking, which both 
fueled and prospered from the conflict, were the central causes of 
multiple violations of human rights.
    After the conclusion of a process in which approximately 34,000 
paramilitary personnel demobilized between 2003 and 2006, the 
Government confronted militarily any groups that did not demobilize, as 
well as new illegal armed groups. The Organization of American States 
(OAS) continued to verify all stages of demobilization and 
reincorporation of former combatants into society.

    Killings.--Security forces were responsible for alleged unlawful 
killings. CINEP reported that there were 37 such killings during the 
first six months of the year, compared with 45 in the same period of 
2009. The Human Rights Unit in the Prosecutor General's Office was 
assigned 1,488 cases, involving 2,491 victims (2,262 men, 111 women, 
and 118 minors) of extrajudicial killings by the armed forces that 
occurred between 1985 and 2010. The majority of the killings under 
investigation by the unit occurred in the departments of Antioquia 
(413), Meta (115), Caqueta (81), and Norte de Santander (80). A large 
number of the reported cases involved army members. During the year the 
Prosecutor General's Office achieved convictions of 95 members of the 
armed forces for extrajudicial killings in 44 cases; complete 
information was unavailable on those convicted during the year. At 
year's end the Prosecutor General's Office was investigating 19 
colonels, 14 lieutenant colonels, 51 majors, and 93 captains and 
hundreds of lower-ranked military personnel.
    According to CINEP, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 
(UNHCHR), and the Presidential Program for Human Rights, reports of 
extrajudicial killings falsely reported as killed in combat fell 
significantly compared to previous years. CINEP reported four cases 
involving seven victims through June. The Prosecutor General's Human 
Rights Unit opened nine new cases of extrajudicial killings alleged to 
have occurred during the year. The cases reported by CINEP, included:
    On March 17, in Cali, police Lieutenant Nelson Rodrigo Gomez Gamez 
allegedly killed 18-year-old Nelson Rodrigo Lozano Zapata and later 
claimed that Lozano had threatened police with a weapon. Gomez Gamez 
was arrested on May 14, on charges of aggravated homicide, fraud, and 
threatening witnesses. His case was pending at year's end.
    On March 25, near Aipe, Huila, soldiers from the army's Ninth 
Brigade allegedly executed Didier Alexander Clavijo Jimenez and Jorge 
Eliecer Soto Mahecha and presented them as killed in combat. An 
investigation by the Prosecutor General's Office continued at year's 
end.
    According to CINEP, unlike in 2009, there were no cases of ``social 
cleansing'' killings of vagrants, gay men, lesbians, and other 
``undesirables'' attributed to the Government. Three cases reported in 
2009 remained under investigation.
    On January 7, a judge released from pretrial detention 17 
defendants in the 2008 Soacha killings because they had been detained 
for 209 days. The judge restricted the defendants to the 13th Artillery 
Battalion's base. Human rights organizations and former president Uribe 
criticized the decision. The court cases were pending at year's end.
    Among cases involving killings that took place before 2008:
    A Superior Tribunal court of Cali upheld a lower court's denial of 
a request to release seven soldiers implicated in the trial of former 
sergeant Luis Eduardo Mahecha Hernandez of the Third Brigade's High 
Mountain Battalion for the 2006 killing of Jose Orlando Giraldo. The 
court case was pending at year's end.
    On March 16, retired army Captain Guillermo Armando Gordillo 
Sanchez was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the 
massacre of eight people from the peace community in San Jose de 
Apartado, Antioquia, in 2005. Gordillo served as a cooperating witness 
and formally accepted the charges against him of criminal conspiracy, 
homicide of a protected person, and barbaric acts for his participation 
in the massacre. On August 4, a judge in Antioquia found seven of 
Gordillo's subordinate soldiers from the 47th Infantry Battalion of the 
17th Brigade innocent in the same case. Appeals by the inspector 
general, prosecutor general, and the citizens' representative were 
pending before the Superior Court of Antioquia at year's end.
    The Government continued reforms to improve the human rights 
performance of the security forces. The Ministry of Defense began 
implementing an agreement with the UNHCHR to monitor seven of the 
Ministry's 15 measures to improve adherence to human rights. The 
reforms included strengthening the new human rights school established 
in 2009, training more than 3,500 soldiers in human rights issues 
regarding minority populations (e.g. indigenous, Afro-Colombians), 
conducting human rights trainings in conjunction with international 
organizations, establishing a new human rights department under the 
command of a brigadier general, providing additional training for 
``operational legal advisors'' who provide legal advice on planning, 
follow-up, and control of military operations and ensuring all soldiers 
are trained in the new rules of engagement. The Ministry also created 
four offices of indigenous affairs in each of the military commands and 
named 41 officials to liaise with indigenous communities.
    New illegal armed groups, which included some former paramilitary 
members, 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. They also reportedly 
committed massacres or ``social cleansing'' killings of prostitutes, 
gay men and lesbians, drug users, vagrants, and gang members in city 
neighborhoods they controlled. New illegal armed groups, which included 
some former paramilitary members, according to CINEP, were responsible 
for the deaths of 174 civilians through June, a 62 percent decrease 
from the 279 deaths reported during the same period in 2009.
    Guerrilla group members continued to demobilize. According to the 
Ministry of Defense, during the year 2,446 members of guerrilla groups 
demobilized, compared with an estimated 2,638 demobilized in 2009, an 8 
percent reduction in demobilizations.
    FARC and ELN guerrillas killed alleged paramilitary collaborators 
and members of government security forces. The FARC used civilians to 
carry out attacks on government security forces. For example:
    On March 25, in El Charco, Narino, the FARC convinced an 
unsuspecting 12-year-old child to carry an explosive device to the 
local police station. Once he was inside, the FARC detonated the bomb, 
killing the child and wounding five, including two police officers.
    On November 30, FARC members in Vegalarga, Huila, deceived a bus 
driver into carrying a powerful bomb hidden in a crate of oranges. The 
FARC detonated the explosive while the bus was parked in front of a 
police station, killing the driver and wounding 10 police officers and 
a civilian.
    In many areas of the country, the 8,000- to 9,000-member FARC and 
the 2,000-member ELN worked together to attack government forces or 
demobilized paramilitary members; in other areas, especially in Arauca, 
Valle del Cauca, Cauca, and Narino departments, they fought each other. 
Various courts convicted members of the FARC Secretariat in absentia on 
charges including aggravated homicide.
    The FARC killed persons it suspected of collaborating with 
government authorities or alleged paramilitary groups. The Presidential 
Program for Human Rights reported that through August, the FARC killed 
at least 129 civilians, while another 110 persons were killed in 
massacres in which the perpetrators remained unidentified. For example:
    On May 25, the FARC murdered bus driver Diego Enrique Soto by 
setting fire to his bus near Miranda, Cauca.
    On May 31, the FARC murdered three civilians in Puerto Asis, 
Putumayo, and threw their bodies into the Putumayo River.
    On November 17, the FARC murdered a man and his 8-year-old 
granddaughter with a bomb intended for a police patrol passing by in La 
Llanada, Narino.

    Abductions.--New illegal armed groups, which included some former 
paramilitary members, FARC and ELN guerrillas, and common criminals 
continued to take hostages for ransom. According to Fondelibertad, of 
the 282 individuals kidnapped during the year, 188 were kidnapped for 
extortion and 162 were attributed to common crime.
    Fondelibertad reported that new illegal group members continued to 
be responsible for kidnappings. During the year government statistics 
tracked kidnappings by new illegal armed groups as organized crime, 
which accounted for 21 kidnappings.
    The FARC and ELN continued to commit numerous kidnappings, which 
remained a major source of revenue. The FARC also held politicians, 
prominent citizens, and members of the security forces to use as pawns 
in prisoner exchanges. Fondelibertad reported that guerrillas kidnapped 
99 persons (the FARC 64 individuals, and the ELN 35).
    On March 19, in Tame, Arauca, the FARC kidnapped five oil company 
workers, who were freed several days later in a military operation.
    On December 28, near San Antonio, Tolima, the FARC kidnapped a 
police officer serving as the bodyguard of the mayor of the 
municipality of San Antonio.
    In the afternoon of December 28, near Santo Domingo, Arauca, the 
FARC kidnapped a family of five, including a three-year-old child, 
while they were traveling towards Tame. On the morning of December 29, 
the Colombian military rescued the family; no one was injured in the 
rescue.
    Military action freed 60 kidnap victims through the end of August, 
including the June 13 rescue of four high-profile military and police 
hostages.
    FARC members were convicted for kidnappings. On December 28, a 
court in Villavicencio, Meta, sentenced Eli Mejia Mendoza alias 
``Martin Sombra'' to 24 years in prison for the kidnapping of 61 police 
officers in Mitu, Vaupes, in 1998.
    In a December report summarizing 12 years of kidnapping data and 
policy, Foundation Free Country criticized Fondelibertad's numbers and 
said that simple kidnappings were not comprehensively documented. It 
estimated that over 600 cases of kidnap victims from the previous 12 
years were not included in Fondelibertad's database. As a result, 
families of kidnap victims who were not officially declared as 
``kidnapped'' were unable to obtain government benefits.

    Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture.--According to preliminary 
reporting from the Presidential Program of Integrated Action Against 
Anti-personnel Mines, landmines, used primarily by the FARC and ELN, 
caused 28 deaths and 260 injuries through August, a 43 percent decrease 
in such incidents from the same period in 2009. Approximately 67 
percent of landmine victims during the year were military personnel. 
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines stated that the FARC 
continued to be the largest individual user of land mines and that the 
ELN also continued to use land mines. Government Humanitarian De-mining 
(HD) brigades cleared more than 155,000 square yards and destroyed 96 
improvised explosive devices and unexploded munitions. Military de-
mining personnel cleared more than 34,000 square yards and destroyed 
388 landmines and 27 unexploded munitions. The Government has signed 
the Cartagena Action Plan, which commits the Government to ensuring 
landmine victims receive timely and affordable assistance.

    Child Soldiers.--Guerrillas and other illegal armed groups used 
children as soldiers. The recruitment and use of children by illegal 
armed groups was widespread. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated 
the number of children participating in all illegal armed groups ranged 
from 10,000 to 13,000. The Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) 
reported that it was impossible to know how many children were serving 
as child soldiers for the FARC. During the year 338 children who were 
former members of illegal armed groups surrendered to state security 
forces and were transferred to the ICBF, which operated a reintegration 
program for former child soldiers. This represents a 21 percent 
decrease from 415 child soldiers in 2008. The UN reported that FARC 
used children to fight, recruit other children to act as spies, gather 
intelligence, serve as sex slaves, and provide logistics support. The 
penalty for leaders of armed groups who use child soldiers was life 
imprisonment. The Government agreed to the International Criminal 
Court's penalty for child recruitment when it ratified the Rome Statute 
in 2002 but delayed application of the law to provide an incentive to 
all illegal groups, especially the FARC, to free recruited children. 
The Office for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) linked the 
phenomenon of forced displacement of families to that of forced 
recruitment of children. The FARC continued to issue letters to 
indigenous communities outlining a policy to conduct child recruitment 
and warning recipients not to challenge it.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Other Conflict-Related Abuses.--There were no updates to 2009 cases 
involving the following: the January 12 FARC burning of six cars, the 
February 28 Tomas Vernaza kidnapping, and the May 18 FARC killing of 
Jesus Duran Aseanio.
    Guerrilla groups and new illegal armed groups, which included some 
former paramilitary members, prevented or limited the delivery of food 
and medicines to towns and regions in contested drug trafficking 
corridors, straining local economies and increasing forced 
displacement.
    Guerrillas forcibly displaced peasants to clear key drug and 
weapons transit routes in strategic zones and to remove individuals who 
collaborated with the Government or new illegal armed groups, which 
included paramilitary members who refused to demobilize. Guerrillas 
also imposed de facto blockades of communities in regions where they 
had significant influence. For example, international organizations 
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. 
After a July visit to Colombia, the United Nations Permanent Forum on 
Indigenous Issues noted its concern about the situation of extreme 
vulnerability and abuses committed against indigenous women and 
children. The Forum received reports of acts of rape, forced 
recruitment, and use of minors as informants, among other abuses in the 
context of conflict.
    New illegal armed groups and former paramilitary members continued 
to displace civilians residing along key drug and weapons transit 
corridors (see section 2.d.).
    International organizations reported there was a pattern of 
systemic sexual violence against women and girls by some armed actors 
in the conflict. Organizations including Sisma Mujer reported sexual 
violence remained one of the main causes of forced displacement.

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 (see 
section 1.f.). A May Reporters Without Borders' report, Chuzadas: 
Colombian Media Targeted by Intelligence Services, described how the 
DAS allegedly followed, harassed, and intimidated journalists.
    Members of illegal armed groups intimidated, threatened, kidnapped, 
and killed journalists. National and international NGOs reported that 
local media representatives regularly practiced self-censorship because 
of threats of violence. During the year 175 journalists received 
protection from the Ministry of the Interior and Justice's protection 
program. The ministry also supported an alert network organized for 
journalists by providing a small number of radios and an emergency 
telephone hotline. The Prosecutor General's Human Rights Unit was 
investigating 43 cases of crimes against journalists involving 65 
victims. The Unit achieved 23 convictions, and 52 additional defendants 
were standing trial at year's end.
    According to the NGO Foundation for Press Freedom, during the year 
two journalists were killed for reasons related to their work, compared 
with one in 2009.
    On March 19, Clodomiro Castilla Ospino, editor and owner of the 
magazine El Pulso del Tiempo, was killed outside his house in Monteria, 
Cordoba. Castilla had participated in a government-run protection 
program from August 2006 to February 2009, but he later refused 
continued government protection. After his death, the Government 
offered a 50 million peso reward (approximately $25,000) for 
information about his death.
    On October 14 in Cauca Department, two armed men entered the home 
of indigenous leader and journalist Rodolfo Maya Aricape and shot and 
killed him in front of his wife and two daughters. Maya was the 
secretary of the Lopez Adentro Indigenous Council and a correspondent 
for a community radio station. The Inter-American Commission on Human 
Rights' (IACHR) special rapporteur for freedom of expression called on 
the Government to investigate the crime, identify and punish the 
perpetrators, and provide redress to the victims. The case was under 
investigation at year's end.
    There was progress in cases from previous years. For example:
    On October 20, a court in Florencia sentenced the former mayor of 
Curillo, Caqueta, Esneider Mayorga Corrales, and the convicted 
murderer, Elber Parra Cuellar, to 42 years in prison for the May 2009 
murder of journalist Hernando Salas Rojas. Mayorga Corrales hired Parra 
Cuellar to kill Salas Rojas after he had launched a movement to remove 
the mayor from office.
    On December 31, the Prosecutor General's Office charged former 
paramilitary Orlando Villa Zapata , alias ``Ruben,'' with the 2003 
killing of journalist Luis Eduardo Alfonso Parada.
    According to the Foundation for Press Freedom, a total of 56 
journalists received death threats, compared with 65 in 2009. Two 
journalists went into voluntary exile as a result of threats, compared 
with four in 2009.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet. Individuals could engage in the peaceful expression of 
views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The International 
Telecommunication Union reported that in 2009 there were 45 users of 
the Internet per 100 inhabitants.

    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 enemies through both violent and nonviolent means. 
New illegal armed groups, which included some former paramilitary 
members, and FARC and ELN guerrillas threatened, displaced, and killed 
educators and their families for political and financial reasons, often 
because teachers represented the only government presence in the remote 
areas where the murders occurred. According to the Presidential Program 
for Human Rights, various assailants killed 29 educators, an increase 
of 35 percent from the same period in 2009. The teachers union, 
Colombian Federation of Educators, reported 27 educators were killed 
during the year. Threats and harassment caused many educators and 
students to adopt lower profiles and avoid discussing controversial 
topics.

    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 organizations that espoused or 
carried out acts of violence, such as the FARC, ELN, and paramilitary 
groups, was illegal.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and while the Government generally respected these rights 
in practice, there were exceptions. Military operations and occupation 
of certain rural areas restricted freedom of movement in conflict 
areas.
    The Government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
    New illegal armed groups, which included some former paramilitary 
members, and FARC and ELN guerrillas continued to establish illegal 
checkpoints on rural highways and rivers, but an enhanced government 
security presence along major highways suppressed kidnappings. The 
Ministry of Defense reported only one kidnapping at an illegal 
roadblock in the department of Narino during the year (see section 
1.b.). International organizations also reported that illegal armed 
groups confined rural communities, hindered return, and prevented the 
free movement of people, especially in areas where narcotics 
cultivation and trafficking persist.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not employ 
it. However, many persons went into self-imposed exile because of 
threats from new illegal armed groups, which included some former 
paramilitary members, and FARC and ELN guerrillas.

    Internally Displaced Persons.--The internal armed conflict, 
especially in remote areas, was the major cause of internal 
displacement. The Government, international organizations, and civil 
society identified various factors driving displacement including 
threats and violence by illegal armed groups against civilian 
populations; competition among illegal armed groups for resources and 
territorial control; confrontations between security forces, 
guerrillas, and new illegal armed groups; and forced recruitment of 
children. Some NGOs complained that counternarcotics efforts and large-
scale economic projects in rural areas also contributed to 
displacement. On September 27, the Santos administration introduced a 
bill to Congress that would provide for the restitution of land stolen 
by illegal armed groups from IDPs and other victims. On December 13, 
the House of Representatives approved the bill. The bill was pending 
consideration by the Senate at year's end. Many international 
organizations and NGOs expressed support for the land restitution bill 
as a means to provide reparations to IDPs and to guarantee their 
rights.
    Estimates of the numbers of IDPs varied. Accion Social, the 
Government's internal displacement welfare and international assistance 
coordination agency, registered 95,043 new displacements during the 
year, a 15 percent decline from the same period in 2009 and the third 
consecutive year of decline in new displacements.
    Accion Social cited continued improvement in security and 
territorial control and enhanced verification of IDP claims as 
contributing factors in the decline in new displacements. The 
Government and international organizations also pointed out that the 
conflict and displacement took place in remote, less populated areas. 
Accion Social noted that new displacements primarily occur in areas 
where narcotics cultivation and trafficking persist, especially where 
guerrilla groups and new illegal armed groups are present, such as the 
Bajo Cauca area of the department of Antioquia, as well as in the 
departments of Cauca, Choco, Narino, and Meta. According to Accion 
Social, during the year, the department of Antioquia registered the 
highest number of IDPs (18,262), followed by Narino (15,242), Caqueta 
(8,232), Cauca (7,568), and Tolima (5,948). The NGO Consultancy for 
Human Rights and Displacement (CODHES) estimated that 280,041 persons 
were displaced during the year, a 2 percent reduction from CODHES' 
estimate for 2009. This follows a 25 percent decline in CODHES' 
estimate between 2008 (380,863 IDPs) and 2009 (286,389 IDPs).
    The Government has registered an accumulated total of 3.6 million 
persons displaced since 1997 (including those displaced in years before 
the registration system was established), while CODHES estimated that 
more than five million persons have been displaced as a result of the 
conflict since 1985. Accion Social attributed a large part of the 
growth in cumulative IDP registrations in recent years to a 2008 
Administrative Court (Consejo de Estado) order requiring the Government 
to include displacements from all previous years in the national IDP 
registry. Under the previous system, an IDP only had one calendar year 
from displacement to register. This order also prohibited the 
Government from removing an individual from the IDP registry regardless 
of how many years had passed since displacement. During the year 67 
percent of the 288,087 IDP registrations included in the national 
registry were from displacements occurring in 2009 and previous years.
    The Government's national registry includes registered IDPs whose 
applications for recognition had been accepted under defined criteria, 
while CODHES estimates new displacements based on information from the 
media, civil society, and fieldwork. CODHES also included as IDPs an 
undetermined number of coca and opium poppy producers who migrated in 
response to government drug eradication efforts, as well as those who 
migrated due to poor economic conditions and food insecurity resulting 
from the armed conflict.
    Despite improvements in the Government registration system, 
international organizations and NGOs remained concerned about under-
registration of IDPs. CODHES cited the Government's denial of many 
registrations, lack of access to the registration system in some areas, 
and fear of retaliation from illegal armed groups as obstacles to full 
registration. On July 1, Accion Social reported to the Constitutional 
Court that under-registration had been significantly reduced in recent 
years as a result of improvements in the registration system as 
demonstrated by the large number of IDPs registered from previous 
years. The Monitoring Commission for Public Policy on Forced 
Displacement, a civil society body that evaluates and reports on 
internal displacement, noted important advances in the inclusion of 
IDPs in the national system, but expressed concern with a rising rate 
of refusals. During the year Accion Social refused approximately 47 
percent of IDP registrations as ineligible, compared with a 40 percent 
refusal rate in 2009. Accion Social reported that the increased refusal 
rate was a result of improved verification of IDPs. The Government does 
provide for an appeals process.
    FARC and ELN guerrillas and new illegal armed groups, which 
included some former paramilitary members, 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. Illegal armed groups also used 
landmines and roadblocks to confine entire villages in order to protect 
illicit crops and prevent pursuit by state security forces. The FARC, 
ELN, and new illegal armed groups continued to use force, intimidation, 
and disinformation to discourage IDPs from registering with the 
Government; guerrilla agents often forced local leaders and community 
members to demonstrate against illicit crop eradication efforts, 
including causing mass displacements. International organizations and 
civil society expressed concern with the increase in urban displacement 
caused by violence. During the year the Government registered 4,766 
persons as intra-urban IDPs.
    During the year the Government registered 4,128 new IDPs who 
identified themselves as indigenous and 17,118 new IDPs who identified 
themselves as Afro-Colombian. The indigenous made up 4 percent of new 
IDPs registered by the Government and Afro-Colombians 18 percent. The 
Government reported that indigenous people made up 2.5 percent and 
Afro-Colombians 8.8 percent of the total IDP population. The ICRC and 
UNHCR reported, however, that indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups were 
disproportionately affected by displacement in some departments. The 
National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC) estimated the 
number of displaced indigenous people to be much higher than the 
Government reports, since many indigenous people did not have adequate 
access to registration locations, due to geographic remoteness, 
language barriers, or unfamiliarity with the national registration 
system. In October ONIC Director Javier Sanchez told the IACHR that at 
least 64 indigenous communities risked extinction as a result of the 
conflict, the primary cause for the displacement of indigenous peoples. 
CODHES estimated that 7,925 indigenous people were displaced during the 
year, a 27 percent increase from 2009. The departments with the highest 
level of displacement of indigenous included Putumayo, Cordoba, Choco, 
Cauca, Narino, Caqueta, Meta, and Guaviare. The local NGO Association 
of Internally Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES) reported that 76 
percent of displaced who register do not answer the question about 
ethnicity; therefore official statistics underrepresent the impact of 
displacement on Afro-Colombian communities. AFRODES estimates Afro-
Colombians could make up as much as 25 percent of the total displaced 
population. CODHES estimated that 70,010 Afro-Colombians were displaced 
during the year.
    In a July report to the Constitutional Court, Accion Social stated 
that the Government had improved the participation of ethnic minority 
groups in the planning process for relevant policies and programs, 
including strengthening the prior consultation process with Afro-
Colombian and indigenous communities. The report also mentioned that 
during the year the Government launched and supported programs for 
ethnic minority groups as previously ordered by the Constitutional 
Court, providing for the protection of IDP women (including a specific 
program for indigenous IDP women), and the implementation of law 1381, 
passed in 2010 to improve the quality and access of education for Afro-
Colombian children.
    International organizations identified recruitment of indigenous 
youth by illegal armed groups as a serious concern. In a May report, UN 
Special Rapporteur on Indigenous People S. James Anaya urged illegal 
armed groups to cease recruiting indigenous youth into hostile 
activities, calling the practice a grave violation of human rights and 
international humanitarian rights. Anaya also acknowledged the 
Government's disposition toward recognizing the rights of indigenous 
peoples, as shown in the development of plans and budgets to address 
indigenous issues. However, the Special Rapporteur expressed concern 
with indications that the situation of the indigenous peoples in the 
country had not been confronted with the urgency that the ``grave 
situation merited.'' On August 6, as part of its recognition of the 
International Day of the World's Indigenous People, UNHCR warned that 
many of Colombia's indigenous groups are in danger of extinction due to 
murder, threats of violence, and forced displacement. In 2009 the 
Constitutional Court ordered the Government to provide specific 
protection mechanisms for 34 indigenous groups at risk for physical and 
cultural extinction. CODHES reported that 14 mass displacement events 
during the year affected approximately 4,000 people belonging to Nasa, 
Embera, Eperara Siapidara, and Jiw indigenous groups.
    The local NGO AFRODES stated that threats and violence against 
Afro-Colombian leaders and communities continued to cause high levels 
of forced displacement, especially in the Pacific Coast region. AFRODES 
and other local NGOs also repeatedly expressed concern about large-
scale economic projects, such as agriculture, mining, and cattle, 
contributing to displacement in their communities.
    On February 15, UN Independent Expert on Minority Issues Gay 
McDougall urged the Government to improve the situation for Afro-
Colombians, especially in terms of issues related to displacement, land 
dispossession, poverty, and violence against communities and 
individuals. McDougall acknowledged that the Government had instituted 
an ``impressive and commendable legislative framework that recognizes 
the rights of Afro-Colombians;'' however, she also found the 
Government's implementation of the legislation supporting Afro-
Colombian rights ``inadequate, limited, and sporadic.''
    The Government, international humanitarian assistance 
organizations, and civil society observed that mass displacements 
continued, representing 6 percent of the total 95,043 persons displaced 
during the year. Accion Social reported 58 mass displacement events 
affecting 13,752 persons during the year, of which 46 mass displacement 
events affecting 5,848 persons were included in the national registry. 
This is compared with 42 mass displacement events affecting 10,443 
persons in 2009. According to Accion Social, the departments with the 
highest numbers of IDPs from mass displacements in the year were 
Antioquia (2,577), Narino (1,820), and Cordoba (559). During the year, 
ICRC assisted 9,769 persons, including 5,504 women and 4,824 children, 
affected by 34 mass displacement events. The UNHCR and the UN Office of 
the Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that:
    From the last week of January through February, rumors of the 
presence of 200 members of an unknown illegal armed group and direct 
threats against community leaders displaced more than 1,000 persons 
from an indigenous reservation along the Purricha River in the Bajo 
Baudo area of Caqueta Department.
    On February 20, confrontations between the army and the FARC 
displaced more than 500 indigenous families from rural areas of Caldono 
and Jambalo in Cauca Department.
    From March 13 to 16, more than 770 indigenous persons from four 
different rural communities around the town of Caloto, Cauca, fled 
their homes to avoid clashes between state security forces and the 
FARC. Indigenous authorities reported one killed and one injured.
    During the last week of September, threats by the new illegal group 
Black Eagles displaced 52 Afro-Colombian families from rural villages 
in Olaya Herrera, Narino.
    OCHA, the UNHCR, and other international organizations reported on 
mass displacements in other departments throughout the year:
    On April 3, 900 persons fled the area of Ituango, Antioquia, as a 
result of threats against community leaders and the growing use of 
landmines in the area by illegal armed groups.
    On August 2, confrontations between the FARC and security forces in 
the rural area of El Charco, Narino, displaced more than 300 persons. 
El Charco recorded more than 18,000 IDPs in the last three years.
    On October 1, 183 persons from El Charco, Narino, fled to the 
municipality of Santa Barbara de Iscuande after members of an illegal 
armed group killed five persons of the community.
    On November 7, unknown assailants killed four members of the Awa 
indigenous community (including a pregnant woman) in the rural area of 
Barbacoas, Narino. In a separate incident on November 15, two Colombian 
soldiers and two civilians were killed and two civilians wounded in an 
armed engagement between FARC and Colombian military units. Awa 
authorities warned that an escalation of hostilities in Awa indigenous 
territories in recent years has contributed to an ongoing high risk of 
mass displacement in the area.
    CODHES also reported that at least eight IDP community and land 
rights leaders were killed during the year, bringing the number of such 
leaders killed since 2002 to 41. On May 18, unknown assailants killed 
Rogelio Martinez of the National Movement of Victims of State Crimes 
(MOVICE) in San Onofre, Sucre. On June 22, Accion Social issued a 
statement condemning threats against Afro-Colombian community leaders. 
On July 17, unknown assailants killed Jair Murillo, an Afro-Colombian 
IDP leader, in Buenaventura, Valle de Cauca. On September 19, unknown 
assailants killed Hernando Perez, leader of the Association of Victims 
for the Restitution of Land and Assets, hours after he participated in 
a ceremony where the Government delivered land titles to 35 displaced 
families in Turbo, Antioquia. Authorities were still investigating the 
cases at year's end. International organizations and NGOs condemned the 
attacks and continuing threats against human rights and IDP leaders and 
groups.
    There were no updates on the 2009 killings of IDP activists Ana 
Isabel Gomez Perez (April) and Guillermo Ramos Rosso (July).
    The Government budgeted 1.5 trillion pesos (approximately $800 
million) to provide assistance to IDPs during the year. Assistance to 
registered IDPs was delivered through Accion Social, the ICBF, the 
Ministry of Social Protection (MSP), and other governmental ministries 
and agencies. During the year Accion Social provided emergency food 
assistance to 600,000 persons, primarily IDPs. Accion Social also 
coordinated the return of approximately 150,000 IDPs during the year. 
International organizations and NGOs acknowledged the Government's 
significant progress in improving programs and budgets for IDP 
assistance, but maintained that the quality of programs providing 
emergency assistance, housing, income generation, and land restitution 
needed more improvement. On July 21, the Superior Court of Bogota 
overturned a decision that ordered Accion Social to pay 30 billion 
pesos (approximately $15 million) in retroactive humanitarian 
assistance to more than 1,500 victims of forced displacement. The 
decision asserted that humanitarian assistance is temporary and 
immediate. On November 3, Accion Social, the Prosecutor General's 
Office, and the Colombian National Police (CNP) established a 
specialized unit to investigate and prosecute cases of forced 
displacement and disappearances. The unit included 22 prosecutors from 
the Prosecutor General's Office, 44 prosecutor and judicial assistants, 
and 85 investigators from the National Judicial Police. At year's end, 
the displacement unit was working to transfer approximately 50,000 
pending complaints from other units in the Prosecutor General's Office 
for possible investigation.
    Assistance organizations pointed out that emergency response to 
mass displacements was more difficult and costly to mount, since most 
displacements took place in more remote locations; however, the speed 
and effectiveness of the response has improved in recent years. Accion 
Social and other government agencies could start the response to most 
mass displacement events immediately. International organizations and 
civil society reported that a lack of local capacity to accept 
registrations in high-displacement areas often delayed by several weeks 
or months assistance to persons displaced individually or in smaller 
groups. Intense fighting and insecurity in conflict zones, including 
areas in the departments of Antioquia, Cauca, and Narino, sometimes 
delayed national and international aid organizations from accessing 
newly displaced populations. The Government took steps with 
international organizations and NGOs to improve the registration system 
and reduce the wait time, including prioritizing the vulnerable cases, 
holding registration fairs in high-displacement areas and deploying 
more resources and equipment.
    Despite several government initiatives to enhance IDP access to 
services and knowledge of their rights and notable improvements in 
meeting their social and economic needs, many IDPs continued to live in 
poverty with unhygienic conditions and limited access to health care, 
education, or employment. In 2004 the Constitutional Court initially 
found the Government's response to displacement an ``unconstitutional 
state of affairs'' and ordered the Government to reformulate its IDP 
programs and policies, including improving the IDP registration system. 
In following years, the court also ordered the Government to implement 
specific protection and assistance programs for displaced indigenous 
people, Afro-Colombians, women and children, disabled persons, and IDP 
community leaders. In its July 1 report to the Constitutional Court, 
Accion Social cited improvements in institutional and territorial 
coordination, enhanced registration systems, involvement of IDP and 
community authorities and associations, increased IDP policy and 
program budget, and improved monitoring and evaluation of assistance 
and rights. The Monitoring Commission for Public Policy on Forced 
Displacement acknowledged some of the improvements cited in the 
Government response but asserted that significant gaps remained. On 
December 10, the Constitutional Court issued four new orders pertaining 
to internal displacement, including provisions requiring the Government 
to implement special protection measures for the Hitnu indigenous 
community in the department of Arauca and Afro-Colombian communities in 
Jiguamiando and Curvarado in the department of Choco, as well as to 
establish timeframes for improving coordination between national and 
local government entities in providing assistance to IDPs. In order 
385, referring to Accion Social's July report, the Constitutional Court 
acknowledged advances in the Government's response for IDPs, but found 
that the ``unconstitutional state of affairs'' persisted, stating that 
the Government had not yet achieved ``a systematic and integrated 
advance'' in guaranteeing minimum protection and effective enjoyment of 
rights. Several international organizations and domestic nonprofit 
groups, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 
World Food Program (WFP), ICRC, and Colombian Red Cross, coordinated 
with the Government to provide emergency relief and long-term 
assistance to displaced populations.
    Displaced persons also sought protection across international 
borders as a result of the internal armed conflict in the country. 
UNHCR reported in the 2009 Global Trends Report released in June that 
Colombia was the country of origin for 104,388 refugees and 64,335 
asylum seekers. The majority of these refugees and asylum-seekers lived 
in Ecuador, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Panama. During the year, the 
Governments of Colombia and Ecuador formed a bilateral refugee 
commission to discuss the situation of Colombian refugees in Ecuador, 
including plans for voluntary returns. The bilateral refugee commission 
met three times during the year.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status, and the Government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees. In practice the Government 
provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to 
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account 
of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social 
group, or political opinion. The 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, 101 
recognized refugees resided in the country. During the year the 
Government received 131 applications for refugee status, including from 
persons from Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan. Of these cases, 
two persons were approved for refugee status, 112 were rejected, and 17 
were pending at year's end. The Government also reported an increase in 
the smuggling of migrants from outside the region, primarily from Asia 
and East Africa, en route to the United States and Canada. The 
Government regularly provided access to the asylum process for such 
persons who requested international protection; however, nearly all 
abandoned their applications and continued on the migration route 
before a refugee status determination was completed.

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 are eligible to vote, although they may participate in 
partisan politics only during the four months immediately preceding a 
national election.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In June Unity Party 
candidate Juan Manuel Santos won a four-year term as president in 
elections considered generally free and fair. The OAS electoral 
observation mission stated that the ``electoral process was conducted 
successfully, and this should be understood as an achievement for the 
Colombian government and people.'' The OAS mission also noted that the 
2010 elections experienced the lowest levels of violence in 30 years.
    Political parties could operate without restrictions or outside 
interference. The Liberal and Conservative parties previously dominated 
politics. The election of President Santos and the second-place showing 
of Antanas Mockus of the newly established Green Party reflected a 
continued widening of the political arena. More than a dozen political 
parties from across the political spectrum were represented in 
Congress.
    New illegal armed groups, which included some former paramilitary 
members, and the FARC threatened and killed government officials (see 
section 1.g.). According to the Presidential Program for Human Rights, 
five municipal council members were killed through August, the same 
number as were killed in the same period in 2009.
    Some local officials resigned because of threats from the FARC. A 
program by the Ministry of Interior and Justice provided protection to 
353 mayors, 120 members of Congress, and 3,705 council members at 
year's end.
    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 16 women in the 102-member Senate and 31 in the 166-member 
House of Representatives. There were four women in the 13-member 
cabinet and four on the 23-member Supreme Court. In December the 
Supreme Court elected the country's first ever woman Prosecutor 
General.
    Two indigenous senators and two indigenous members of the House of 
Representatives occupied seats reserved for indigenous persons. There 
were no indigenous cabinet members and no indigenous persons on any of 
the nation's high courts.
    Eleven Afro-Colombians served in Congress. There were eight self-
identified Afro-Colombian members of the House of Representatives; six 
were elected and two occupied seats reserved for Afro-Colombians. The 
representative from San Andres, which has a large Afro-Colombian 
population, was not Afro-Colombian but was a member of the Afro-
Colombian caucus. Although there were no seats reserved for Afro-
Colombians in the Senate, there were three Afro-Colombian Senators. 
There were two Afro-Colombians serving as deputy magistrates on the 
Constitutional Court. There were no Afro-Colombian cabinet ministers.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government actively prosecuted cases of governmental corruption; 
however, officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with 
impunity. The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected 
that government corruption was a problem. Drug trafficking revenues 
exacerbated corruption.
    On March 17, the Inspector General's Office suspended the governor 
of Casanare for irregularities in contracting procedures and expenses 
in 2008 and 2009. Other officials from the Casanare government were 
suspended in late 2009 on similar charges. The suspensions without pay, 
initially issued for three months, continued at year's end while the 
Inspector General's Office continued to investigate.
    On October 25, the Prosecutor General's Office summoned the mayor 
of Bogota and 17 other local government employees to testify about 
irregularities in contracting processes in the city. On November 11, 
the Office of the Inspector General also ordered an investigation of 
the mayor and a senator, the mayor's brother, who was also allegedly 
involved. The investigations followed the Democratic Pole party's own 
internal investigation that found the mayor had benefitted from 
contracting processes that were not transparent. The investigations by 
the prosecutor general and inspector general were pending at year's 
end.
    On September 21, five senior officials from the Ministry of 
Transportation and the National Concessions Institute, including its 
director, were forced to resign after recorded telephone conversations 
implicated them in soliciting bribes in connection with the Central 
Magdalena railroad concession. Investigations continued at the end of 
the year.
    Investigations into a 2009 corruption scandal involving 
inappropriate use of the Agriculture Ministry's irrigation and drainage 
loan program continued during the year. On September 7, a prosecutor 
from the Anti-Corruption Unit called on a former agriculture minister 
to testify. In October the inspector general also announced an 
investigation into the former agriculture minister as well as the 
former vice minister and seven other government officials. 
Investigations continued at the end of the year.
    In November investigations began into a possible corruption scandal 
at the Government agency Fondelibertad, which manages anti-kidnapping 
efforts and assistance for the families of kidnapping victims. 
Preliminary investigations by the controller general in November found 
irregularities in contracting procedures and documentation. On December 
28, the Prosecutor General's Anti-Corruption Unit began formally 
questioning the former director of Fondelibertad about contracting 
procedures. Investigations continued at year's end.
    The Justice and Peace Law (JPL) process continued to expose 
corruption and paramilitary ties within the Government and security 
forces. The president continued funding for the Supreme Court's 
investigative unit, which investigated members of Congress and senior 
government officials. By year's end a total of 15 sitting or previous 
congressmen had been convicted, 25 were in jail pending the Supreme 
Court's ruling in their cases, 20 had been acquitted, and eight 
senators were being investigated. For the Congress that ended in June 
2010, 93 members were subjects of criminal investigation.
    On September 14, the Supreme Court ordered the incarceration of 
former senator Javier Caceres after former paramilitary leaders 
including Salvatore Mancuso and Rodrigo Tovar alias ``Jorge 40'' said 
that Caceres participated in multiple meetings with them.
    In March a group of 25 politicians were arrested for ties to 
paramilitaries in Uraba. The group included the then presiding mayor of 
Arboletes, and several former mayors of other nearby towns.
    The primary government body to investigate corruption is the 
Presidential Program for the Fight Against Corruption.
    By law public officials must file annual financial disclosure 
forms.
    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 some low-level officials insisted on bribes to expedite 
access to information.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. The Government and 
local human rights groups often differed in their evaluations and 
analyses of the human rights situation. NGOs reported that criticism 
from high-level officials, including former president Uribe, linking 
them to guerrilla groups put them at risk of retaliation by new illegal 
armed groups, which included some former paramilitary members. Many 
NGOs, however, noted a more positive, conciliatory tone by the Santos 
government. Many domestic NGOs also said that the Government 
arbitrarily arrested and detained human rights activists, particularly 
in high-conflict areas. NGOs claimed that the Prosecutor General's 
Office had pursued numerous unfounded judicial cases against legitimate 
human rights defenders with the purpose of discrediting their work. The 
Government charged that some human rights activists engaged in 
activities that supported terrorism (see section 1.e.).
    On December 28, the Prosecutor General's Office charged a former 
vice president and former presidential advisor with criminal slander 
for statements made in 2007 suggesting that three unions were 
associated with terrorist organizations. The trial was ongoing at 
year's end.
    President Santos and Vice President Garzon made numerous public 
statements in support of human rights defenders during the year. On 
October 22, after the U.S.-based NGO Washington Office on Latin America 
and AFRODES received threats, President Santos issued a press release 
that reiterated the Government's concern about the threats, asked 
authorities to investigate the threats, and expressed the Government's 
commitment to strengthen protection for human rights defenders. For 
example, on September 22 the Government announced it was adding 20 
billion pesos ($11 million) to the Ministry of Interior and Justice's 
protection program. Santos also indicated his support for a bill that 
would increase the penalty for threatening or killing human rights 
defenders; the bill passed Congress on December 14 and was awaiting 
Santos' signature at year's end. On October 20, President Santos met 
with representatives from Human Rights Watch to discuss how to improve 
human rights. The Ministry of Interior and Justice's protection program 
covered 685 human rights defenders.
    According to the NGO We are Defenders (Somos Defensores), seven 
human rights activists were killed and 51 threatened during the first 
half of the year. Two were female IDP leaders and two were LGBT 
activists. CODHES reported a rising trend of attacks against women 
leaders of the IDP population and activists seeking land restitution.
    Several NGOs reported receiving threats in the form of e-mail, 
mail, telephone calls, obituaries, objects, or directly from unknown 
individuals. According to the UNHCHR, reports of threats continued to 
increase during the year. The Government condemned the threats and 
called on the Prosecutor General's Office to investigate them. The 
Prosecutor General's Office investigated 291 cases of threats against 
human rights defenders during the year. None of the investigations had 
resulted in a prosecution at year's end.
    A Ministry of Interior and Justice program provided protection to 
more than 685 human rights activists (see section 2.a.) and enhanced or 
provided new security at more than 49 NGO offices.
    The Government continued to meet with the UNHCHR, local NGOs, and 
members of the diplomatic corps to discuss steps it had taken to comply 
with UNHCHR recommendations on improving human rights practices. While 
acknowledging progress on several recommendations, the UNHCHR and local 
NGOs reported that the Government had not fully implemented all of them 
by year's end. In October the Government extended UNHCHR's mandate for 
three years. On November 22, the Government signed a joint declaration 
with civil society organizations, the UN, the OAS, and the G24 (a group 
of 24 diplomatic missions including the United States), to jointly 
monitor human rights and to work together towards a unified national 
human rights conference in December 2011 that would establish a 
government-wide policy on human rights.
    The human rights ombudsman is independent, submits an annual report 
to the House of Representatives, and has responsibility for ensuring 
the promotion and exercise of human rights. The ombudsman's Bogota 
office was the headquarters of a national Early Warning System designed 
to alert public security forces and the national and regional 
governments of impending massive human rights violations. The 
Ombudsman's Office was underfunded, which limited its ability to 
monitor human rights violations effectively. Some human rights groups 
complained that the Government lacked the political will to publish 
Early Warning System reports and that a significant number of regional 
reports were never published. Members of the ombudsman's regional 
offices were under constant threat from illegal armed groups via 
pamphlets, e-mails, and violent actions.
    The Presidential Program for Human Rights, which operated under the 
authority of the vice president, coordinated national human rights 
policy and actions taken by government entities to promote or protect 
human rights. The program was the Government's primary interlocutor 
with domestic and international NGOs and with foreign governments on 
human rights issues. The program published the Human Rights Observer 
magazine, which provided 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.
    Implementation of the 2005 JPL continued. The Justice and Peace 
Unit in the Prosecutor General's Office is responsible for the required 
investigation and prosecution of demobilized persons under the law, and 
an interinstitutional commission on Justice and Peace was created to 
coordinate its implementation. At year's end, 4,072 persons had been 
presented as eligible for the JPL; 3,633 of these were former 
paramilitary members, including 29 commanders, and 439 were former 
guerrilla members. More than 2,433 testimonies or versiones libres had 
been taken, in which the Prosecutor General's Office identified 52,263 
crimes, more than 46,000 of them homicides. There were 66,773 victims 
involved in the 52,263 identified crimes. At year's end a total of 
323,765 victims had registered with the Prosecutor General's Office, 
and 3,079 graves had been exhumed involving the remains of 3,763 
persons; remains of 1,384 victims had been identified, and 1,295 had 
been returned to their families. Testimony from the voluntary 
confessions also triggered investigations of politicians, military 
members, major agricultural producers, and government officials' ties 
to paramilitary forces.
    The application of the law continued to face many challenges, 
including thousands of former paramilitary members who remained in 
legal limbo, and there was little land or money confiscated from 
paramilitary leaders. There were three convictions of paramilitary 
leaders since the law's implementation in 2005. NGOs and victims 
criticized the process' slow pace, while the Prosecutor General's 
Office said pressure to reveal all truths behind paramilitary crimes 
delayed prosecutions. Victims remained susceptible to killings, 
threats, and intimidation.
    The Government's Program of Administrative Reparations paid 300 
billion pesos ($150 million) in reparations to victims of illegal armed 
groups. The Victim Protection Program under the Ministry of Interior 
and Justice protected 88 victims involved in the Justice and Peace 
process, and during the year the Government spent 121 billion pesos 
(approximately $65 million) on the program. The National Commission for 
Reparation and Reconciliation maintained offices in twelve cities, 
including Sincelejo, Pasto, Quibdo, and Medellin. The offices contained 
one-stop informational centers for victims and assisted victims with 
enrollment and receipt of legal and psychological support.

Section 6. 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, rape, including spousal rape, 
remained a serious problem. The law provides for sentences ranging from 
eight to 30 years of 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 National Institute for Legal Medicine and 
Forensic Science reported 18,038 cases of suspected sex crimes, 
including rape, but indicated that many cases went unreported. New 
illegal group members, former paramilitary members, and guerrillas 
raped, sexually abused, and sometimes sexually mutilated women and 
children for fraternizing with the enemy, working as prostitutes, 
having sexual relations outside of marriage, or violating imposed codes 
of conduct or restrictions on dress (see section 1.g.). The ICBF 
provided psychosocial, medical, and legal support to victims of sexual 
violence.
    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 reeducation. The law 
provides prison time if the abuser causes grave harm or the abuse is 
recurrent; however, provisions for fines were not applied. The National 
Institute for Legal Medicine and Forensic Science reported 
approximately 45,000 cases of domestic violence against women, but it 
noted that only a small percentage of cases were brought to its 
attention for investigation and follow-up. The law requires the 
Government to provide victims of domestic violence with immediate 
protection from further physical or psychological abuse. The ICBF 
provided safe houses and counseling for victims, but its services could 
not meet 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. The law provides 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.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide on the number, 
spacing, and timing of children and had the information and means to do 
so free from discrimination. Women and men had access to contraception. 
The Population Reference Bureau reported 78 percent use of 
contraception among married women between ages 15 and 49, and the UN 
Population Fund estimated the maternal mortality ratio in 2008 to be 85 
deaths per 100,000 live births. Women have equal access to health care 
and diagnosis for sexually transmitted diseases.
    Although women enjoy the same legal rights as men, discrimination 
against women persisted. Women faced hiring discrimination, were 
disproportionately affected by unemployment, and had salaries that 
generally were incompatible with their education and experience. 
According to the 2010 World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report, 
women earned 41 percent less than men for comparable work. 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 
managed a program to help women who were microbusiness entrepreneurs 
and heads of families to get favorable lines of credit for their 
companies. The previous advisor ended her tenure when President Santos 
was inaugurated, and at year's end a new advisor had not been named. 
Through the end of August, the Government provided 3,933 microcredit 
loans to women, in the amount of 4.5 billion pesos (approximately $2.4 
million). During the year 12,490 women attended 21 government-sponsored 
seminars on establishing microbusinesses. On January 25, the president 
created an interagency commission dedicated to the eradication of 
gender-based violence through Decree 164. The Government demonstrated 
its support of the OAS' declaration of 2010 as the Inter-American Year 
of Women by hosting a Summit of Women Entrepreneurs in Cali from June 
23 to 27. On November 2, the Government launched an outreach campaign 
to eradicate gender-based violence as required by Law 1257 of 2008 and 
a 2008 Constitutional Court decision. The interagency government-
sponsored program Mujer Tienes Derechos, Estamos Contigo (Women: You 
Have Rights, We are With You) intends to increase public education 
about violence against women and provide resources for victims. On 
November 3, the Minister of Defense launched a new compulsory program 
of gender equality and sexual rights training for all members of the 
armed forces. The program includes training that was developed jointly 
with the United Nations Population Fund.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory. By law primary education was compulsory, free, and 
universal, but this was not always true in practice. Rural schools 
often could not offer classes because they lacked teachers.
    Child abuse was a serious problem. The National Institute for Legal 
Medicine and Forensic Sciences reported more than 11,000 cases of child 
abuse. The ICBF reported 7,625 cases of sexual abuse against children. 
The institute also estimated that approximately 86 percent of reported 
sex crimes involved sexual abuse of children, most of whom were under 
age 14.
    The 20,000-person Embera Chami indigenous community in Risaralda 
continued its two-year suspension of female genital mutilation.
    According to the ICBF, through November there were 441 reports of 
minors engaging in independent or forced prostitution; many other cases 
went unreported. According to the ICBF, through November there were 42 
cases reported of children engaged in child pornography. In 2009 the 
president approved a law that increased the penalties for sexual 
tourism involving minors, and ICBF identified 29 children through 
November engaged in these activities. The law authorizes the Government 
to confiscate profits from hotels and other establishments where sex 
with minors is performed.
    Guerrillas forcibly recruited and used children as soldiers, 
including indigenous children (see section 1.g.). Children were caught 
in clashes between illegal armed groups and national security forces. 
According to the UN, illegal armed groups killed or threatened children 
with death on suspicion of being informants for the Colombian military.
    According to government registrations, 52 percent of IDPs during 
the year were women and 36 percent were children. Displaced children 
were particularly vulnerable to physical abuse, sexual exploitation, 
and recruitment by criminals.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on the convention at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html as well as 
country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were reports of societal abuses or 
discrimination, including anti-Semitism, based on religious 
affiliation, belief, or practice. Anti-Semitic acts included graffiti 
painted on the exterior walls of synagogues and anti-Semitic statements 
in pamphlets published by small anti-Semitic organizations. The Jewish 
community had an estimated 5,000 members.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report can be found at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state 
services, and the Government sought to enforce these prohibitions. No 
law mandates access to public buildings, information, and 
telecommunications for persons with disabilities, thus limiting the 
power of the Government to penalize those schools or offices without 
access, but both national and local governments addressed this with 
programs aimed at improving access. 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.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--According to the 2005 national 
census, approximately 4.5 million persons, or 10 percent of the 
population, described themselves of African descent. However, human 
rights groups and Afro-Colombian organizations estimated that Afro-
Colombians comprised up to 20 to 25 percent of the population. While 
Afro-Colombians are entitled to all constitutional rights and 
protections, they faced significant economic and social discrimination. 
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 new illegal armed groups, which included some former paramilitary 
members, and FARC and ELN guerrillas struggled for control of the 
department's drug- and weapons-smuggling corridor (see section 1.g.).
    On January 12, Colombia and the United States signed the Joint 
Action Plan on Racial and Ethnic Equality. The plan called on the 
public and private sectors in both countries to implement programs to 
share best practices to combat racial inequality and discrimination.
    In May the Government approved a policy to promote equal 
opportunity for black, Afro-Colombian, Palenquera, and Raizal 
populations in Colombia. Palenquera populations along some parts of the 
country's Caribbean coast, Raizal populations in the San Andres 
archipelago, and blacks and Afro-Colombians are all Afrodescendents who 
self-identify slightly differently based on their unique linguistic and 
cultural heritages. The plan, developed by over 20 different government 
agencies, described actions for the Government to take to improve 
access and quality of education, training, development, and diversity 
in government. Among the plan's recommendations was the proposal that 
the Ministry of Interior and Justice present a law criminalizing racial 
discrimination.
    In October President Santos created the Presidential Program for 
Afro-Colombian Affairs, housed in the Office of the Vice Presidency, to 
address Afro-Colombian needs at the presidential level.

    Indigenous People.--The constitution and laws give special 
recognition to the fundamental rights of indigenous people, who 
comprise approximately 3.4 percent of the population, and require that 
the Government consult beforehand with indigenous groups regarding 
governmental actions that could affect them.
    The law accords indigenous groups perpetual rights to their 
ancestral lands. Traditional indigenous authorities operated 778 
reservations, accounting for 30 percent of the country's territory, 
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 law provides for special criminal and civil jurisdictions 
within indigenous territories based on traditional community laws. 
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 people 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 illegal armed groups operating in or around 
such areas. On March 26, former president Uribe signed a presidential 
directive which establishes national ethnic groups' fundamental right 
to prior consultation and reiterates the legal requirement to consult 
with those communities before any activity with cultural, social, 
economic, or environmental impact. Some indigenous groups came out 
against this directive arguing that it was not constitutional, not 
prepared in consultation with indigenous groups, and that it still did 
not solve the problem of unclear mechanisms for previous consultation.
    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. The law permits the presence of government 
security forces on indigenous lands; however, Ministry of Defense 
directives instructed security forces to respect the integrity of 
indigenous communities, particularly during military and police 
operations. The Ministry of Defense's Integrated Policy on Human Rights 
stresses the importance of protecting 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, together with inspector general and human rights 
ombudsman representatives, worked with other governmental human rights 
organizations and NGOs to promote indigenous interests and protect 
their rights by investigating violations of indigenous rights. The 
ministry is also responsible for buying land to add to indigenous 
reserves.
    Despite special legal protections and government assistance 
programs, indigenous people continued to suffer discrimination and 
often lived on the margins of society. The indigenous people were the 
country's poorest population and had the highest age-specific mortality 
rates.
    The Presidential Program for Human Rights reported that through 
August 31 there were 40 homicides of indigenous people, a decrease of 
50 percent from the same period in 2009. Unlike in 2009, there were no 
reported massacres of indigenous people.
    On August 13, unknown assailants entered the home of U'wa leader 
Carmen Elisa Mora Uncacia and attacked and killed her. Mora, who was 
pregnant, worked as coordinator of the Office of Indigenous Affairs in 
the mayor's office in Saravena, Arauca.
    On August 26, unknown assailants kidnapped and killed Ramiro 
Inampues and his wife Taita Ramiro. Their bodies were found two days 
later in El Corso in the Guachucal indigenous reserve in Narino 
Department. Inampues served as governor of the Guachucal reserve and as 
a council member in the municipality of Guachucal.
    On December 17, unknown assailants shot and killed Medardo Mera 
Sandoval as he was leaving church in Caldono, Cauca Department. The 
following day, President Santos condemned the killing of Mera Sandoval, 
an indigenous leader and community council member, and called on police 
to investigate the crime. The investigation continued at year's end.
    The IACHR condemned these deaths and called on the Government to 
fully investigate and prosecute those responsible.
    There were developments in killings of indigenous people in 2009. 
On October 7, three men were sentenced to 52 years in prison for the 
August 2009 massacre of 12 Awa.
    In October President Santos created the Presidential Program for 
Indigenous Affairs, housed in the Office of the Vice Presidency, to 
address indigenous needs at the presidential level.
    The UNHCHR continued to denounce 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.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Colombia Diversa, an NGO 
focused on violence and discrimination due to sexual orientation, 
reported at least 50 killings during the year due to prejudice 
regarding sexual orientation. On October 2, two unknown male assailants 
shot and killed transgender Raiza Valencia Cuero in the ``El Rodeo'' 
neighborhood of Cali. LGBT activists were the subjects of ``social 
cleansing'' threats and attacks (see section 1.g.). The Constitutional 
Court recognized the right of same-sex couples to a pension; 
nevertheless, Colombia Diversa reported the law was frequently not 
applied due to lack of knowledge by government employees. In a 5-to-4 
vote on November 11, the Constitutional Court upheld Colombia's ban on 
same-sex marriage. The Court decided that the case before them did not 
contain a sufficient legal argument and additional information was 
needed. At year's end the Constitutional Court was reviewing a case 
regarding adoptions by same-sex couples but had not released a 
decision. The city of Bogota implemented an outreach campaign regarding 
LGBT issues, and every administrative department in the municipal 
government has a specialist on LGBT issues. The mayor of Cartagena also 
called for increased outreach on LGBT issues. There was no official 
discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, 
statelessness, or access to education or health care. The city of 
Bogota's Department of Sexual Diversity released a study which reported 
98 percent of the LGBT community faced discrimination, particularly in 
schools and workplaces. The report showed that 53 percent of the LGBT 
community has been physically attacked for their sexual orientation or 
gender identity identity, and in 61 percent of cases the attacker is 
closely related to the victim. Transgender individuals were victimized 
the most (64 percent of the community), followed by lesbians (57 
percent of the community). This data aligned with reports from Colombia 
Diversa about societal discrimination. Colombia Diversa reported cases 
of police abuse against persons due to their sexual orientation, with 
the majority of complaints coming from transgender individuals. On May 
17, in Bucaramanga police beat and pepper sprayed three LGBT youths 
while insulting them for their sexual orientation. According to LGBT 
NGOs these attacks frequently occurred, but victims did not pursue 
cases for fear of retaliation.
    On February 24, the CNP issued Permanent Directive 004 to continue 
procedures within the CNP to ensure the LGBT community receives respect 
and protection of its rights. Colombia Diversa and Cali-based NGO 
Santamaria Foundation claimed that the directives were insufficient to 
measure the CNP's progress and that violations had not decreased.
    Due to increased pressure not only from Colombian LGBT activists, 
but also the international community, the state government of Valle del 
Cauca included sexual diversity in its Human Rights Action and 
Development Plan. The state government worked with ten municipalities 
and developed an awareness and training program for government 
employees, along with victim assistance and health-related programs. 
The city of Cali created a consultative group regarding sexual 
diversity that includes representatives from NGOs like Santamaria. A 
report by the mayor's office cited high levels of discrimination, 
exclusion, and human rights violations in the transgender community. 
Programs about sexual diversity were included in schools, with the 
inclusion of transgender women, in an effort to shift cultural norms; 
in August the program was suspended. The city of Cali's Secretary of 
Education received complaints from parents and other community members 
that the program would promote homosexuality or transgender activities 
by students and decided to halt the program.
    In recognition of World AIDS Day on December 1, the Ministry of 
Social Protection in collaboration with the United Nations Population 
Fund (UNFPA) launched a communications campaign to combat the 
stigmatization and discrimination of those living with HIV/AIDS. The 
campaign, ``We Are Different, But Equal,'' featured transgender 
activist Valentina from the Santamaria Foundation. UNFPA explained the 
campaign intended to highlight the diverse population affected by the 
disease including some members of the transgender community.
    The Office of the Inspector General launched a program, 
``Strengthening the Preventive Role of the Inspector General on LGBT 
Population Rights,'' to provide monitoring of public policies, ensure 
compliance with judicial decisions, and recommend international 
tribunals regarding LGBT cases. In addition, it implemented a civil 
servant training program that involved over 300 public employees on 
respecting the rights of LGBT individuals including updates to case 
law, providing differentiated services, and the development, and 
dissemination of a preventive action plan.
    Despite these efforts, Colombia Diversa asserted that members of 
the Inspector General's Office continued to publicly oppose same sex 
marriage to the Constitutional Court. NGOs claimed that violence in 
prisons against persons due to their sexual orientation remained a 
problem, and they reported confinement and isolation of incarcerated 
lesbians resulted in the suicide of Dayana Perez on October 25, in the 
Jamundi Prison. In addition, there have been instances where medical 
services for transgender men have been denied.
    Colombia Diversa reported several cases of threats against human 
rights defenders working on LGBT issues. Colombia Diversa cited a high 
level of impunity for crimes against members of the LGBT community. 
Government-authorized gay pride marches took place in several cities on 
June 26; there were no reports of insufficient security for the 
participants.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were no confirmed 
reports of societal violence or discrimination towards persons with 
HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows some workers to form 
and join unions and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice; however, there exist a number of legal restrictions to 
forming and joining a union, particularly in indirect contracting 
situations, but unions have been formed despite these legal 
restrictions. The law does not extend this right to members of the 
armed forces or police. Approximately 820,000 workers (4.4 percent of 
the workforce of 18.4 million) were union members. Almost 60 percent of 
the workforce was employed in the informal sector.
    The labor code provides for automatic recognition of unions that 
obtain 25 signatures from potential members and comply with a 
registration process. While barriers to registration have been 
overcome, unions cited multiple companies that fired employees that 
formed new unions. The Ministry of Social Protection continued to 
investigate a number of claims at year's end.
    Threats and harassment of trade unionists continued to affect the 
exercise of the right to freedom of association, as violence and 
discrimination against union members discouraged some workers from 
joining and engaging in union activities. The Presidential Program for 
Human Rights reported that 34 trade unionists were killed during the 
year, compared with 28 in 2009, while the National Union School (ENS), 
a labor rights NGO and think tank, reported that 51 trade unionists 
were killed during the year, compared with 47 in 2009. ENS and 
government figures differed because of different methodological 
definitions of trade union membership; however, due to increased 
dialogue between ENS and the Presidential Program for Human Rights, 
multiple cases of murdered unionists were identified which were 
previously not categorized as such because the Government selects only 
one category, which causes exclusion of unionists from final numbers.
    On February 10, in Montecristo, Bolivar, an armed group shot and 
killed Jose de Jesus Retrepo and Omar Alonso Restrepo Ospina, leaders 
of the mining union FEDEAGROMISBOL. Local residents claimed the murders 
were carried out by paramilitaries. On June 5, in Calle, Valle de 
Cauca, unknown assailants on a motorcycle shot and killed Hernan Abdiel 
Ordonez Dorado, leader of the prison workers union ASEINPEC. Both cases 
were under investigation at year's end.
    On August 12, in Medellin, Antioquia, an unknown assailant shot and 
killed Luis German Restrepo Maldonado, leader of the packaging union 
Sintraempaques. On December 12, the police arrested John Bayron Cardona 
Sep#lveda, alias ``Jimy,'' Alejandro Perez Perez, alias ``Alejo,'' 
Alexander Correa Rodriguez, alias ``Alex,'' and Hern n Molina 
Saldarriaga, alias ``Pacheco,'' for Restrepo's murder. Correa, Molina, 
and Perez accepted charges of aggravated homicide and possession of 
illegal firearms. All four were in prison awaiting sentencing at year's 
end. Molina previously served six years of a 32-year sentence for 
illegal gun possession, but was conditionally released prior to 
Restrepo's murder. The Prosecutor General's Office believed that the 
four individuals murdered Restrepo in a joint FARC-ELN operation.
    The ENS and other labor groups acknowledged the continued decline 
in the murder rate but asserted focusing on murders alone masked the 
true nature and scope of the antiunion violence. About 25 percent of 
the 11,579 ``violations of life, liberty, and integrity'' of unionists 
tallied by ENS since 1986 were murders; the rest ranged from death 
threats and disappearances to harassment and illegal searches. Labor 
groups noted that in some regions nonlethal violations were on the 
rise. ENS reported 443 total violations for the year--in addition to 
the 51 reported homicides, there were 306 death threats, 20 nonlethal 
attacks, six disappearances, three arbitrary detentions, three illegal 
searches, 33 cases of forced displacement, 16 cases of harassment, and 
five kidnappings.
    Teachers made up the largest percentage of union members and were 
the largest percentage of victims of violence by illegal armed groups, 
both because they constituted 27 percent of all registered unionists 
and because of their presence in rural, conflict-ridden parts of the 
country. The Presidential Program for Human Rights reported that 18 of 
the 34 unionists killed during the year were teachers, while ENS 
reported 29 of 51 unionists killed were teachers. The teachers union 
Colombian Federation of Educators (FECODE) reported one nonunion 
educator was killed during the year, for a total of 27.
    The Ministry of Interior and Justice provided protection to 10,806 
at-risk individuals of whom 1,454 were trade union leaders (others 
protected included journalists, human rights advocates, and social 
leaders); the protection program received annual funding of 144 billion 
pesos ($72 million). In September the Minister of Interior and Justice, 
citing the continued risks posed to human rights defenders and labor 
leaders, announced that the Government would increase the protection 
program's budget by 20 billion pesos ($11 million). The Ministry of 
Education managed a separate protection (transfer) program for 
educators, the majority of whom are unionized. On November 24, Vice 
President Garzon announced a plan to better protect unionized teachers, 
based on a proposal from FECODE. At year's end details of the plan had 
not been released.
    Since 2000 the Prosecutor General's Office obtained 353 convictions 
for violent acts against trade unionists, including 76 during the year. 
A special Labor Sub-Unit set up in 2006 was assigned 1,387 cases to 
investigate and process. The majority of the 1,387 cases remained under 
investigation or in the preliminary stages of the prosecutorial 
process. Labor groups recognized important advances made by the Labor 
Sub-Unit of the Prosecutor General's Office, but said more needed to be 
done to end impunity for perpetrators of violence against trade 
unionists. They also claimed prosecutors charged with carrying out 
investigations into historic impunity cases failed to look for evidence 
of anti union biases as a motive for abuses.
    Steps within the legal system have been taken to prosecute and 
punish criminals associated with labor-related cases. Since 2008 the 
Colombian judiciary, per a tripartite International Labor Organization 
(ILO) agreement, has assigned three specialized judges to exclusively 
hear cases involving violence against unionists. A 2009 law increased 
prison sentences and the statute of limitations for homicides of union 
members. During the year the Prosecutor General's Office reported 
convictions in several high-profile cases:
    On June 8, the 11th Criminal Circuit Court of Bogota, responsible 
for priority cases as designated by a tripartite agreement at the ILO, 
sentenced a former AUC member to 39 years in jail for the 2003 murders 
of a union-affiliated teacher and a photographer in Palmira, Valle del 
Cauca.
    On July 23, the 11th Criminal Circuit Court of Bogota responsible 
for priority cases as designated by a tripartite agreement at the ILO 
cases sentenced a former paramilitary member to 15 years in prison for 
the 2001 murders of Drummond union leaders Valmore Locarno Rodriguez 
and Victor Hugo Orcasita Amaya in Cesar.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised 
this right in practice. According to the ILO, members of the national 
labor federations and confederations, armed forces, police, and persons 
performing ``essential public services'' were not permitted to strike. 
During the year the courts declared three work stoppages illegal.
    Before conducting a strike, unions must follow prescribed legal 
procedures and give advance notice to their employers and local 
authorities. The law dictates that a strike can only occur during 
contract negotiations or collective bargaining procedures. The law 
prohibits the use of strikebreakers. The law prohibiting public 
employees from striking was often ignored. Employees are not required 
to accept binding arbitration if they cannot reach an agreement.

    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. 
Labor unions assessed that high unemployment, a large informal economy, 
antiunion attitudes, and violence against trade union leaders 
contributed to making organizing difficult, limiting workers' 
bargaining power across sectors. Some economists also suggested that 
mandatory high nonwage benefits to provide a source of funds for 
vocational training and family welfare programs such as day care 
centers, nutrition programs for low-income families, and counseling in 
the formal sector depressed formal employment and thus union 
membership, and increased informal employment. According to the ENS, in 
2009, 1.36 percent of the workforce was covered by a collective 
bargaining agreement. No new data for 2010 was available at year's end.
    There were no examples of public sector collective bargaining 
agreements since the law prohibits them. Public sector employees can 
negotiate ``concentrated agreements,'' but by definition these are not 
collective bargaining agreements. Employers continued to hire workers 
through temporary contracts, service agencies, and associated workers' 
cooperatives (CTAs). This practice limited worker rights and undermined 
worker protections by preventing unionization and collective bargaining 
among seasonal, temporary, and contract workers. The continued growth 
and prevalence of CTAs diminished collective bargaining and other 
worker rights because CTA workers were not covered by the labor code 
and hence could not bargain collectively. Law 1233 of 2008 requires 
CTAs to register with the Government and provide compensation at least 
equivalent to the minimum wage and the same health and retirement 
benefits normally offered to directly hired employees, however, it did 
not extend collective bargaining rights to CTA workers.
    Decree 4588 prohibits the use of CTAs as subcontractors when they 
do not own the means of production, when they are used to perform core 
functions for a company, and when a company itself directly disciplines 
CTA workers. Evidence suggests many cooperatives nonetheless engaged in 
illegal forms of subcontracting, and in some cases private-sector 
employers forced workers to join CTAs they themselves managed. The 
Government has the authority to fine labor rights violators but seldom 
shuts down repeat offenders. During the year the Government 
investigated 907 cooperatives and pre-cooperatives and sanctioned 102. 
The total amount of the fines levied against these 102 cooperatives and 
pre-cooperatives was approximately 395 million pesos ($219,000). In 
practice nominal fines assessed by the Government did little to 
dissuade violators.
    While Law 1233 of 2008 and Decree 4588 were designed to better 
regulate CTAs, unions continued to voice reservations about the 
strength of the law and decree, and the Government's ability to 
adequately regulate due to labor inspector shortages. Congress passed 
legislation on December 16 on labor cooperatives, and it was signed 
into law by President Santos on December 29; the provision was folded 
into President Santos' larger employment formalization bill. This 
change to CTAs would provide a mechanism for dissolution of CTAs that 
violate labor rights and do not adhere to labor law. Further, it would 
levy heavy fines for those in noncompliance starting in July 2013.
    Collective pacts between individual workers and their employers 
were also used as an alternative, often weakening or replacing the 
benefits of a collective bargaining agreement. Collective pacts give 
employers the right to negotiate accords on pay and labor conditions 
with groups of workers at any time in workplaces where no union is 
present or where a union represents less than one-third of employees. 
Labor groups noted that when a minority union presented a collective 
bargaining proposal, employers offered some workers better conditions 
and pay in exchange for their leaving the union and joining the pact, 
which undermined organized labor's ability to bargain collectively.
    Roughly 75 percent of the workforce in Colombia's ports is employed 
under flexible non-labor contracts and consequently not allowed to join 
unions or bargain collectively. Sugar and ethanol refineries also 
utilized CTAs as a means of sub-contracting labor to third parties, and 
many sugarcane cutters, predominantly Afro-descendent and indigenous 
men, were required to belong to a CTA in order to gain employment. In 
the example of sugarcane cutters, the workers formed unions in order to 
enhance collaboration. The law does not clearly define if this is 
legally permissible, but the unions were respected throughout the 
sugarcane sector.
    Unionists continued to advocate for revision to the labor code, 
which currently defines a ``worker'' as a direct hire with an 
employment contract, to cover a greater percentage of the workforce.
    While the law prohibits antiunion discrimination, other 
longstanding ILO and international criticisms of the labor code 
remained unaddressed, including employers' right to fire trade 
unionists who participate in illegal strikes or work stoppages as 
determined by the courts, and the prohibition of strikes in a wide 
range of public services that are not strictly ``essential,'' as 
defined by the ILO.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
export processing zones. The labor law applies in the country's 58 free 
trade zones, where 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 (see section 7.d.). Also see the 
Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at http://
www.state.gov/g/tip.
    New illegal armed groups, which included some former paramilitary 
members, and FARC and ELN guerrillas practiced forced conscription. 
These groups also retaliated against deserters by threatening them and 
their families. Some deserters were killed. There were some reports 
that FARC and ELN guerrillas and new illegal armed groups, which 
included some former paramilitary members, used forced labor, including 
forced child labor in coca cultivation, in areas outside government 
control (see section 1.g.). Forced labor, including organized begging, 
and forced commercial sexual exploitation, often of internally 
trafficked women and children, remained a serious problem.

    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 problem in the informal and illicit 
sectors. Significant incidences occurred in the production of clay 
bricks, coal, emeralds, gold, coca, and pornography. The ICBF reported 
1,149 complaints of labor exploitation and 562 child victims of 
commercial sexual exploitation (481 in prostitution, 44 in child 
pornography, and 37 in sex tourism). The ICBF assisted 1,240 children 
victimized by commercial sexual exploitation throughout the country.
    The minimum age of employment is 18. Children aged 15 to 18 may 
work no more than 15 hours per week with signed documentation filed by 
their parents and approved by the MSP. Children under the age of 15 may 
work as apprentices in a family-owned enterprise if it is located on 
the same property as the family's residence, with MSP's permission. 
Labor law strictly states that children under the age of 15 cannot work 
outside of family enterprises. While labor law (Resolution 1677 of 
2008) includes agricultural work as a ``worst form of child labor,'' 
exceptions exist. For example, the Government has approved some 
agricultural apprenticeship programs for children from 14 to 17 through 
the National Service Learning Agency (SENA).
    According to the last National Administrative Department of 
Statistics (DANE) study, conducted in 2007, there were 11.3 million 
children between the ages of five and 17, of whom approximately 787,000 
worked. Member organizations of the National Inter-Agency Committee to 
reduce the worst forms of child labor and to protect minor workers 
reported that up to two million children worked, the majority 
illegally. NGOs reported that 37.6 percent of children who worked did 
not receive payment.
    The legal minimum age for work was consistent with completing basic 
education. 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 were prohibited from 
working in a number of specific occupations, including mining and 
construction, in practice these prohibitions were largely ignored. 
Children worked in artisanal mining of coal, clay, emeralds, and gold 
under dangerous conditions and in many instances with the approval and/
or insistence of their parents.
    While children are prohibited from working in most agricultural 
activities in accordance with Resolution 1677 of 2008, some educational 
institutions modify schedules during harvest seasons so that children 
may help on the family farm.
    The ICBF identified and assisted 3,413 children working in illegal 
mining operations during the year. Most children were found working in 
the departments of Tolima (1,200), Narino (587), and Antioquia (585). 
Estimates of the total number of children who worked in illegal mining 
operations varied from 10,000 to 200,000. The Government reported that 
approximately 8,500 children were working in illegal mining. The labor 
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.
    There were instances of forced child labor in mines, quarries, and 
private homes. According to the DANE, children also worked, sometimes 
forcibly, in the illegal drug trade and other illicit activities. 
Several thousand children were forced to serve as combatants, 
prostitutes, or coca pickers for the FARC, ELN, and new illegal armed 
groups, which included some former paramilitaries (see section 1.g). 
Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report 
at http://www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The MSP's 423 labor inspectors nationwide were responsible for 
enforcing child labor laws; in the formal sector (which covered 
approximately 20 percent of the child labor force), they did so through 
periodic inspections. However, resources remained inadequate for 
effective enforcement. With assistance from the ILO, the Government 
worked to improve cooperation among national, regional, and municipal 
governments through its national plan to eradicate child labor and 
protect working youth. The Government also sought to reduce demand for 
child labor through public awareness and training efforts, often 
working with international organizations. The Colombian Sugar Cane 
Producers Association (ASOCANA) continued to support a child labor 
awareness project at approximately 3.6 billion pesos ($2 million). The 
program educates parents and children about the importance of 
education, and provides additional opportunities for parents to earn 
income for their household rather than having their children work. 
ASOCANA's program promotes and consolidates coordination with public 
and private sectors; this outreach has facilitated the participation of 
22 municipal governments. In addition, the association continues to 
support the ILO's project in Colombia to eradicate child labor.
    The Colombian National Emerald Federation (Fedesmeraldas) signed an 
agreement with the IOM, ICBF, and USAID to support mining community 
families to improve living conditions, to prevent child labor in 
emerald mines, and prevent recruitment of children by illegal armed 
groups.
    The MSP, with ILO assistance, developed a ``virtual'' training 
program for labor inspectors in the departments of Cundinamarca, 
Boyaca, Tolima, and Meta. The 40-hour training program was sufficient 
to provide inspectors with details on how to approach situations where 
the worst forms of child labor were discovered.
    In November the Government announced an increase in government 
support to eradicate child labor to complement the Government's 2008 
national strategy to prevent and eradicate child labor. The plan 
utilizes inter-agency coordination to promote the overall welfare of 
children--including access to education and health services. The 
Government, in conjunction with the IOM and UNICEF, provided services 
to former child soldiers and carried out awareness-raising campaigns to 
prevent the recruitment of children by armed groups.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law requires an annual 
meeting of a tripartite ``Commission of Salary and Labor Policies'' 
comprising organized labor, business, and government representatives to 
negotiate the minimum wage. When the commission cannot reach an 
agreement--as seen again in 2010--the Government can establish the 
minimum wage. The Government establishes a uniform minimum wage every 
January, which serves as a benchmark for wage bargaining. The monthly 
minimum wage was approximately 515,000 pesos ($285), a 3.6 percent 
increase from the previous year. The national minimum wage did not 
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. 
Furthermore, the Government remained unable to enforce the minimum wage 
in the informal sector.
    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.
    Security forces and other officials closed 56 illegal mines as part 
of a comprehensive inter-agency initiative that began after President 
Santos took office. At year's end the Ministry of Mining and Energy 
continued to review the legality of 3,000 mines. In addition, reports 
indicate that the CNP in conjunction with the Ministry of Mining and 
Energy investigated possible illegal mines in the department of 
Bolivar, in particular those connected to the FARC. Investigators 
reported that the FARC's Magdalena Medio Bloc controlled approximately 
15 gold mines in Bolivar Department and was actively involved in the 
extortion of heavy-equipment operators. According to the investigation, 
the FARC could be receiving approximately 1.6 billion pesos 
(approximately $850 million) per year from these activities.
    The law provides protection for workers' occupational safety and 
health in the formal sector, which the MSP enforced through periodic 
inspections. However, a scarcity of government inspectors, poor public 
safety awareness, and inadequate attention by unions resulted in a high 
level of industrial accidents and unhealthy working conditions in the 
formal sector. Similar conditions were even more common in the informal 
sector, where workers sometimes suffered physical or sexual abuse. The 
law provides workers with the right to leave a hazardous work situation 
without jeopardizing continued employment, and the Government enforced 
this right. Nonunion workers, particularly those in the agricultural 
and port sectors, reportedly worked under hazardous conditions because 
they feared losing their jobs if they criticized abuses. The Colombian 
Flower Industry Association (ASOCOLFLORES) continued to implement 
voluntary principles on environmental and worker safety practices and 
reduced the use of pesticides. Nevertheless, problems remained, 
particularly among producers who remained unaffiliated to ASOCOLFLORES.

                               __________

                               COSTA RICA

    Costa Rica is a constitutional democracy with a population of 
approximately 4.5 million and governed by a president and a unicameral 
Legislative Assembly that are directly elected in multiparty elections 
every four years. On February 7, Laura Chinchilla Miranda of the 
National Liberation Party (PLN) was elected the country's first female 
president in elections that were generally considered free and fair. 
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The following human rights problems were reported: substantial 
judicial process delays (particularly in pretrial detention and civil, 
criminal, and labor cases), domestic violence against women and 
children, child prostitution, trafficking in persons, 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.
    On May 27, a trial court sentenced two uniformed police officers to 
72 years in prison for the 2008 killing of two persons.
    There were no developments in the 2007 case of a police officer 
involved in the killing of a robbery suspect.

    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 
coercion is invalid, and the Government investigated, prosecuted, and 
punished agents responsible for confirmed cases of abuse.
    During the year the Ombudsman's Office recorded 27 complaints of 
police abuse; as of December 31, two complaints had been resolved and 
25 remained under investigation. The ombudsman conducted investigations 
as a preliminary step, with any recommendation for action forwarded to 
the respective agency for investigation or follow up.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Although the Government 
continued to improve prison conditions during the year, overcrowding, 
poor sanitation, lack of health services, and violence among prisoners 
remained a problem 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.
    Prison overcrowding continued to increase. On December 15, the 
Justice Ministry's Social Adaptation Division reported a total 
population of 20,564 under its supervision (including 10,586 prisoners 
in closed regime centers, 1,049 persons required to spend nights and 
weekends in jail, 8,452 in supervised work programs requiring no jail 
time, and 477 juveniles) and indicated that on average prison 
populations exceeded designed capacity by 22 percent. The Social 
Adaptation Division also reported that there were 629 prisoners at the 
San Jose women's prison and 27 women prisoners at the Liberia prison as 
of December.
    The San Sebastian, San Carlos, Cartago, Liberia, Perez Zeledon, 
Puntarenas, Limon, La Reforma, Gerardo Rodriguez, Buen Pastor, and 
Pococi prisons remained overcrowded at year's end, with the population 
in pretrial detention experiencing the most overcrowding. In San 
Sebastian, where most prisoners in pretrial detention were held, 983 
prisoners lived in unsanitary conditions in a facility with a capacity 
of 632. To mitigate these conditions, some pretrial detainees were held 
together with convicted prisoners in long-term detention facilities 
throughout the country.
    Medical care at most facilities was generally adequate for routine 
illnesses and injuries, and there was a doctor on duty at all prisons. 
However, prisoners were referred to the social service system for 
complex medical problems, such as HIV/AIDS, with consequent treatment 
delays.
    In June the Ombudsman's Office reported that some prisons had 
inadequate space available for resting: prisoners had to sleep on 
deteriorated mattresses on the floors, underneath the beds of other 
prisoners, or even in hallways and bathrooms. Overcrowding also raised 
questions of health risks, since many prisoners claimed that they had 
to wait months for medical attention. There were long lines for 
bathrooms, water, telephones, and recreation within prisons, and the 
Ombudsman's Office reported that security and administrative staffing 
was insufficient to care for the increasing prison population. There 
was an average of three corrections officers to oversee 100 inmates.
    Prisoners generally were separated by age, gender, and level of 
security (minimum, medium, and maximum), but overcrowding sometimes 
prevented proper security level separation.
    Prisoners had reasonable access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to 
submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to 
request investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. 
In the event such complaints were not processed, prisoners could submit 
them to the Ombudsman's Office. The Ombudsman's Office, through the 
National Prevention Mechanism against Torture, periodically inspected 
all detention centers.
    The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by international and local human rights observers, including 
representatives from the Ombudsman's Office. Human rights observers 
were allowed to speak to prisoners and prison employees in confidence 
and without the presence of prison staff or other third parties.
    In March new prison units with a capacity for 23 additional inmates 
went into service at the San Carlos and the Older Adult prisons. In 
December the Ministry of Justice reported that it began the contracting 
process for the construction of additional units to increase capacity 
for 640 inmates at the Liberia, San Carlos, Perez Zeledon, Limon, San 
Rafael, and Puntarenas prisons.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed 
these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The country has no 
military. Civilian authorities maintained effective control over the 13 
agencies that have law enforcement components, including the judicial 
branch's Judicial Investigative Organization. The Ministry of Public 
Security is responsible for the uniformed police force, the drug 
control police, the border police, and the coast guard. The Ministry of 
Public Works and Transportation operated the traffic police, and the 
Ministry of Justice operated the penitentiary police.
    There were no reports of impunity involving the security forces.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in 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 post bail and prompt access to an 
attorney and to family members; authorities generally observed these 
rights in practice. Indigent persons are provided a public attorney at 
government expense. Even those with sufficient personal funds are able 
to use the services of a public defender. With judicial authorization, 
authorities may hold suspects incommunicado for 48 hours after arrest 
or, under special circumstances, for up to 10 days if preventive 
detention is previously ordered and there are reasons to believe that 
suspects may reach an agreement with accomplices or may obstruct the 
investigation in any other way. Suspects are allowed access to 
attorneys immediately before submitting declarations. Authorities 
promptly inform the suspects of any offenses under investigation.
    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 court 
review every three months of cases of suspects in pretrial detention to 
determine the appropriateness of continued detention. Under the 2009 
organized crime law, if a judge declares a case is related to organized 
crime, special procedural rules apply that extend the maximum period of 
preventive detention from 12 months to 24 months; the statute of 
limitations is 10 years from the date of the last crime. According to 
the Ministry of Justice, as of December 15, there were 2,733 persons in 
pretrial detention, constituting approximately 26 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 growing workload. In 2009 approximately 230,000 criminal complaints 
were filed with the judicial branch, 7,000 of which went to trial, with 
a conviction rate of 56 percent.

    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. There are no jury trials. 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 the portion of the trial where the minor 
is called to testify. Defendants have the right to be present during 
the trial and consult with an attorney in a timely manner. Victims can 
request special arrangements in the courtroom to avoid unwanted contact 
with defendants. Accused persons can select attorneys to represent 
them, and the law provides for access to counsel at state expense for 
indigent persons. The law provides for detainee and attorney access to 
government held evidence, and during the trial defendants can question 
witnesses and present witnesses on their own behalf. Defendants enjoy a 
presumption of innocence and, if convicted, have the right of appeal. 
The law extends these rights to citizens and noncitizens alike.
    Authorities continued to expand the use of fast track courts in the 
provinces to expedite prosecution of criminal cases when the suspect 
was arrested while committing a crime. On April 15, the judicial branch 
opened a fast track court in Limon. Fast track courts provide the same 
protections and rights as other courts.

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--In 2009 the Inter-American 
Court of Human Rights ruled that reforms to the judicial appeals system 
did not comply with the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, 
clarifying its 2004 ruling that required the Government to reform its 
appeals system. On May 31, the Government submitted a new compliance 
report stating that it had established criminal courts of appeal. On 
November 22, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights reported that the 
country complied with the judgment.

    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 that presides over lawsuits in civil matters, 
including human rights violations. Administrative and judicial remedies 
for alleged wrongs are available.

    Property Restitution.--The law grants considerable rights to 
squatters who invade uncultivated land, regardless of who may hold 
title to the property. In some cases, property rights were irregularly 
enforced and duplicate registrations occurred.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution prohibits such practices, and the 
Government generally respected these prohibitions in practice. Judges 
may approve the use of wiretaps during the investigation of certain 
crimes, but restrictive legal guidelines made the use of wiretaps 
infrequent. The 2009 law against organized crime reformed electronic 
surveillance procedures by mandating the creation of a communications 
investigation center under the judicial branch to run all wiretapping. 
The center was not operational at year's end.

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 restriction.
    Journalists and media company owners continued to criticize 
legislation that imposes criminal penalties, including lengthy jail 
sentences instead of civil fines, for common press infractions and 
argued that such legislation promoted self-censorship.
    The law provides persons criticized in the media with an 
opportunity to reply with equal attention and at equal length. In 
February the Supreme Court's High Court of Criminal Appeals overturned 
a 50-day prison sentence against a journalist accused of libel in 2004. 
The court decision invalidated an article of the press law that made 
offenses against honor punishable with prison.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
    In July the Supreme Court ruled that Internet access is a 
fundamental right. A study published during the year by a subsidiary of 
the Electricity Institute reported that nearly 30 percent of households 
had Internet access, and the International Telecommunication Union 
reported that there were 34 Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2009. 
More than a million citizens had access to Internet from their 
households, with an average of three hours of access a day and three 
persons in the household using the service. Other locations where 
citizens had access to Internet were educational institutions, 
workplaces, Internet cafes, and Wi-Fi hotspots.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
    The Commission on Control and Rating of Public Performances rates 
films and has the authority to restrict or prohibit the showing of 
films deemed pornographic, violent in nature, or likely to incite crime 
or vice. The commission has similar powers over television and 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.

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
    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 
the Government did not use it in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The laws provide for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status and the Government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees.
    In practice the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion.
    The General Directorate of Immigration is in charge of refugee 
status determination. The law requires adjudication of claims within 
three months of receipt; however, in practice, decisions took from six 
to eight months. According to reports from the directorate's refugee 
department, from July to October, 120 cases were denied review by the 
commission and were in an appeal process at the end of the year. 
Applicants cannot work legally until the directorate approves their 
cases. Applicants have access to education.
    The General Directorate of Immigration reported 8,678 refugees as 
of August, compared with 12,298 recognized refugees reported by the 
UNHCR at the end of 2009, most of whom were from Colombia. The decrease 
was largely attributable to the fact that, once refugees obtained 
permanent residency in the country, the General Directorate no longer 
counted them as refugees. There were 168 extraregional asylum seekers 
during the year, according to official data of the Immigration 
Directorate. According to the UNHCR, there were 231 such cases and a 
total of 920 asylum requests during the year. Many asylum-seekers did 
not appear at the Immigration Directorate to carry on with their status 
application process. The Government and the UNHCR reported that most of 
these individuals simply used the asylum request as a means of 
obtaining a document that enabled them to cross the country on their 
journey toward the United States. Due to the low recognition rates, the 
UNHCR had to consider an increasing number of rejected asylum seekers 
as ``persons of concern'' in need of international protection. The 
UNHCR estimated that annually there were some 400 to 500 persons of 
concern, whose cases it checked to determine whether they needed 
international protection.
    An immigration law that took effect in March creates a separate 
office within the General Directorate of Immigration to deal 
specifically with refugee problems. The law also creates a commission, 
which is responsible for the granting of refugee status, and an 
immigration review tribunal for the appeals process. The commission 
began its work in July, but the tribunal had not been constituted as of 
year's end.

    Stateless Persons.--There were occasional problems of statelessness 
in the border areas with Panama and Nicaragua. Members of the Ngobe-
Bugle indigenous group from Panama came to work on Costa Rican 
plantations, and sometimes their children were born in rudimentary 
structures on the plantations. In these cases the children were not 
registered as Costa Rican citizens because the families did not think 
it necessary to register the births, but when the families returned to 
Panama, the children were not registered there either. A similar 
problem occurred with Nicaraguan families that migrated to work on 
coffee plantations. The Government attempted to advise the migrant 
population to register at birth all children born in the country. As of 
September, immigration authorities reported that the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs granted four persons the immigration category of 
stateless person and the Immigration Office provided them with 
documents. The Government detected and assisted these immigrants under 
UN parameters.

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 free and fair elections based on universal suffrage conducted 
by secret ballot every four years. The independent Supreme Electoral 
Tribunal ensured the integrity of the elections, and the authorities 
and citizens respected the election results.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In national elections held 
on February 7, Laura Chinchilla Miranda of the PLN won the presidency 
and became the country's first female president in elections that 
generally were considered free and fair. The Organization of American 
States team that monitored the election praised the peaceful and normal 
way in which the process unfolded.
    Political parties operated without restriction or outside 
interference. The constitution and the electoral code establish the 
right of all citizens to organize themselves in parties to participate 
in national politics. The internal structure and operation of parties 
should be democratic according to the law.
    The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) requires that a minimum of 50 
percent of candidates for elective office be female and that women's 
names be placed alternately with men on the ballots by party slate. In 
August the TSE reported that 49 percent of the candidates running for 
office in the December local government election were women. There were 
nine women in the cabinet. There were 22 women in the 57-seat 
Legislative Assembly, including the vice president of the assembly, the 
Government party leader, and nine legislative committee chairwomen, 
representing 38.6 percent of seats. The deputy chief justice of the 
Supreme Court, the presidents of the High Court of Civil Appeals and 
the Constitutional Chamber were women.
    Indigenous persons did not play significant roles in politics or 
government except on problems directly affecting their welfare, largely 
because of their relatively small numbers and physical isolation by 
their own preference. There were no indigenous or black members in the 
Legislative Assembly or the cabinet. There was one black head of a 
government agency.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption and the 
Government generally implemented these laws; however, there were 
isolated cases of officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. 
The Government took the following actions to combat corruption. In June 
the Office of the Comptroller General, the Office of the Solicitor 
General, the Chief Prosecutor's Office, and the Institute against Drugs 
signed a letter of intent to establish an alliance to fight corruption. 
The Office of Public Ethics developed a national plan of action to 
comply with recommendations from the Committee of Experts of the 
Mechanism for Follow-up on the Implementation of the Inter-American 
Convention against Corruption. The Office of Public Ethics initiated a 
strategy to promote the right of access to public information. The 
passage of the 2009 Law on the Protection of Victims, Witnesses, and 
other Persons Involved in Criminal Proceedings improved protection of 
public servants and private citizens who in good faith report acts of 
corruption.
    Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws. This 
law requires senior officials to submit sworn declarations of income, 
assets, and liabilities. The public ethics prosecutor, the comptroller 
general, the attorney general, and the ombudsman are all responsible 
for combating government corruption. The main function of the public 
ethics prosecutor is to take the administrative steps necessary to 
prevent, detect, and eradicate corruption and to raise ethical and 
transparency standards in the public service.
    Judicial investigations continued in the 2008 case of the housing 
minister who resigned following controversy over using a foreign 
donation to pay fees to various government consultants and to purchase 
equipment. The Government also continued to investigate a 2009 case of 
the former minister of the environment on allegations that he 
preferentially awarded government bids to a corporation that had 
connections with his family.
    In June the Supreme Court's Constitutional Chamber ruled partially 
in favor of a former legislator accused of using a government airplane 
to attend a campaign event. The TSE had sought to remove her from her 
position because the law stipulates that political parties cannot use 
public resources for campaigns. The court found that the constitution 
does not give the TSE authority to remove legislators for unethical 
actions and instructed the TSE to formulate a reform to the 
constitution and regulations. The trial of former president Miguel 
Angel Rodriguez, which began in April 2009, remained pending at year's 
end. In August the judges imposed precautionary measures against 
Rodriguez for obstructing the process by trying to prevent a witness 
from testifying.
    The law provides for public access to government information, and 
the Government generally respected this right to access for citizens 
and noncitizens, including foreign media. Government institutions 
published reports that detailed the year's activities. The Ombudsman's 
Office operated a Web page dedicated to enhancing transparency by 
improving citizens' access to public information.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups operated 
without government restriction. Government officials were cooperative 
and responsive to their views.
    The Ombudsman's Office has six regional offices and more than 150 
employees to review government action or inaction that affects 
citizens' rights and interests. The ombudsman is accountable to the 
Legislative Assembly, which appoints him or her to a four-year term and 
funds office operations. The ombudsman participates in the drafting and 
approval of legislation, promotes good administration and transparency, 
and reports annually to the Legislative Assembly with nonbinding 
recommendations. The position carries strong moral and symbolic weight.
    A special committee at the Legislative Assembly studies and reports 
on problems relating to the violation of human rights and reviews bills 
relating to human rights and international humanitarian law. The 
committee also follows up on recommendations from the Ombudsman's 
Office.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status, and the Government generally 
enforced these prohibitions effectively.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape and provides penalties from 10 to 
18 years in prison for rape. The length of the sentence depends on the 
victim's age and other factors, such as the assailant's use of violence 
or position of influence over the victim. The judiciary effectively 
enforced the rape law and provided due process for both victim and 
defendant. According to the National Institute for Women (INAMU), the 
rape law applies 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 because either the victim or the victim's family were 
reluctant to press charges against the perpetrator. According to the 
judicial branch's statistics office, courts tried 373 cases of rape or 
attempted rape in 2009 and sentenced 184 defendants. According to 
official statistics, the number of cases of sexual violence increased 
during the year. A domestic NGO assisted 83 victims during the year, 
but only 10 percent of those submitted police reports.
    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, including a sentence of 20 to 35 years for men who 
kill their partners. If a domestic violence offender has no violent 
criminal record and the sentence received is less than three years' 
imprisonment, the law also provides for alternative sanctions, such as 
weekend detentions, and assistance including referrals for social 
services and rehabilitation.
    INAMU assists women and their children who are victims of domestic 
violence in its regional office located in San Jose as well as in three 
other specialized centers and temporary shelters in remote areas. INAMU 
reported that, during the year, 39 women and girls died from domestic 
violence, the same as reported in 2009. INAMU maintained a domestic 
abuse hotline connected to the 911 emergency system and provided 
counseling to 4,578 women as of September. According to the judicial 
branch's statistics office, in 2009 authorities opened 10,510 cases of 
domestic violence throughout the country, compared with 14,706 cases in 
2008. In 2009, there were 245 cases tried and 119 persons sentenced for 
crimes of violence against women.
    The public prosecutor, police, and ombudsman have offices dedicated 
to domestic violence problems.
    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 
continued awareness campaigns publicizing the dangers of sex tourism 
and its association with child sexual exploitation.
    The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace and 
educational institutions, and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security 
generally enforced this prohibition. The law imposes penalties ranging 
from a letter of reprimand to dismissal, with more serious incidents 
subject to criminal prosecution. The Ombudsman's Office received 210 
complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace during the year, the 
vast majority of which came from employees of the uniformed police 
force (part of the Ministry of Public Security). On June 2, an 
amendment to the law entered into force that establishes a procedure 
for sanctioning sexual harassment offenses committed by public 
officials elected by popular vote.
    Individuals have the right to obtain information and access safe 
methods of contraception from public hospitals and medical attention 
centers, as well as the right to receive medical care during pregnancy 
and childbirth. Women have equal access to diagnosis and treatment for 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Women generally did not 
experience barriers to reproductive health services. The public health 
care system plays a major role in how women may access contraception, 
including access to sterilization. In public as well as private health 
care, the right to obtain and use contraceptives extends to all members 
of the population. The Population Reference Bureau reported that the 
rate of contraceptive use among married women was 80 percent. 
Approximately 94 percent of women had skilled attendance during 
childbirth in the public healthcare system. The UN Population Fund 
estimated the maternal mortality ratio in 2008 to be 30 deaths per 
100,000 live births.
    The law prohibits discrimination against women and obligates the 
Government to promote political, economic, social, and cultural 
equality. The Government maintained offices for gender problems in most 
ministries and parastatal organizations. The Labor Ministry is 
responsible for investigating allegations of gender discrimination. 
INAMU implemented programs that promoted gender equality and publicized 
the rights of women. During the year INAMU implemented a training 
program for men and the uniformed police that discussed male attitudes 
towards women. INAMU provided training that addressed gender-based 
violence, trafficking in persons, and commercial sexual exploitation 
during the year. INAMU also supervised basic courses on HIV prevention 
and attention. In addition INAMU developed a system of accreditation 
for offender assistance programs as stipulated by the violence against 
women law.
    In 2009 the Census Institute (INEC) reported that women represented 
42.1 percent of the labor force. Approximately 3.5 percent worked in 
agriculture, 11.5 percent in manufacturing, and 85 percent in the 
service sector. Women occupied 47.4 percent of professional and 
technical positions, 18.8 percent of high-level managerial/executive 
positions, and 33.9 percent of nonprofessional positions. The law 
requires that women and men receive equal pay for equal work. However, 
INEC estimated that earnings for women were 91.6 percent of earned 
income for men.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory or from either of one's parents. According to the UN 
Children's Fund, skilled medical staff attended 99 percent of births in 
hospitals, where all births are registered immediately. There were 
occasional problems encountered in the registration at birth of 
children born of migrant parents (see section 2.d.).
    Abuse of children remained a problem. For 2009 the judicial 
branch's statistics office reported 691 cases of sexual abuse of minors 
and 16 cases of attempted abuse, with 355 and nine perpetrators 
convicted, respectively. In addition, 33 cases involved sex with 
minors, 16 involved cases of sex with minors with payment involved, and 
four involved the sexual corruption of minors. During the year the 
autonomous National Institute for Children (PANI) assisted 2,533 
children and adolescents, including 3,330 cases of physical abuse, 769 
cases of intrafamily sexual abuse, and 537 cases of extrafamilial 
sexual 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. PANI estimated that a 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 year, PANI reported that it assisted 
minors in 104 separate cases of commercial sexual exploitation. The law 
against commercial sexual exploitation includes sanctions for 
possession of child pornography, greater protection for children 
younger than 14 years, and an extended statute of limitations for child 
abuse. In addition, PANI continued programs of comprehensive care for 
children and adolescents at risk and in vulnerable situations, combined 
with a program to help adolescent mothers return to school. The 
Government also identified child sexual tourism as a serious problem. 
The law criminalizes the commercial sexual exploitation of children and 
provides sanctions of up 18 years in prison. During 2009 and the first 
six months of the current year, PANI reported assisting 34 minor 
victims of trafficking in persons and smuggling; of the 34 cases, 29 
took place in San Jose and the Central Pacific coast of the country. 
During 2009 there were 103 cases of commercial sexual exploitation of 
minors in the Central Pacific coast, the Brunca, and the Atlantic 
regions where there were greater incidences of poverty, unemployment, 
school desertion, and drug addiction.
    The minimum age of consensual sex is 18 years. The law provides for 
sentences from two to 10 years in prison for statutory rape and 
sentences from three to eight years in prison for child pornography. 
Sentences are lengthier in aggravated circumstances: for example, rape 
involving physical violence or a victim under age 13 is punishable by 
10 to 16 years' imprisonment.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were some reports of anti-Semitic verbal 
abuse in public and occasional instances of anti-Semitic graffiti at 
public universities. The alleged victims did not press charges. Jewish 
Zionist Center estimated that there were 3,000 Jews in the country.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution prohibits 
discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, 
and mental disabilities in employment, education, health care access, 
or other state services. There were no reports of such discriminatory 
practices in education or in the provision of other state services. 
However, the Ombudsman's Office reported that, although there were some 
institutional efforts to improve the situation, there were isolated 
instances where a lack of interagency coordination prevented the 
implementation of comprehensive strategies to protect the fundamental 
rights of persons with disabilities. The Ombudsman's Office reported 
problems in access to employment for persons with disabilities.
    Although the law mandates access to buildings for persons with 
disabilities, the Government did not enforce this provision in 
practice, and many buildings remained inaccessible to persons with 
disabilities. In 2009 the Supreme Court's Constitutional Chamber upheld 
an appeal in favor of the right of persons with disabilities to gain 
access to state-owned or private facilities open to the public. Public 
transportation services improved access slightly for persons using 
wheelchairs. During the year the Ombudsman's Office received and 
investigated 29 complaints about violations of the law that protects 
equal opportunities for persons with disabilities.
    The TSE, with the assistance of the National Council on Disability 
(CNREE), implemented a program to facilitate the right of persons with 
disabilities to vote and participate in electoral activities. The TSE 
provided voting equipment (a Braille template) which enabled blind 
voters to vote independently and privately.
    The Ministry of Education continued to operate a program for 
persons with disabilities, including a national resource center that 
provided parents, students, and teachers with advanced counseling, 
training, and information services. There were 24 special education 
centers exclusively to assist special education students and those with 
disabilities, two more inside state hospitals, and an additional 
institute for the blind. In addition, 2,129 schools had programs to 
provide some support to students with disabilities, and the ministry 
provided special education to 14,815 students who registered in 2009.
    The CNREE is responsible for protecting the rights of persons with 
disabilities and for coordinating all organizations working on issues 
related to persons with disabilities.
    A political party, Accessibility without Exclusion, represented the 
interests of persons with disabilities and held four seats in the 
Legislative Assembly. In addition, a member of this party was elected 
mayor of the city of Liberia.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There were sporadic reports of 
discrimination, including labor discrimination, usually directed 
against Nicaraguans. At a November 12 information fair funded by a 
foreign government, approximately 1,000 migrants, mainly Nicaraguans, 
received information about their labor, economic, and human rights.

    Indigenous People.--The 2000 census recorded 63,876 indigenous 
persons from eight ethnic groups, accounting for 1.7 percent of the 
population. Seventy-three percent of the indigenous population lived in 
traditional communities on 24 reserves, most in remote locations. The 
law nominally protects reserve land as the collective, nontransferable 
property of the indigenous communities. Some indigenous landowners, 
however, illegally sold their land to nonindigenous persons to pay off 
debts. The Ombudsman's Office sought to return reserve land to 
indigenous groups. During the year the Ombudsman's Office received six 
complaints of discrimination against indigenous persons, including 
problems related to documentation, community development, and the right 
to be consulted about national legislation that might affect indigenous 
life, territories, or culture.
    The Ombudsman's Office reported that the Government excluded 
indigenous persons from decision-making processes regarding education, 
infrastructure, housing, and public services. The indigenous 
communities of Terraba, Curre, and Boruca were concerned about the 
sociocultural and environmental impact in their reserves of the 
development of the Diquis hydroelectric dam project. The Ombudsman's 
Office opened an investigation on this case, which continued at year's 
end.
    At year's end, nonindigenous property owners continued to hold 
title to land on approximately 39 percent of the reserves legally set 
aside for indigenous ownership. The law requires that the Government 
purchase all preexisting land titles within the reserves in order to 
secure exclusive use and ownership rights for indigenous populations.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws prohibiting 
discrimination against persons based on sexual orientation, and there 
were isolated cases of discrimination against persons based on sexual 
orientation.
    Organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons 
operated freely and lobbied for legal reforms. On June 27, a gay pride 
march occurred in San Jose; police authorized the march and provided 
protection to marchers.
    The Ombudsman's Office resolved one of four complaints of 
discrimination based on sexual orientation that it received during the 
year. In August the Supreme Court's Constitutional Chamber rejected a 
proposed referendum vote on civil unions between individuals of the 
same sex. The ruling annulled a TSE resolution that authorized the 
collection of signatures for a referendum vote to be held during the 
December municipal elections. The justices ruled that such a referendum 
would put the minority gay and lesbian population at a disadvantage, 
requiring government authorities to protect their rights. The court 
stated that the decision on homosexual civil union is a legislative, 
not an electoral issue.
    In June the TSE issued new rules for national identification cards 
to respect sexual identity on photographs. The new rules must be 
applied in the TSE regional offices and consulates abroad.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law and a 
presidential decree prohibit discrimination based on HIV/AIDS in health 
care, employment, and education. During the year the Ombudsman's Office 
reported receiving one complaint of discrimination against patients 
with HIV/AIDS. In February the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme 
Court ruled that the HIV test must not be a requirement for employment.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and 
join unions of their choice without prior authorization. Workers 
exercised this right in practice; however, restrictions on the minimum 
number of employees (12) needed to form a union may have hampered 
freedom of association in small enterprises. The law permits foreign 
workers to join unions but prohibits them from holding positions of 
authority within the unions. In July the Ministry of Labor and Social 
Security reported that approximately 11.5 percent of workers were 
unionized in 295 active unions.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
government interference. However, leadership of SINTRAJAP, the union 
for the country's largest ports, alleged that government officials 
colluded with a dissident group within the union to remove them from 
office because the union board opposed the concession of the ports of 
Limon and Moin. Through a series of questionable actions, the board 
members were removed in January and replaced with a new board that 
supported the concession of the ports. On August 25, the Supreme 
Court's Constitutional Chamber found that there had been a violation of 
due process, annulled the decision to remove the prior board, and 
ordered the Ministry of Labor to reinstate the ousted leadership. In 
September the Legislative Assembly formed a special committee to 
investigate and analyze all current and future concession processes and 
to provide recommendations to improve the concession model. As of 
December, the committee was exclusively devoted to investigating the 
concession of the highway to the Pacific coast.
    The law provides for the right to strike and workers exercised this 
right in practice, but at least 60 percent of the workers in an 
enterprise must support the strike. ILO considered this requirement 
excessive.
    Restrictions on the right to strike apply to those services 
designated as essential services by the Government, including those 
that concern the national economy or public health. The ILO noted that 
this also includes sectors such as oil refineries and ports that are 
not considered essential under international standards. Unions argued 
that the Government's broad definition of ``essential services'' denied 
many workers the right to strike.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The 
constitution protects the right of workers to organize and bargain 
collectively; however, there were barriers to exercising these rights 
in practice. The Labor Ministry did not have data available to 
determine the percentage of the workforce covered by collective 
bargaining agreements. As of October, the Labor Ministry reported the 
signing of 13 collective bargaining agreements, nine of them in the 
public sector and four in the private sector.
    Although public sector employees are permitted to bargain 
collectively, a 2006 decision of the Constitutional Chamber of the 
Supreme Court held that some fringe benefits received by certain public 
employees were disproportionate and unreasonable; it repealed sections 
of collective bargaining agreements between public sector unions and 
government agencies, thus restricting this right in practice.
    According to the Labor Ministry, there were further developments in 
agreements signed in 2009 and substantive changes regarding the right 
of public sector employees to bargain collectively. The ministry 
reported that the Labor Chamber of the Supreme Court concluded that 
collective agreements negotiated by employers and public employees, 
whose labor relations are regulated by labor law, are constitutional. 
However, there are restrictions in certain cases; for exmple, 
agreements in the public sector are legal so long as they do not 
regulate the working conditions of workers engaged in the 
administration of public affairs (in executive positions). The 
Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court also rejected some 
unconstitutionality petitions against collective bargaining agreements 
in the public sector. Such labor and constitutional rulings could 
reduce the number of future petitions against approved clauses in 
collective bargaining.
    The law requires employers to initiate the bargaining process with 
a trade union if more than one-third of the total workforce, including 
union and nonunion members, requests collective bargaining. The 
Government enforced this law in practice. In the private sector, 
however, ``direct bargaining arrangements'' between employers and 
nonunionized workers occurred more commonly. Such direct agreements 
were permitted in both unionized and nonunionized businesses. In a 2008 
study, the ILO concluded that such direct bargaining agreements 
disadvantaged workers because they did not result from balanced 
negotiations of two independent, adequately equipped parties. The 
Ministry of Labor reported 33 new direct agreements in the private 
sector as of October.
    The law permits the formation of ``solidarity associations,'' which 
provide access to credit for housing, education, and health, funded by 
contributions from both workers and employers. These associations were 
often organized by employers. The law prohibits such associations from 
representing workers in collective bargaining negotiations or in any 
other way that assumes the functions or inhibits the formation of trade 
unions. However, labor unions asserted that in practice solidarity 
associations conducted negotiations and that employers sometimes 
required membership in a solidarity association as a condition for 
employment. Trade union leaders contended that the existence of worker 
solidarity associations in many enterprises displaced unions and 
discouraged collective bargaining. Under solidarity associations, both 
employers and employees directly contribute to the financing of the 
association. According to the ILO, such associations, to the extent 
that they displaced trade unions, discouraged collective bargaining, 
affected the independence of workers' organizations from employers' 
influence, and contravened ILO Convention 98 on the right to organize 
and bargain collectively. As of July, 1,423 solidarity associations had 
approximately 255,492 members, representing 15 percent of the country's 
workers; 84 percent of these workers were in the private sector.
    Although the law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer 
interference in union activity, there continued to be a pattern of 
employers firing employees who wanted to unionize. There were reports 
that some employers preferred to use ``flexible,'' or short-term 
contracts, making it difficult for workers to organize and collectively 
bargain. There were also reports that migrant workers in agriculture 
were often hired on short-term contracts through intermediaries. These 
workers faced antiunion discrimination, challenges in organizing, and 
were often more vulnerable to labor exploitation.
    Although the Government reviewed cases of antiunion discrimination, 
the ILO continued to note that such cases often took an extremely long 
time to obtain a final ruling in the court, often due to numerous 
appeals. Similarly, the International Trade Union Confederation noted 
that the reinstatement process for workers that have been unfairly 
dismissed averaged three years. There was some progress in increasing 
the overall efficiency of judicial proceedings, but it was unclear what 
direct impact this has had on labor cases. Government mediation centers 
also continued to help alleviate caseload and address some labor 
disputes. The Labor Ministry reported 7,620 requests for conciliation 
during the year, 3,824 of which led to hearings; of these, 2,638 ended 
with agreements. However, trade unionists continued to assert that 
employer positions in these proceedings were often imposed on workers. 
The Ministry of Labor received 10 complaints of antiunion 
discrimination. As of November, six cases were pending, and the 
remaining four were closed.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
export processing zones (EPZs). Labor unions alleged, however, that 
efforts of EPZ workers to organize were met by illegal terminations of 
activists, threats, and intimidation. Unions also claimed that 
employers in the zones maintained blacklists of workers identified as 
activists. The ILO confirmed it found no trade unions operating in the 
country's EPZs but also identified the zones as a hostile environment 
for organizing.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were reports that such 
practices occurred.
    The National Coalition against Trafficking identified and studied 
two possible cases of trafficking in persons for the purpose of forced 
labor (in the fishing sector) during the year. One case involved 10 
victims and the other involved 41 victims, all from Asian countries. 
The coalition referred them to the judicial authorities for 
investigation. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law provides special occupational protection for minors. The code of 
children and young persons prohibits labor of all children under age 15 
without any exceptions; it supersedes the minimum working age of 12 
established in the labor code. Adolescents between the ages of 15 and 
18 may work for a maximum of six hours daily and 36 hours weekly. The 
law prohibits night work and overtime for minors. The law prohibits 
those under age 18 from engaging in hazardous or unhealthy activities. 
On December 20, the Legislative Assembly approved the list of 
activities considered hazardous, although its publication in the 
official gazette was pending at year's end. Under the code of children, 
working minors are entitled to attend educational establishments 
through flexible programs adapted to their interests and employment 
conditions and to participate in apprenticeship training programs. 
According to the ILO and the Labor Ministry, working minors between the 
ages of 15 and 18 sometimes received less than the minimum wage.
    Child labor, including the worst forms of child labor, occurred in 
several sectors of the economy, including in agriculture, fishing, 
construction, and service sectors of the economy--such as street 
vending, car washing, and domestic service. Child labor was mainly an 
issue in the informal economy; however, in some cases child labor was 
used in production on family farms and small third-party farms.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor laws 
and policies; the Office for the Eradication of Child Labor (OATIA) is 
responsible for coordinating government efforts against child labor. 
The ministry coordinated with National Institute for Children (PANI) on 
child protection issues. In general, the ministry effectively enforced 
child labor regulations in the formal sector through inspections. 
Resource limitations constrained government efforts to enforce child 
labor laws in the informal labor sector.
    During the year, PANI received 40 complaints of child labor 
exploitation. From January to November, the OATIA detected and assisted 
237 minors working mainly in agriculture, construction, domestic 
service, car washing, and street sales. During 2009 the Labor 
Ministry's Inspections Office conducted 149 child labor inspections. In 
the same year, the OATIA identified 16 minors below the age of 15 
engaged in hazardous work as well as 33 minors older than 15 but 
younger than 18 engaged in such work. The OATIA assisted 388 working 
minors and referred them to government institutions to be included in 
social programs that contribute to the progressive elimination of child 
labor and which favor reinsertion and permanence of children and 
adolescent workers in the educational system.
    The OATIA continued four projects aimed at improving the life and 
work conditions of adolescent workers and eradicating child labor. The 
OATIA with assistance from ILO's International Program on the 
Elimination of Child Labor developed a road map to combat child labor, 
connected to the national strategic plan to achieve the goals 
established by the ILO's Decent Work Agenda for the Hemisphere (2006-
15).

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--Monthly minimum wages for the 
private sector ranged from 128,526 colones (approximately $254) for 
household workers to 473,758 colones ($935) for university graduates. 
The Labor Ministry effectively enforced minimum wages in the San Jose 
area, but generally was not effective in enforcing the minimum wage law 
in rural areas, particularly where large numbers of migrants were 
employed. The national minimum wage also applied for migrant workers. 
The minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a 
worker and family. In August the Labor Ministry publicly recognized 
that many workers, including in the formal sector, received less than 
minimum wage. Unions also reported systematic violations of labor 
rights and provisions concerning working conditions, overtime, and 
wages in the EPZs.
    Inspectors are not authorized to establish fines and sanctions for 
employers who do not comply with labor laws. Inspectors investigate and 
refer noncompliance results to labor courts. The process to fine 
companies and get back wages and/or overtime pay may take years.
    The constitution sets workday hours, overtime remuneration, days of 
rest, and annual vacation rights. Workers generally may work a maximum 
of eight hours a day or 48 hours weekly. Overtime work is paid at a 
rate of 50 percent above the stipulated wages or salaries. All workers 
are entitled to one day of rest after six consecutive days of work and 
annual paid vacations. Although there is no statutory prohibition 
against compulsory overtime, the labor code stipulates that the workday 
may not exceed 12 hours.
    Nonagricultural workers must receive an overtime premium of 50 
percent of regular wages for work in excess of the daily shift. 
However, agricultural workers did not receive overtime pay if they 
worked voluntarily beyond their normal hours. Hourly work regulations 
were generally enforced in the formal labor market in San Jose but 
poorly enforced in rural areas and in the informal sector.
    Labor unions reported that overtime pay violations, such as 
nonpayment, and mandatory overtime were common in the private sector 
and particularly in EPZ industries. Unions asserted that overtime was 
required to preserve employment, that there were violations of premium 
payment requirements for overtime work, and, in some cases, that 
workers did not receive payment for some of their required overtime 
work.
    While the Labor and Health Ministries shared responsibility for 
drafting and enforcing occupational health and safety standards, they 
did not enforce these standards effectively. The law requires 
industrial, agricultural, and commercial firms with 10 or more workers 
to establish a joint management-labor committee on workplace conditions 
and also allows the Government to inspect workplaces and fine employers 
for violations. Most firms established such committees but did not use 
them effectively. There were reports that agricultural workers, 
particularly migrant laborers in the pineapple industry, worked in 
unsafe conditions, including being exposed to chemicals without proper 
training. The Chamber of Pineapple Producers and Exporters disagreed 
with the reports. The Ministry of Labor, in coordination with the 
Health Ministry and the National Insurance Institute, conducted three 
inspections in the provinces of Alajuela, Puntarenas, and Heredia and 
took concrete actions through the Inspection Directorate and the 
Occupation Safety Council to address labor problems identified in the 
pineapple industry.
    Although resource constraints continued to hinder the Labor 
Ministry Inspection Directorate's ability to carry out its inspection 
mandate, there were 14,385 inspections conducted in 2009. According to 
the Ministry of Labor, inspections occurred in response to complaints, 
per advanced scheduling, and at random in specific regions or 
activities. Workers who considered a work condition to be unhealthy or 
unsafe must make a written request for protection from the Labor or 
Health Ministry in order to remove themselves from the condition 
without jeopardizing their employment. The ministries generally 
addressed these complaints effectively by sending inspection teams to 
investigate them and coordinate with each other on follow-up actions.

                               __________

                                  CUBA

    Cuba, with a population of approximately 11.4 million, is a 
totalitarian state led by Raul Castro, who held the positions of chief 
of state, president of the council of state and council of ministers, 
and commander in chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. The 
constitution recognizes the Communist Party (CP) as the only legal 
party and ``the superior leading force of society and of the state.'' 
Fidel Castro, who formally relinquished power to his brother in 2008, 
remained the First Secretary of the CP. The 2008 legislative elections 
were neither free nor fair; a CP candidacy commission preapproved all 
candidates, resulting in the CP candidates and their allies winning 
98.7 percent of the vote and 607 of 614 seats in the National Assembly. 
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    The Government denied citizens the right to change their 
government. In addition, the following human rights abuses were 
reported: harassment, beatings, and threats against political opponents 
by government-organized mobs and state security officials acting with 
impunity; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, including 
selective denial of medical care; arbitrary detention of human rights 
advocates and members of independent organizations; and selective 
prosecution and denial of fair trial. Authorities interfered with 
privacy and engaged in pervasive monitoring of private communications. 
The Government also placed severe limitations on freedom of speech and 
press, constrained the right of peaceful assembly and association, 
restricted freedom of movement, and limited freedom of religion. The 
Government refused to recognize independent human rights groups or 
permit them to function legally. In addition, the Government continued 
to place severe restrictions on worker rights, including the right to 
form independent unions.
    The Government released more than 40 political prisoners, including 
many notable human rights activists arrested in 2003. Although most of 
these were released on the condition they leave the country, during the 
reporting period the Government allowed one to remain in the country. 
The releases, mediated by the Cuban Catholic Church, came in the wake 
of street protests and severe international criticism following the 
death from hunger-strike of political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo. 
During conversations with the church, the Government indicated that it 
planned to release all political prisoners in the near future.

                        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 abusive treatment of detainees and 
prisoners. However, there were verified reports that members of the 
security forces harassed and sometimes physically assaulted human 
rights and prodemocracy advocates, dissidents, detainees, and 
prisoners, and did so with impunity. Some detainees and prisoners 
endured physical abuse, sometimes by other inmates with the 
acquiescence of guards, or long periods in isolation cells.
    The Government continued to stage public protests to harass and 
abuse activists and their families. Although the Government 
characterized the mobs as spontaneous, participants frequently arrived 
in government-owned vehicles or were recruited by local CP leaders from 
nearby workplaces or schools. In extreme cases, government-orchestrated 
mobs assaulted the targets or damaged their homes or property. 
Undercover police and agents from the Ministry of the Interior's 
General Directorate for State Security (DGSE) were often present and 
coordinated activities with mob leaders. Government officials at the 
scene did not arrest those who physically attacked the victims or 
respond to victims' complaints. On more than one occasion, officials 
took part in the beatings.
    Many of these state-orchestrated ``acts of repudiation'' were 
directed against the Damas de Blanco (``Ladies in White''), a group of 
mostly female relatives and supporters of political prisoners, many of 
those prisoners were arrested in the spring of 2003.
    During the week leading up to the March 18 anniversary of the 2003 
arrests, the Damas held daily marches to commemorate the anniversary. 
On March 16, the Government bused in approximately 100 counter-
demonstrators who surrounded the Damas and shouted insults and 
progovernment slogans. On March 17, the Damas attempted to march 
through a neighborhood on the outskirts of Havana, but as the march 
progressed, approximately 300 progovernment counterdemonstrators 
arrived on buses, surrounded the Damas, shouted insults, and physically 
assaulted the marchers. Plainclothes police formed a ring around the 
Damas, providing protection from the worst of the blows, while state 
security officers were observed coordinating with mob leaders. 
Eventually, the mob completely blocked the path of the Damas, and 
police dragged the marchers onto a waiting bus. Foreign diplomats also 
observed state security officials drag a male relative of one of the 
marchers away, then repeatedly kick and punch him. All participants in 
the march were detained briefly and then released without charges.
    In the first half of the year, the Government also tried to prevent 
the Damas from staging their weekly march after Sunday Mass, which they 
had been doing unimpeded since their spouses were arrested in 2003. The 
confrontation escalated over the subsequent weeks, as the crowd of 
counterdemonstrators swelled in numbers and intensity, while police 
prevented all but a handful of Damas from reaching the church. On April 
18, progovernment forces surrounded the Damas as they left the church 
and prevented them from marching, screaming insults and obscenities 
while banging on pots and pans. On April 25, they again were surrounded 
after leaving church, forced into a nearby public park where they were 
assaulted, taunted, including with sexual and ethnic insults, and 
prevented from moving for more than seven hours. State security 
officials intervened and forced the ladies onto a public bus. The 
standoffs ended the following week, when Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega 
received assurances from President Castro that the Damas would be 
allowed to resume their Sunday marches.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
continued to be harsh and life threatening. The Government did not 
permit independent monitoring of prison conditions by international or 
national human rights groups and did not permit access to detainees by 
international humanitarian organizations. Food shortages were 
widespread, available food was often spoiled or infested with vermin, 
and many prisoners relied on family parcels of up to 30 pounds of food 
and other basic supplies that were brought during each visit.
    Prison cells lacked adequate water, sanitation, space, light, 
ventilation, and temperature control. Running water was rare and, if 
available, generally ran only for a limited time. Water for drinking 
and bathing was foul and frequently contaminated with parasites. Many 
prisoners reported receiving only one small glass of water per day, 
even when confined to sweltering cells during the summer. Vermin and 
insect infestations were common, with inmates reporting rats, 
cockroaches, fleas, lice, bedbugs, stinging ants, flies, and 
mosquitoes. Prisoners reported that they lacked access to basic and 
emergency medical care, including dental care. Prisoners engaged in 
hunger strikes throughout the year to demand medical treatment.
    Reports of beatings of prisoners were commonplace, and included 
beatings by prison officials as well as among prisoners. There were 
some reports of prisoner-on-prisoner sexual assaults, generally due to 
lax security by prison guards, and at least one report of rape by 
prison guards, although reports of sexual abuse were generally rare.
    On February 24, political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo died in 
government custody after conducting an 11-week hunger strike. Zapata's 
family alleged that prison officials denied him adequate care and 
medical treatment during the strike. Government officials, including 
President Castro, countered that Zapata received adequate treatment and 
had been informed of the health risks of a hunger strike.
    On June 12, the Government released political prisoner Ariel Sigler 
Amaya, who suffered from paraplegia as a side effect of severe 
malnutrition, after seven years in prison. On July 28, Sigler Amaya 
departed the country to seek medical treatment abroad.
    Prison cells were overcrowded, requiring prisoners to sleep on the 
floor and limiting freedom of movement during the day. Prisoners often 
slept on concrete bunks without a mattress. Where available, mattresses 
were thin and often infested with vermin. Prisoners reported that 
slight improvements at the end of 2009 (such as increases in mattress 
distributions and some alleviation of overcrowding) did not continue 
during the year.
    Prisoners, family members, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 
reported inadequate health care, which led to or aggravated 
hypertension, diabetes, heart conditions, asthma, skin disease, 
infections, digestive disorders, and conjunctivitis, among other 
maladies. Prisoners also reported outbreaks of dengue, tuberculosis, 
and hepatitis. Prison health workers often reused syringes, despite the 
existence of communicable diseases among inmates.
    The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation 
(CCDHRN) reported multiple prison deaths from heart attacks, asthma 
attacks, and other chronic medical conditions, as well as from suicide.
    The Government did not publish the number of prisoners or 
detainees, nor did it provide information regarding the number or 
location of detention centers, which included not only prisons but also 
work camps and other kinds of detention facilities. Estimates from 
unofficial sources of the prison and detention center population size 
vary widely, from as low as 30,000 to as high as 80,000. Men and women 
were held in separate prisons and police detention facilities. 
Generally, women reported suffering the same poor prison conditions as 
men, including lack of access to basic and emergency medical care. 
Women also reported lack of access to feminine hygiene products and 
adequate prenatal care. The Government did not release information on 
the treatment of minors at either youth or adult prisons or detention 
centers. There were reports of inmates as young as 15 in maximum-
security prisons.
    Political prisoners and the general prison population were kept in 
similar conditions. By refusing to wear standard prison uniforms, 
political prisoners frequently were denied certain privileges such as 
access to prison libraries and standard reductions in the severity of 
their sentence (for example, being transferred from a maximum security 
to a medium security prison, or to a work camp). Political prisoners 
also reported being threatened or harassed by fellow inmates whom they 
thought were acting on orders of prison authorities.
    Prisoners reported that solitary confinement was a common 
punishment for misconduct and that some had been held in isolation for 
months or even years at a time. In general prisoners in isolation had 
restrictions on family visits. The Government sometimes placed healthy 
prisoners in cells with mentally disturbed inmates.
    Prisoners and pretrial detainees had access to visitors, although 
some political prisoners' relatives reported that prison officials 
arbitrarily canceled scheduled visits. Prisoners were permitted limited 
religious observance. Both the Catholic Church and the Cuban Council of 
Churches (CCC) reported improved access to prisoners during the 
reporting period. In 2009 member churches of the CCC began holding 
regular services in selected prisons, mostly in the province of Havana. 
The CCC reported that the Government allowed continued expansion of 
this program during the year, with services offered in most if not all 
provinces. As in 2009, there were isolated reports that prison 
authorities did not inform inmates of their right to religious 
assistance, delayed months before responding to such requests, and 
limited visits to a maximum of two or three times a year.
    By law, prisoners and detainees may seek redress regarding prison 
conditions and procedural violations, such as continued incarceration 
after their prison sentence has expired. Prisoners reported that in 
practice government officials often refused to allow or accept 
complaints, or failed to respond to the complaints once submitted. 
However, the family of a political prisoner reported that central 
authorities resolved their complaints regarding prison living 
conditions after local authorities failed to do so. In another case, 
central government authorities instructed the local prison to stop 
denying privileges to a political prisoner who refused to wear the 
prison uniform. It is not clear whether the Government investigated or 
monitored allegations of inhumane conditions. If investigations did 
occur, the results were not publicly accessible.
    Although the Government had invited the UN special rapporteur for 
torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, 
to conduct a fact-finding mission to the country, no such visit 
occurred during the year. In June Special Rapporteur Manfred Nowak 
announced that the Government had failed to provide him with a date for 
the visit, despite several attempts on his part to come to an 
agreement. Nowak was not able to conduct the mission before his mandate 
expired on October 31.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The code of criminal procedure 
broadly governs arrests, pretrial, and trial procedures. Police have 
wide discretion to stop citizens and request their identification and 
to carry out arrests and searches.
    The law provides that police officials provide suspects with a 
signed ``act of detention,'' noting the basis, date, and location of 
any detention in a police facility, and a registry of any personal 
items seized during a police search. In practice police officials 
routinely failed to comply with these requirements during detentions or 
searches. Arbitrary stops and searches were most common in urban areas 
and at government-controlled checkpoints located at the entrances to 
provinces and municipalities. There were reports that police 
disproportionately stopped and questioned Afro-Cubans, particularly 
within Havana and in tourist areas.
    Police and security officials frequently utilized short-term 
detentions to prevent those it perceived as government opponents from 
assembling freely. Detentions generally lasted from several hours to 
several days. For example, on December 10 police detained dozens of 
political activists who attempted to participate in demonstrations 
marking International Human Rights Day. Most of the detainees were 
released within a few hours, after the demonstrations had been 
prevented.
    The CCDHRN reported that the Government increasingly relied on 
short-term preventive detentions to harass opponents rather than 
prosecution and incarceration, citing at least 2074 such detentions 
during the year, compared with fewer than 900 in 2009. Long-term 
incarcerations to punish opponents decreased, according to the CCDHRN. 
However, sources reported several cases late in the year in which the 
Government detained human rights activists who remained in detention at 
year's end.
    On December 25, brothers Marcos Maikel Lima Cruz and Antonio Michel 
Lima Cruz were detained for accusations of desecrating the Cuban flag 
and public disorder. The detentions followed a celebration the night 
before in which they reportedly danced on the street with the Cuban 
flag to the music of a well-known rap group that is sometimes critical 
of the Government. On December 9, Guantanamo-based activist Nestor 
Rodriguez Lobaina was detained as he was preparing to participate in 
events marking International Human Rights Day on December 10. On 
December 13, Rodriguez was moved to a maximum security prison. In 
November independent journalist Jose Agramonte Leyva was detained in 
Camaguey. At the end of the reporting period, all four continued to be 
held without charges.
    House detention without due process was another method commonly 
employed by the Government to prevent free assembly. Throughout April 
supporters of the Damas de Blanco reported being told that they would 
be arrested if they attempted to join public demonstrations. In Holguin 
Province the mother and supporters of deceased hunger striker and 
prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo reported throughout the 
summer and fall that state security agents, uniformed police, and 
government-organized mobs prevented them from visiting the nearby 
Catholic Church or Zapata's grave by blockading their neighborhood. The 
mobs often directed insults and ethnic slurs against Zapata's family, 
and there were reports that some of their supporters were roughed up. 
During house detentions, plainclothes state security officers or 
uniformed police officers stood directly in front of their homes or at 
the corner of their block.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of the 
Interior (MOI) exercises control over police, the internal security 
forces, and the prison system. The National Revolutionary Police (PNR) 
is the primary law enforcement organization and was moderately 
effective in investigating common crimes. Specialized units of the 
MOI's state security service are responsible for monitoring, 
infiltrating, and suppressing opposition political groups. The PNR 
supports the MOI by carrying out house searches, arresting persons of 
interest to the MOI, and providing interrogation facilities for state 
security agents.
    Police routinely violated procedural laws with impunity and often 
failed or refused to provide citizens with legally required 
documentation, particularly during arbitrary detentions and searches. 
Members of the security forces acted with impunity in committing 
numerous, serious civil rights and human rights abuses. While the PNR 
ethics code and MOI regulations forbid brutality, security forces 
continued to employ aggressive and physically abusive tactics. The 
Government did not announce any investigations into police misconduct 
during the year.
    Although the law on criminal procedure prohibits the use of 
coercion during investigative interrogations, police and security 
forces routinely relied on threats and harassment during questioning. 
Detainees reported that officers threatened them with long-term 
detention, loss of child custody rights, denial of permission to depart 
the country, and suggestions designed to intimidate, such as that an 
elderly relative might suffer an accident or that a child might not 
pass the end-of-year exams.
    For example, during a December 1 detention, state security officers 
told former political prisoner Darsi Ferrer and his wife that if they 
continued to engage in dissident activity, the Government might take 
custody of their nine-year-old son.
    There were no mechanisms available to investigate government 
abuses.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The code of 
criminal procedure broadly governs arrests, pretrial, and trial 
procedures, including investigative and pretrial detention. After an 
arrest, police have 24 hours to present a criminal complaint to a 
police official called an instructor. The instructor then has 72 hours 
to investigate and prepare a report for the prosecutor. The prosecutor 
then has an additional 72 hours to recommend to the appropriate court 
whether to open a criminal investigation.
    Detainees have no right to counsel during this period. By law, 
after the 168-hour detention period, detainees must be informed of the 
basis for the arrest and criminal investigation, and have access to 
legal representation. Detainees facing formal charges must retain 
counsel within five days of being charged or the state can appoint an 
attorney on their behalf. Those charged can be released on bail, placed 
in home detention, or held in continued investigative detention.
    In practice, however, officials often disregard many of these 
procedures. Suspects often are detained longer than 168 hours without 
being informed of the nature of the arrest or being afforded legal 
counsel. In a survey of fellow prisoners conducted in 2009 and 2010, a 
noted dissident reported that 64 percent of pretrial detainees where he 
was being held had spent weeks and sometimes months without having ever 
seen an attorney or being informed of the charges against them.
    Once the accused has an attorney, the defense has five days to 
respond to the prosecution's charges, after which a court date usually 
is set. There were many reports that defendants with public defenders 
met their attorneys for the first time only minutes before their 
trials. Prosecutors can demand summary trials ``in extraordinary 
circumstances'' and in cases involving crimes against state security.
    Bail was available, although typically not granted in cases 
involving alleged antigovernment activity. Time in detention before 
trial counted toward time served if convicted.
    Detainees can be interrogated at any time during detention and have 
no right to request the presence of counsel. Detainees have the right 
to remain silent, but officials do not have a legal obligation to 
inform them specifically of that right.
    By law, investigators must complete criminal investigations within 
60 days. Prosecutors may grant investigators two 60-day extensions upon 
request, for a total of 180 days of investigative time. This deadline, 
however, can be waived by the supervising court in ``extraordinary 
circumstances'' and upon special request by the prosecutor. In that 
instance, no additional legal requirement exists to complete an 
investigation and file criminal charges. Detainees have been held for 
months or years in investigative detention, in both political and 
nonpolitical cases. In nonpolitical cases delays were often due to 
bureaucratic inefficiencies, a lack of checks on police, and 
prosecutorial or judicial excesses.
    Foreign development worker Alan Gross was arrested in December 2009 
and at year's end had been held for over a year without having been 
informed of the charges against him or ever having been brought before 
the courts. Darsi Ferrer was held for 11 months before being formally 
charged, tried, convicted, sentenced, and released for time served, all 
on June 21. In August prosecutors charged political dissidents Ihosvani 
Suris de la Torre, Santiago Padron Quintero, and Maximo Pradera Valdez, 
who had been detained without charges since 2001.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution recognizes 
the independence of the judiciary, the judiciary is subordinate to the 
imperatives of the socialist state. The National Assembly appoints all 
judges and can remove them at any time. Through the National Assembly, 
the state exerted near-total influence over the courts and their 
rulings.
    Civilian courts existed at the municipal, provincial, and Supreme 
Court levels. Military tribunals, which are governed by a special law, 
assumed jurisdiction for certain ``counterrevolutionary'' civilian 
cases (almost always political in nature). Military tribunals may also 
have jurisdiction over civilians in cases where any of the defendants 
were members of the military, police force, or other law enforcement 
agency. In these tribunals defendants have the right to know the 
charges, the right to an attorney, and the right to appeal.

    Trial Procedures.--Due process rights applied equally to all 
citizens as well as foreigners, but courts often failed to protect or 
observe these rights. The law presumes defendants are innocent until 
proven guilty, but authorities often ignored this in practice, placing 
the burden on the defendant to prove innocence rather than on the 
prosecution to prove guilt.
    Defendants generally have the right to a public trial, but 
politically motivated trials are often held in secret, citing 
exceptions for crimes involving ``state security'' or ``extraordinary 
circumstances.'' The law does not provide for jury trials. Almost all 
cases concluded in less than one day.
    The law provides the accused with the right to be present during 
trial and requires that defendants be represented by an attorney at 
trial, if necessary at public expense. Defendants' attorneys can cross-
examine state witnesses and/or present witnesses and evidence on the 
defendants' behalf.
    Criteria for presenting evidence were often arbitrary and 
discriminatory. According to numerous reports, prosecutors routinely 
introduced irrelevant or unreliable evidence, such as character 
witnesses who testified about the revolutionary background of a 
defendant.
    Defense attorneys have the right to review the police investigation 
file at any time, unless the investigation involves ``crimes against 
the security of the state.'' In these cases defense attorneys are not 
allowed access to the file until charges have been filed. In practice 
many detainees reported that their attorneys had difficulties accessing 
their files due to bureaucratic and administrative obstacles. Attorneys 
of political detainees reported that they often had greater difficulty 
gaining access to their clients' files.
    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.'' The authorities mostly applied this law to target prostitutes, 
alcoholics, young persons who refused to report to work centers, and 
repeat offenders of laws restricting change of domicile. The CCDHRN 
estimated 200-300 people were convicted on charges of potential 
dangerousness during the reporting period.
    On September 15, twenty-five-year-old Yanisleidys Ramirez Teruel of 
Ciego de Avila was sentenced to four years in prison on dangerousness 
charges. According to trial documents, the prosecutor alleged that 
since July 23, Ramirez had engaged in sexual relationships with 
foreigners in Havana ``with the goal of obtaining economic benefits.'' 
Family members reported that Ramirez had been living in Havana with her 
aunt, and that both she and her family were longstanding opponents of 
the Government. They also noted that Ramirez's pre-trial interrogations 
focused on her connections to various political opposition groups.
    Ramirez's defense attorney was allowed 13 minutes before the trial 
to review the prosecution's evidence and speak with Ramirez. Because 
dangerousness is a ``precriminal'' sanction, the law does not require 
evidence of the commission of a crime in order to convict. The court 
recounted the prosecution's allegations in its sentence and stated 
that, because Ramirez had failed to show a ``positive change'' in her 
behavior despite two meetings with local authorities, ``it was 
necessary to remove her from her current environment in order to 
reeducate and, afterward, reincorporate [her] into society.'' The court 
then sentenced Ramirez to four years in a ``Specialized Center for Work 
or Study'' (known locally as a ``reeducation camp''). Ramirez was given 
three days to appeal her sentence; her appeal was denied on September 
24 in a thirty minute trial.
    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. In December, for instance, the Supreme Court 
reduced the death sentences of two Salvadoran nationals to life 
imprisonment, following an appeal.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--During the year the Catholic 
Church mediated the release of dozens of political prisoners and 
prisoners of conscience. The Government indicated that it not only 
would release the remaining 52 political prisoners arrested in March 
2003, but that it would release all political prisoners, including 
dozens of civil society activists like independent journalist Santiago 
Du Bouchet Hernandez, who was arrested in April 2009 and Agustin 
Cervantes, a leader in the Christian Liberation Movement's Varela 
Project, who was arrested in September 2009.
    At year's end the CCDHRN reported that at least 105 political 
prisoners remained in jail, compared to 194 at the end of 2009. The 
Government continued to deny the existence of political prisoners, 
claiming that all of the country's prisoners had been justly convicted. 
International and domestic NGOs and opposition figures note that the 
law criminalizes even peaceful anti-government activity or expression.
    Political prisoners were charged with crimes such as: ``aiding a 
foreign power,'' distributing ``enemy propaganda,'' ``contempt'' of 
authorities, ``sabotage,'' and violating national security. Others were 
convicted of attempting to leave the country illegally, assault, or 
social dangerousness.
    Lack of governmental transparency and systemic violations of due 
process rights obfuscated the true nature of criminal prosecutions and 
investigations, allowing government authorities to prosecute and 
sentence human rights activists for common crimes. This issue continued 
to complicate attempts by observers to calculate the number of 
political prisoners.
    Political prisoners were not given the same protections as other 
prisoners or detainees. In particular they were frequently denied early 
parole or transfers to lower-security facilities that were commonly 
granted to other prisoners. Political prisoners also generally were 
denied access to home visits, prison classes, phone calls, and on 
occasion, family visits. Some political prisoners refused to wear a 
prison uniform. Although prison authorities generally punished such 
refusals, many prisoners reported that they were eventually given 
permission to wear clothing of their own choosing.
    The Government continued to refuse international humanitarian 
organizations access to political prisoners, although many political 
prisoners were able to communicate information about their living 
conditions through phone calls to human rights observers and reports to 
family members.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Civil courts exist at the 
municipal, provincial, and Supreme Court levels, and oversee civil, 
administrative, labor, and economic matters. These can include child 
custody determinations, marriage annulments, contractual disputes, 
claims for economic damages, forced expropriations, and other matters 
existing between either natural or legal persons, so long as one party 
to the dispute is Cuban. Civil courts, like all courts in the country, 
lack an independent or impartial judiciary as well as effective 
procedural guarantees. Although it is legally possible to seek judicial 
remedies through civil courts for violations of administrative 
determinations, contacts noted that general procedural and bureaucratic 
inefficiencies often delayed or undermined the enforcement of both 
administrative determinations and civil court orders. No courts allowed 
claimants to bring lawsuits seeking remedies for human rights 
violations.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution protects citizens' privacy rights in 
their homes and correspondence, and police must have a warrant signed 
by the prosecutor or magistrate before entering or conducting a search. 
In practice, however, police searched homes and seized personal goods 
without the legally required documentation. The Government also 
physically and electronically monitored civil society activists. The 
MOI employed a system of informants and block committees (known as 
``Committees for the Defense of the Revolution'' or CDRs) to monitor 
government opponents and report on their activities. DGSE agents 
subjected foreign journalists and diplomats to occasional harassment 
and surveillance, including electronic surveillance and surreptitious 
entry into their homes.
    To fend off criticism after the death of political prisoner Orlando 
Zapata Tamayo, the Government aired on state television footage of 
meetings between Zapata Tamayo's physicians and family, taken without 
their knowledge and used without their consent.
    The CP is the only legally recognized political party, and the 
Government actively suppressed attempts to form other parties. Party 
membership is not required to obtain common government services, like 
rations, housing, or medical care. However, the Government encouraged 
mass political mobilization and favored citizens who actively 
participated, especially when awarding valued public benefits like 
admissions to higher education, fellowships, jobs and other benefits.
    Relatives of political dissidents sometimes suffered reprisals. 
Some wives and children of opposition figures were denied employment 
for being ``untrustworthy,'' prevented from enrolling at universities, 
or denied academic distinctions or exit permits to leave the country 
and return.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution provides for 
freedom of speech and of the press only insofar as they ``conform to 
the aims of socialist society.'' In practice the Government had little 
tolerance for public criticism of government officials or programs. 
Laws banning criticism of government leaders and distribution of 
antigovernment propaganda carry penalties ranging from three months' to 
15 years' imprisonment.
    The Government directly owned and the CP controlled all print and 
broadcast media outlets and did not allow editorial independence. News 
and information programming was nearly uniform across all outlets. 
Controls on information were so tight that even the state-run media 
complained at times, as evidenced by an op-ed that appeared briefly on 
the CP Youth newspaper's website before being pulled down. The 
Government also controlled nearly all book publications, requiring CP 
approval before materials could go to press.
    The Government does not recognize independent journalism, and 
subjected some independent journalists to travel bans, detentions, 
harassment, equipment seizures, and threats of imprisonment. DGSE 
agents have been known to pose as independent journalists in order to 
gather information. Twenty of the political prisoners that the 
Government released into exile this year had worked as independent 
journalists prior to their imprisonment in 2003; at least five others 
remained in prison.
    Catholic priests and other clergy were able to deliver sermons 
without prior government approval and in some cases criticized the 
Government without reprisals. Priests and senior clergy openly and 
publicly criticized President Castro and the country's leadership in 
church publications and media interviews without reprisals, openly 
questioning how the country's leadership dealt with criticism and 
managed the economy. Catholic publications in Havana and Pinar del Rio 
often challenged government policies and assumptions. In February the 
Cuban Council of Churches issued a statement lamenting the death of 
hunger striker Zapata.
    The Catholic Church received permission to broadcast Easter Mass on 
state-run stations, in addition to the broadcast of Christmas Mass that 
has been permitted since the 1990s. On August 8, the Government also 
allowed the broadcast of a special Mass marking the beginning of a 
year-long celebration for the 400th anniversary of the Virgin of 
Charity, named by the Catholic Church as the patron saint of the 
country. In addition, the Government authorized the CCC, the 
Government-recognized Protestant umbrella organization, to host a 
series of hour-long radio broadcasts throughout the country.
    The law prohibits distribution of printed material from foreign 
sources that are considered ``counterrevolutionary'' or critical of the 
Government. Foreign newspapers or magazines were generally unavailable. 
Distribution of material with political content, interpreted broadly to 
include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was not allowed and 
resulted in harassment and even detention. The Government continued to 
jam the transmissions of Radio Marti and Television Marti.
    The Government sometimes barred independent libraries from 
receiving materials from abroad and sometimes seized materials donated 
by foreign governments.

    Internet Freedom.--There were significant government restrictions 
on access to the Internet and widespread reports that the Government 
monitored e-mail and Internet chat rooms and browsing. The Government 
controlled all Internet access, with the exception of extremely limited 
facilities provided by a few diplomatic missions and some black market 
facilities. While the Government claimed 14 percent of the population 
had access to the Internet, in many cases this access was limited to a 
domestic ``intranet'' which offered only e-mail or highly restricted 
access to the World Wide Web.
    Since there is no fiber optic cable connection to the country, all 
Internet traffic passes through dial-up or limited satellite 
connections. Citing these limitations, the Government granted Internet 
access only to a chosen few, consisting mostly of government officials, 
established professionals, professors, students, journalists, and 
artists. Others could access limited e-mail and Internet services 
through government-sponsored ``youth clubs'' or Internet centers 
approved and regulated by the Ministry for Information Technology and 
Communications.
    Authorities reviewed the browsing history of authorized users, 
reviewed and censored e-mail, employed Internet search filters, and 
blocked access to Web sites considered objectionable. Numerous human 
rights groups reported that authorities used mobile patrols to search 
for unauthorized Internet and satellite television equipment. When 
police discovered violators, they confiscated the equipment and fined 
the owners.
    While the law does not set specific penalties for unauthorized 
Internet use, it is illegal to own a satellite dish that would provide 
uncensored Internet access. In 2008 the Government instructed providers 
of public Internet access to block access to sites ``whose contents are 
contrary to social and moral interests and community standards'' or 
applications that ``affect the integrity or the security of the 
state.'' The same resolution ordered Internet providers to prevent the 
use of encryption software and the transfer of encrypted files. Despite 
the limited access, the harassment, and the infrastructure challenges, 
a growing number of citizens maintained blogs where they often posted 
opinions critical of the Government, with help from foreign supporters 
who often built and kept the blog sites. Local access to the majority 
of these blogs was blocked.
    Both foreigners and citizens were allowed to buy Internet access 
cards from the national telecommunications provider and to use hotel 
business centers, where Internet access could be purchased only in hard 
currency. Access usually cost between five and 10 convertible pesos 
($5.40 to $10.80) an hour, a rate beyond the means of most citizens.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--The Government restricted 
academic freedom and controlled the curriculum at all schools and 
universities, emphasizing the importance of reinforcing ``revolutionary 
ideology'' and ``discipline.'' Most academics refrained from meeting 
with foreigners, including diplomats, journalists, and academics, 
without prior government approval, and those permitted to travel abroad 
were aware that their actions, if deemed politically unfavorable, could 
negatively affect them and their relatives back home.
    In a well-publicized case in June, the CP expelled Professor 
Esteban Morales from the party after he published an article addressing 
the challenges posed by government corruption. Morales, a senior 
University of Havana professor, had been a frequent guest on the state-
run television nightly news program Mesa Redonda (``Roundtable'') prior 
to the publication of the article but has not appeared on the show 
since.
    Public libraries required a letter of permission from an employer 
or academic institution for access to books or information.

    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--Unauthorized assemblies of more than three 
persons, including those for private religious services in private 
homes, can be punished by up to three months in prison and a fine, 
although these meetings were more likely to be broken up than 
prosecuted. The Government did not grant permission to antigovernment 
demonstrators or approve public meetings by human rights groups. Early 
in the year, the Government tried to prevent the Damas de Blanco from 
marching without permits, but their defiance in the face of state-
organized mobs eventually led the Government to relent (see section 1. 
c).
    Civil society organizations reported continued suppression of the 
right to assemble. On October 29, more than three dozen independent 
lawyers, journalists, and human rights activists attempted to gather in 
a private home to discuss UN treaties and domestic laws that affect 
civil society organizations. In the hours before the scheduled meeting, 
plainclothes security forces surrounded the building and demanded 
identification from the people who attempted to enter. With assistance 
from uniformed police, several prominent attendees were detained and 
driven to police stations where they were held for several hours, then 
released without charges.
    The Government continued to allow religious processions in 
celebration of important religious holidays, and at least two religious 
groups held public processions without obtaining a permit without 
repercussions.
    Human rights activists reported frequent government monitoring and 
disruption of cell phone and landline services prior to planned events 
or key anniversaries related to human rights.

    Freedom of Association.--The Government routinely denied its 
citizens freedom of association, and did not recognize independent 
associations. The constitution proscribes any political organization 
that is not officially recognized. Authorities have never recognized an 
independent human rights organization; however, a number of independent 
organizations and professional associations operated as NGOs without 
legal recognition.
    Recognized churches, the Roman Catholic humanitarian organization 
Caritas, the Freemason movement, and a number of fraternal and 
professional organizations were the only associations legally permitted 
to function outside the formal structure of the state, the CP, and the 
Government-organized organizations. All religious groups are 
accountable to the Government's Office of Religious Affairs, which has 
the authority to deny permits for religious activities and exerts 
pressure on church leaders. The authorities continued to ignore 
applications for legal recognition from new groups, including several 
new religious groups as well as women's rights and gay rights 
organizations, thereby subjecting members to potential charges of 
illegal association.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--There are severe restrictions on 
freedom of movement within the country, on foreign travel, and on 
migration with the right of return.
    The Government tightly restricted foreign and domestic travel and 
limited internal migration from rural areas to Havana. Some dissidents 
reported that they were prevented from leaving their home provinces or 
detained by authorities and returned.
    Although the constitution allows all citizens to travel anywhere 
within the country, changes of residence were heavily restricted. The 
local housing commission and provincial government authorities must 
authorize any change of residence. Anyone living in a location 
illegally may be fined and sent back to their place of residence. While 
the regulation was in effect nationwide, it was applied most frequently 
in Havana. Thousands of people lived in Havana illegally and without 
access to food rations or local identification cards. There were cases 
where police had threatened to prosecute for ``dangerousness'' anyone 
who returned to Havana after having been expelled.
    The Government restricted both migration and temporary foreign 
travel, by requiring exit permits and forcing would-be migrants to 
forfeit most of their belongings, including houses. The Government 
allowed the majority of persons who qualified for immigrant or refugee 
status in other countries to depart. However, at least 300 citizens who 
had received foreign travel documents were denied exit permits during 
the year. Persons routinely denied exit permits included medical 
personnel, men of military age, former military or security personnel, 
and members of the opposition. The Government requires university 
graduates to perform social service work for periods that run for up to 
five years, during which they are not allowed to leave the country.
    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 from dissidents.
    Juan Juan Almeida, son of deceased leader of the Cuban Revolution 
Juan Almeida Bosque, was repeatedly denied an exit permit to seek 
medical treatment. Early in the year, he launched a blog featuring the 
stories of others who had been denied exit permits, and in June he 
began a hunger strike to demand the right to leave. In August Cardinal 
Ortega intervened, and the Government let Almeida depart.
    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 internally exile 
any person whose presence in a given location is considered ``socially 
dangerous.''
    Those seeking to migrate legally alleged they also faced police 
interrogation, fines, house searches, harassment, and intimidation by 
the Government, including involuntary dismissal from employment. 
Government employees who applied to migrate legally to the United 
States sometimes were fired from their jobs when their plans became 
known.
    Fees for medical exams, exit permissions, passport costs, and 
airport taxes are payable only in hard currency and amounted to 
approximately 630 convertible pesos (approximately $680) for an adult, 
or nearly three years' salary. These fees represented a significant 
hardship, particularly for migrants who had been forced from their jobs 
and had no income. At year's end some would-be migrants were unable to 
leave the country because of their inability to pay exit fees. 
Authorities 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 
300 to 1,000 pesos (approximately $11 to $38) for unauthorized 
departures by boat or raft. In practice, however, most were detained 
for no more than two to three weeks and given a fine. The Government 
sometimes applied a law on human smuggling to would-be migrants charged 
with organizing or promoting illegal exits. The law provides for 
imprisonment from two to five years for those who organize, promote, or 
incite illegal exit from national territory. The CCDHRN estimated that 
at year's end approximately 300 citizens had been fined, were awaiting 
charges, or were serving sentences on smuggling charges. Jail terms 
were more common for persons attempting to flee to the United States 
through the Guantanamo U.S. Naval Base. 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 such as fines, expulsion from school, and 
job loss.
    The Government generally refused to accept nationals returned from 
U.S. territory beyond the limits of the Migration Accord.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, 
but 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 the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion. These protections were also provided to some 
fugitives from justice, whom the Government defined as refugees for 
political reasons.
    The Government worked with the Office of the UN High Commissioner 
for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing 
protection and assistance to the small number of refugees and asylum 
seekers in the country while third country settlement was being sought. 
In addition the Government allowed foreign medical students who feared 
persecution in their home countries to remain in the country after the 
end of their studies so that an investigation of their concerns could 
be conducted.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    While the constitution provides for direct election of provincial, 
municipal, and National Assembly members, citizens do not have the 
right to change their government, and the Government retaliated against 
those who sought peaceful political change.
    In 2008 the National Assembly unanimously elected Raul Castro to 
succeed his brother as chief of state and president.
    In the 2008 National Assembly elections, the Government promoted a 
unified CP-approved slate of candidates. The CP candidates and their 
allies won 98.7 percent of the vote and 607 of 614 seats in the 
National Assembly.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Candidates for provincial 
and national office must be approved in advance by state-run mass 
organizations, such as the women's and CP youth organizations. A small 
group of leaders selected all senior positions, including the 
presidency and vice presidencies, the Council of State, and the members 
of the CP Politburo and the Central Committee, to be rubber stamped by 
the larger bodies of the National Assembly or the CP. In theory, non CP 
members could contest elections, but in practice CP membership was a 
prerequisite for high-level official positions except for municipal 
assemblies, the lowest elected bodies which are largely symbolic. All 
candidates must be approved by CP dominated candidacy commissions that 
approve only one candidate per office.
    There was one woman in the 24 member Politburo and 15 in the 107 
member Central Committee. Women held eight seats in the 27 member 
Council of State and 265 seats in the 614 seat National Assembly.
    Persons of African descent held five seats in the Politburo. 
Following the selection of the National Assembly in 2008, the 
Government reported the Assembly's composition as 64 percent white, 19 
percent black, and 16 percent mixed race.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government is highly sensitive to corruption allegations and often 
conducts anticorruption crackdowns. In 2009 it created the post of 
comptroller to handle better the growing problem of corruption, while 
during the year, over a dozen high-level officials and prominent 
business people were detained under suspicion of corruption. The World 
Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected that government 
corruption was a growing problem.
    There were widespread reports of corruption in the police and 
courts. Multiple sources reported that police sometimes conducted 
searches of homes and vehicles, then sought bribes in place of fines or 
arrests. A prominent independent lawyer reported that prosecutors and 
judges accepted money in exchange for reduced charges or shorter 
sentences.
    Government officials were not subject to special financial 
disclosure laws. The law provides for three to eight years' 
imprisonment for ``illegal enrichment'' by authorities or government 
employees. All government agencies, especially the Ministry of Auditing 
and Control and the Ministry of the Interior, were tasked with 
combating corruption, including through prosecution of government 
officials.
    The law provides for public access to government information, but 
in practice requests for information were routinely rejected.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    The Government did not recognize domestic human rights groups or 
permit them to function legally. Several human rights organizations 
continued to function outside the law, including the CCDHRN, the 
Christian Liberation Movement (MCL), the Assembly to Promote Civil 
Society, and the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights. The Government 
subjected domestic human rights advocates to intimidation and 
harassment.
    There are no officially recognized, independent NGOs that monitor 
human rights. The Government refused to recognize or meet with any 
unauthorized NGOs who monitor human rights.
    The Government continued to deny human rights organizations, the 
UN, and the International Committee of the Red Cross access to all 
prisoners and detainees.

Section 6. 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 criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and the 
Government enforced the law. The Government did not release statistics 
during the year on arrests, prosecutions, or convictions for rape, and 
no reliable information regarding the incidence of rape was available.
    The law does not recognize domestic violence as a distinct category 
of violence but prohibits threats and violence, including those 
associated with domestic violence. Penalties for domestic violence are 
covered by the laws against assault and range from fines to prison 
sentences of varying lengths, depending on the severity of the offense.
    To raise awareness about domestic violence, the Government 
continued to carry out media campaigns during the year. In addition a 
few government-organized organizations held conferences and worked with 
local communities to improve services. UNICEF reported that the 
Government ran shelters for women and children in most communities, 
with staff trained in assisting victims of abuse. The director of the 
Center for Women's Studies (part of the state-run Federation of Cuban 
Women) acknowledged the problem during a conference held in November 
and expressed the organization's commitment to improving services, 
especially in rural areas. Other conference participants discussed 
reasons many women did not report domestic violence and ways to 
encourage more women to come forward.
    The law provides penalties for sexual harassment, with potential 
sentences of three months to five years' imprisonment. The Government 
did not release any statistics on arrests, prosecutions, or convictions 
for offenses related to sexual harassment.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and means to 
do so free from discrimination. Women and men were given equal access 
to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted 
infections, including HIV. Access to information on contraception and 
skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were widely 
available. The UN Population Fund reported in 2008 that 77 percent of 
women ages15 to 49 used some form of birth control and UNICEF reported 
that the maternal mortality ratio in 2008 was 53 maternal deaths per 
100,000 live births.
    The law accords women and men 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.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory.
    There was no societal pattern of child abuse.
    While there were reports of underage prostitution, there were no 
reliable statistics available regarding its extent. The minimum age of 
consent for consensual sex is 16. There is no statutory rape law; 
however, penalties for rape increase as the age of the victim 
decreases. While the law does not specifically prohibit child 
pornography, it prohibits the production or distribution of any kind of 
obscene graphic material, with possible sanctions ranging from three 
months to one year in prison and a fine.
    The Government, in cooperation with the British government and a 
British NGO, ran a center in Havana for the treatment of child sexual 
abuse victims, including victims of trafficking. The center employed 
modern treatment techniques, including the preparation of children to 
be witnesses in criminal prosecutions.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. For information on international 
parental child abduction, please see the Department of State's annual 
report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were between 1,000 and 1,500 members of the 
Jewish community. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts or other 
societal abuses or discrimination based on religious affiliation, 
belief, or practice.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 Ministry of Labor and Social Security 
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, communications facilities or 
information for persons with disabilities, and in practice facilities 
and services were rarely accessible to persons with disabilities.
    The Special Education Division of the Ministry of Education is 
responsible for the education and training of children with 
disabilities. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is in charge of 
the Job Program for the Handicapped.
    In January at least 26 patients died at the Government-run 
``Mazorra'' Pyschiatric Hospital in Havana when temperatures dropped to 
near freezing. Havana residents familiar with the hospital alleged that 
the deaths were due to negligence, and reported that the patients, many 
of them elderly, suffered from severe malnutrition, lived in unheated 
rooms with broken windows, and lacked jackets or blankets. On January 
16, the Ministry of Public Health acknowledged the deaths, cited 
``deficiencies'' in the hospital's administration, and stated that 
responsible officials would face criminal charges. On July 22, 
President Castro replaced the minister of public health. Unofficial 
reports at the end of the year indicated that the Government was 
preparing charges against several people involved in the case.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Afro Cubans often suffered 
racial discrimination, including disproportionate stops for identity 
checks and searches, and could be subject to racial epithets. Afro 
Cubans were represented disproportionately in neighborhoods with the 
worst housing conditions and were economically disadvantaged.
    At a conference in July, a prominent University of Havana professor 
led an open discussion on racism and discrimination against Afro-
Cubans. Students, community leaders, and local residents participated 
in the discussion, shared personal stories of discrimination, and 
discussed policy and educational approaches to improving the situation.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Officially, there was no 
discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, 
statelessness, or access to education or health care. However, societal 
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity 
persisted, and police occasionally conducted sweeps in areas where gay 
men congregated. In November gay rights activists reported that police 
conducted raids on several areas frequented by gay men in Santa Clara 
and detained a number of gay men. The men were taken to local police 
stations where they were fined and threatened with prosecution for 
social dangerousness.
    In September during an interview with the foreign press, former 
president Fidel Castro acknowledged and accepted responsibility for the 
mistreatment of gays and lesbians during the 1960s and 70s, when they 
were considered ``counter-revolutionaries'' and many were sent to re-
education camps. Mariela Castro, President Castro's daughter, headed 
the national Center for Sexual Education and continued to be outspoken 
in promoting gay rights. In January she acknowledged publicly that some 
discrimination continued to exist against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) persons and called on the CP to take steps to 
eliminate it. Despite these efforts, several nongovernment gay rights 
activists asserted that the Government had not done enough to stop 
harassment of LGBT persons.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Some persons with HIV/
AIDS suffered job discrimination or were rejected by their families. 
The Government operated four prisons exclusively for inmates with HIV/
AIDS; some inmates were serving sentences for ``propagating an 
epidemic.''

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law does not allow workers to 
form and join independent unions of their choice. The only legal labor 
union in the country was the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), or 
the Workers' Central Union of Cuba, whose leaders were chosen by the 
CP. The CTC's principal responsibility was to ensure that government 
production goals were met. It did not bargain collectively, promote 
worker rights, or protect the right to strike. Most workers were 
required to belong to the CTC, and promotions frequently were limited 
to CP members who took part in mandatory marches, public humiliations 
of dissidents, and other state organized activities.
    The CTC took a lead role in disseminating information regarding the 
Government's planned layoffs of one million government workers, which 
began in October. This will affect approximately one-fifth of the 
active workforce of approximately five million. Although the CTC stated 
its role included defending workers by ensuring that the layoff process 
was fair, it was not clear what, if any, action the CTC took in this 
regard. It further stated that ``our state cannot and should not 
continue supporting businesses, production entities, and services with 
inflated payrolls; it will no longer be possible to apply a formula of 
protecting and subsidizing salaries on an unlimited basis to workers.''
    The Government can determine that a worker is ``unfit'' to work, 
resulting in job loss and the denial of job opportunities. Persons were 
deemed unfit for their political beliefs, including their refusal to 
join the official union, or for trying to depart the country illegally. 
Several small independent labor organizations operated without legal 
recognition, including the Union of Bicycle Taxi Drivers, the Christian 
Labor Organization, and the National Independent Workers' Confederation 
of Cuba. These organizations were subject to police harassment and 
infiltration by government agents and were unable to represent workers 
effectively or work on their behalf.
    The law does not provide for the right to strike, and no strikes 
were known to have occurred during the year.
    Of the 75 dissidents jailed in 2003, seven were independent labor 
leaders. All but one (Iv n Hern ndez Carillo) were released during the 
year.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law does 
not provide for collective bargaining, though it does provide a 
complicated process for collective agreements. The International Labor 
Organization's Committee (ILO) of Experts on the Application of 
Conventions and Recommendations continued to raise concerns with 
restrictions on collective bargaining and agreements, in particular 
that government authorities and CTC officials had the final say on all 
such agreements. The CTC was the only legally recognized trade union, 
and the Government continued to take active steps to prevent the 
formation of independent trade unions in all sectors.
    Foreign embassies and multinational corporations generally did not 
directly hire Cuban citizens, but were required to contract them 
through a government agency. Multinationals set wages for their 
employees, and wages and benefits are generally reported to be in line 
with national averages. No minimum wage applies to the private sector.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the law does 
not specifically prohibit forced or compulsory labor by adults, 
statutes forbidding slavery, bondage, and kidnapping would apply to 
situations of compulsory or forced labor. Convicts were often forced to 
work on farms or in construction, agricultural, or metal work.
    The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor by children; in 
contrast to previous years, there were no reports that such practices 
occurred. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
legal minimum working age is 17, although the labor code permits the 
employment of 15 and 16 year old children to obtain training or to fill 
labor shortages. However, in practice it was rare that children under 
17 worked. The labor code does not permit 15 and 16 year olds 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.
    There were no known government programs to prevent child labor or 
remove children from such labor.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The monthly minimum wage, which 
is established and enforced by the Ministry of Labor and Social 
Security, was fixed at 225 pesos (approximately $10). There is no fixed 
period for review or revision of the minimum wage, which was last 
revised in 2005. The ministry enforced the minimum wage requirement 
through offices at the national, provincial, and municipal level and 
did so effectively. The minimum wage requirement does not apply to the 
small non-state sector. The Government supplemented the minimum wage 
with free education, subsidized medical care (daily pay is reduced by 
40 percent after the third day of a hospital stay), housing, and some 
food. Even with subsidies, the Government acknowledged that the average 
wage of 415 pesos per month (approximately $18) did not provide a 
reasonable standard of living.
    Multinational companies continued to operate in a limited number of 
sectors, such as hotels, tourism, and mining. Such companies operate on 
the basis of a joint venture policy, in which the employers are 
prohibited from paying the workers directly, though many reportedly 
made supplemental payments under the table. The Government is the 
exclusive labor contractor and received the foreign exchange from such 
multinational companies. The Government subsequently paid the workers 
in pesos, an amount which was a small fraction of what the company paid 
the state for labor costs. Multinational companies set wages for their 
employees.
    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 applied to state workers as 
well as to the small non-state sector (but not to the self-employed) 
and were effectively enforced. The law does not provide for premium pay 
for overtime or prohibit obligatory overtime but generally caps the 
number of overtime hours at twelve per week or 160 per year. The 
Ministry of Labor has the authority to establish different caps as 
needed. Compensation for overtime is paid either in cash at the regular 
hourly rate or in additional rest time, particularly for workers 
directly linked to production or services, and does not apply to 
management. Workers frequently complained that overtime compensation 
was either not paid or not paid in a timely manner. The law provides 
little grounds for a worker to refuse to work overtime. Refusal to work 
overtime could result in a notation in the employee's official work 
history that could imperil subsequent requests for vacation time.
    Laws providing for workplace environmental and safety controls were 
inadequate and the Government lacked effective enforcement mechanisms. 
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 at a salary provided for under 
the law.
    The independent and illegal Confederation of Independent Workers of 
Cuba reported numerous violations of health and safety laws at 
worksites throughout the country, including inadequate and poorly 
maintained equipment and protective gear. The CTC seldom informed 
workers of their rights and did not respond to or assist workers who 
complained about hazardous workplace conditions.

                               __________

                                DOMINICA

    Dominica is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy with a population 
of approximately 72,800. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit's Dominica 
Labour Party (DLP) prevailed over the opposition United Workers Party 
(UWP) by a margin of 18 seats to three seats in elections in December 
2009. Although outside observers found the elections generally free and 
fair, the opposition boycotted Parliament over alleged electoral 
abuses. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    There were human rights problems in a few areas, primarily an 
overcrowded prison, domestic violence against women and children, and 
adverse conditions experienced by indigenous Kalinago (Carib).

                        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 criminal prosecution of two police officers for the 2007 murder 
of Stan Bruney remained pending before the chief magistrate. Some 
witnesses had already testified, and the prosecution was proceeding in 
this case.

    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.
    A civil case filed in 2006 accusing police officers of beating a 
man was settled for monetary damages in the amount of EC $8,000 
($2,963).

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Although overcrowded, 
prison and detention conditions generally met international standards 
and the Government permitted visits by independent human rights 
observers, although no such visits were known to have occurred during 
the year.
    The prison has an authorized capacity of 200 inmates but held 289 
inmates, including 62 detainees on remand from the court, as of 
December 29. The inmates included six women and 15 juveniles, who were 
separated from the adult population.
    There was one suicide by hanging, which occurred in a detention 
center at a police station.
    Prisoners and detainees have reasonable access to visitors and are 
permitted religious observance. Prison authorities permitted prisoners 
and detainees to submit complaints, and the Government investigated 
complaints and monitored prison and detention center conditions.
    The Government used prison labor to improve the facilities, and a 
new mess hall and ancillary buildings were still under construction at 
year's end.

    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 
National Security, Labor, and Immigration oversees the Dominica Police, 
the country's only security force. The force of approximately 450 
officers 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.
    The police Internal Affairs Department investigates public 
complaints against the police and provides officers with counseling. 
There were no cases of misconduct filed during the year, nor were there 
any reports of impunity involving the security forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in 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. If 
the authorities are unable to bring a detainee to court within the 
requisite period, the detainee may 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.
    Lengthy detention before trial was a problem due to judicial staff 
shortages. On average prisoners remained in remand status for more than 
three months.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.
    Inadequate prosecutorial and police staffing and resources for 
investigations, together with a lack of judges, resulted in severe 
backlogs and other problems in the judicial system.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. 
There are public trials by jury, and defendants have the right to be 
present, to consult with an attorney in a timely manner, and to 
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. Defendants 
and their attorneys have 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.--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 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.
    In the December 2009 election campaign, the opposition claimed that 
the Government blocked its access to the main government-owned radio 
station and purchased all the advertising time on the largest private 
station, restricting the opposition to a smaller private station that 
only reached about one quarter of the country. In January individual 
members of the opposition filed an election challenge in court raising 
these claims and other election-related complaints. In August the 
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court struck out the access to media claims, 
finding no supporting material facts for the assertion of denial or 
refusal of access. The opposition subsequently filed an appeal of the 
court ruling.

    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 expression 
of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The Internet was 
largely available in homes, offices, and Internet cafes in urban areas, 
but infrastructure limitations restricted Internet access in villages. 
According to the International Telecommunication Union, there were 42 
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2009.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedoms of assembly and association, and the Government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide 
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, 
and repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights 
in practice.
    The only internal restriction on movement applies to the Carib 
Reserve area. Since all the land is collectively owned by the community 
and managed by the Carib Council, for a newcomer to live in the 
territory, the council would have to grant permission to use the land.
    Although no known cases occurred, the Government was prepared to 
cooperate with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and 
other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance 
to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum 
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not 
use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government has not established a 
procedural system for providing protection to refugees. While the law 
provides for asylum or refugee status, the Government did not grant 
refugee status or asylum during the year.
    The Government did not expel or return refugees to a country where 
their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion; however, no such cases arose 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 parliamentary elections 
held in December 2009, the ruling DLP won 18 seats in the House of 
Assembly, defeating the UWP, which won three seats. Two of the three 
opposition members boycotted Parliament to pressure the Government to 
call new elections with increased protections in place. As a result of 
the boycott, after six months the Government declared the two seats 
vacant and called by-elections in those two constituencies, both won 
again by the opposition.
    The Caribbean Community and the Organization of American States 
sent teams of election observers. Both organizations declared the 
election to be fair and transparent, but the OAS report recommended 
that the Government implement a voter identification system, provide 
for equal access to purchase advertising from media, and implement 
campaign finance laws to govern and define the appropriate use of funds 
to bring voters to the polls without impeding the diaspora members' 
franchise. The law does not require a voter identification card, does 
not contain any campaign finance provisions, and only requires a voter 
outside the country to be present in the country one time during a 
five-year period and be on the electors list in order to vote. After 
the 2009 election, the opposition filed court complaints of election 
irregularities regarding these issues, and in August the court rejected 
all the claims with the exception of ineligibility to hold office 
claims against two ministers over dual-nationality issues. At year's 
end these dual-nationality claims were in pretrial proceedings, with an 
expected trial date in early 2011.
    Political parties could operate without restriction or outside 
interference.
    For most of the year, women held three cabinet positions: the 
minister for social services, community development, and gender 
affairs; the minister for culture, youth, and sports; and the attorney 
general. Voters elected two women to the House of Assembly. The 
appointed Speaker of the House of Assembly was a woman.
    The parliamentary representative for the constituency that includes 
the Carib Territory was a Carib.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively. However, 
there were isolated allegations publicly reported by members of the 
political opposition and related groups of corruption in the 
Government, including accusations that some government officials 
engaged in property speculation. The same opposition groups accused 
government ministers of receiving unreported money from foreign 
sources. However, no charges were filed and none of these allegations 
were proven in the courts.
    In November 2008 a government commission to implement the 2004 
Integrity in Public Service Act began operating to minimize government 
corruption. The act requires government officials to account annually 
for their income and assets and those of their immediate family, as 
well as any gifts they have received. The commission is required to 
examine each declaration and determine its validity. This declaration 
is private, and the only disclosure is whether the commission has 
received it and if it has been deemed valid. If misrepresentation is 
found, the official can be liable for a fine of EC$20,000 ($7,500) or 
two years' imprisonment, with additional penalties for bribery, 
possession of unaccounted property, and other provisions. The 
commission referred 44 public officials for prosecution for failure to 
comply with the Integrity in Public Service Act by failing to declare 
their assets. After a review of the evidence, the director of public 
prosecution (DPP) filed criminal charges against 25 of these public 
officials; trial dates were set for early 2011.The commission receives 
complaints from the public as well and was involved in investigating 
complaints filed against public officials.
    The Financial Intelligence Unit is the chief government agency 
responsible for identifying and combating government corruption. In 
addition the police force and customs service have internal watchdog 
offices. The independent DPP is responsible for prosecuting major 
crimes, including corruption offenses, and routinely files charges of 
theft, false accounting, fraud, theft by deception, and related 
offenses. The DPP worked closely with the Financial Intelligence Unit. 
However, the DPP lacked adequate manpower and resources for 
concentration on complicated money laundering and public corruption 
cases.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information, and the Government did not provide routine access in 
practice. The Government maintained a Web page and a government 
information service, where it posted information such as directories of 
officials and a summary of laws and press releases. The Government 
budget and an audit of that budget were both publicly available on the 
Web site.

Section 5. 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. A parliamentary 
commissioner has responsibility to investigate complaints against the 
Government.

Section 6. 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 this prohibition in practice.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape but not spousal rape. Police were 
not reluctant to arrest or prosecute offenders; 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 Bureau of Gender Affairs of the Ministry of 
Social Services, Community Development, and Gender Affairs assisted 
victims of abuse by finding temporary shelter, providing counseling to 
both parties, or recommending police action.
    Sexual violence and domestic violence cases were common, and the 
problem became more apparent as government officials participated in 
public awareness and outreach programs. Although no specific laws 
criminalize spousal abuse, spouses could bring charges against their 
partners for battery. However, victims were often reluctant to press 
charges due to their reliance on financial assistance of the abuser. 
Shelters were operated in private homes to preserve the privacy of the 
victims, but the location of a shelter was hard to keep secret. During 
the year the Government opened a new shelter. The law 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 to allow the victims, usually women and 
children, to remain in the home while the matter is investigated. 
However, inadequate police resources made enforcement of these 
restraining orders difficult. Police officers continued to receive 
training in dealing with domestic abuse cases.
    The Bureau of Gender Affairs reported that both men and women 
sought assistance in dealing with domestic violence. Despite the range 
of programs offered, there were insufficient support systems to deal 
with the problem. In addition to counseling services offered by the 
DNCW and the bureau, there was a legal aid clinic, and the Government's 
legal department offered assistance as well.
    The DNCW provided preventive education about domestic violence and 
maintained a shelter where counseling and mediation services were 
available daily. Funding constraints limited stays at the shelter to 
several days at a time; however, if needed, additional 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 does not prohibit sexual harassment, and it remained a 
problem. Government enforcement was not an effective deterrent.
    There were no restrictions on reproductive rights, as women were 
free to choose the number, spacing, and timing of their children. There 
was no information available regarding maternal mortality. Access to 
contraception and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, 
including HIV/AIDS, was widely available.
    The Government has a national gender policy to eliminate 
discrimination against women in the areas of health, economic 
development, domestic violence and violence-producing conditions, 
education and skills training, and participation in power and decision-
making positions. At year's end this policy was still in the process of 
full implementation.
    Women enjoy the same rights as men, and the ministry promotes the 
legal rights of women. While there was little open discrimination 
against women, instances of cultural discrimination existed. Also, 
property ownership continued to be deeded to heads of households, who 
were usually male. The inheritance law provides that intestate 
succession leaves the surviving spouse with only a life estate. 
However, the title registration act was amended to accommodate transfer 
of property between spouses, which boosted married women's property 
ownership. The law establishes pay rates for civil service jobs without 
regard to gender. Although there were some women in managerial or high-
level positions, most women worked as shopkeepers, nurses, or in 
education, and the unemployment rate for women was high.
    The Bureau of 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 bureau 
worked with the DNCW and other organizations to help the Government, 
NGO, and police sectors coordinate work on women's issues, particularly 
in data collection and information sharing.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth to a Dominican parent. 
Birth certificates were provided to the parents on a timely basis.
    Child abuse continued to be a pervasive problem, and it became more 
evident as government officials participated in public awareness 
programs and outreach to communities following several publicly 
reported prosecutions of child sexual abuse. The Welfare Department of 
the Ministry of Social Services, Community Development, and Gender 
Affairs handled reports of child abuse; 80 percent of the victims were 
girls. Judicial magistrates and other officials estimated that 60 to 70 
percent of child welfare cases sent to the high court involved sexual 
abuse of children. The Welfare Department also assisted victims of 
abuse by finding temporary shelter, providing counseling to both 
parties, or recommending police action. That 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. There was no information available about laws dealing with 
child pornography. The Government was reviewing amending the Sexual 
Offences Act to strengthen penalties and further penalize criminal acts 
against children. Incest carries a maximum of 25 years if committed by 
an adult with a person under 14 years of age. In cases of sexual 
intercourse with a person age 14 to 16, a maximum prison term of 14 
years may be imposed. Prosecutions were often thwarted by out of court 
settlements for money, which the Government stated it wanted to 
criminalize through amendments to the law.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html, as well 
as country-specific information at http://travel.state./gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no organized Jewish community, and there 
were no reports of discrimination or any anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--In 2009 there were no reports that persons 
were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

    Persons With Disabilities.--Although the law does not specifically 
prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities, there was no 
reported formal discrimination against them in employment, education, 
access to health care, or the provision of other state services. 
However, many employers refused to hire persons with disabilities, and 
unemployment among them was very high.
    There is no legal requirement mandating access to buildings for 
persons with disabilities.
    The Government funded a special school for the hearing impaired and 
partially assisted two other schools for vision impaired and mentally 
challenged children. One of the public schools also had a program for 
autistic children. However, the education of children with disabilities 
remained a serious challenge, as many of the disabled children were in 
rural areas.

    Indigenous People.--There was a Kalinago, or Carib, population, 
estimated at about 3,000 persons, most of whom lived in the 3,782-acre 
Carib Territory. The law establishing the Carib Territory does not 
delineate clearly its territorial boundaries. There were four 
preschools and two primary schools in the Carib Territory and two 
secondary schools in nearby communities attended by Kalinago children; 
a new school was completed during the year in Salybia. Despite these 
schools, however, the Carib language has almost completely disappeared, 
and students elsewhere in the country were not taught about pre-
Columbian history or the role played by Caribs in shaping the country's 
society. The Ministry of Education covered tuition for Kalinago 
students at the Dominica State College and awarded scholarships to 
Kalinago students for study throughout the Caribbean.
    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 do so continuously 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. In 
national elections, persons who are registered in the district but 
reside outside, either in another part of the country or 
internationally, are still allowed to vote in the Carib Territory. A 
Kalinago headed the Ministry of Carib Affairs and was elected chief of 
the Council of Advisors in August 2009.
    The Kalinago people continued to suffer from low levels of 
unofficial and societal discrimination. Unemployment in the territory 
generally was higher than in the rest of the country, and mean income 
was below the national mean. There were few jobs in the territory, 
because of the decline of the agricultural sector and the inability to 
obtain bank financing due to the lack of collateral in terms of 
privately owned land. Many Kalinagos who moved to the capital city of 
Roseau did not report any significant discrimination. The vast majority 
of Kalinagos have intermarried, and it was not always easy to identify 
someone as Kalinago.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes 
consensual homosexual relations. Although no statistics were available, 
anecdotal evidence suggested that societal discrimination against gays 
and lesbians was common in the socially conservative society. There 
were very few openly gay men or lesbians. Family members of a September 
murder victim publicly claimed that the perpetrator attacked the victim 
because the attacker believed the victim was a member of the LGBT 
community.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The Government and the 
Dominica Planned Parenthood Association initiated programs designed to 
discourage discrimination against HIV/AIDS-infected persons and those 
living with them.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--Workers exercised the legal right to 
organize and choose their representatives. Unions represented 
approximately 13 percent of the total workforce; approximately half of 
government workers were unionized, but less than 30 percent of private 
sector workers were unionized. The informal sector accounts for close 
to 50 percent of total employment, and workers in that sector are not 
unionized. There were six unions: the Public Service Union representing 
the public sector, the teachers union representing teachers in both 
public and private schools, and four competing unions for the private 
sector. There was no labor confederation. Prison guards and 
firefighters do not have a staff association or quasi-union, but the 
police welfare association functioned as a quasi-union.
    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. 
Nonetheless, in practice essential workers have gone on strike and did 
not suffer reprisals. The procedure for essential workers to strike is 
cumbersome, involving giving appropriate notice and submitting the 
grievance to the labor commissioner for possible mediation. Most such 
actions were resolved through mediation through the office of the labor 
commissioner.

    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; few 
disputes escalated to industrial action. A company, a union 
representative, or an individual can request mediation by the Labor 
Commissioner's Office. In most cases the labor commissioner was able to 
resolve the matter. In the agricultural sector most workers were not 
unionized, as most agricultural work is performed on small family owned 
farms. With the collapse of the large-scale banana plantations, most 
agricultural workers no longer worked for larger plantations.
    The law provides that employers must reinstate workers who file a 
complaint of illegal dismissal, which can cover being fired for 
engaging in union activities or other grounds of dismissal, and 
employers generally did so in practice.
    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.

    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; it was taking steps toward amending the laws. 
Education is compulsory until age 16, and most children attend school 
until that age. 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 minimum wage law establishes 
a base wage of EC$5.00 (approximately $1.87) per hour for all public 
and private workers. The minimum wage was last updated in June 2008 and 
varies according to category of worker, with the lowest minimum wage 
set at EC$4.00 ($1.50), and the maximum at EC$5.50 ($2.06) per hour. 
The minimum wage 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 as prevailing wages were 
much higher than statutory minimum wages. Enforcement was the 
responsibility of the labor commissioner.
    Labor laws provide that the labor commissioner may authorize the 
employment of a person with disabilities at a wage lower than the 
minimum rate to enable that person to be employed gainfully. In 
practice such persons were generally paid more than the minimum, and 
the labor commissioner had not authorized subminimum wages for the last 
few years.
    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. Inspectors from the 
Department of Labor in the Ministry of National Security, Immigration, 
and 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 9.7 million, plus an estimated 
900,000 to 1.2 million undocumented immigrants, mostly Haitians or 
their descendents living in the country. In 2008 voters elected 
President Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) for 
a third term, and in 2010 elections the PLD and its allies won 
majorities in both chambers of Congress. Impartial outside observers 
assessed these elections as generally free and fair. There were 
instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently 
of civilian control.
    Serious human rights problems included unlawful killings; beatings 
and other abuse of suspects, detainees, and prisoners; fair to harsh 
prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention of suspects; a large 
number of functionally stateless persons; widespread corruption; 
harassment of certain human rights groups; violence and discrimination 
against women; child prostitution and other abuses of children; 
trafficking in persons; severe discrimination against Haitian migrants 
and their descendants; violence and discrimination against persons 
based on sexual orientation; ineffective enforcement of labor laws; 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, 
there were numerous reports that security forces were involved in many 
killings that were unlawful, unwarranted, or involved excessive use of 
force.
    According to National Police statistics, police killed 268 persons 
in 32 jurisdictions in the course of duty from January to December, a 
decrease from 346 police killings reported in 2009 by the Attorney 
General's Office. However, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), 
a nongovernmental organization (NGO), reported 478 police killings, 
although the methodology used to arrive at this figure was unclear. 
Lack of training, accountability, and inadequate supervision by 
superiors contributed to these police killings. Human rights NGOs 
asserted that, as in previous years, the police continued to employ 
unwarranted deadly force against criminal suspects. The National Police 
regularly justified the use of deadly force by claiming that the deaths 
occurred during an ``exchange of gunfire.'' This often did appear to be 
the case. According to the police, 43 officers died from January to 
June, although it was unclear if all died while on duty.
    On January 2, a police officer in La Romana killed 28-year-old 
Francis Gomez Alfonseca. According to witnesses, Gomez was driving in a 
traffic jam and asked a police officer to make room for him to pass; 
the police officer instead forcibly took one of his companions out of 
the car, threatened him, and then returned to shoot Gomez. Witnesses 
said that Gomez, who was not carrying a weapon, had asked the officer 
to explain the treatment of his companion.
    According to media reports, on February 13, members of the National 
Army and the Specialized Frontier Corps (CESFRONT) shot and killed two 
Haitians as they attempted to cross the border around the area of La 
Vig!a in Dajabon.
    On May 14, members of CESFRONT shot 28-year-old Pedro Daniel Feliz 
(Mello) of Barahona after he threw away more than two pounds of 
marijuana and attempted to run away from CESFRONT officers in 
Pedernales. CESFRONT Captain Rafael Montero Concepcion told the media 
that the soldier who shot Feliz was under investigation and added that 
the victim had a criminal record. Montero Concepcion also claimed that 
the victim had lunged at the soldier and tried to remove his weapon, 
but other witnesses disputed the captain's claim.
    On June 26, a police officer shot and killed 23-year-old Abraham 
Ramos Morel, a law student at the Autonomous University of Santo 
Domingo, when he failed to follow a policeman's order to stop in a dark 
area. Attorney General Radhames Jimenez Pena ordered an investigation 
of the case, and police officers Manuel de Jesus Martinez and Elvis 
Vinicio Montero were arrested. Authorities sent Martinez to prison as a 
``preventive'' measure pending the investigation and fined Vinicio 
75,000 pesos (approximately $2,000), put him on probation, and ordered 
him not to leave the country pending the final outcome of the criminal 
investigation. On December 3, a judge referred the two accused police 
officers to a formal trial but did not set a trial date.
    On July 3, police officers shot and killed an 81-year-old man, Elio 
Reyes Severino, a passenger in a vehicle ordered to stop while driving 
between Santo Domingo and Samana. Afterwards, authorities arrested 
National Police Major Jose Estrella Fernandez, Second Lieutenant Carlos 
Alberto Peguero Ortiz, Sergeant Edwin Galvez Fernandez, and Sergeant 
Majors Richard Urbaez Gomez and Miguel Antonio Frias de Jesus and sent 
them to prison for three months as a preventive measure pending the 
final outcome of the criminal investigation into the shooting. The 
incident was one of a number of cases where police officers allegedly 
killed persons for not stopping their vehicles when asked to do so, 
which led an NGO and groups of transportation workers to start a 
campaign to raise awareness of police violence. Transportation workers 
and supporters wore T-shirts with the phrase ``Police, don't kill me, I 
will stop in a well-lit area.''
    On August 18, a Metropolitan Transit Authority officer shot and 
killed 26-year-old Juanito Jimenez Montero. The incident occurred 
during a confrontation between the transit police and a group of 
motorcycle taxis in Santo Domingo. Law enforcement arrested the 
officers involved and initiated an investigation. The Attorney 
General's Office also began an investigation of the case.
    On October 12, a 32-year-old student, Alfredo Gomez, was killed 
during a protest in the province of Moca. Gomez was killed during what 
the police term an ``exchange of gunfire'' between some protesters and 
law enforcement officials. At year's end police were carrying out an 
investigation.
    In April a judge sentenced police officers Pedro Antonio Cabrera 
Garc!a and Jes#s L zaro Cabrera Garc!a to 30 years in prison for the 
murder of Miguel Antonio Prestol Aquino, who was beaten to death by the 
officers in February 2009 in Santo Domingo East.
    There were no developments in the 2009 police killings of 19-year-
old Jose Gomez Taveras; of two suspected kidnappers in Guayabin, 
Montecristo Province; of Lisandro Cuevas Ferreras; or of two persons 
killed during a demonstration in Santo Domingo.
    In March the Santo Domingo district court sentenced police Major 
Domingo Antonio Diaz Rodriguez and First Lieutenant Nicolas Martinez to 
30 years in prison and fined them 10 million pesos ($275,000) after 
finding them guilty of the 2008 murders of Nairobi Caminero de los 
Santos, Landri Bertan, and Jason Jeffrex Mena in Santo Domingo East.
    There was no information available about the police killing of 
three minors who were suspected in a store robbery, or in the case of a 
minor killed during a demonstration, or a 17-year-old killed while 
playing basketball near a demonstration, all during 2008.
    On a number of occasions reported in the media, citizens attacked 
and killed alleged criminals in vigilante-style reprisals for theft, 
robbery, or burglary. These incidents were attributed to an increase in 
crime and the inability of security forces to stem or combat these 
crimes. In August a mob chased, shot, and beat a man to death who 
allegedly attempted to steal a motorcycle in Barahona.
    Judicial authorities charged two men as accomplices in the 
vigilante killing of three Haitians near Jimani in October 2009, but no 
further information was available at year's end.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    In October the human rights group ``Derechos Vigentes'' and family 
members accused the minister of the interior and the police of 
complicity in the September 2009 disappearance of Juan Almonte. 
Authorities denied the charges and considered Almonte to be a fugitive 
from justice since he was suspected of complicity in a 2009 kidnapping 
case.
    In response to a December 2009 request from the Inter-American 
Commission of Human Rights, the Public Ministry continued the 
investigation into the case of journalist Narciso Gonzalez, who 
disappeared in 1994 after allegedly criticizing the Government. The 
investigation remained open at year's end.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits torture, beating, and physical 
abuse of detainees and prisoners, members of the security forces, 
primarily police, continued such practices. The Attorney General's 
Office reported that the police were involved in incidents that 
resulted in maiming or severely injuring unarmed civilians. However, 
improvements in oversight, awareness, and accountability led to a 
perception that the police were making efforts to reduce incidents of 
physical abuse of detainees. Nonetheless, there were also reports of 
use of excessive force against demonstrators and protesters by members 
of the security forces. Human rights organizations stated that 
uniformed vigilantism persisted on a nonlethal level.
    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. Authorities sent abuse and 
torture cases to civilian criminal courts rather than police tribunals.
    Senior police officials treated the prohibition on torture and 
physical abuse seriously, but lack of supervision and training through 
much of the law enforcement and corrections systems undercut efforts to 
contain the problem. Although observers agreed that conditions improved 
somewhat due to an increase in professionally trained corrections 
officers, human rights groups and prisoners reported physical abuse of 
detainees, most commonly beatings. The National Human Rights Commission 
reported that the police continued to use different types of torture to 
obtain confessions from detained suspects, including beatings that left 
lifelong scars.
    On July 4, police shot Elvis Gutierrez. According to Gutierrez, he 
was driving with his wife and a friend around 1 a.m. when the police 
signaled him to stop. Instead of stopping in a poorly-lit area, 
Gutierrez kept driving and stopped in a better lit area. Police ordered 
him to step out of the car and to lay down face-front. As soon as he 
lay down, he was shot in his left leg.
    There were no developments, and none were expected, in the 2008 
beating of a missionary who refused to remove her clothing for 
examination at the Najayo prison.
    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. Assistant prosecutors at times 
reportedly acquiesced in improper police practices rather than 
insisting they be changed to conform to constitutional standards.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--While prison conditions 
generally ranged from fair to extremely harsh, the Government made 
advances with newer ``model prisons'' known as Correctional and 
Rehabilitation Centers (CRCs) where prisoners experienced improved 
conditions in comparison with other facilities. The CRC program had 13 
model prisons, with more to come, based on the concept that most 
detainees will eventually return to their communities, and thus the 
CRCs should serve to prepare them for a second opportunity in life. The 
CRCs, which held 16 percent of all prisoners, strive to provide 
educational, labor, and artistic opportunities necessary to 
rehabilitate detainees in a setting of respect and discipline. In 
contrast to the traditional prisons, the model prisons were run 
entirely by trained civilian guards, were not overcrowded, and met the 
basic nutritional need of the inmates. According to the Director of 
Prisons, per capita expenditure for CRC prisoners was three times more 
than that spent in conventional prisons. However, this improvement for 
some prisoners came at the expense of others in the system, because 
when a facility was converted to a model prison, excess or dangerous 
inmates were transferred to other locations, increasing the strain on 
the already-overcrowded prison system.
    According to the Directorate of Prisons, there were 20,609 
prisoners and detainees, of which 552 were female, held in 40 prisons, 
with an intended capacity of 11,055. The new CRCs held 3,315 of these 
prisoners. Virtually all prisons, other than the CRCs, experienced 
extreme overcrowding. La Victoria prison, the largest in the country, 
held 5,309 prisoners in a facility designed for 2,000. The prison in 
Santiago Rodriguez was the most overcrowded prison, holding 135 inmates 
in a prison with an intended capacity of 23. Air circulation was a 
problem, and the danger of a fire outbreak was high.
    Reports of mistreatment and inmate violence in prisons were common, 
as were reports of harassment, extortion, and inappropriate searches of 
prison visitors. Health and sanitary conditions were poor, and some 
prisons effectively were out of the control of authorities and run by 
criminal gangs of armed inmates. In August the National Police accused 
three prisoners of killing inmate Jose Gabriel Arias Castillo, ``Alex 
el Pelotero,'' at La Victoria Prison in what was believed to have been 
a drug-related contract killing. A common sentiment among prison 
wardens at conventional prisons was that while the wardens may control 
the perimeter, inside the prison the inmates often made their own rules 
and had their own system of justice. In general this situation differed 
from the CRCs, where specialized prison guards increased control of 
prison areas. The attorney general, who oversaw the model prisons, 
reported that the incidence of corruption within the CRCs remained 
minimal.
    Most inmates in conventional prisons 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, and visitors often had to bribe prison 
guards in order to visit prisoners. Similarly, detainees had to pay 
bribes to be allowed to attend vocational training offered at some 
facilities. Prison officials accepted money in exchange for a 
recommendation that a prisoner be furloughed or released for health 
reasons. There were credible allegations that prisoners could obtain 
early release on parole for a bribe.
    Prisons often did not provide adequate medical care to inmates. 
According to the Directorate for the Control of Sexually Transmitted 
Diseases and HIV/AIDS, three prisons in the system provided HIV/AIDS 
treatment and care services as of June. A 2006 study reported that in 
four prisons in the country the rate of tuberculosis in prisoners was 
as high as 100 cases per 10,000 inmates compared with the general 
population, which the World Health Organization estimated to have 8.5 
cases per 10,000 persons. Prisoners with severe cases of AIDS or who 
had terminal illnesses were not transferred to hospitals.
    The National Directorate of Prisons reported 72 prisoner deaths 
during the year, 59 of which were due to natural causes. Four deaths 
resulted from inmate upon inmate violence; none of the deaths were 
attributed to guards. The majority of the deaths were related to 
various illnesses, including tuberculosis and AIDS.
    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 conventional prisons. Approximately 80 percent of prison 
guards were military or police officers rather than civilian 
correctional officers, who were employed exclusively at the CRCs.
    There were continued allegations of drug and arms trafficking, 
prostitution, and sexual abuse within the prisons. There continued to 
be special sections within prisons where police officers convicted of 
criminal activity, including a few known human rights abusers, were 
held.
    Female inmates generally were separated from male inmates. Half of 
all female inmates were held in prisons only for women, and two of the 
13 CRCs were female-only. Conditions in the prison wings for women 
generally were better than those in prison wings for men. During the 
year the Government began allowing female inmates conjugal visits. 
Those who gave birth while incarcerated were permitted to keep their 
babies with them up to a year.
    Juveniles were processed using specialized juvenile courts and, 
with increasingly rare exceptions, were held in one of seven juvenile 
facilities, although the press reported that some juveniles were being 
held in regular prisons.
    Although the law states that prisoners must be separated according 
to the severity of the criminal offense, in general authorities did not 
attempt to do so. Pretrial detainees were held together with convicted 
prisoners in most cases, although in the CRCs convicted felons were 
separated from those in preventive custody. The Directorate of Prisons 
estimated that 65 percent of the prisoners were in preventive custody, 
awaiting trial. This figure was difficult to verify, as many prisoners 
were considered to be in preventive custody after an initial conviction 
because they were awaiting an appeal. The law states that the pretrial 
waiting period should not exceed three months, but it can be extended 
up to 18 months in certain complex cases.
    There were also insufficient efforts to segregate and provide 
services to the mentally ill.
    Prisoners had access to visitors and were permitted religious 
observance. Prisoners could submit complaints about their treatment to 
district attorneys who made monthly prison visits for this purpose. 
Complaints were referred to the prison director and, if necessary, to 
the Directorate of Prisons.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers and the media, and such visits took place during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The criminal procedures code 
(CPC) prohibits detention without a warrant unless a suspect is 
apprehended during the commission of a criminal act or in other limited 
circumstances. By law authorities may detain a person without charges 
for up to 48 hours. However, arbitrary arrest and detention continued 
to be problems, and 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 Intelligence (DNI), the DNCD, the Airport 
Security Authority (CESA), the Port Security Authority (CESEP), 
CESFRONT, and the armed forces (army, air force, and navy) form the 
security forces. The Secretariat of Interior and Police is responsible 
for making policy decisions affecting the police force. The military, 
CESA, CESEP, and CESFRONT are under the minister of the armed forces; 
the DNI and the DNCD, which have personnel both from the police and 
military, report directly to the president.
    Police officers were fired or prosecuted through the criminal 
justice system when found to have acted outside of established police 
procedures. From January to October, authorities dismissed 157 members 
of the police force and referred 684 to the judicial system for 
prosecution.
    The Internal Affairs Unit effectively investigated charges of gross 
misconduct by members of the National Police. These cases involved 
physical or verbal aggression, death threats, improper use of a 
firearm, muggings, and theft. By December Internal Affairs had 
conducted 1,964 investigations that resulted in 157 dismissals and 805 
sanctions.
    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. The Ministry of the Armed Forces provided human rights 
training or orientation to 228 officers of various ranks as well as 
civilians during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Like its 
predecessor, the new constitution implemented in January provides that 
an accused person may be detained for up to 48 hours without a warrant 
before being presented to judicial authorities. It also provides for 
recourse to habeas corpus proceedings to request the release of those 
unlawfully held. The CPC establishes a more restrictive 24-hour time 
limit in which to make formal charges, which was generally observed. 
Any prisoner detained for more than 48 hours without being formally 
charged is entitled to file a motion 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 evidence 
that the arrestee committed a crime that warrants further detention. 
The judge's decision to release a prisoner is subject to appeal by the 
district attorney.
    The law also permits police authorities to apprehend without an 
arrest warrant an accused person when the person is caught at the 
moment of committing a crime or could be reasonably linked to a crime 
(e.g., escaped from prison or detention facility, hot pursuit).
    Despite the foregoing provisions, at times the police detained 
suspects for investigation or interrogation longer than 48 hours. 
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. Even so, successful habeas corpus hearings reduced these abuses 
significantly.
    Although previously granted only to a few defendants, bail became 
more common under the CPC, which requires judicial review of detentions 
at an earlier point in a criminal case, but the system proved 
inadequate to prevent defendants from going into hiding. In some cases 
observers suspected that the granting of bail and subsequent 
disappearance of the suspect were due to corruption or inefficiencies 
within the judicial system.
    The new constitution gives public defenders constitutional 
recognition, and the law requires provision of counsel to indigent 
defendants. However, most detainees and prisoners unable to afford 
defense services did not have prompt access to a lawyer. The National 
Office of Public Defense provided legal advice and representation to 
indigent persons, but resource constraints resulted in inadequate 
levels of staffing. Nationwide there were 19 public defense offices, 
with 171 public defenders, 21 part-time defense lawyers, and eight 
investigators. The Government continued its program to train public 
defenders on relevant changes caused by implementation of the CPC and 
expanded training for prosecutors.
    Police continued the practice, albeit less frequently than in 
previous years, 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 police arrested large numbers of residents and seized 
personal property allegedly used in criminal activity.
    Many suspects endured long pretrial detention. Under the CPC the 
judge has authority to order a detainee to remain in police custody 
between three months and one year. According to the Directorate of 
Prisons, average pretrial detention typically was between three and six 
months. Time served in pretrial detention counted toward completing a 
sentence. The Public Ministry continued implementing an automated case-
tracking system that permitted prosecutors to adhere more effectively 
to pretrial detention regulations and thereby reduce the number of 
occasions when the CPC time limits were exceeded. This system covered 
15 of 32 district attorney offices.
    The law prohibits interrogation of juveniles by the police or in 
the presence of police. Prosecutors and judges handled juvenile 
interrogations.
    The failure of prison authorities to produce the accused for court 
hearings caused a significant percentage of trial postponements. 
Inmates often had their court dates postponed because they were not 
taken from prison to court or because their lawyer, codefendants, or 
witnesses did not appear. The Government did not provide funding to 
transport all defendants between prison and court. Despite additional 
protections for defendants in the CPC, in some cases the authorities 
continued to hold inmates beyond the mandated deadlines even though 
there were no formal charges against them.
    The judiciary has judicial service offices in La Vega, Santiago, 
Moca, and Puerta Plata. These offices allowed urgent matters in need of 
a judge (such as obtaining an arrest or search warrant and conducting 
arraignments) to be attended to 24 hours a day. These judicial service 
offices were part of an effort to increase efficiency and reorganize 
the courts so they operate in conformance with the CPC. This 
reorganization proceeded at a steady, if not rapid, pace.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, despite increasing independence in the 
judiciary, instances of political influence in decision making were 
still evident. Interference by public entities, when it occurred, 
tended toward public pronouncements regarding active cases and 
selective prosecution, as opposed to direct intervention in existing 
cases. On occasion, however, it appeared that judges in superior courts 
attempted to influence lower-court decisions. In addition, corruption 
continued to be a serious problem (see section 4).
    The new constitution mandated the creation within one year of a 
Constitutional Court composed of 13 judges to review the 
constitutionality of laws and decrees. A Magistrate's Council selects 
Supreme Court and Constitutional Court justices based on factors such 
as general reputation and time in service, although the politicized 
composition of the council leaves open the possibility for appointments 
based on political loyalties. Lower-court judges are appointed 
following passage of rigorous entrance examinations, completion of a 
training program, and successful completion of an examination. Public 
defenders and public prosecutors were typically well qualified; their 
particular organizations required passage of objective examinations for 
employment.

    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. The law also provides for a public defense attorney 
for every person that cannot afford an attorney. Trials are public, but 
no juries are used. According to the constitution and the law 
defendants have the right to be present and consult with an attorney in 
a timely manner.
    There were credible allegations that authorities violated these 
rights in some cases, but there was improved adherence to due process 
as authorities became increasingly familiar with the modifications to 
the CPC. The district attorney's office must notify the defendant and 
attorney about the criminal charges as well as the evidence the 
district attorney's office will present in court. Defendants and 
attorneys have access to government-held evidence, but only after the 
preliminary hearing, when the indictment is approved by the judge.
    Military and police tribunals shared jurisdiction over cases 
involving members of the security forces. While the tribunals have 
jurisdiction over cases involving breaking internal rules and 
regulations, civilian criminal courts handled cases of killings and 
other serious crimes allegedly committed by members of the security 
forces.

    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 and civil 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. Although this remedy was rarely used 
except by those with sophisticated legal counsel, civil society and 
journalists sought amparo in some major cases during the year.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits arbitrary entry 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 entries into a private residence require an arrest 
warrant or search warrant issued by a judge. In practice, however, 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 or 
other surreptitious methods to interfere with the private lives of 
individuals and families, human rights groups and opposition 
politicians alleged such interference continued.
    The NHRC reported several cases in which law enforcement officials 
punished family members for alleged crimes committed by individuals. 
The NGO reported that the mother of a 23-year-old man wanted for 
killing an individual was repeatedly abused and threatened by the 
police. The police allegedly took her to their headquarters, handcuffed 
her, leaving bruises on her arms, and threatened to have her fired from 
her job if her son did not surrender. In another instance, the NHRC 
reported that law enforcement repeatedly detained the brother of an 
alleged killer and handcuffed him, leaving bruises. The brother 
eventually was left alone after the alleged killer was found dead.

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, 
although a national journalists' association reported threats against 
and physical intimidation of journalists. The new constitution provides 
complete protection of the confidentiality of journalists' sources and 
introduced a ``conscience clause'' allowing journalists to refuse 
assignments. Nonetheless, a journalists' association and a prominent 
television producer reported that self-censorship was becoming more 
common, particularly when coverage could adversely affect the economic 
or political interests of media owners.
    In March the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL) shut 
down Channel 53 in Santiago for broadcasting without the appropriate 
license the day after the producer used incendiary language against the 
president and his cabinet. Other sources, however, cited the use of 
obscene and often homophobic language on air as the reason for the 
station's closure. The station's owners sued INDOTEL for the necessary 
broadcast license, and the case was still in the court system at year's 
end.
    The National Journalists' Union reported that during the months 
prior to the May Congressional elections, other television channels 
also closed down or experienced interruptions in broadcasting due to 
political pressure. In other instances certain stations experienced 
broadcasting interruptions following reports critical of government 
officials and conflicts over selling broadcast time already reserved by 
other individuals to political parties.
    In June the media rallied around television investigative 
journalist Alicia Ortega after the director of the Dominican Agrarian 
Institute (IAD), Hector Rodriguez Pimentel, upset over Ortega's reports 
linking him to corruption, sent letters to 50 advertisers threatening 
to include them in suits for defamation if they continued to place 
commercials on Ortega's program. Minister of the Presidency Cesar Pina 
Toribio sought to distance the Government from Rodriguez's actions, 
insisting that Rodriguez was acting in his private capacity, even 
though he identified himself as IAD director in his letters to the 
advertisers. As the media outcry over threats to press freedom 
escalated, Rodriguez retracted his threat to sue the advertisers, 
although he reserved the right to sue Ortega and her television 
channel, Noticias SIN, if they continued what he characterized as a 
baseless ``slander'' campaign against him.
    Two of the country's leading investigative publications, the weekly 
newspaper Clave and its sister Internet publication Clave Digital, 
ceased operations on August 5. While Clave's publisher publicly stated 
that the closure was temporary and due to economic reasons, a 
communique signed by more than 200 members of the media implied that 
the media organs closed in response to pressure and threats following 
Clave's reporting on former police chief Rafael Guzman Fermin's alleged 
close connections to a Spanish narcotics trafficker. In the days prior 
to the closing of the publication, two gunmen shot and killed a man who 
looked like the Clave director in a park in Santo Domingo.
    In September a judge revoked a previous decision to exclude the 
press during sections of the high-profile narcotics money laundering 
trial of the narcotics trafficker Jose David Figueroa Agosta. The 
revocation came after the president of the Supreme Court made a public 
statement regarding the constitutional right to freedom of information 
and the need to maintain transparency in judicial processes.
    On January 12, police arrested Jaimi Antonio Flete, alleged 
mastermind of the 2008 Santiago killing of cameraman Normando Garcia. 
Authorities charged Flete with hiring two men to kill the cameraman and 
also charged them with murder.
    The National Journalists' Union reported that civil, police, and 
military authorities, criminals, and other persons assaulted or 
threatened 65 journalists during the year. In May the NGO Reporters 
Without Borders' evaluation of press freedom in the country cited a 
high index of violence, harassment, and abuse against news 
organizations and journalists but noted that physical attacks against 
the media declined. The Government did little to investigate the 
threats of violence or physical attacks on 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 e-mail. 
Internet access was widely available, including wireless hotspots. Blog 
functions were also available on several local press sites that allowed 
strongly stated views against the Government and other powerful 
sectors. According to the International Telecommunication Union, there 
were 27 Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2009.

    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 several occasions, police officers used force to break up 
spontaneous demonstrations and killed or injured demonstrators or 
bystanders (see section 1.a.).

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

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice; however, there were some exceptions. Local and international 
human rights groups reported that hundreds of thousands of persons 
without proper documentation, including Haitian migrants and other 
persons of Haitian descent, faced obstacles in traveling both within 
and outside of the country.
    Following the January 12 earthquake in Haiti, the president 
announced a moratorium on all deportations of Haitians living in the 
country. According to the Directorate of Migration (DGM), the policy 
remained in effect as of year's end. Although the Government claimed it 
no longer practiced mass deportation, such practices were still 
reported. According to the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM), the Government reduced the number of deportations of Haitians 
living outside the border region since the earthquake. The DGM reported 
3,185 Haitians expelled to Haiti during the year, although other 
reports from border crossing posts reflected a higher number. NGOs 
reported that in the majority of these cases, the Government's agents 
did not follow due process or internal basic human rights guidelines, 
despite the terms of a bilateral agreement with Haiti regarding 
repatriation of undocumented Haitians and express instructions from the 
director of migration to follow the guidelines. One NGO reported that 
seven children were repatriated in one roundup in Jimani in September.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of its 
use.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government established a system for 
providing protection to refugees but has not implemented it 
effectively. 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, consisting 
of members from the Foreign Ministry, the DNI, and the Migration 
Directorate. The full commission has the responsibility for the final 
decision on the application but met only twice during the past 16 
years.
    As of December the Migration Directorate reported between 400 and 
500 asylum applications, nearly all made by Haitians. Some of these 
cases had been awaiting decision since 2000, but five cases were 
approved (three Russians, one Haitian, and one Guatemalan) in 2009, and 
15 new cases were filed during the year. According to NGOs, hundreds of 
other asylum seekers submitted claims that had not been processed, 
leaving those individuals in a state of legal limbo for years. 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.
    Although the Government provided some protection against the 
expulsion or return of persons to countries where their lives or 
freedom might be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion, there was still a risk of deportation. 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. 
The documents provided do not bestow significant legal rights, 
including residency, or prevent disruption of educational studies past 
eighth grade to children of refugees. Due to lack of training, these 
documents may not be recognized by all officials who might apprehend 
such a person.
    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.

    Stateless Persons.--The new constitution provides that anyone born 
in the country is a Dominican national, except children born to 
diplomats, children born to parents who are ``in transit,'' or children 
born to parents who are in the country illegally. The exception for 
children of parents illegally in the country is an addition to what the 
previous constitution provided and reflects a 2005 Supreme Court ruling 
that children born to parents who were in the country illegally did not 
qualify as citizens. Thus, even before implementation of the new 
constitution, children of illegal migrants were denied Dominican 
nationality. According to the UN Universal Periodic Review in 2009, the 
Government asserted that even children born of Haitian parents who were 
legal permanent residents in the Dominican Republic could not be 
registered as Dominican nationals because the Haitian government does 
not recognize dual nationality, and the Haitian constitution states 
that any child born to Haitian parents is a Haitian national. However, 
the new Dominican constitution does recognize dual nationality and 
would confer citizenship on children born to legal resident Haitians.
    Haitian consulates reported that they were legally authorized to 
register only those births that were declared within two years. 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 persons of Haitian descent in the country, and 
thus their children remained undocumented. Consequently, hundreds of 
thousands of Dominican-born persons of Haitian descent were 
functionally stateless. From January to October, the Haitian consulate 
in Santo Domingo registered 471 children. In 2009 the Government 
informed the UN Human Rights Council that an estimated 900,000 to 1.2 
million undocumented immigrants, mostly of Haitian descent, were in the 
country. The IOM estimated that following the January 12 earthquake, 
there was an influx of approximately 130,000 additional undocumented 
migrants. Street Action, a Santiago-based NGO that works with 
unaccompanied street children, reported that it had seen an increase in 
the percentage of children from Haiti in its caseload. In October the 
Director of Migration stated that approximately 200,000 more Haitians 
were living in the country illegally since the earthquake.
    Dominican-born persons of Haitian descent who lacked citizenship or 
identity documents faced obstacles in traveling both within and outside 
of the country. In addition undocumented persons cannot obtain the 
national identification card (cedula) or a voting card. Persons without 
a cedula had limited access to formal sector jobs, public education 
past the eighth grade, marriage and birth registration, formal economy 
services such as banks and loans, access to courts and judicial 
procedures, and ownership of land or property.
    Government officials continued to take strong measures against 
citizenship for persons of Haitian descent, including retroactive 
cancellation of birth and identity documents, many pertaining to 
persons of Haitian descent. The Government stated that such 
cancellations were based on evidence of fraudulent documentation, but 
advocacy groups alleged that the revocations targeted persons whose 
parents were Haitian or whose names sounded Haitian and that the number 
of revocations was in the thousands. As of March the Central Electoral 
Board (JCE) had provisionally revoked the birth certificates and 
cedulas of 126 children born to Haitian migrants and their children. 
Some of the births had been recorded decades ago, with several from the 
early 1970s. The JCE also cancelled 65 cedulas issued to foreign 
nationals on grounds of fraud, 12 of which were held by Haitians.
    In one case reported by the Jesuit Service for Refugees and 
Migrants (SJRM), the Civil Registry Office denied a 24-year-old woman 
with a Dominican passport and cedula a copy of her birth certificate. 
The registry placed her case in ``observation'' status, claiming that 
her parents' legal status at the time of her birth needed to be 
verified. That person cannot register for university without the copy 
of the birth certificate.
    In 2007 the JCE also created a registration system (the foreigner's 
book) that allowed children born in the country of parents who were not 
legal residents to receive a special birth certificate. Such children 
whose parents had documentation from their home country may be 
registered in the book, after which the parents would be given an 
official report of birth, which does not confer citizenship. Local and 
international NGOs reported that since implementation of the 
foreigner's book, hospitals and civil registries did not register 
numerous children of Haitian migrants and their descendents. An 
estimated 10,000 to 20,000 children are born to Haitian migrants and 
their descendants each year, but in October 2009 the JCE reported only 
631 children registered in the foreigner's book were of Haitian 
descent. NGOs reported that some Haitian parents who were in the 
country legally, and whose children were Dominican nationals under 
Dominican law, were required to register their children's births in the 
foreigner's book.

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 nearly 
universal suffrage. Active-duty police and military personnel may not 
vote or participate in partisan political activity.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In May 2008 PLD candidate 
Leonel Fernandez won the presidency in an election described as 
generally free and fair by the Organization of American States, other 
independent observers, and the Government electoral board. Observers 
also described the May 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 House of Representatives and city 
councils; in practice the parties often placed women low on the lists. 
There were four women in the 32-member Senate, 38 women in the 178-
member House of Representatives, two women in the cabinet, and five 
women on the 16-seat Supreme Court. The law requires each party's 
candidates for mayor and deputy mayor to be of different genders, and 
there were 12 female mayors and 145 female deputy mayors.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
administration officials who engaged in corrupt practices were not 
prosecuted, although some were removed from office and others were 
submitted to the Office for the Prosecution of Corruption for 
investigation. The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators 
continued to reflect that government corruption was a serious problem, 
and the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness report also listed 
corruption as the most problematic factor for doing business in the 
country.
    On October 20, the Participative Anti-Corruption Initiative (IPAC) 
presented 30 recommendations to combat corruption to the president and 
other officials, various NGOs, and the media. These recommendations-
developed by government officials, civil society representatives and 
the donor community and covering a variety of issues such as government 
procurement transparency, energy, and water-were the fruits of the IPAC 
process, which was born of the president's 2009 request to the 
international community for help in dealing with the ``perception'' of 
corruption in the country. President Fernandez welcomed the 
recommendations but provided no timelines for implementation and 
downplayed the extent of corruption in the country.
    Government officials continued to be reluctant to investigate 
seriously and prepare for trial cases involving senior government 
officials of either the current or former government. The attorney 
general concluded six corruption cases against lower and mid-level 
officials, either by conviction or acquittal, the same number as was 
reported in 2009.
    On many occasions police officials attempted to solicit bribes from 
individuals facing arrest or imposition of fines. Local human rights 
observers reported on a few occasions that immigration and police 
authorities rounded up undocumented construction workers and other 
manual laborers of Haitian origin or descent to extort money from them. 
NGOs alleged corruption among the military and migration officials 
stationed at border posts and checkpoints and noted that these 
officials were often complicit in the illegal transit of Haitian 
workers into the country. The SJRM and the coordinator for the National 
Migration Roundtable reported that an undocumented migrant paid an 
average cost of 3,000 to 5,000 pesos ($82 to $137) to be transported 
from Jimani, the largest border post, to Santo Domingo. The SJRM report 
stated that transporters paid an average bribe of 100 pesos ($2.70) per 
person at each of the 16 checkpoints from Jimani to the capital.
    Although the newly constituted Court of Accounts submitted a number 
of audit reports to Congress with significant findings of misuse of 
public funds and lack of proper procedures, there were no known follow-
up measures or sanctions taken. The use of nonjudicial sanctions 
continued. These measures included the dismissal or transfer of armed 
forces members, police officers, judges, and other minor government 
officials engaged in bribe taking and other corrupt behavior. Society's 
widespread attitude of tolerance toward at least some forms of 
corruption complicated the effort to reduce corruption.
    The Commission for Ethics and Combating Corruption continued to 
operate, although with minimal practical results as it lacked well-
defined authorities and decision-making structures.
    In September 2009 the Supreme Court approved a change of venue for 
the prosecution of several naval officers and a former police officer 
in Bani for their alleged involvement in killing seven supposed drug 
traffickers after some of the accused threatened prosecutors and 
judges. On December 3, three judges sentenced 16 of the 22 suspects in 
the case to prison terms and acquitted six defendants for lack of 
evidence. Seven of the 16 convicted, including five former members of 
the Navy, were sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment, while four others, 
including a former sailor, will be in jail for 20 years. The only woman 
involved was sentenced to 10 years in prison. A number of those 
convicted were also ordered to pay fines of 50,000 pesos ($1,350). Some 
of those convicted announced they would appeal.
    The law requires that the president and vice president, members of 
Congress, some agency heads, and other officials such as mayors and 
council members, as well as income tax and customs duty collectors, 
make declarations of their personal and real property within a month of 
being hired, as well as when they ``end their responsibilities.'' The 
new constitution further requires public officials not only to declare 
their property but also to explain its provenance. The Department of 
Prosecution of Corruption, an office within the Public Ministry, is in 
charge of reviewing these declarations. Although the press reported a 
number of incidents in which newly elected members of congress and 
other government officials did not comply with these disclosure 
requirements, according to the department, government officials 
generally complied with the law. Any benefits of previous disclosures 
were unclear, since government officials were not then required to 
explain the sources of their property.
    The new constitution provides for public access to government 
information. The law places limits on the availability of such 
information only under specified circumstances (such as to protect 
national security). It also provided for penalties of up 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. 
While often timely, responses were also often incomplete, and the 
Government rejected subsequent requests. Moreover, there was little 
consistency in the determination of what was considered public 
information and what was not. In a 2009 report, Citizen Participation, 
an NGO focused on increasing civil society participation in the 
political process, found that overall government compliance with the 
freedom of information law was low. However, certain government 
institutions, including the Attorney General's Office, were an 
exception to the general trend and displayed a high degree of 
transparency.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. While government 
officials generally were cooperative and responsive to their views, 
human rights groups who advocated for the rights of Haitians and 
persons of Haitian descent were an important exception and faced 
occasional government harassment and threats.
    Principal domestic NGOs included the Dominican Human Rights 
Committee, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Santo Domingo 
Institute of Human Rights. There were also several smaller secular and 
religious organizations that addressed women's rights, labor issues, 
and the rights of Haitians and their descendants in the country.
    The new constitution establishes the position of ombudsman, 
although the Government never implemented a 2001 law mandating the 
creation of a human rights ombudsman's office. The ombudsman's 
functions as outlined in the constitution are to safeguard the 
fundamental human rights of persons and to protect collective interests 
established in the constitution and the law.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the new constitution prohibits discrimination based on 
race, gender, disability, language, and social status, such 
discrimination existed, and the Government seldom acknowledged its 
existence or made efforts to combat it.

    Women.--Rape was a serious and widely underreported problem. The 
law provides penalties for rape of from 10 to 15 years in prison (or 10 
to 20 years in case of rape of a vulnerable person, a child, or if 
occurred under other egregious circumstances) and a fine of 100,000 to 
200,000 pesos (approximately $2,770 to $5,540). The state may prosecute 
a suspect for rape even if the victim does not file charges, and rape 
victims may press charges against spouses. 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. Police were reluctant to handle rape cases and often 
encouraged victims to seek assistance from NGOs.
    According to the Third International Report on Partner Violence 
against Women, published by the Queen Sofia Center, the country had a 
high number of killings of women related to domestic violence, 
approximately 22 out of every million women. Despite some government 
efforts to improve the situation, violence against women continued to 
be common and increased during the year. 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 700 to 245,000 pesos 
(approximately $20 to $6,800). A local NGO estimated that 20 percent of 
women between the ages of 15 and 49 had been victims of physical abuse 
at some point in their lives. Between January and June, the Attorney 
General's Office reported 57 women killed as a result of domestic 
violence. In December two women's rights organizations, the Women's 
Forum and the Movement for a Life without Violence, reported 150 women 
killed as a result of domestic violence.
    The district attorney of Santo Domingo in the National District, 
which includes approximately 10 percent of the country's population, 
had a specialized Violence Prevention and Attention Unit with 14 
satellite offices around the city. At these offices 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. These offices had the authority to issue temporary 
restraining orders immediately after receiving complaints and to serve 
as messengers for the victims, which prevented contact between the 
victim and the abuser.
    As of December, 7,114 complaints had been made to the Violence 
Prevention and Attention Unit. The cases reported were either settled 
through mediation, remained in investigation, or were taken to court.
    The National Directorate for Assistance to Victims coordinated 
efforts of official and nongovernmental institutions that offer 
services to victims of violence. It had three offices in Santo Domingo 
and two others elsewhere. 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, the Secretariat of Women, and various NGOs conducted 
outreach and training programs on domestic violence and legal rights. 
Additionally, the Attorney General's Office established a public 
information campaign against sexual and labor exploitation and launched 
a national hotline for prevention and victim assistance.
    The Secretariat of Women also operated two shelters for victims of 
domestic violence in undisclosed locations, where abuse victims could 
make a report to the police and receive counseling.
    Sex tourism existed throughout the country, particularly in Las 
Terrenas, Cabarete, Sosua, and Boca Chica. NGOs conducted programs 
about it for hotel and industrial zone workers, male and female 
prostitutes, and other high-risk groups.
    Sexual harassment in the workplace is a misdemeanor and carries a 
possible penalty of one year in prison and a fine of up to 10,000 pesos 
(approximately $277); however, union leaders reported that the law was 
not enforced, and sexual harassment remained a problem.
    Reproductive rights generally were respected. While contraceptives 
were freely available, many low-income women used contraceptives 
inconsistently due to both irregular availability of contraceptives 
from public agencies as well as social and religious bias against 
family planning. The Population Reference Bureau reported a 73 percent 
rate of some method of contraceptive use among married women. Maternal 
mortality remained high (estimated at 100 deaths per 100,000 live 
births in 2008 UN data), yet 98 percent of deliveries took place in 
hospital settings. Despite the high percentage of institutional 
deliveries, there were groups of women with limited access to qualified 
care. Such is the case of the border province of Elias Pina where, 
according to a 2007 survey, 14 percent of the deliveries took place at 
home.
    Most maternal and neonatal deaths were due to poor quality of care 
and failure to adhere to standards norms and protocols, resulting in 
mismanagement of both normal and complicated deliveries. Most women had 
access to some postnatal care although the lack of postnatal care was 
higher among young, uneducated women and those in the lowest economic 
quintiles. In some poor provinces such as Pedernales, 29 percent of 
women received no postnatal care. Access to diagnostic services and 
treatment of sexually transmitted diseases was limited by technical, 
financial, and management issues, which equally affected both men and 
women. Approximately 15,500 persons with HIV/AIDS--the majority of whom 
were women--had access to antiretroviral treatment.
    Although the law provides that women have the same legal status as 
men, in practice women experienced discrimination. 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 received less pay 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. Although 
it is illegal to discriminate based on such tests, NGO 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.--Citizenship is acquired by birth in the country, except 
children born to diplomats, to those who are ``in transit,'' or to 
parents who are illegally in the country (see section 2.d.). A child 
not registered at birth is undocumented until a late declaration is 
made, and there were limitations on late declarations. The most recent 
report by the NGO Profamilia and the UN Children's Fund indicated that 
13 percent of children under 15 were not registered. Undocumented 
children, particularly those of Haitian descent, faced challenges in 
accessing primary public education.
    Abuse of children, including physical, sexual, and psychological 
abuse, was a serious problem. The Attorney General's Office has a 
special Children and Adolescent's Unit, which maintains a hotline where 
persons may call in to report cases of child abuse. The hotline 
received about 30 calls a month. As of September, 1,888 complaints had 
been filed in the National District, which primarily represents the 
capital city of Santo Domingo. Of these, more than half were awaiting a 
court appointment. 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 most 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 observers believed that instances of child abuse were 
underreported because of the widespread belief 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. 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 law covers statutory rape, and the age of consent is 18. 
Penalties for statutory rape are 10 to 20 years in prison and a fine of 
100,000 to 200,000 pesos ($2,778 to $5, 556) if rape is committed 
against a child or adolescent. The law also contains specific 
provisions that prohibit child pornography and child prostitution, 
prescribing penalties for sexual abuse of children of 20 to 30 years' 
imprisonment and fines from 100 to 150 times the minimum wage.
    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, sexual exploitation of children, and child sex tourism 
remained serious problems, particularly in major urban areas and 
popular tourist destinations. Child prostitution often was based on 
economic need, and the Government conducted several programs to combat 
the sexual exploitation of minors, including notices in airports and 
targeted programs in popular tourist locations.
    The Ministry of Labor continued 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 and their families to arrest and convict exploiters.
    The Government is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on 
International Child Abduction. For information on international 
parental child abduction, please see the Department of State's annual 
report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small, about 300 
persons, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 provision. The Dominican Association 
for Rehabilitation, which had 23 branches around the country, received 
a large subsidy from the Secretariat of Public Health and from the 
Presidency to provide rehabilitation assistance to persons with 
physical and learning disabilities. The association cited the lack of 
accessible public transportation for persons with disabilities as a 
major impediment. The 2000 disability law states that the Government 
should ensure that people with disabilities have access to the labor 
market and cultural, recreational, and religious activities.
    Discrimination against persons with mental illness was common 
across all public and private sectors, and there were few resources 
dedicated to the mentally ill.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--There was significant evidence 
of racial prejudice and discrimination against persons of dark 
complexion, but the Government denied that such prejudice or 
discrimination existed and, consequently, did little to address the 
problem.
    There were also strong prejudices against Haitians, which 
disadvantaged many Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian ancestry, as well 
as other foreigners of dark complexion. Few government officials 
acknowledged the existence of this discrimination; others regularly and 
publicly denied that it existed.
    Local NGOs reported incidents where darker-skinned persons were 
denied access or services in banks, service in restaurants and stores, 
entry into nightclubs, enrollment in private schools, and birth 
registration in hospitals. In a 2007 report, the UN special rapporteurs 
for racism and the rights of minorities urged authorities to recognize 
the existence of racism and discrimination against minorities, adopt a 
national action plan to address the problem, revise a JCE rule that 
resulted in revocation of identity documents for Haitians, and cease 
mass repatriations of Haitians. Government officials responded to the 
report with a denial that racism existed in the country, referencing 
comments that the country was a mulatto community. The Government's 
2009 UN Universal Periodic Review report asserted that the JCE rule 
focused on fraud and that Haitians in the country could receive their 
identity documents in Haiti. The Government also claimed there were no 
grounds to state that black Dominicans were being repatriated to Haiti 
and noted that authorities suspended repatriations on Fridays to 
prevent employers from using this as a tool to avoid paying laborers 
for the week's work.
    Haitians continued to immigrate to the country in search of 
economic opportunity and relief, especially following the January 
earthquake. According to the Directorate of Migration, there was no 
repatriation or deportation of Haitians since the earthquake in 
accordance with the president's policy to halt them in the aftermath of 
the crisis. However, the directorate continued to carry out 
devoluciones or ``returns'' of undocumented Haitians to Haiti. 
Officials claimed that these removals should not be considered 
repatriations or deportations, although the distinction between the two 
was unclear. 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. 
NGOs reported that migration officials and security forces sometimes 
confiscated and destroyed expellees' residency documents and passports 
despite standing government orders to respect the human rights of the 
expellees. In some cases expellees with appropriate legal documents 
received permission to return.
    Some Haitian immigrants and others lived in shantytowns or 
sugarcane work camps known as bateyes. As in many poor areas in other 
parts of the country, these were harsh environments with limited or no 
electricity, running water, sanitary facilities, or adequate schooling. 
In many bateyes medical assistance either was rudimentary or not 
readily available, and 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 enterprises in the sugar sector continued to make 
improvements at their facilities, a process that began in 2007, 
including new schools and both new and renovated housing. In Nuevo 
Cayacoa, more than 40 families were living in the new facilities, and 
the school enrolled 325 students from the batey and neighboring areas. 
The community also had a clinic where batey workers and their families 
received medical care from a doctor. A neighboring batey located at the 
area where the sugarcane is processed had a school with 620 students 
from bateyes and the bordering neighborhoods.
    During the year there were reports of vigilante violence (see 
section 1.a.).

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Treatment of lesbian, gay, 
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals ranged from ambivalent 
tolerance to staunch homophobia. While no law criminalizes 
homosexuality, members of the LGBT community continued to be 
discriminated against in all areas of society, including health, 
education, and work, since no law protects individuals against 
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. 
Transgender individuals were particularly at risk of being victims of 
violence.
    NGOs reported widespread social discrimination against persons 
based on sexual orientation. Numerous credible reports indicated 
members of the LGBT community were expelled from public school, 
arrested without reason, fired from work, or denied access to rent or 
own homes.
    Gay and lesbian persons faced physical attacks, intimidation, 
harassment, and threats of violence. NGOs reported that these groups 
were reluctant to file charges or complain to authorities due to fear 
of reprisal or humiliation. Several killings during the year were 
linked to the victims' sexual orientation.
    On March 30, Ramon de Jesus Crisostomo de Leon (``Monchina''), a 
transgender sex worker, was killed. On May 11, authorities arrested a 
suspect, who later confessed to the crime, claiming he was the victim 
of deception since he thought Crisostomo was ``a woman and not a 
transsexual person.''
    On July 1, three male clients allegedly stabbed and killed Daniel 
Corporan Suero (``Arenita''), a 22-year-old transgender sex worker in 
Santo Domingo.
    Several LGBT advocates confirmed reports that authorities denied 
members of the LGBT community the right to congregate in public spaces, 
specifically Duarte Park, a traditional LGBT gathering place in Santo 
Domingo's Colonial Zone. On April 6, the newspaper Listin Diario ran 
several articles citing concerns by Catholic Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus 
Lopez Rodriguez regarding the ``vulgarities'' carried out by couples of 
the same sex late at night. Additionally, some members of the local 
neighborhood association complained of sexual exhibitionism by gays, 
lesbians, and heterosexuals alike and charged that the LGBT community 
in particular was not respectful of morality and tradition. The 
Cardinal's concerns led the National Police to increase the number of 
police patrolling the area. The inability to freely associate and 
gather in Duarte Park became a point of contention between government 
authorities and members of the LGBT community, who claimed they are the 
victims of police harassment whenever they gather in public places.
    Since the first gay pride celebration in 2001, authorities rejected 
or delayed all other permission requests by gay and lesbian 
organizations. Activists reported that these organizations substituted 
marches and concentrations by small informal gatherings in recreational 
spaces, activities that do not require any type of permission from 
authorities.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
faced discrimination in the workplace and elsewhere. According to the 
UN agency UNAIDS, an estimated 52,000 to 71,000 persons were infected 
with the disease. A study by the Network of Persons Living with HIV, 
Profamilia, and Alianza Solidaria revealed that, among the sample of 
persons living with HIV who were interviewed, 62 percent reported being 
the subject of gossip, 30 percent were the victims of verbal 
aggression, 27 percent were the victims of verbal threats, and 14 
percent were victims of attacks or physical threats.
    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. Many workers or 
patients found to have the disease were not hired or were 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 was 
enforced, despite reports that official complaints had been filed.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the freedom to 
organize labor unions; all workers, except the military and the police, 
were free to form and join unions of their choice. There were some 
restrictions placed on civil servants for union formation; 40 percent 
of civil servant employees must agree to join the union in a given 
government entity for it to be formed. Organized labor represented an 
estimated 8 percent of the work force. Although the law requires that 
unions be registered by the Ministry of Labor in order to be legal, it 
provides for automatic recognition of a union if the ministry has not 
acted on the application within 30 days.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
government interference. In June the National Council of United Unions 
(CNUS), one of the largest confederations, brought a complaint against 
the Government before the International Labor Organization (ILO) for 
obstructing the right to unionize and to register unions in companies. 
CNUS accused the Labor Ministry's national director of labor of 
obstructing the registration of unions in major companies, including 
Barrick Gold. CNUS claimed that the director was blocking the formation 
of unions by rejecting their registration applications and delaying 
approvals. The Ministry of Labor argued that the only reason unions 
were not allowed to register was because of their lack of compliance 
with (unspecified) ILO regulations. Following the filing of the ILO 
complaint, the ministry approved the Workers Union of the Barrick Gold 
Company and other unions whose registrations had previously been 
rejected. The complaint is scheduled to be reviewed by the ILO at the 
next International Labor Conference scheduled for June 2011.
    A few labor unions represented a small number of Haitian workers, 
who are covered by the labor code regardless of legal status. Persons 
who join unions must have documentation, but enforcement of 
documentation rules for union members was lax allowing some 
undocumented Haitians to participate in practice. Various NGOs 
continued to report that many Haitian laborers and Dominicans of 
Haitian descent in the agricultural and construction industries did not 
exercise their rights, fearing firing or deportation.
    The law provides for the right of most workers to strike but 
includes a number of requirements for the strike to be legal, and 
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.
    All government workers and essential public service personnel are 
not allowed to strike. The labor code defines essential public service 
personnel as those working in communications, water supply, gas and 
electricity supply for domestic and street lighting, and hospital 
pharmacists. The Ministry of Labor offered a worker-employer 
conciliation process in an effort to provide due process to protect 
workers' rights.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
protects the right of private sector employees to organize and bargain 
collectively. While the law requires that collective bargaining be used 
in firms in which a union has gained the support of an absolute 
majority of the workers, it does not allow for collective bargaining 
unless a trade union represents an absolute majority of the workers. 
The ILO considered this requirement to be excessive and an impediment 
to collective bargaining. Few companies had collective bargaining 
pacts, partly because companies created obstacles to union formation 
and could afford to go through lengthy judicial processes that nascent 
unions could not afford.
    The ILO noted that the law did not specifically address the right 
to collective bargaining of public servants not engaged in the 
administration of the state. Public sector workers are allowed to form 
associations registered through the Office of Public Administration, 
not the Ministry of Labor.
    The law establishes a system of labor courts for dealing with 
disputes. This process was often long, with cases remaining pending for 
several years. Although the Government stated that there have been some 
improvements in this process, unions noted that the process remained 
long. In smaller municipalities the system can be shorter, taking about 
one year, but in the more populated cities, including Santiago and 
Santo Domingo, the process continued to take several years. The most 
recent study by the Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice, a 
local NGO, showed that the average case resolution time was 15.3 months 
in courts of first instance and 16.4 months in appeals court. Various 
NGOs reported that companies took advantage of the slow and ineffective 
legal system to appeal cases, which left workers without labor rights 
protection in the interim.
    Public officials reported that the ministry's nonbinding 
conciliation process, involving 37 mediators in eight locations, was 
the most effective method for resolving worker-company disputes though 
other sources reported that the conciliation process's effectiveness 
has diminished in the past two years.
    The law forbidding companies from firing union organizers or 
members was enforced inconsistently, and penalties were insufficient to 
deter employers from violating worker rights. Some NGOs continued to 
report that workers who tried to form unions were routinely fired. 
There were reports of harassment and intimidation by employers in an 
effort to prevent union activity, especially in the free trade zones 
(FTZs). The Dominican Federation of Free Trade Zone Workers 
(FEDOTRAZONAS) noted incidents of antiunion activity at Gildan Active 
Wear, Kola Real, Barrick Gold, Universal Aloe, and Peruvia Motors. 
FEDOTRAZONAS complained that the management of these companies or their 
subcontractors conducted public antiunion campaigns, which included 
threats to fire union members, and engaged in activities to forestall 
attainment of union membership sufficient to establish collective 
bargaining rights under the labor code.
    According to the National Labor Force survey completed by the 
Central Bank, about 56 percent of the workforce is in the informal 
sector. In view of the scarcity of formal sector employment, the fear 
of reprisal greatly limited worker ability to freely associate. Workers 
were often asked to sign documents agreeing not to participate in union 
activities. Companies often created and supported ``yellow'' or 
company-backed unions to counter free and democratic unions. In 
addition the use of short-term contracts and subcontracting was 
increasing--often making union organizing and collective bargaining 
more difficult.
    There were no new developments in the Ministry of Labor's 2008 
investigation of labor rights violations--including discrimination 
against union members, forced overtime, and minimum wage violations--
reportedly committed by an agricultural export company in the north of 
the country. FEDOTRAZONAS reported that the company continued to 
discriminate openly against its members during the year.
    The labor code applies in the 57 established FTZs, which employed 
approximately 115,000 workers. According to the National Council of 
Labor Unions, unions were active in only 12 or 13 businesses out of 
approximately 200 companies in the FTZs, and only four unions had 
established collective bargaining rights. Workplace regulations and 
their enforcement in the FTZs did not differ from those in the country 
at large. Working conditions were reportedly sometimes better, and the 
pay in the FTZs was occasionally higher than in the public or 
agricultural sectors. At the same time, mandatory overtime was a common 
practice.
    There were reports of widespread covert intimidation by employers 
in the FTZs to prevent union activity, as well as reports of firing of 
workers for union activity and blacklisting of trade unionists. 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. Unions accused some FTZ companies 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 
or with 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, but there were reports of forced labor of 
both children and adults within the country. There were reports that 
both adults and children were forced to work as domestic servants (see 
section 7.d.).
    Haitian workers' lack of documentation and legal status in the 
country often placed them in a tenuous situation and made them 
vulnerable to forced labor. Although specific data on the issue were 
limited, there continued to be reports that some Haitian nationals may 
have been subjected to forced labor in the service, construction, and 
agricultural sectors.
    Labor conditions in sugar cane plantations remained harsh. There 
continued to be conflicting views regarding whether or not forced labor 
was used in the production of sugar. Some credible NGOs reported that, 
although undocumented Haitian workers were vulnerable to exploitation, 
forced labor was no longer used in the sugar industry. However, there 
also continued to be some reports of exploitive labor practices that 
some observers maintained could constitute forced labor when considered 
together. These reports included deceptive recruiting practices, 
nonpayment or payment in vouchers which were difficult to convert into 
cash, and restrictions on some workers' ability to leave plantations--
including forcible capture and return of workers, withholding of 
documents, and threats of deportation. Private sugar producers noted 
that the overall number of workers in the sugar industry has declined 
with increased mechanization and a decrease in the relative importance 
of sugar production in the economy. They acknowledged that they 
continued to hire some undocumented Haitian workers already residing 
and working in the country but insisted that they did not force these 
individuals to work.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 remained a serious problem, although there was some 
evidence it lessened during the year. One NGO estimated that 364,000 
minors between five and 17 years of age worked illegally. Regulations 
limited working hours of those between the ages of 14 and 16 to six 
hours per day; for those under age 18, the law limited night work and 
prohibited employment in hazardous occupations, under unhealthy working 
conditions, or in establishments serving alcohol. 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 in the informal sector was a problem largely beyond 
regulatory reach.
    Child labor took place primarily in the informal economy, small 
businesses, private households, and agriculture. In particular, there 
were reports that children worked in the production of garlic, 
potatoes, coffee, tomatoes, and rice. The Ministry of Labor, following 
site inspections conducted throughout the country, including in sugar 
growing areas, reported that the sugar consortium's bateyes no longer 
used child labor on their property. However, others continued to report 
that children work in sugar plantations alongside their parents. NGOs 
and the Ministry of Labor also reported that many children worked in 
the service sector in a number of jobs including as domestic servants 
in households, as street vendors, as well as in shoe shining, and 
washing car windows. Children often accompanied their parents to work 
in agricultural fields, in part because parents had nowhere else to 
leave their children, since schools 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 and 
urban areas (see section 6, children).
    Children also worked as domestic servants, and many appeared to be 
victims of forced labor. There were credible reports that poor Haitian 
families arranged for Dominican families to ``adopt'' and employ their 
children. In some cases adoptive parents reportedly did not treat the 
children as full family members, expecting them to work in the 
households or family businesses rather than to attend school, which 
resulted in a kind of indentured servitude for children and 
adolescents. (Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.) Some NGOS reported an increase 
in the number of Haitian children working on the streets shoe-shining, 
window-washing and begging (also see section 6, children).
    The Ministry of Labor in coordination with the National Council for 
Children and Adolescents (CONANI) is responsible for enforcing child 
labor laws. The Ministry of Labor and CONANI did not always effectively 
enforce the law, particularly in the large informal sector. The 
Ministry of Labor employed 222 labor inspectors, all of whom received 
special training to locate and eliminate illegal child labor. From 
January to April, the ministry inspectors completed 70,925 inspections 
at which inspectors only found child labor violations on three 
occasions.
    The National Steering Committee against Child Labor's plan to 
eliminate the worst forms of child labor set objectives, identified 
priorities, and assigned responsibilities so that exploitive labor 
could be efficiently tackled and the number of child laborers 
significantly reduced. In 2008 the Ministry of Labor launched a program 
to support public-private partnerships aimed at preventing hazardous 
child labor with a goal of withdrawing 8,500 children from exploitive 
labor. It exceeded that goal and had withdrawn 12,044 children by 
August 31. Nine other programs focused on children working in coffee, 
tomato and rice production, street vending, domestic labor, and the sex 
industry. According to the Ministry of Labor, these programs have 
prevented 63,000 children from entering or continuing in the labor 
force since 1997. They helped reduce the number of children exposed to 
the worst forms of child labor from 9.3 percent in 2004 to 6.4 percent 
in 2008.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In practice the Ministry of 
Labor did not always enforce the minimum wage. The minimum monthly 
salary was 5,400 pesos (approximately $145) in the FTZs, an increase 
from 2009, and between 5,158 and 8,465 pesos ($138 and $227) depending 
upon the size of the company, outside the FTZs. The minimum wage for 
the public sector was 5,117 pesos ($137) per month. The daily minimum 
wage for farm workers covered by minimum wage regulations was 175 pesos 
($4.70), based on a 10-hour day, which includes all agricultural 
products except sugarcane. Cane workers were subject to a special, 
lower minimum wage for the sugar industry of 110 pesos ($2.95) per 8-
hour work day, an increase from 2009. The national minimum wage did not 
provide a decent standard of living in any industry for a worker and 
family. All workers, including migrants, are covered by minimum wage 
provisions.
    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, although 
enforcement was ineffective. At some firms in the FTZs, overtime was 
mandatory. Mandatory overtime continued to be a common practice in 
factories and was sometimes enforced through loss of pay or employment 
for those who refused. The FEDOTRAZONAS reported that some companies 
set up ``4x4'' work schedules, in which employees work 12-hour shifts 
for four days. Employees working the 4x4 schedules were not paid 
overtime for hours worked in excess of maximum work hours allowed under 
labor laws. The Ministry of Labor took no corrective action to address 
this issue. Some companies also started a practice to pay every eight 
days instead of every seven days, which resulted in a loss of wages for 
workers.
    On sugar plantations cane cutters usually were paid by the weight 
of cane cut rather than the hours worked. Cane cutters continued to 
suspect fraud by weigh station operators 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. 
Company officials denied that there were delays in transporting cane, 
noting that any delay would be detrimental to their business operation. 
The amount of cane a worker could cut varied, but most young able-
bodied workers were able to cut two to three tons of cane in a workday, 
yielding a daily wage of 160-240 pesos (approximately $4.30-$6.40). 
However, less able-bodied workers, who were often older, were paid only 
for the amount of the cane they actually cut, even if the amount was 
less than the minimum wage. During the six-month off-season, some 
workers in sugar plantations who opted to remain in their communities 
were offered part-time jobs such as clearing land or cleaning 
sugarcane. Such workers generally were not paid the legally mandated 
minimum wage.
    Conditions for agricultural workers were poor, with many workers 
working long hours and exposed to hazardous working conditions 
including the exposure to pesticides, excessive exposure to the sun, 
and use of sharp and heavy tools. Many activists reported that workers 
in the sugarcane industry who lived in company-owned bateyes had 
inadequate access to schools, medical facilities, running water, and 
sewage systems. Sugarcane workers often did not receive medical 
services or pensions due to the lack of documentation even though 
deductions were taken from their pay.
    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. 
Although the inspectors noted over 2,000 infractions, the findings of 
these inspections were not effectively enforced. Workers complained 
that inspectors were not trained, did not respond to health and safety 
complaints, and more quickly responded to requests from employers than 
workers. 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 14.3 million. In 2008 voters approved a referendum on a 
new constitution, which became effective in October of that year, 
although many of its provisions continued to be implemented. In April 
2009 voters reelected Rafael Correa for his second presidential term 
and chose members of the National Assembly in elections that were 
considered generally free and fair. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    The following human rights problems continued: isolated unlawful 
killings and use of excessive force by security forces, sometimes with 
impunity; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention; 
corruption and other abuses by security forces; a high number of 
pretrial detainees; and corruption and denial of due process within the 
judicial system. President Correa and his administration continued 
verbal and legal attacks against the independent media. Societal 
problems continued, including physical aggression against journalists; 
violence against women; discrimination against women, indigenous 
persons, Afro-Ecuadorians, and lesbians and gay men; 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.--The Government or 
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however, 
there continued to be credible reports that security forces used 
excessive force and committed isolated unlawful killings.
    On April 23, the Government's Unit for the Fight against Organized 
Crime released a report exposing the existence of a gang of hit men 
composed of active-duty police. The report stated that police were part 
of a ``social cleansing group'' that killed delinquents in Quevedo, Los 
Rios Province. In July the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial 
executions, Philip Alston, called attention to ``shocking'' levels of 
impunity for killings in the country throughout the year. He accused 
police of failing to investigate cases they label as ``settling of 
accounts'' between different gangs or criminal groups and stated that 
this ``creates an easy cover for police who are themselves implicated 
in killings.''
    On August 1, police officers Nixon Guaman and Rolando Gualapanti 
alledegly shot and killed Christian Quimis Lozano. Police stated that 
gang members shot Quimis Lozano before police found him, while family 
members asserted that they saw police pursue and shoot him. The police 
opened an investigation into the case, but the two officers remained on 
active duty. The accused officers did not appear at the first hearing, 
and the case was rescheduled.
    In 2008 the bodies of three men were found in a car in Manta. One 
of the victims was Yandry Velez, who had allegedly fled to Manta to 
hide from Diego Erazo, chief of the operational support unit of the 
Judicial Police in Pichincha Province. The family asserted that police 
killed Velez and his friends on orders from the mayor. The case was 
dismissed by year's end on grounds of insufficient evidence.
    On June 5, the presidential commission established in 2007 to 
investigate human rights violations committed between 1984 and 2008 
issued its final report. The commission reported that it had found 
numerous serious violations, including killings, during that period 
(see section 5).
    Vigilante justice remained a problem. Such violence occurred 
particularly in indigenous communities and poor neighborhoods of major 
cities where there was little police presence.
    On May 25, Victor Eduardo Naranjo Morejon and Pedro Mesias Velasco 
Morejon were beaten and burned to death by the local community in 
Orellana Province. One of the men had fought violently with a local 
indigenous teacher. After the killing, police took eight persons into 
custody and the prosecutor opened an investigation, which was ongoing 
at year's end.
    On July 13, in Chimborazo Province, community members broke into a 
police detachment and proceeded to assault and burn alive Jose Ariel 
Pichu Toledo and Antonio Alfredo Delgado Navarrete, who were accused of 
robbing $4,000 (the U.S. dollar is the official currency) from a woman 
and killing a taxi driver. Antonio Delgado died five days later from 
burn injuries. The provincial prosecutor stated that the case was under 
investigation, but no arrests had been made by year's end.
    On July 25, Angel Molina was burned alive by community members in 
Azuay Province for robbing gasoline canisters. Molina died shortly 
thereafter in a local hospital. The police opened an investigation, but 
no arrests had been made by year's end.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    In September authorities opened an investigation and detained 17 
police officers in connection with the reported disappearance in 
September 2009 of Georgy Cedeno (see section 1.c.).
    Criminal kidnapping for profit was a growing problem in selected 
regions of the country. There were reports of extortion and threats of 
kidnapping of ranchers, farmers, and businessmen along the Colombian 
border. From January through November, police reported 25 kidnappings 
and an estimated 700 ``express kidnappings'' (in which a person is 
detained in a taxi and forced to make automatic withdrawals of personal 
funds), compared with 28 kidnapping cases and 347 ``express 
kidnappings'' in 2009.

    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 officers 
reportedly tortured and abused suspects and prisoners, sometimes with 
impunity. In July the ombudsman acknowledged that ``torture is a 
practice that has taken root.''
    The constitution makes ``any form of torture'' illegal; the 
criminal procedures code (CPC) has a similar provision and criminalizes 
the use of torture to force confessions by state authorities and 
members of the police or military. The Prosecutor General's Office 
tracked information on imprisonment of alleged torturers, but 
classified these cases as ``crimes against persons'' and not as 
``torture.'' Those found guilty were often fined rather than 
imprisoned. According to the Judicial Council's Registration and 
Control Unit, during the year, 17 cases of torture were filed, with 12 
defendants in prison awaiting trial and one conviction.
    Through November the Ecumenical Human Rights Commission (CEDHU) 
registered 159 cases of alleged ``torture'' or ``unwarranted physical 
aggression'' by police forces. CEDHU reported that police beat suspects 
and used tear gas during arrests, and that police beat and threatened 
suspects throughout interrogations to force them to confess to crimes.
    On July 25, Omar Vidal accused five police officers of attacking 
and arbitrarily detaining him. Vidal called the police after a robbery 
but stated that police attacked him and hit him in the face. 
Prosecutors opened an investigation and requested video from the street 
surveillance cameras for evidence in the case. On August 20, because of 
the investigation, two of the accused police officers, Wilmer German 
Galarza Loor and Armando Patricio Campoverde Llamuca, were separated 
from service. Another officer, Jorge Macias Moreira, was suspended.
    In March the interior minister requested that the public prosecutor 
investigate the case of three siblings, Jenny Karina Pico Suarez, 
Fabricio Colon Pico Suarez, and Javier Universi Pico Suarez, and their 
stepfather, Georgy Hernan Cedeno Saltos. The Pico Suarez family accused 
seven members of the National Police Operations Support Group of 
illegally detaining and torturing them in northern Quito on September 
30 and October 1, 2009. The family asserted that Cedeno disappeared 
after being detained with the others. The brothers filed a complaint 
with police, who initially refused to open an investigation. On 
September 8, authorities initiated an investigation and subsequently 
detained 15 police officers from the Operations Support Group and two 
from the Motorized Operations Group and charged them with involvement 
in arbitrary detention and torture. On October 30, a judge released the 
suspects from the Motorized Operations Group, ruling that they were 
following orders of their superiors.
    On September 6, the interior minister asked the National Police to 
reopen an investigation into seven police officers involved in the 2008 
case of three men in Quito who claimed police tortured them to force 
confessions that they had taken part in a robbery. In 2009 all charges 
against the robbery suspects were dropped. While the prosecutor 
requested that the case against all police officers be dropped, the 
charges against lower-ranked officers were kept. The investigation 
remained open, and all officers continued in active service.
    From 2007 through August 2010, the National Police held 503 
disciplinary tribunals for abuses committed by police. As a result, 367 
police officers were dismissed, 171 were arrested, and 68 were 
sanctioned. On September 7, the interior minister reopened 290 cases of 
possible police abuses. Tribunals continued at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in prisons and 
detention centers were generally poor and tended to be worse in the 
tropical coastal areas than in the temperate highlands. Justice 
Minister Jose Serrano stated that existing facilities were overcrowded 
by 93 percent.
    A number of prisons experienced serious outbreaks of disease, and 
medical care was often inadequate. The daily allocation for prison 
rations was one dollar per inmate; prisoners often supplemented these 
rations by buying their own food. The National Agency for Social 
Rehabilitation (DNRS) reported that 42 prisoners died during the year, 
compared with six deaths in 2009.
    Overcrowding continued to be a problem in most prison facilities, 
although the number of detainees dropped sharply in 2009 primarily due 
to a law that limits the period prisoners may be held before conviction 
or sentencing. The decrease also reflected the continuing work of a 
temporary public defenders' unit that hired more than 150 lawyers to 
defend poor prisoners, especially those awaiting sentencing. As of 
July, the DNRS reported that 38 facilities designed to hold 8,480 
prisoners were holding 11,800 prisoners, compared with 10,808 in the 
previous year. According to a report by the international 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) Prisoners Abroad, resources in the 
prisons were minimal and prisoners (and their families) were expected 
to provide almost all mattresses, clothing, and medicines. Three very 
basic meals a day were provided, but prisoners reported that the 
quality of food could be very poor. There was usually hot water in the 
women's prison, although not in the men's prison. Water shortages were 
common in the women's prison in Quito. Chronic overcrowding and lack of 
preventive healthcare measures meant that disease spread very quickly. 
Healthcare provision was minimal and only sufficient for emergencies.
    Conditions were notably better in the Quito women's prison than in 
men's facilities. There were no adolescents or children more than three 
years old living with their incarcerated mothers. Detention centers 
provided day-care facilities for children younger than three who could 
not be separated from their mothers. Pretrial detainees were held with 
convicted prisoners. According to CEDHU, male guards were responsible 
for guarding female inmates, and female inmates reported that male 
guards requested sexual favors in return for assistance.
    Although in most instances the Government permitted prison visits 
by independent human rights observers, authorities occasionally did not 
permit observers to visit prisoners who had been placed in isolation 
cells after they allegedly had been beaten. The DNRS stated that all 
properly identified officials and representatives from NGOs were able 
to visit prisoners, yet many times observers and authorities were not 
able to find prisoners because of poor record keeping and corruption of 
prison officials. According to a report by Prisoners Abroad, prisoners 
were allowed all-day visits three days a week and, in the men's 
prisons, women could stay overnight every other Saturday.
    One new maximum-security facility, with more than 70 double-
occupancy cells, opened in July in Guayaquil. An additional Social 
Rehabilitation Center opened in Santo Domingo in October when 80 
prisoners were transferred there. When finished, the facility will 
accommodate up to 1,054 prisoners in both men's and women's sections. 
On August 31, the Government declared that the penitentiary system was 
in a state of emergency due to overcrowding and poor conditions and 
budgeted $40 million to start construction on four new facilities in 
2011.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--While the constitution prohibits 
arbitrary arrest and detention, in 2006 the UN Working Group on 
Arbitrary Detention noted that provisions in the CPC, the penal code, 
and some regulations adopted by central or provincial authorities 
``undermine the guarantees and protection offered.''

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police are 
under the authority of the Ministry of Interior. National Police 
effectiveness was impaired by corruption, poor hiring procedures, and 
insufficient training, supervision, and resources. NGOs provided human 
rights training for police officers at the request of the National 
Police. The Government undertook major initiatives to improve the 
preparedness of police, including increasing funding and salaries and 
purchasing equipment.
    Some municipalities, such as Quito and Guayaquil, have their own 
metropolitan police forces in addition to the National Police. Guayas 
Province also has an autonomous transit police department. A police 
internal affairs office investigates complaints against police officers 
and can refer cases to the courts. According to reliable NGOs, members 
of the Quito and Guayaquil metropolitan police occasionally used 
excessive force.
    On September 30, the National Police at Quito's First Regiment 
barracks staged a strike over benefits, which quickly spread to other 
police detachments nationwide and some military units. The protest in 
Quito became violent, and when visiting the barracks in an attempt to 
convince the protesters to end their strike, President Correa was 
assaulted, aggravating an injury to his recently operated knee. Correa 
sought refuge and received treatment at the National Police Hospital; 
he eventually was rescued that night in a combined police/military 
operation after expressing fear for his personal safety, based on the 
actions of police protesters in and around the hospital throughout the 
day.
    On September 30, President Correa declared a nationwide five-day 
state of exception, covering the whole country, to allow the military 
to assume the responsibilities of the police and restore order. 
Beginning October 1 and in the following days, the military assumed 
police duties and patrolled the streets. Police began to resume their 
duties on October 1 and within a few days returned to their normal 
patrols in coordination with the military.
    On October 5, the state of exception was extended for three 
additional days nationwide. On October 9, President Correa extended the 
state of exception only for Quito, allowing the military to continue to 
exercise police duties in protection of government installations, 
including the National Assembly. The state of exception in Quito 
expired on December 7.
    Following the protest, the Prosecutor General's Office opened 10 
different investigations for attempting to assassinate the president, 
threatening internal security, murder, rebellion, and sabotage. All 10 
investigations were ongoing at the end of the year. Prosecutors 
formally charged at least 65 persons and heard testimony from over 700. 
The National Police also carried out internal investigations resulting 
in administrative sanctions for police who disobeyed orders. Twenty-
three persons reportedly remained in pretrial detention while the 
investigations continued, and 33 were released on bail. Fourteen 
employees in two ministries were accused of paralyzing public services 
during the protest and were fired from their jobs.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires authorities to issue specific written arrest orders prior to 
detention, and they must charge a 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 through a habeas 
corpus petition to a judge in the locality where detention took place. 
The constitution provides that a prisoner may be released only by court 
order.
    The law stipulates that pregnant women cannot be held in prison 
facilities during pretrial detention, although women who are pregnant 
or become pregnant after sentencing must remain incarcerated. However, 
according to reliable NGOs, police sources, and press reports, many 
pregnant women were jailed rather than being confined to their homes 
during pretrial detention.
    Bail is allowed only in the case of crimes punishable with prison 
terms of less than five years and is prohibited for hate, sexual, and 
domestic-violence crimes and in cases where, in the judge's opinion, 
release may result in public alarm.
    Investigative detention up to and including trial is legal if a 
judge determines that it is necessary and if evidence is presented that 
a crime has been committed. The law limits immediate detention to 24 
hours for in flagrante crimes or to allow investigation to begin. In 
most jurisdictions, immediate detention is often considerably longer. 
If the initial investigation report is detrimental, the judge, if 
requested by the prosecutor, may order preventive detention, which is 
limited to six months for minor offenses and one year for major 
offenses.
    The law limits the period that detainees may be held after 
indictments have been issued, but before conviction or sentencing, to 
six months in the case of less serious crimes (those punishable with 
``correctional imprisonment'') and one year in the case of major 
crimes. However, authorities repeatedly circumvented this provision by 
filing new charges when the limit was close to expiring. Most accused 
persons remained in prison during the investigation phase. According to 
government data as of July, approximately 53 percent of prisoners had 
not been sentenced.
    Although the law entitles detainees 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 bribed prison officials to facilitate access 
and carry cell telephones. CEDHU reported that Judicial Police 
facilities holding persons for preliminary investigation did not allow 
visits by family or counsel.
    Although the law prohibits incommunicado detention, human rights 
organizations continued to report occasional violations. 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.

    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 on 
the susceptibility of the judiciary to bribes for favorable decisions 
and resolution of legal cases and on judges parceling out cases to 
outside lawyers, who wrote the judicial sentences and sent them back to 
the presiding judge for signature. Judges occasionally reached 
decisions based on media influence or political and economic pressures.
    The constitution provides for a unified judicial system, which 
abolished separate military and police judicial systems. On April 27, 
the National Assembly passed a law integrating the members of the 
former military and police courts in the ordinary judicial system; as a 
result, the ordinary judicial system tries military and police cases.
    The 2005 appeal by 27 Supreme Court justices who were replaced by 
Congress in 2004 remained pending with the Inter-American Commission on 
Human Rights.

    Trial Procedures.--Despite 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 due to 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.
    There are no juries in the justice system. Defendants are presumed 
innocent until proven guilty and convicted in trial, and have the right 
to a public trial, defense attorneys, and appeal. They may present 
evidence, invoke the privilege against self-incrimination, and confront 
and cross-examine witnesses. The law extends these rights to all 
citizens. The Transitory Public Defense Unit, established in 2007, 
became the autonomous Public Defense Office and has 127 criminal 
defense lawyers in charge of 4,800 cases. An additional 300 attorneys 
were contracted from legal services centers, and they handled about 
7,800 additional cases.
    Civil society groups, lawyers' associations, and universities--some 
contracted by the Transitory Public Defense Unit--continued to provide 
support for vulnerable groups that did not have access to legal 
defense.
    The regular court system tried most defendants, although some 
indigenous groups tried members independently for violations of tribal 
law. While the law and the constitution recognize indigenous 
communities' right to exercise their own systems of justice based on 
their traditions and customs, they do not specify how this right is to 
be implemented. This parallel system raised questions of both 
jurisdiction and conformity with the right to a fair trial, as well as 
the possibility of inconsistent results between systems.
    Reforms to the CPC in 2009 distorted the criminal justice system by 
limiting the length of detention prior to conviction but allowing 
prosecutors to amend charges or charge the same defendant with 
different crimes in order to continue detaining the person. In addition 
the constitution places the Prosecutor General's Office within the 
judicial branch and under its supervision, giving the Judicial Council 
exclusive power to train, evaluate, and sanction prosecutors. This 
judicial oversight threatened prosecutorial independence over which 
cases to investigate and charge. Under the current system, some 
prosecutorial decisions may be subject to review by a magistrate at an 
adversarial evidentiary hearing conducted during the investigative 
phase of the trial. CPC reforms aimed at providing criminal procedural 
protection also created a complex, sometimes confusing, system and 
slowed the judicial process by retaining vestiges of the old 
inquisitorial system, which required that certain matters be submitted 
in writing. Some protections for defendants increased. For example, up 
to 20 preparation hearings (similar to a preliminary hearing) including 
ruling on motions related to evidentiary matters are possible before 
the actual trial proceedings.

    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.

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 restricted these 
rights in practice. Verbal and legal attacks against the press by 
President Correa and his government continued during the year. The 
relationship between the press and the Government continued to 
deteriorate, and there were reports of indirect censorship and self-
censorship. During the year several well-known television and radio 
political commentators resigned, publicly attributing their decisions 
to government pressure on their media outlets.
    Generally, individuals could criticize the Government publicly or 
privately without reprisal. However, it is illegal to threaten or 
insult the president or executive branch, and violators can be 
reprimanded with six months' to two years' imprisonment or a fine of 
$16 to $77. While the independent media remained active and expressed a 
wide variety of views, including those critical of the Government, the 
NGO Monitoring Network of Threats to Press Freedom reported 151 cases 
of harassment (threats, attacks, or arrests) against journalists or 
other representatives of the press.
    On January 17, unidentified persons broke into the home of Alfredo 
Negrete, the executive director of the Ecuadorian Association of 
Journalists. While the house was carefully searched, only items of 
little value were missing.
    On January 27, police detained Carlos Julio Solano nine hours for 
supposedly making an obscene gesture at the president while he exited a 
television station. President Correa later apologized for the abuses of 
the police.
    A March 3 Inter-American Press Association report asserted that the 
Government ``redoubled its offensive'' against press freedom. According 
to the 2009 Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights' 
special rapporteur for freedom of expression, ``Ecuador has seen a 
rising climate of polarization in which attacks on and threats against 
journalists and media outlets of all editorial positions have 
increased.''
    On March 13, President Correa encouraged citizens to organize and 
oversee the activity of media outlets and promote lawsuits against 
journalists whose activities may violate human rights.
    On May 16, a journalist from El Mercurio newspaper in the city of 
Manta was allegedly assaulted by police officers and taken into custody 
for more than an hour for refusing to hand over his camera. The 
journalist was covering a car accident in an area where police used 
tear gas to control an incident.
    In June and July, during the broadcast of the Soccer World Cup 
matches, the Government ran a media campaign against the press, 
referring to media outlets as corrupt and delinquent. The campaign 
featured expressions such as ``nobody believes them anymore'' and 
images, such as a snake jumping out of the television screen. Several 
media outlets requested that the Government clarify who were the 
targets of the accusation. On July 9, the national legal secretary, 
Alexis Mera, stated that the Government was not legally obligated to 
respond to these inquiries.
    On June 25, a nationwide government broadcast criticized Jorge 
Ortiz of Teleamazonas for making statements critical of President 
Correa during his television show on June 20. The Government required 
that its broadcast be shown during Ortiz's live television program on 
June 25. Teleamazonas later apologized for having misreported the 
information on which Ortiz based his comments. Ortiz's program was 
suspended on July 23, and he resigned from Teleamazonas on August 28.
    On several occasions, crowds or individuals within crowds assaulted 
and yelled insults at journalists covering a protest or event. There 
also were a few high-profile cases of indirect censorship of the media 
by the Government.
    President Correa regularly used his weekly radio and television 
address and other public appearances to criticize the media, question 
its competence and professionalism, and accuse it of bias, frequently 
naming specific reporters and outlets. Several journalists and 
individuals involved in local press associations reported that Correa's 
``systematic'' verbal attacks against the media created ``a hostile 
environment for journalists.'' They also noted similar behavior 
exhibited by other high-level government officials. Journalists stated 
that these attacks caused them to practice self-censorship.
    On April 5, 20 editorialists of the Government-run newspaper El 
Telegrafo resigned, asserting that the newspaper censored content.
    There were also instances of the Government using legal mechanisms 
to restrict the media, including use of libel laws to suppress 
criticism. On March 26, a judge sentenced journalist Emilio Palacio to 
serve three years in prison and pay a $10,000 fine for having offended 
government official Camilo Saman in an article entitled ``Camilo, the 
Bully'' that was published in August 2009. Palacio appealed the 
decision based on a May 21 court ruling establishing that the judge who 
convicted Palacio did not have jurisdiction to rule on the case. Before 
the appeal was resolved, Saman withdrew the charges.
    Following up a May 2009 audit commission examination of radio and 
television frequency concessions, in August the Comptroller General's 
Office issued a report making recommendations; however, these reports 
had little effect on transmissions.
    On January 20, authorities dropped charges against Giancarlo Zunino 
and Felix Pilco, who were arrested and detained in October 2009 on 
charges of ``separatism,'' stemming from placards critical of the 
president that they had hung in Guayaquil.
    In 2009 the Government investigated the independent television 
station Teleamazonas for broadcasting alleged misinformation about gas 
exploration on the island of Puna. The investigation resulted in a 72-
hour suspension of programming in December 2009. (Teleamazonas was also 
sanctioned for two other broadcasts in 2009.) On February 3, 
Teleamazonas won an appeal before a provincial court, which ordered the 
Government to compensate the station for the suspension of programming. 
The superintendent of telecommunications appealed this decision to the 
Constitutional Court. On November 18, the Constitutional Court 
overturned the ruling of the provincial court. Teleamazonas has the 
right to file a new appeal.
    In December 2009 the Office of the Superintendent of 
Telecommunications (SUPERTEL) announced that the radio station La Voz 
de Arutam, broadcasting in Morona Santiago Province to the Shuar 
indigenous community, would lose its frequency rights for inciting 
violence during indigenous protests in September 2009 that led to the 
death of Bosco Wisuma, a Shuar protester. The station appealed the 
decision and lost. However, on January 26, the National Council of 
Telecommunications reversed its decision to close down the radio 
station and instead referred the case to the Prosecutor General's 
Office for a criminal investigation of four persons suspected of 
inciting violence over the radio (see section 2.b.).
    The constitution declares the frequency spectrum a state-owned 
nonrenewable resource and mandates that the state receive no less 
benefit than the company involved in the exploitation of that resource. 
It prohibits oligopolies or monopolies in the ownership of means of 
communications and in the use of frequencies and precludes financial 
groups, their legal representatives, stockholders, and board members 
from controlling the ``social means of communication'' through capital 
and investment. It also mandates that all public and private media 
organizations and regulatory bodies assure the exercise of the rights 
of communication, information, and freedom of expression.
    The Correa administration enforced a provision in the Radio and 
Television Broadcasting Law that requires all stations to broadcast 
government programs on education and health issues for up to an hour 
per day (Mondays through Saturdays) at no charge. This law also 
mandates the broadcast of messages and reports by the president and his 
cabinet free of charge. The Government regularly asked media stations 
to broadcast statements by the president and other leaders, and this 
cut into the stations' paid programming. During police protests on 
September 30, the Government forced all stations to broadcast the 
Government channel for about six hours, which virtually eliminated all 
independent reporting during the crisis.
    The constitution provides for the right of all persons to receive 
information that is true, verified, timely, contextualized, 
pluralistic, and without prior censorship. It also states that the law 
would regulate the informational, educational, and cultural content of 
the programming of communication outlets.
    On April 20, a law on citizen participation became effective. The 
law requires the independent media to disclose financial information 
once a year if the public so requests.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. In September 
SUPERTEL reported that there were three million Internet users, 
approximately 21 percent of the population. Internet access was widely 
available in larger cities, but access in the most remote locations was 
poor.

    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, although 
some exceptions occurred. Public rallies required prior government 
permits, which were generally granted with some exceptions.
    On April 30, high school student Xavier Gallardo lost his eye while 
protesting the increase of the price of milk. Preliminary police 
reports were unclear whether the cause was a police rubber bullet or a 
stone. In May the vice president announced that the Government would 
help the student with all medical care and a prosthesis. An 
investigation continued at year's end.
    On July 5, the prosecutor's office opened an investigation of 
indigenous leaders Marlon Santi and Delfin Tenesaca for clashes with 
police caused by protesters during demonstrations surrounding the 
Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas' summit in Otavalo, Imbabura 
Province. The case was pending at year's end.
    In July a government investigation into the death of Bosco Wisuma, 
killed in September 2009 during a Shuar indigenous protest, found that 
Wisuma died of pellet wounds similar to those caused by indigenous 
weapons used for hunting, thereby exonerating police from the killing. 
A French forensics specialist conducted the autopsy with government and 
indigenous representatives present. Indigenous National Assembly 
members and leaders rejected the investigation results, claiming that 
police killed Wisuma and that the investigation was politically 
influenced. At the recommendation of the National Assembly, the Truth 
Commission organized two expert investigations, one ballistic and one 
forensic. The investigations determined that Wisuma was killed by a 
pellet, indicating that it was not a police bullet but rather came from 
the crowd of protesters.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for freedom of 
association, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice.
    The Government began requiring reregistration of organizations 
based on a 2008 decree that provides the Government discretion to 
dissolve organizations (including civil society, foundations, and 
churches) on multiple grounds, including compromising the interests of 
the state, not posting the names of all of their members on a public 
Web site, or not providing access to information requested by the 
Government. Some groups found particularly onerous an interpretation 
that would require a ten-fold increase in the minimum asset requirement 
to register.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations, 
such as the International Organization for Migration, in providing 
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it 
in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The constitution recognizes the rights of 
asylum and refuge, including ``special protection in view of 
guaranteeing the full exercise of their rights.'' The law provides for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the Government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened 
on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion.
    The Government reported that, from January through September, it 
received 24,761 applications for regular refugee status and recognized 
7,577 refugees. The enhanced registration program, implemented in 2009 
and part of 2010, targeted Colombian refugees for expedited 
registration and documentation over a 12-month period in the northern 
border region. Applicants rejected in either the regular or the 
enhanced refugee process had a legal right to appeal; after appeals are 
exhausted, they have 30 days to leave the country. There were reports 
of police detaining and attempting to unlawfully deport Colombians in 
the northern border region in May and June. The UNHCR confirmed two 
possible cases of forced repatriation from that time.
    There were 52,452 recognized refugees in the country as of 
September. The Government and the UNHCR estimated that approximately 
155,000 persons were in need of international protection by the end of 
the year, of whom approximately 30,000 had cases pending and the rest 
were not registered in the asylum process. In September the Government 
reported that it received 10,000 asylum requests a month.
    Colombians accounted for 98 percent of asylum seekers, and the rest 
originated from a wide variety of countries, including Cuba, Peru, 
Haiti, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The law provides persons 
granted refugee status the right to work; however, this right is not 
extended to asylum seekers. The law also provides recognized refugees 
and asylum seekers the same access to public health services as 
citizens. The presentation of any identity document is sufficient to 
provide access to public educational institutions. However, numerous 
NGOs asserted that local school authorities frequently prohibited non-
Ecuadorian children from enrolling in school. Various NGOs reported 
that the Civil Registry did not always cooperate in registering refugee 
children or registering children of refugees born in Ecuador, despite 
legal requirements to do so.
    The Government provided temporary protection to individuals who may 
not qualify as refugees. The Government and NGOs also provided 
humanitarian aid and additional services, such as legal, health, 
education, and psychological assistance, to Colombians recorded as 
having crossed the border during the year. Most aid was cut off if 
official refugee status was denied. The Government opened new refugee 
offices in Guayaquil, Esmeraldas, Tulcan, and Ibarra.

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.--Elections for offices at 
all levels of government, including the presidency and the multiparty 
National Assembly, were held in April and June 2009. Organization of 
American States and European Union observers concluded that the 
elections were generally free and fair, with local irregularities, and 
highlighted areas for further improvement in subsequent elections. 
Domestic observers also observed elections throughout the country. 
Although the international and domestic observation teams reported no 
major fraud, there were some reports of missing or marked ballots, 
counting and vote calculation irregularities, and incidents of 
violence.
    In 2008 voters approved a ``transition regime,'' which regulated 
the transition to the new institutional order. The interim 
Constitutional Court and National Court of Justice remained in place 
during the year. The permanent Citizen Participation and Social Control 
Council, an institution under the newly created Transparency and Social 
Control branch of government, was selected in March, and it began 
working on the selection of permanent government officials, a process 
expected to conclude in 2011.
    The constitution mandated the reregistration of political 
organizations after the 2009 elections. On March 3, the National 
Electoral Council approved the required rules for reregistration. While 
there is no deadline for registration, in order to compete in 
elections, political organizations must be legally recognized at least 
six months prior to elections. Only two political organizations 
completed the reregistration requirements by year's end.
    The constitution provides for state-promoted, gender-balanced 
representation in the public sector, including in the lists of 
political parties' candidates for the National Assembly and other 
representative institutions. As of December 1, there were 42 women in 
the 124-seat National Assembly, 12 women in the 27-member cabinet, and 
two female secretaries of state with the rank of minister.
    There were seven Afro-Ecuadorians and indigenous persons in the 
National Assembly, but no Asian-Ecuadorians. There was one Afro-
Ecuadorian but no Asian-Ecuadorians or indigenous persons in the 
cabinet.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The 
World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected that government 
corruption was a serious problem.
    There were media reports of police corruption. Labor leaders and 
business owners reported corruption among inspectors (see section 
7.e.).
    On November 17, 11 prison guards at the Center for Social 
Rehabilitation in Guayaquil were detained for corruption. An 
investigation of 52 guards found evidence that the guards allowed drug 
trafficking within the prison and demanded bribes from prisoners in 
return for security.
    The National Secretariat for Management Transparency is tasked with 
investigating and reporting public complaints of corruption and with 
promoting transparent practices in the public administration. The 
Presidency's Secretariat for Transparency of the Public Administration 
investigates corruption cases brought by the Government.
    In March the Prosecutor General's Office initiated an investigation 
of Juan Xavier Aguinaga, former under secretary of foreign affairs for 
the Ministry of the Coast Region, along with several notary publics, 
for alleged involvement in the illegal naturalization of Cuban 
citizens. On April 1, police temporarily detained Aguinaga and two 
other persons. The prosecutor opened cases against 74 persons, and two 
notary publics were suspended. The National Secretariat for Management 
Transparency and the Ministry of the Interior also began 
investigations. In early September the foreign ministry annulled 174 
naturalizations because of fraud. On November 8, press reports 
indicated that Aguinaga had fled the country. On December 16, police 
detained the director of immigration in the same investigation into 
visa fraud. Press reports stated that up to 2,000 visas might have been 
issued illegally.
    In February 2009 former solicitor general Xavier Garaicoa was 
charged with violating public contracting and public spending laws by 
giving out $10,000 bonuses to 348 employees in the Solicitor General's 
Office. On July 14, the National Court ordered that Garaicoa be placed 
in pretrial detention, but the arrest warrant was overturned before he 
was detained. The case was pending at year's end.
    In June 2009 the media reported that companies allegedly associated 
with businessman Fabricio Correa, the brother of the president, had 
signed large public-sector contracts during the Correa administration. 
In September 2009 President Correa announced he would nullify all 
government contracts connected to companies with which his brother was 
allegedly involved. These companies were registered as unfulfilled 
contractors in the State's Public Procurement Web site; this action 
impedes them from receiving contracts with the state from September 
through November 2014, depending on the company. In July the Prosecutor 
General's Office rejected the accusations against Fabricio Correa in 
the following cases: the bidding process for the construction of the 
bridge over the River Paute (July 7), the signing of the contract for 
the construction of the road Milagro-Indanza-Gualaquiza (July 7), and 
the Ivanhoe case (July 28). At year's end, the Office of the 
Comptroller General and the National Secretariat for Management 
Transparency continued to investigate other cases, and citizen 
oversight committees examined contracts linked to companies with which 
Fabricio Correa is alleged to have a relationship. In response to the 
nullification of his contracts, Fabricio Correa leveled his own 
accusations of corruption against his brother's administration and 
maintained demands against the state for an estimated $60 million and 
five criminal procedures against two government officers.
    In August 2009 the multinational oil company Chevron provided 
Ecuadorian government authorities with secretly recorded videos it had 
obtained from two individuals. The company claimed the videos exposed a 
bribery scheme involving Juan Nunez, the presiding judge in the 
multibillion dollar environmental lawsuit pending against the company 
in an Ecuadorian court (see section 6). In September 2009 Nunez recused 
himself under pressure from the prosecutor general. On September 29, 
the National Judicial Council disbarred Nunez for breaking the law by 
expressing his opinion on the case before its conclusion.
    On May 3, the prosecutor general requested that the National Court 
of Justice initiate a proceeding against two attorneys representing 
Chevron and seven former government officials related to allegations of 
fraud in an environmental remediation release agreement between Chevron 
and the Government. A preliminary hearing to determine if charges 
should be filed had not taken place by year's end. The company claimed 
the action was politically motivated and that previous prosecutors 
general had dismissed the same allegations.
    On August 4, the prosecutor general requested that the National 
Court of Justice file charges against former minister of energy and 
mines Pablo Teran. The case involves accusations that Teran had 
benefitted financially from a pipeline construction contract with 
Oleoducto de Crudos Pesados. Teran claimed the case against him was 
politically motivated. The case was originally opened in 2003 by the 
Prosecutor General's Office to investigate the allegations, but was 
suspended in 2005 for lack of evidence. The prosecutor general reopened 
the investigation in April 2008. The court had not filed charges 
against Teran by year's end.
    Fraud charges remained pending against former minister of sports 
Raul Carrion for contracting irregularities in the construction of a 
stadium in Morona Santiago Province. On July 5 and September 23, the 
prosecutor general filed two new embezzlement charges. Carrion had 
three cases pending against him at year's end.
    The constitution states that all persons have the right to access 
information gathered by public or private organizations receiving state 
funds. It further requires that the information be available in the 
native language of the citizen. The law requires all organizations 
(public and private) that receive public funds to respond to written 
requests for information; publish specific information on their Web 
site; and submit an annual report to the Ombudsman's Office that 
details their compliance with the transparency law. Personal 
information about individual citizens and information regarding 
national security are excluded from the transparency law requirements. 
Government officials are required to declare their financial holdings 
upon taking office and if requested in an investigation, and all 
agencies must disclose salary information annually. As a result, 
government agencies increasingly put budget information, functions, 
organizational information, lists of government officers, and official 
notices on the Internet in addition to responding to written requests.
    An NGO that monitored the implementation of this law found that 
compliance with some of the law's requirements improved dramatically. 
According to the NGO Citizen Participation, in 2009 only 36 percent of 
the organizations surveyed complied with the requirements to publish 
information on their Web page. During the year, 72 percent of those 
same organizations complied with the Web site requirements. Despite 
this improvement, there were still some compliance problems, especially 
with respect to submission of annual reports to the Ombudsman's Office. 
In June, Fernando Gutierrez, the interim ombudsman, stated that only 
470 entities out of 4,800 had submitted the required annual report 
detailing their compliance with the law.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
cooperated with the groups but often did not act on their 
recommendations.
    The Ombudsman's Office focused on human rights problems. The 
constitution describes the Ombudsman's Office as an administratively 
and financially independent body under the Transparency and Social 
Control branch of government. As of June, the office had 65 lawyers and 
regularly presented cases to the prosecutor's office, but with limited 
success. In 2008 the Constituent Assembly appointed an interim 
ombudsman, who served pending appointment of a permanent ombudsmen 
through a process managed by the Citizen Participation and Social 
Control Council.
    On June 5, the Truth Commission established by the Government in 
2007 issued its final report. The commission investigated human rights 
violations committed from 1984 to 2008, with a focus on violations 
under the Government of Leon Febres Cordero (1984-88). The commission 
reported that, during Febres Cordero's government, illegal arrests, 
acts of torture, extrajudicial executions, and forced disappearances 
were carried out in a systematic and generalized manner and that human 
rights violations continued during subsequent administrations (between 
1988 and 2008). The report stated that, over the 24 year period, 456 
individuals were victims of human rights violations, 78 percent of 
which occurred in the Febres Cordero period.
    The Truth Commission identified 458 individuals allegedly 
responsible for crimes against humanity. The commission requested 
investigation, trial, and punishment against those found responsible. 
The commission also recommended the implementation of an administrative 
program dedicated to reparations. The commission's mandate was extended 
through December to help implement its recommendations.

Section 6. 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 persons, Afro-Ecuadorians, and gay, lesbian, 
bisexual, and transgender persons continued to face discrimination.

    Women.--Although the law prohibits violence against women, 
including within marriage, abuses were widespread. On March 8, the 
Ombudsman's Office released a report stating that approximately 83,000 
women annually suffered some sort of violence or abuse. The report also 
noted that 7,000 women were assaulted monthly and that more than 200 
women were victims of some sort of violence on a daily basis.
    The law criminalizes rape and provides penalties of up to 25 years 
in prison. Under family law, spousal rape is considered a type of 
violence and may be prosecuted under the criminal code. The penalty for 
rape where death occurred is from 16 to 25 years' imprisonment. The 
prosecutor general received reports of 4,045 rapes from January to 
November, with 329 convictions and 87 acquittals. Many rapes were not 
reported due to the victim's reluctance to confront the perpetrator.
    The most pervasive violations of women's rights involved domestic 
and sexual violence. Although prohibited by law, both were widespread 
and vastly underreported. The Ministry of Interior's Office of Gender 
reported, based on partial reports it had received as of December 2009, 
a total during the year of 63,837 cases of sexual, psychological, or 
physical mistreatment of women. Although authorities referred many 
women who reported domestic abuse or sexual crimes to the judicial 
system, cultural prejudices, financial dependence, family pressure, and 
the victim's fear of testifying at a trial contributed to a large 
number of charges against perpetrators being dropped.
    In April the Government initiated a campaign against sexism titled 
React Ecuador, Sexism is Violence, which sought to eradicate gender 
violence by improving the justice system, protecting victims of 
violence, and raising awareness of violence against women as a human 
rights violation. A study published by the campaign indicated that in 
2009 approximately 64 percent of deaths among women were due to gender-
based violence. According to the campaign, 80 percent of women 
experienced physical, psychological, or sexual violence.
    Governmental joint service centers provided assistance on legal 
issues, social and medical assistance, and police protection free of 
charge to victims of domestic and gender violence. According to family 
law, domestic violence may be punished with a fine for ``damages, pain 
and suffering'' ranging in value from $320 to $4,800, depending on the 
severity of the crime. The law also gives family courts the power to 
remove an abusive spouse from the home if continued cohabitation 
creates a risk to the victim of abuse. In 2009, 31 government centers 
for women received almost 73,000 complaints.
    The constitution provides for courts specializing in women and 
family issues. These courts, under the judicial branch, have the power 
to authorize restraining orders prohibiting the abusive spouse from 
approaching the victim or the victim's place of employment or study and 
from persecuting or intimidating the victim or any family member; to 
reinsert the victim into the family home, if shared, while 
simultaneously removing the abusive spouse from the premises; and to 
order any treatment deemed beneficial to the affected family.
    The constitution affords women an array of benefits in the 
economic, political, and social areas. The law stipulates that the 
Government should formulate and implement policies to achieve gender 
equality, incorporate a gender focus into plans and programs, and 
provide technical assistance to implement the law in the public sector.
    Despite the legal prohibition of sexual harassment, women's rights 
organizations described harassment in the workplace as common. Between 
January and June, the national police received 325 reports and 
complaints of sexual harassment.
    The law acknowledges sexual and reproductive rights, including the 
basic right of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly 
the number, spacing, and timing of their children. The Free Maternity 
Care Law protects the sexual and reproductive rights of women and calls 
for free prenatal care, family planning services, and cancer screening. 
The law also promotes a role for men in care giving by providing 
paternity leave of up to 10 days. During the year the Ministry of 
Health's budget for applying the law was $27 million. According to 
statistics from the Population Reference Bureau, 69 percent of women 
had skilled attendants present during childbirth in 2009. The Ministry 
of Public Health stated that only 30 percent of births to self-
identified indigenous mothers took place in hospitals or health 
centers. The UN Population Fund estimated that the maternal mortality 
rate in 2008 was 140 deaths per 100,000 live births.
    The 2005 National Demographic and Maternal Health Survey (the 
latest available information) reported rural and urban contraceptive 
prevalence rates of 67 percent and 77 percent, respectively. The 
Population Reference Bureau reported in 2009 that more than 36 percent 
of modern contraceptive method users received these services through 
government-sponsored programs.
    The Government continued to implement a national HIV/AIDS program 
begun in 2009 to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the disease 
and provided free screening for all women. Information was not 
available on whether women were equally diagnosed and treated for 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV; however, women may 
receive more screening than men, since 84 percent received antenatal 
care according to the Population Reference Bureau.
    Despite legal protection 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 
enjoyed the same legal status as men, women often did not receive equal 
rights in practice. According to the World Economic Forum's 2010 Global 
Gender Gap Report, for example, women received approximately 61 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. Little reliable data existed regarding the 
situation of women within the tightly knit indigenous communities.

    Children.--Citizenship is acquired either through birth in the 
country or by birth to an Ecuadorian mother or father abroad (until the 
third generation). A registration campaign by the Social Registry, the 
Ministry of Social and Economic Inclusion, and the Child and Family 
Institute called Put Your Name Down registered approximately 60,000 
children throughout the country during the year. In 2009, according to 
the Observatory of the Rights of Children and Adolescents, there were 
300,000 unregistered children in the country. Health centers and 
hospitals had the ability to register births at their facility, so all 
children born in hospitals should be registered shortly after birth.
    In May newspapers reported an excessive demand for civil 
registration by parents whose children needed to be registered in order 
to enroll in public schools. Although the law prohibits this 
requirement, some schools set their own requirements. President Correa 
threatened legal action against schools requiring civil registry 
documents and ordered the education minister to investigate. Other 
government services, including welfare payments and free primary health 
care, require some form of identification.
    The constitution requires a minimum of 15 years of schooling. The 
Ministry of Education reported that most children achieved a sixth-
grade education; however, in some provinces, public schools denied 
entry to students due to the lack of space. By law, education was free 
through high school, but additional costs, such as for uniforms and 
books, and a lack of space in public schools prevented many adolescents 
from attending school.
    There were reports of abuse against children. According to the 
Government, 21 percent of children had suffered some form of sexual 
abuse. Projects sponsored by local NGOs reported that children living 
in the streets suffered exploitative conditions. In the last two 
decades there was an increase in abandoned children and teenage mothers 
in the streets or hospitals. Most of these abandoned children came from 
poor indigenous families.
    Commercial sexual exploitation of minors remained a problem. The 
law prohibits child pornography, with penalties of six to 16 years' 
imprisonment. The law covers statutory rape where the age of consent is 
14. The penalty for statutory rape is 16 to 25 years' imprisonment.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. There 
was a small Jewish community, including an estimated 250 families in 
Quito, according to the local synagogue.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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. The interagency National Council on Disabilities 
oversees government policies regarding persons with disabilities. 
Although the law mandates access to buildings and public transportation 
for persons with disabilities, the Government did not fully enforce it.
    The constitution extends benefits to persons with disabilities, 
particularly in the areas of education, employment, and access to 
social security. The law requires that percent of employees in all 
public and private enterprises with more than 25 employees be persons 
with disabilities. On May 8, Vice President Lenin Moreno stated that 
government agencies were fully compliant with the law and that private 
companies would face stiff fines for noncompliance. According to 
government information, only 35 percent of the 1,532 audited companies 
complied with this law. Through the beginning of June, nine companies 
were fined a total of $600,000 for not complying with the law.
    An initiative called Ecuador without Barriers, led by the vice 
president, helped create an unspecified number of jobs for persons with 
disabilities, provided funding to more than 200 municipalities to 
improve access to public buildings, and opened training and 
rehabilitation centers. The initiative also created a record to show 
the degree of compliance by companies that hire persons with 
disabilities. In addition to this program, the Government was building 
centers for those considered intellectually disabled.
    The vice president also led an initiative to conduct a census, 
registry, and survey of living conditions of persons with disabilities. 
As of early December, the initiative had registered 294,166 persons 
with disabilities nationwide. In addition, the caregivers of persons 
with severe disabilities received a government subsidy equivalent to 
the minimum monthly wage. In 2009 the municipality of Guayaquil, the 
country's largest city, passed a regulation requiring all businesses 
and public institutions to improve access for the disabled and the 
elderly. Also in 2009, seven municipalities located in areas of high 
risk of natural disasters finished developing guidelines for the rescue 
and assistance of persons with disabilities during and following a 
disaster.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Afro-Ecuadorian citizens, who 
account for approximately 3 percent of the population, suffered 
pervasive discrimination, particularly with regard to educational and 
economic opportunity.
    Afro-Ecuadorian organizations noted that, despite the absence of 
official discrimination, societal discrimination and stereotyping 
continued to affect them. For example, they continued to assert that 
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, except for the Municipality of Quito, which in 2008 
prohibited private and public institutions in Quito from accepting 
curriculum vitae with pictures.
    The Corporation for the Development of Afro-Ecuadorians (CODAE) 
noted that Afro-Ecuadorians still lacked access to basic education. 
CODAE stated that the school registration rate for Afro-Ecuadorian 
children was 87 percent, below the national average. A national survey 
by CODAE revealed that high levels of racism and discrimination against 
minority groups persisted and that 88 and 71 percent of Afro-
Ecuadorians and indigenous persons, respectively, had been victims of 
racism and discrimination.
    The constitution declares the state to be plurinational and affirms 
the principle of nondiscrimination by recognizing the right of 
indigenous, Afro-Ecuadorian, and Montubio (a rural, farming population 
recognized as an independent ethnic group) communities to restitution 
for acts of discrimination. It also mandates affirmative action 
policies to provide for the representation of minorities. A 2009 
executive decree calls for all public-sector bodies to ensure that 
``access to labor'' reflects the percentage of the population of 
indigenous persons, Afro-Ecuadorians, and Montubios.

    Indigenous People.--An estimated 7-30 percent of the population 
maintained their indigenous cultural identity and lived in indigenous 
communities. The vast majority of indigenous citizens resided in rural 
areas, including the highlands and Amazonian provinces. Despite their 
political influence and advocacy efforts of grassroots community 
groups, indigenous persons continued to suffer discrimination at many 
levels of society and, with few exceptions, were at the bottom 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 among the indigenous population. 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 literacy rate among the 
indigenous population was approximately 72 percent.
    The constitution strengthens the rights of indigenous persons; it 
declares the state plurinational, recognizing Kichwa and Shuar as 
``official languages of intercultural relations,'' and specifically 
recognizes indigenous justice. However, the lack of a clearly defined 
relationship between indigenous justice and the regular justice system 
led to a number of legal conflicts between the Government and 
indigenous leaders. According to press reports, there were 18 cases of 
indigenous justice during the year.
    The law also recognizes the rights of indigenous communities to 
hold property communally. Land in many cases is titled to the 
indigenous community. In other cases, indigenous groups managed a 
reserve that the Government set aside for biodiversity protection. 
Although indigenous persons have the same civil and political rights as 
other citizens, some of their leaders reported discrimination and 
prosecution.
    The constitution grants indigenous persons and communities the 
right to be consulted and participate in decisions about the 
exploitation of nonrenewable resources that are located in their lands 
and that could affect their culture or environment. In May indigenous 
organizations opposed a government project to regulate water resources 
by participating in protests in different parts of the country. In one 
of those protests, two indigenous persons and 11 police officials were 
injured. Indigenous groups claimed that newly passed or proposed laws 
covering mining, water resources, and hydrocarbon resources did not 
take indigenous viewpoints sufficiently into account and furthermore 
intruded upon indigenous autonomy over their lands and resources. 
According to an April ruling by the Constitutional Court, the National 
Assembly must consult with affected communities on water issues before 
the legislature can vote on the draft laws.
    The constitution allows indigenous persons to participate in the 
benefits that projects may bring and to receive compensation for any 
damages that result. It mandates, in the case of environmental damage, 
immediate corrective government action and full restitution from the 
responsible company, although some indigenous organizations asserted a 
lack of consultation and remedial action.
    An environmental lawsuit brought by certain indigenous communities 
against the multinational oil company Chevron was pending at year's end 
under the jurisdiction of the Sucumbios Provincial Court (see Section 
4). The lawsuit, which was filed in Ecuador in 2003, is a continuation 
of a lawsuit originally launched in 1993 in the United States for 
damage allegedly caused by oil production activities of Texaco (later 
purchased by Chevron) prior to its 1992 departure from Ecuador. The 
plaintiffs, representing 30,000 indigenous persons who claimed that 
their health, welfare, and livelihoods were affected by environmental 
damage caused by Texaco, revised their damages estimate from $27 
billion up to $113 billion in September 2010.
    Indigenous groups lobbied the Government, enlisted the help of 
foreign and domestic NGOs, and mounted protests in attempts to win a 
greater share of oil revenues and a greater voice in natural resource 
and development decisions. Settlers, including those from other 
indigenous groups, drug traffickers, and loggers illegally encroached 
into indigenous territory. Corrupt local officials, a lack of political 
will, and divisions among and within indigenous communities undermined 
indigenous efforts to stop the flow of illegally harvested timber. 
Widespread environmental damage, in part due to deforestation and 
petroleum production, constituted another serious problem. Small-scale 
mining, often on the part of indigenous communities themselves, also 
contributed to serious environmental damage.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity--The constitution includes the 
principle of nondiscrimination and establishes choice of sexual 
orientation as a right. Transsexual persons have the right to identify 
themselves by their chosen gender on their national identification 
cards, according to a court case in Pichincha Province. Although the 
law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gays, 
lesbians, transgender persons, and transvestites continued to suffer 
discrimination from both public and private bodies.
    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations 
reported no incidents of violence perpetrated by police or other 
government agents towards their organizations. Such groups organized 
multiple gay-pride marches in the preceding decade, including one in 
Quito on July 4, with the authorization of pertinent authorities and 
received police protection. An LGBT film festival was organized in six 
cities in September. However, LGBT groups claimed that police and 
prosecutors did not thoroughly investigate deaths of LGBT individuals, 
including when there is suspicion that the killing was because of 
sexual orientation.
    Societal discrimination was present. Members of the LGBT community 
continued to report that their right of equal access to formal 
education was violated frequently. The LGBT population involved in the 
sex industry reported abusive situations, extortion, and mistreatment 
by security forces but did not file or press charges in the Office of 
the Public Prosecutor.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The constitution 
specifically prohibits discrimination directed at persons with HIV/
AIDS. There was no societal violence against persons with HIV/AIDS; 
however, NGOs reported that individuals with HIV/AIDS believed they 
were discriminated against, including on issues such as equal 
employment opportunities and access to appropriate health care.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--While the law provides most workers 
with the rights 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. There were a 
number of cases reported in which workers were fired for union 
activities, despite the law. Members of the police, the military, and 
most public-sector employees (those who fall under the civil service 
law) were not free to form trade unions. Approximately 1--3 percent of 
the workforce was organized.
    The constitution terms worker rights ``irrevocable;'' it provides 
for the right to unionize and to strike (except in instances which 
might cause ``paralysis'' in strategic sectors) and commits state 
support for democratic unions. The worker-rights provisions in the 
constitution require the adoption of additional implementing laws.
    The law does not require reinstatement of workers fired for union 
activity but does require compensation and fines.
    The law prohibits the majority of public-sector employees from 
joining unions or exercising collective bargaining rights. Under the 
law, employees that fall into the technical, administrative, or 
professional categories may not join a union or bargain collectively. 
Most public employees maintained membership in a labor-sector 
association, but such associations are not allowed to strike or bargain 
collectively. The labor code and the constitution require workers in 
state enterprises to be represented by a single labor union.
    The law does not provide the majority of public workers with the 
right to strike. Public-sector employees in strategic sectors may not 
take any action that paralyzes those sectors, including striking. The 
constitution designates health; environmental sanitation; education; 
justice; the fire brigade; social security; electrical energy; drinking 
water and sewerage; hydrocarbon production; the processing, transport 
and distribution of fuel; public transport; and post and 
telecommunications as strategic sectors. Some of the sectors defined as 
strategic exceeded the International Labor Organization (ILO) standard 
for essential services.
    The law includes a provision that striking public-sector workers 
are liable to between two and five years in prison. The ILO has noted 
repeatedly that this law could lead to compulsory labor as punishment 
for participation in peaceful strikes, a violation of international 
labor standards.
    There were 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 Relations 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. 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 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 required to provide the minimum necessary services, 
although in practice this law was not enforced. The law protects 
strikers and their leaders from retaliation.
    In January, 19 employees were summarily dismissed, with the 
approval of the Ministry of Labor, from an electricity generating 
company in Guayaquil for interrupting services to the public and 
``insulting the majesty of the president'' as a result of protests in 
2009. The employees were charged with sabotage and terrorism, but the 
charges were dismissed by the prosecutor on March 29, a decision 
confirmed by a judge on May 30. In October the workers went to the 
Labor Commission of the National Assembly to demand reinstatement and 
hired lawyers to fight for their case.
    On July 29, the Provincial Court of Justice overturned the 
tripartite commission's ruling in favor of the union in a 2009 case 
involving striking workers at a tire manufacturing company. On 
September 23, the company, workers, and the Ministry of Labor Relations 
reached an agreement. On September 29, the company fired 120 former 
strikers (the strike had officially ended); the firings were declared 
legal by the Ministry of Labor Relations so long as the appropriate 
severance payouts were made. The workers protested the firings and were 
attempting to be reinstated at the end of the year.
    The constitution prohibits the use of outsourcing and of 
discriminatory criteria in hiring. Outsourcing includes subcontracting, 
third party, and hourly contracts. The law grants an exemption for 
outsourcing services that are not an integral part of the company's 
productive processes. Public sector enterprises may subcontract for 
certain technical workers with the Ministry of Labor's approval. The 
law permits part-time contracts, but only with full-time employee 
benefits.
    The new Public Service Law expanded the definition of workers 
classified as technical and administrative workers and subject to the 
Civil Service and Administrative Career Law (LOSCA) rather than the 
labor code. Workers who fall under LOSCA have limited rights to 
collective bargaining and freedom of association. Also, those who work 
in strategic sectors are not legally permitted to strike, although they 
may participate in collective bargaining negotiations.
    Individual workers may take complaints against employers to the 
Labor Inspection Office if they are still employed by the firm or to 
courts charged with protecting labor rights if they are no longer 
employed by the organization. Unions may also take complaints to a 
tripartite (union, employer, government) arbitration board established 
to hear these complaints.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--All private 
employers with 30 or more workers belonging to a union are required to 
negotiate collectively when the union so requests. However, the law 
requires a minimum of 30 workers for the creation of associations, work 
committees, or assemblies to organize work committees, and does not 
allow foreign citizens to serve as trade union officers. The ILO 
considered these requirements impediments to the right to organize. 
According to the International Confederation of Trade Unions, to form a 
works council, the approval of 50 percent plus one of the workforce is 
required. If the works council had more members than the union, the 
union would have no bargaining power in the workplace.
    Collective bargaining agreements covered only 140,000 workers of 
the total workforce of 4.3 million. 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.
    The law prohibits the dismissal of workers from the moment a union 
notifies the labor inspector of its general assembly until the 
formation of its first executive board. However, labor leaders have 
reported many cases in which employees were fired after the employers 
were notified of the formation of the union. Even if the workers win a 
legal case against the employer, the law does not require 
reinstatement, only a fine, which is limited to between $50 and $200.
    There is special legislation regulating labor in export processing 
zones. Most workers in export processing zones are hired on temporary 
contracts, and, while technically covered by the labor code, 
enforcement of the code was weak.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including by children; however, there were 
reports that children were subjected to forced labor. Children were 
exploited (or forced to work) as street vendors or domestic servants. 
In June the UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery 
reported adult forced labor in the palm oil industry and among domestic 
workers.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law prohibits the exploitation of children in the workplace and forced 
or compulsory labor; however, the Government did not effectively 
enforce the law, and child labor remained a problem, especially in 
informal sectors. According to the UN special rapporteur on 
contemporary forms of slavery, child labor continued to be an obstacle 
to the development of the country. Areas in which child workers were 
most likely to be found were banana plantations and garbage dumps. 
Children also worked in the production of broccoli, sugarcane, and 
strawberries. They were also involved in brick-making and small-scale 
gold mining.
    Forced child labor took the form of involuntary domestic work, 
forced begging, and forced labor in mines. Also, see the Department of 
State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The labor code, the child and adolescent code, and the constitution 
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, five days 
per week. The law lists jobs that are not suitable for children and 
prohibits minors from working in hazardous conditions, including in 
agriculture, mines, domestic work, garbage dumps, slaughterhouses, or 
in jobs requiring exposure to toxic or dangerous substances or loud 
noises. The law requires employers to pay minors the same 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 fines of $200 to $1,000 for employers hiring 
children less than age 15. An employer's business is subject to closure 
for repeated infractions.
    The Ministries of Labor and of Economic and Social Inclusion and 
the Minors' Tribunal enforce child labor laws, but enforcement, while 
improving, was not fully effective. The 2006 National Institute of 
Statistics and Census's Child Labor National Survey (the latest 
available information) found that 367,000 children between the ages of 
five and 14 were engaged in labor not permitted by law, primarily 
working in rural areas or in the informal sector, compared with 550,000 
in 2001. UNICEF estimated the number of child laborers at around 
340,000. From January to May, the National Directorate of Police for 
Children and Adolescents received 75 reports of child labor, the 
majority for forced begging.
    In March the Government combined the child labor inspectors with 
the regular labor inspections force. The force of approximately 110 
inspectors is in charge of enforcing all labor laws, including those 
for child labor. In addition, the Ministry of Mines and Energy had an 
agreement with the Ministry of Labor Relations that allowed Ministry of 
Mines' inspectors to enforce child labor laws and impose sanctions for 
violations found in mines. During the year over 2,000 children were 
removed from different sectors working in conditions that violated 
labor laws.
    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 the age of 15 worked in family-owned businesses in the informal 
sector, shining shoes, 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 augment family income.
    In March the Government announced a program, Ecuador without Child 
Labor, aimed at eliminating all forms of illegal child labor. The UN 
Committee on the Rights of Children in January noted the amendment 
regarding the minimum age of 15 and the National Plan for the 
Prevention and Progressive Elimination of Child Labor. Nevertheless, it 
expressed concern that many children were still performing harmful 
work, such as domestic work with characteristics of slavery, and 
executing dangerous tasks around garbage dumps, banana plantations, and 
within the small-scale mining industry, including forced labor. In most 
of these cases, children did not attend school or receive any type of 
education. In December the Government announced that it had practically 
eradicated child labor in garbage dumps, reducing the number of 
children working there from around 2,000 to only 29.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The constitution mandates an 
annual revision of the minimum wage to match the cost of a family's 
basic needs. The National Council on Salaries, a technical agency under 
the Labor Ministry, acted as the negotiating and arbitration arm. On 
January 15, the minimum monthly wage was raised from $218 to $240. The 
statutory minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for 
a worker and family. The basic national shopping basket cost 
approximately $535 a month per household. The Ministry of Labor 
Relations enforced the minimum wage. Most organized workers in state 
industries and formal-sector private enterprises earned substantially 
more than the minimum wage and received other significant benefits 
through collective bargaining agreements. However, most workers worked 
in the large informal and rural sectors without obtaining the minimum 
wage or legally mandated benefits.
    A campaign, Decent Domestic Employment, was launched on March 19 by 
the Ministry of Labor Relations to educate domestic employees and 
employers about labor laws, including the need for a contract, 
registration of the employee with the Ecuadorian Social Security 
Institute (IESS), and the payment of the minimum wage, two bonus-month 
salaries, and social security taxes. The campaign also included a 
registration drive for the IESS and nationwide inspections by the 
Ministry of Labor Relations to confirm the legal employment of domestic 
workers.
    The law limits the standard work period to 40 hours a week, eight 
hours a day, with two consecutive days of rest per week. Underground 
workers, such as miners, are limited to six hours a day and may only 
work one additional hour a day with premium pay. Premium pay is 1.5 
times the basic salary for work done from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. Work 
done from 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. receives twice the basic salary, 
although workers whose standard shift is at night receive a premium of 
25 percent. Premium pay also applies to work done on weekends and 
holidays. Overtime is limited to no more than four hours a day and a 
total of 12 hours a week. Mandatory overtime is prohibited. Foreign and 
migrant workers are subject to the same labor standards. Violators are 
subject to fines and other legal action.
    The constitution provides for the health and safety of workers and 
there are health and safety standards in the labor code, to be enforced 
by the Ministry of Labor Relations and the Social Security Department 
of Hazards. In the formal sector, occupational health and safety was 
not a significant problem. There were no specific regulations governing 
health and safety standards in the small-scale agricultural sector. The 
labor code singles out the health and safety of miners; however, there 
was no enforcement of safety rules in the small mines that made up the 
vast majority of enterprises in the mining sector.
    The Ministry of Labor Relations did not deploy sufficient resources 
to enforce labor laws, and violations were common. Workers do not have 
the right to remove themselves from situations that endanger health or 
safety without jeopardy to their employment.
    Labor inspections may be conducted by appointment, although this 
was uncommon, or after a worker complaint. If a worker requests an 
inspection and a Ministry of Labor Relations inspector confirms a 
workplace hazard; that inspector then may close down the workplace. 
Inspections also occurred after other types of labor complaints. Labor 
inspections generally occurred because of complaints, not as a 
preventative measure. In some cases, violations were remedied, but 
other cases were subject to legal challenges that delayed changes for 
months. Various NGOs claimed that complaints by certain classes of 
workers, such as migrants and refugees, were rarely investigated. Labor 
leaders and business owners also claimed corruption was common among 
the inspectors. During the year the Ministry of Labor Relations began 
implementing a series of reforms aimed at improving labor rights 
enforcement, including in labor inspections. For example, labor 
inspectors were assigned functional areas, such as layoffs and 
compensation issues; a new electronic system helped significantly 
reduce the wait for an appointment for a hearing with an inspector.
    If a worker is fired after filing a complaint and the complaint is 
found to be valid, the worker is eligible to receive severance pay. A 
company is liable for medical care and compensation to a worker injured 
through noncompliance with safety standards. The Government admitted 
the number of on-the-job injuries was seriously underreported in the 
country. According to the IESS, the Ministry of Labor Relations, and 
the Ministry of Health, approximately 15,000 on-the-job injuries were 
reported each year. The ILO estimated the number should be 
approximately 160,000. Violations were reportedly common in the banana, 
palm oil, flower, and gold-mining industries, particularly involving 
exposure to toxic chemicals.
    The UN special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery reported 
severe abuses and little government oversight in the palm oil industry, 
where many workers were Colombian migrants. The abuses included 
excessive work hours, very low or no wages, and inhumane living 
conditions. Additional abuses were found in the banana, flower, and 
small-scale gold-mining industries.
    The constitution protects self-employed workers who work in public 
areas and prohibits the confiscation of their products or work tools, a 
provision intended to benefit informal sector workers, such as street 
vendors.

                               __________

                              EL SALVADOR

    El Salvador is a constitutional, multiparty democracy with a 
population of approximately 6.1 million. In March 2009 voters elected 
Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena of the Farabundo Marti National 
Liberation Front (FMLN) as president for a five-year term in generally 
free and fair elections. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    Human rights problems included isolated unlawful killings by 
security forces; harsh, violent, and overcrowded prison conditions; 
lengthy pretrial detention; high levels of impunity for crime and abuse 
of official authority; official corruption; violence and discrimination 
against women; child abuse and forced child prostitution; trafficking 
in persons; violence and discrimination against sexual minorities; 
child labor; and inadequate enforcement of labor 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 
verified reports that the Government or its agents committed 
politically motivated killings; however, there were reports that 
security forces were involved in unlawful killings. During the year the 
Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights (PDDH) received eight 
complaints of alleged unlawful killings by the National Civilian Police 
(PNC), three killings by the Prison Authority, and two killings by the 
armed forces. Although the PDDH defines all killings by government 
entities as ``extrajudicial killings,'' there were no verifiable 
reports of deliberate unlawful killings carried out by order of the 
Government or with its complicity. The PNC Office of the Inspector 
General (OIG) reported that through December, 20 PNC officers were 
accused of homicide and that PNC officers had killed 14 persons.
    On September 21, a court convicted three of the six gang members 
implicated in the June 2009 killing of community activist Marcelo 
Rivera of murder and sentenced them to 40 years in prison; the other 
three received three-year sentences as accessories.
    The Office of the Attorney General (Fiscalia or OAG) continued to 
investigate the September 2009 killing of Roque Feller Melgar, a former 
legislative deputy for the Christian Democratic Party and mayoral 
candidate for the National Republican Alliance (ARENA) party. Four 
suspects have been identified, but no arrests have been made.
    Authorities believed that the December 2009 killings of Ramiro 
Rivera Gomez and Dora Santos Sorto Rodriguez were related to an 
interfamilial feud. Nine purported gang members were arrested for the 
killings.
    There was no further information regarding the 2008 fatal shooting 
of Rafaela Hernandez Delgado while she was riding a public bus.
    On April 30, the Third Court of Instruction in San Miguel 
recommended dismissing charges against Shefick Cruz Vasquez and 
Edilberto Paiz Morales, who were accused of the 2008 killing of Garcia 
Amaya. The court convicted two other PNC officers, Sergeant Nelson 
Arriaza Antonio Carlos Delgado and Agent Chevez Geovanny Hidalgo, for 
the murder, dismissed them from the PNC, and sentenced them to 40 years 
in prison.
    The OAG' s 2008 appeal of the Supreme Court's acquittal of Edwin 
Rene Sanchez Canjura for two counts of murder and 17 counts of 
attempted murder, in relation to the 2006 killings of two police 
officers remained pending.
    In November 2009 authorities dismissed charges against Rosa Elba 
Zelaya de Ortiz for the 2004 murder of teamster union activist Gilberto 
Soto. Santos Sanchez, also charged with the murder, remained at large 
with a warrant for his arrest.
    There were no new developments regarding the 2008 Hector Ventura 
murder case.
    On March 24, President Funes on behalf of the Salvadoran State 
publicly asked for forgiveness for the killing of Monsignor Oscar 
Arnulfo Romero in 1980. Funes stated that the amnesty law approved 
after the civil war was not an obstacle to investigating the killings 
of Monsignor Romero or of six Jesuit priests in 1989. Funes also stated 
that his government would not promote the annulment of the amnesty law, 
as requested by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). 
On November 18, the IACHR notified the Government that it had accepted 
the case of the extrajudicial killings of Rufino and Teresa Ramirez.
    On May 21, the Supreme Court Constitutional Chamber denied a 
judicial request for information from a Spanish court on the 1989 
murder of six Jesuit priests; the decision was based on the 1992 
amnesty law and statute of limitations.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances. On January 16, President Funes publicly asked families 
of citizens who disappeared during the civil war to forgive the actions 
of the Government, and created the National Commission for the Search 
for Disappeared Children. The commission, which is to cooperate with 
and recognize cases brought forward by the nongovernmental organization 
(NGO) Association for the Search for Missing Children (Pro-Busqueda), 
was sworn in on August 31. Pro-Busqueda received 28 new complaints 
regarding children who disappeared during the civil war, continued 
investigating 519 cases, and resolved nine other cases by year's end.
    In July the Human Rights Institute of the University of Central 
America (IDHUCA) filed a complaint before the Inter-American Court of 
Human Rights, alleging that the Government failed to act on a request 
by the IACHR to investigate the disappearances of six children from 
1981 to 1983: Gregoria Herminia, Serapio Cristian, Julia Ines 
Contreras, Jose Ruben Rivera, and Ana Julia and Carmelina Mejia 
Ramirez. Pro-Busqueda presented evidence to the court on October 13. On 
September 22 and in November, the IACHR notified the Government that it 
had accepted the cases of the alleged disappearances in 1982 of 
Patricia Emilie Cuellar Sandoval, Mauricio Cuellar Cuellar, Julia 
Orbelina Perez, Natividad de Jesus Ramirez, Guadalupe Roble, Jose Elias 
Ramirez, and Jorge Alberto Ramirez.
    In November 2009 the IACHR heard the Government's response to Pro-
Busqueda's complaints, alleging the forced disappearances of Santos 
Ernesto Salinas and Emelinda Lorena Hernandez in 1981 and of Manuel 
Antonio Bonilla and Ricardo Ayala Abarca in 1982. The cases remained 
pending awaiting a response from the Government.
    In 2008 the Supreme Court rejected the OAG' s appeal of a lower 
court's 2008 dismissal of charges against Juan Antonio Lopez, the 
western regional chief of the Office of the Public Defender in relation 
to the kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, 
through December the PDDH received 558 complaints alleging the use of 
excessive force or mistreatment of detainees, compared with 562 such 
complaints during 2009. The PDDH received 57 complaints specifically 
against PNC officers for excessive use of force, 10 against members of 
the armed forces, and three against prison authorities. It also 
received 46 complaints of torture against PNC officers, five against 
members of the armed forces, and nine against the prison authorities. 
The OIG reported 13 complaints of torture by PNC officers through 
August but did not report if any were punished. The PDDH reported 
allegations that women were raped by male guards in pretrial detention 
centers. The OIG reported three complaints of rape by PNC officers, all 
of whom were sanctioned.
    On August 9, authorities arrested PNC Officer Juan Fidel Salazar 
Castaneda for raping a 14-year-old girl in the Metapan police station 
on August 7 after she had escaped from a National Children's Shelter. 
The case was presented to a disciplinary court on November 15 and was 
pending decision at year's end.
    In July 2009 on-duty PNC officers Jose Juan Cruz Carias and Julio 
German Garcia Herrera were arrested for raping a woman in custody in 
the Montserrat police station. The OAG reported the officers were 
cleared of all charges due to a lack of cooperation by the victim.
    On January 14, authorities dropped the charges in the 2008 case of 
the alleged police beating of Abraham Kattan.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions remained harsh and dangerous. Overcrowding 
constituted a serious threat to prisoners' health and lives. In many 
facilities there were inadequate provisions for sanitation, potable 
water, ventilation, temperature and lighting. On October 20, the IACHR 
called prison conditions deplorable, stating that there were 
construction deficiencies that led to safety hazards, a lack of 
sanitation and potable water that led to a high incidence of disease, 
and a lack of opportunity for children to visit in some prisons.
    Prison authorities reported that 57 prisoners died during the year 
due to natural causes, homicide, and suicide. As of December there had 
been 11 riots, resulting in three deaths.
    On November 10, a fire killed 27 inmates at a youth detention 
center in Ilobasco. An investigation by the OAG of charges of 
negligence by the guards in not extinguishing the fire continued at 
year's end.
    On July 19, Ombudsman for Human Rights Oscar Luna stated that 
corruption and the lack of judicial decisions to use alternatives to 
imprisonment (fines, bail release, and others) had increased 
overcrowding in prisons.
    The prison authority reported that as of December, there were 
24,283 prisoners held in 19 correctional facilities and two secure 
hospital wards, with a combined designed capacity for 8,080. As of 
August there were 781 inmates in four prisons for juvenile offenders 
and in one prison for juveniles becoming adults during their sentence 
with a total capacity of 750 inmates. Due to a lack of holding cells, 
pretrial detainees were often held in regular prisons together with 
violent criminals.
    Gang activities in prisons and juvenile-holding facilities remained 
a serious problem. Of the total population in detention center 
facilities, 8,406 adult and 394 juvenile inmates were current or former 
gang members. Gang members were separated from the regular prison 
population when possible. Gangs continued to exercise influence within 
the prisons and the judicial system.
    Prisoners reportedly conducted criminal activities from their 
cells, at times with the complicity of prison guards. Smuggling of 
weapons, drugs, and contraband such as cell phones and cell phone chips 
was a major problem in the prisons. In August 2009, as a means to 
combat increased inmate extortion using cell phones, authorities 
continued body cavity searches of prisoners, instituted in 2009, to 
detect cell phones. Additionally, President Funes ordered the armed 
forces to reinforce the perimeter security of the prisons holding the 
most dangerous criminals.
    Authorities sanctioned prison staff suspected of corruption and 
arrested others on other charges, including rape, robbery, and assault, 
although not necessarily in relation to their work duties.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted to participate in religious observance.
    Prison authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit 
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to request 
investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. Prison 
authorities investigated such allegations, although investigation 
results were not always documented in a publicly accessible manner. 
Through December the PDDH received six complaints against prison guards 
from inmates. Through December, the prison authority received 49 formal 
complaints from inmates and 213 from family members.
    The Government investigated and monitored prison and detention 
center conditions, and permitted prison-monitoring visits by 
independent human rights observers, NGOs, and the media, and such 
visits occurred during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--Although the constitution 
prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, there were complaints that 
the PNC arbitrarily arrested and detained persons. The PDDH reported 
receiving 228 complaints of arbitrary arrest or detention and 143 
complaints of illegal detentions during the year.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PNC is responsible 
for maintaining public security and the Ministry of Defense for 
maintaining national security. President Funes authorized the military 
to provide temporary support of indefinite duration for PNC patrols in 
rural and urban areas and gave support to law enforcement agencies for 
specific activities, including antinarcotics and antigang efforts. The 
Ministry of Public Security headed the antigang task force. In 2009 
military personnel were deployed to join the police on patrols and 
antigang and other task forces, and in May military personnel were 
assigned to assist in guarding the prison system. As of December 3,676 
military personnel were assigned to assist the PNC, 1,553 to the Prison 
Authority, and 694 to the border patrol. Military personnel do not have 
arrest authority. The Government has not indicated a concluding date 
for the temporary assignment of the military to police duties.
    Inadequate training, insufficient government funding, lack of a 
uniform code of evidence, and isolated instances of corruption and 
outright criminality interfered with the PNC' s effectiveness. During 
the year the OIG had received 2,690 complaints of alleged police 
misconduct, referred 73 cases of these to special investigation units, 
and sanctioned 1,127 officers in response to complaints filed during 
the year and prior years. These sanctions included 133 officers 
dismissed for misconduct and 583 suspended without pay for minor and 
serious infractions.
    On September 14, the conservative parties in the Legislative 
Assembly approved a special committee to investigate PNC Inspector 
General Zaira Navas. Committee members charged that the OIG selected 
only high-ranking PNC officials appointed by prior conservative 
governments for her investigation. President Funes supported the OIG.
    The OIG reported that most PNC officers and police academy cadets 
received human rights awareness training during the year, including 
training by the Salvadoran Institute for the Development of Women 
(ISDEMU) concerning rape prevention, child abuse, and related offenses. 
During the year the PNC Human Rights Unit trained 1,302 police officers 
on general human rights topics. There was additional training of 91 
police officers, 30 prosecutors, 14 judges, five prison officials and 
31 officials and technical advisors, including workers in the 
immigration, customs, public safety and airport authorities, included 
human rights awareness components.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution requires a written warrant for arrest, except in cases 
where an individual is arrested in the act of committing a crime. In 
practice authorities apprehended persons openly and with warrants based 
on sufficient evidence and issued by a duly authorized official and 
brought them before appropriate judicial officials. The constitution 
grants detainees the right to a prompt judicial determination of the 
legality of their 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. 
The bail system functioned adequately in most cases. 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 detainees could request a Supreme Court review of 
their continued detention.
    The courts generally enforced a ruling that interrogation without 
the presence of counsel is 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. The law allows up to six months for investigation of 
serious crimes before requiring either a trial or dismissal of the 
case. In exceptionally complicated cases, the prosecutor may ask an 
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 August within the prison 
population there were 8,163 individuals in pretrial detention or in 
detention awaiting final judgment.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, the judiciary suffered from inefficiency, 
corruption, political infighting, and insufficient resources. 
Substantial corruption in the judicial system contributed to a high 
level of impunity, undermining the rule of law and the public's respect 
for the judiciary. The criminal conviction rate was less than 5 
percent. An ineffective public security strategy, inadequate government 
funding and training of the PNC, and ineffective senior-level 
leadership made it difficult to identify, arrest, and prosecute 
perpetrators of human rights abuses and other crimes, thus diminishing 
public confidence in the justice system. Intimidation and killing of 
police officers, crime victims and witnesses created a climate of fear 
complicating investigation of violent crime and alleged human rights 
abuses.
    The Ministry of Justice's Witness Protection Program operated 
witness and victim protection programs that provided protection during 
the year to 3,151 persons, of whom 149 were protected under 
extraordinary measures. The PNC provided protection to 104 persons 
during the year. Nonetheless street gang intimidation and violence 
against witnesses contributed to a climate of impunity from criminal 
prosecution.
    On July 28, a judge of the First Court in Zacatecoluca ordered a 
preliminary hearing against Carlos Antonio Miranda Gonzales in 
connection with the high-profile 1999 kidnapping, rape, and murder of 
nine-year-old Katya Miranda, his granddaughter and the niece of a 
former senior PNC officer. A date for a public hearing remained pending 
at year's end.
    During the year the PDDH received 43 complaints against the OAG, 
including prevention of access to justice in 20 cases, violation of due 
process in seven cases, and failure to protect constitutional rights in 
seven cases.
    The OAG reported that the cases of Jose Israel Bonilla Granados and 
Wilfredo Antonio Reyes Martinez, members of the Los Perrones narcotics 
and human-trafficking organization, which is associated with two judges 
who made controversial decisions in the prosecutions of Los Perrones, 
remained pending. The judges were recused from the case in 2009.
    Through August the OAG investigated four judges and two magistrates 
for alleged misconduct. As of September these cases remained under 
investigation. During the year the Supreme Court received 160 
complaints against judges for alleged irregularities and sanctioned 
three judges for improper conduct. Also during the year, the OAG 
investigated 177 complaints against prosecutors for misconduct, 
compared with 261 complaints during 2009; the investigations resulted 
in the dismissal of 13 prosecutors and suspensions of 34 others for 
corruption and other serious infractions.

    Trial Procedures.--In general the law provides for trial by jury 
only in select cases. 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, 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, access for defendants and their attorneys to government-
held evidence relevant to their cases, 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. The law extends 
these rights to all citizens.

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

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--As of August the Government 
had not responded to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' 
published findings in 2006 regarding the Jose Adrian Hernandez Rochac 
1980 disappearance case. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that, 
following a February 3 IACHR decision regarding violations of judicial 
guarantees and rights in the 1994 killing of Mauricio Garcia Prieto, 
the Government on June 10 published an apology to the Garcia Prieto 
family for the actions of the state against them and has entered into 
dialogue with the Ministry of Health to provide counseling and support 
to the family.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although the law provides 
for access to the courts, enabling litigants to bring civil lawsuits 
seeking damages for, as well as 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 IACHR and the Inter-American Court of 
Human Rights, 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. On May 
27, the Legislative Assembly amended the constitution to permit the 
judicially authorized interception of telecommunications in criminal 
investigations and passed implementing legislation that permits the use 
of such evidence at criminal trial. The provisions had not been 
implemented by year's end.

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. Individuals could criticize the 
Government publicly or privately without reprisal, and the Government 
generally did not interfere with such criticism.
    The independent media were active and expressed a variety of views 
without restriction. The Salvadoran Journalists' Association noted that 
journalists reporting on narcotics trafficking were subject to threats 
and intimidation, which led to media self-censorship in reporting about 
narcotics trafficking.
    Although international NGOs generally commented positively on the 
status of press freedom in the country, newspaper editors and radio 
directors occasionally discouraged journalists from reporting on topics 
that the owners or publishers might not view favorably. Government 
advertising accounted for a significant portion of press advertising 
income, although exact data on such spending was not publicly 
available.
    The law permits the executive branch to use the emergency 
broadcasting service to take over temporarily all broadcast and cable 
networks to televise political programming.
    On September 24, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the third 
section of Criminal Code Article 191that provided immunity to the 
publishers and owners of media against charges of defamation, slander, 
and libel. Most media saw this ruling as potentially infringing on 
freedom of the press.
    On September 14, an appellate court imposed a token fine on La 
Prensa Grafica, a leading newspaper, for publishing photos showing the 
face of a 17-year-old-boy in the act of killing another boy.
    Authorities continued to provide protection to radio journalists 
Ludwing Iraheta, Jose Beltran, and Vladimir Abarca, who received death 
threats from unknown actors in July 2009.
    During the year authorities indicted 37 gang members for planning 
the September 2009 killing of French-Spanish documentary filmmaker 
Christian Poveda in Soyapango; 31 suspects were apprehended and in 
custody, awaiting trial.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms or attempted to collect personally identifiable 
information. Individuals and groups could engage in the expression of 
views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Internet service was 
available in the major cities. According to International 
Telecommunication Union statistics from 2009, approximately 14 percent 
of the country's inhabitants used the Internet.

    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.

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

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government 
observed this prohibition in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's laws provide for the 
granting refugee status or asylum, and the Government has established a 
system for providing protection to refugees. During the year the 
Government received 59 refugee petitions and granted eight persons full 
refugee status (seven Honduran nationals and one Iranian) and was 
finalizing refugee status for 14 others; 16 petitions were not 
approved, and 13 remained pending at year's end.
    The law provides protection against the expulsion or return of 
persons to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened 
on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion.
    The Government received no requests for temporary protection for 
individuals who may not qualify as refugees under the 1951 UN 
Convention and its 1967 protocol. The law does not provide this type of 
temporary protection.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides the right of citizens 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 March 2009 FMLN 
candidate Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena won the presidential 
election, which the Organization of American States and other 
international observers reported was generally free and fair with few 
irregularities. During the 2009 elections, as in prior elections, both 
ARENA and the FMLN accused each other of registering voters from other 
countries under the current registration law (which allows a person to 
register with two witnesses who swear to his/her identity); however, no 
parties filed any formal complaints after the election.
    In the January 2009 legislative elections, described as free and 
fair by international observers, no party won an outright majority. In 
San Isidro, Cabanas Department, the FMLN, Democratic Christian Party 
(PDC), National Conciliation Party (PCN), and Democratic Change party 
(CD) political parties halted voting following accusations of 
ineligible voting by persons from other departments and countries. The 
ARENA candidate won after voting resumed a week later.
    Political parties could operate without restrictions or outside 
interference. In October 2009 the ARENA party split, and 12 of its 32 
deputies formed a new party named GANA.
    Individuals cannot freely declare their candidacy and stand for 
election without membership in a political party. On July 29, a Supreme 
Court decision determined that independent candidates should be allowed 
to run for election. The Legislative Assembly took steps to reverse the 
decision by amending the constitution, but adoption requires 
ratification by the next Legislative Assembly in 2012.
    There were 16 women in the 84-member Legislative Assembly, five 
women on the 15-member Supreme Court, and two women in the 13-member 
cabinet. No persons in the Supreme Court, legislature, or other 
government entities identified themselves as members of an ethnic 
minority or indigenous community, and there were no political party 
positions or parliamentary seats designated for ethnic minorities.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials, particularly in the judicial system, engaged in corrupt 
practices with impunity. The World Bank's broad-based indicators 
reflected that government corruption was a serious problem, a finding 
that was consistent with public perceptions in the country.
    On December 10, authorities dismissed the entire 95-person staff of 
the Zacatecoluca maximum-security prison on suspicion of corruption, 
notably providing gang members with cell phones and other assistance. 
On December 13, an additional 235 employees were dismissed from the 
overall prison system for the same reasons, and by year's end more than 
500 prison authority staff had been dismissed under suspicion of 
corruption.
    NGOs, such as the Foundation for Studies in Legal Application and 
the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development 
(FUSADES), alleged that the Supreme Court did not adequately address 
judicial delays, inefficiency, and unqualified and corrupt judges. 
FUSADES reported that the public had minimal confidence in the judicial 
system due to a lack of access to justice and accountability, a 
judicial backlog, and corruption. FUSADES maintained a Web site that 
makes judicial proceedings and records available to the public.
    Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws. The 
Court of Accounts, the Anticorruption Unit of the OAG, and the 
Government Ethics Tribunal (TEG) share responsibility for combating 
corruption.
    On August 18, the Second Justice of Peace in Zacatecoluca sentenced 
Candelaria Campos de Rivas, the worker's rights section coordinator in 
the San Miguel Solicitor's Office, to three years' imprisonment, 
following a conviction on corruption charges. She had offered to obtain 
a release order for a prisoner in exchange for $5,000 (the U.S. dollar 
is the national currency). Five days later the same justice ordered the 
trial of a prosecutor in the OAG in Sonsonate on charges of promising 
to release a prisoner in exchange for $600.
    On September 13, the Court of Accounts sentenced former minister of 
public works David Gutierrez to repay the Government $3.2 million that 
was unaccounted for due to irregularities in bidding for the 
construction of Diego de Holguin highway in San Salvador.
    The Legislative Assembly has not audited the Court of Accounts, the 
Government agency charged with auditing the National Treasury and the 
Federal Budget, since 1995, despite a law mandating an annual audit. In 
July 2009 the Court of Accounts, which has traditionally been 
controlled by one of the smaller political parties, rejected a budget 
and procedural audit based on legal technicalities.
    The Legislative Assembly restricted public access to its monthly 
committee reports and required that a Board of Directors member approve 
such requests. During the year the TEG received 403 ethics complaints 
against public servants, and opened 265 investigations, resulting in 
public reprimands for three government officials and the suspension of 
one. To combat public sector corruption, the TEG operated ethics 
commissions within 79 of the 81 government entities required by law. 
The TEG conducted a year-long public awareness campaign against 
corruption.
    Although the law provides for public access to government 
information, in practice inconsistent legislation impeded such access. 
There is no freedom of information law. Citizens could access via the 
Internet some information regarding the national budget and certain 
cases before the Supreme Court. The Government usually did not give 
reasons for denying public access to information. There are no 
mechanisms to appeal denials.
    On December 3, the National Assembly passed a Public Information 
Access law, effective June 2011, requiring a new information office to 
make publicly available, free of charge, to any Salvadoran, information 
about public servants' salaries; official communications; government 
purchasing, budgets and financing; and Supreme Court proceedings.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Although government 
officials generally were cooperative and responsive to these groups, 
officials at times were reluctant to discuss worker rights issues with 
NGOs and the PDDH. Domestic and international NGOs were required to 
register with the Government, and some reported difficulties (see 
section 6).
    The principal human rights investigative and monitoring body is the 
autonomous PDDH, whose head is elected by the Legislative Assembly to a 
three-year term. The PDDH regularly issued reports (14 during the year) 
and press releases on prominent human rights cases and monitored the 
year's presidential and legislative elections. The PDDH enjoyed 
government cooperation and operated without government or party 
interference, had adequate resources, and was considered generally 
effective.
    On January 21, unknown actors made death threats against Ombudsman 
for Human Rights Oscar Luna and his family. The PNC doubled his 
protective detail. As of December the case remained under 
investigation.
    The PDDH maintained a constructive dialogue with the president's 
office. The Government publicly acknowledged receipt of the PDDH's 
reports, although in some cases it did not take action on PDDH 
recommendations, which are not legally binding.
    On October 12, the UN Human Rights Council issued its sixth report 
on El Salvador. The report noted the high level of domestic violence, a 
need for reform of the judicial and criminal justice system, and 
concerns about a rise in preventative detentions. The report also took 
note of the significant steps taken since the 1980s to improve the 
human rights situation.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    Although the constitution and the legal code provide 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; lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, and transgender persons, and indigenous people. The 
Secretariat for Social Inclusion, created in June 2009 by President 
Funes, who named the first lady Vanda Pignato as secretary, made 
efforts to overcome traditional bias in all these areas.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape. While not specifically addressed 
in the law, spousal rape may be considered a crime if the actions meet 
the criminal code definition of rape. The OAG may prosecute rape cases 
with or without a complaint from the victim, and the law does not 
permit the victim's pardon to nullify the criminal charge. The penalty 
for rape is six to 10 years' imprisonment, but the law provides for a 
maximum sentence of 20 years for rape of certain classes of victims, 
including children and persons with disabilities.
    Incidents of 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. Laws against rape 
were not effectively enforced.
    Rape and other sexual crimes against women were widespread. The PNC 
reported 2,193 cases of rape during the year. The OAG received reports 
of 676 cases of rape of adults through July, which resulted in 262 
trials and 76 convictions.
    During the year ISDEMU provided health and psychological assistance 
to 787 women and girls who suffered sexual abuse, compared with 1,013 
in all of 2009, and 1,447 girls who suffered physical abuse, compared 
with 2,512 in all of 2009.
    The law prohibits domestic violence and provides for sentences 
ranging from one to three years in prison. The law also permits 
obtaining restraining orders against offenders. Domestic violence was 
considered socially acceptable by a large portion of the population, 
and, as with rape, its incidence was underreported.
    Violence against women, including domestic violence, was a 
widespread and serious problem and during the year resulted in the 
death of 551 women. Laws against domestic violence were not well 
enforced, and cases were not effectively prosecuted. During the year 
ISDEMU received 4,732 reports of domestic violence, compared with 6,514 
complaints in 2009. The PNC reported 2,852 cases of domestic violence 
through December. Through July the OAG investigated 661 cases of 
domestic violence, which resulted in three convictions and 71 cases 
resolved through mediation.
    ISDEMU coordinated with the judicial and executive branches and 
civil society groups to conduct public awareness campaigns against 
domestic violence and sexual abuse. The PDDH, OAG, Supreme Court, 
Public Defender's Office, and PNC collaborated with NGOs and other 
organizations to combat violence against women through education, 
increased enforcement of the law and NGO support programs for victims. 
The Secretariat for Social Inclusion, through ISDEMU, defined policies, 
programs, and projects on domestic violence and continued to maintain a 
telephone hotline and a shelter for victims of domestic abuse and child 
victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The Government's efforts to 
combat domestic violence were minimally effective.
    On November 25, the National Assembly passed a comprehensive law 
targeting all forms of violence, harassment and discrimination against 
women. The law, which takes effect in November 2011, strengthens 
penalties for existing crimes, defines new ones not previously 
penalized, and mandates a public education component and unified 
statistical methodology. ISDEMU, the Government agency charged with 
promoting the legal rights of women, has responsibility to monitor the 
law's implementation.
    The Government did not enforce sexual harassment laws effectively. 
Since underreporting by victims of sexual harassment appeared to be 
widespread, it was difficult to estimate the extent of the problem. The 
OAG reported 367 complaints of sexual harassment through July, which 
resulted in 138 trials and 11 convictions.
    The law defines sexual harassment as any unwanted physical sexual 
contact and stipulates penalties of three to five years in prison (or 
four to eight years in cases where the victim is under age 15 at the 
time of the offense). The law, however, does not clearly recognize 
nonphysical sexual harassment as a crime. Fines are added to the prison 
term in cases where the perpetrator is in a position of authority or 
trust over the victim.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children, and information about and access to 
contraception was widely available. Demographic Health Surveys 
indicated that 72 percent of married women used some method of family 
planning. Prenatal care and skilled attendance at delivery were also 
widely available. The UN Population Fund estimated that the maternal 
mortality rate in 2008 of 110 deaths per 100,000 live births Women and 
men have equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually 
transmitted infections, including HIV.
    The constitution grants women and men the same legal rights under 
family and property law, but 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, 
and six months to two years for employers who discriminate against 
women in the workplace. However, employees generally did not report 
such violations due to fear of employer reprisals.
    Pregnancy testing as a condition for employment is illegal. Some 
businesses allegedly required female job applicants to present 
pregnancy test results, and some businesses illegally fired pregnant 
workers (see section 7.b.).
    Although the law prohibits discrimination based on gender, women 
suffered from cultural, economic, and societal discrimination. Men 
often received priority in job placement and promotions, and women were 
not accorded equal treatment 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, apparel assembly, home 
industries, and small businesses.
    Gender-based wage disparity remained a problem. The 2007 Household 
Survey, the latest available, indicated that, on average, women's 
monthly wages were $247 and men's were $304. In sectors of the economy 
where women constituted the majority of the labor force, men held most 
positions in both management and in departments where employees 
received higher wages.
    A 2008 ISDEMU report on women in the workplace indicated that 41 
percent of women worked, but received on average only 80 percent of the 
salary levels received by men; 55 percent of the female workforce was 
in the informal sector, and 47 percent of working women were 
underemployed. The average monthly salary for female factory workers 
was $163.00 and $113.36 for domestic workers.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country and 
from one's parent(s). The law requires parents to register a child 
within 15 days of birth or else pay a $2.86 fine. There were no firm 
statistics, but many births were not registered. Unregistered children 
had access to public health care but not to public education.
    Child abuse was a serious and widespread problem. Incidents of rape 
continued to be underreported for a number of reasons, including 
societal and cultural pressures against victims, fears of reprisal 
against the children, ineffective and unsupportive responses by the 
authorities toward victims, fear of publicity, and a perception among 
victims that cases were unlikely to be prosecuted. The Salvadoran 
Institute for Children and Adolescents (ISNA), an autonomous government 
entity, defined policies, programs, and projects on child abuse, 
maintained a shelter for child victims of abuse and commercial sexual 
exploitation, and conducted a violence awareness campaign to combat 
child abuse. During the year ISNA reported sheltering 883 abused 
children, including 231 cases of children living on the street, 299 
cases of sexual abuse, 113 cases of abandonment, 72 cases of children 
employed as beggars or being economically exploited, and 38 cases of 
commercial sexual exploitation.
    There were credible reports that the PNC targeted minors 
specifically for harassment or arbitrary detention, as some PNC 
officers perceived youth on the street as more likely to be gang 
members.
    The law classifies statutory rape as sexual relations with anyone 
under 18 years of age and provides for penalties between four and 20 
years' imprisonment for those convicted of the crime. During the year 
the PNC reported 1,216 cases of rape of persons under 18 (of a total of 
2,193 rape cases) and 1,186 cases of sexual abuse. Through July the OAG 
reported prosecuting 561 cases of rape of persons under 18 and 479 
cases of sexual abuse, molestation and corrupting a minor.
    The law prohibits participating in, facilitating, or purchasing 
materials containing child pornography and provides for prison 
sentences of up to 16 years' imprisonment. During the year the PNC made 
four arrests against persons for child pornography.
    The law prohibits paying anyone under the age of 18 for sexual 
services. There were credible reports that girls were forced into 
prostitution. Through December ISDEMU registered seven cases of 
commercial sexual exploitation of children.
    On August 31, UN Special Rapporteur for the Rights of the Child 
Najat Maalla M' jid urged the Government to take effective measures to 
protect children's rights against trafficking in persons, child 
prostitution, and pornography. She also criticized the lack of uniform 
statistics from the children's agencies and the OAG.
    In March 2009 the Legislative Assembly passed a law strengthening 
penalties against child trafficking and child abuse and prohibiting 
publication of pictures of minors by the mass media to prevent 
identification of potential exploitation victims.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The 
Jewish community totaled approximately 150 persons.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state 
services. According to the National Council for Disabled Persons 
(CONAIPD), the Government did not allocate sufficient resources to 
enforce these prohibitions effectively, particularly in education, 
employment, and transportation, and did not effectively enforce legal 
requirements for access to buildings, information and communications 
for persons with disabilities. There are almost no access ramps in the 
country, nor are provisions made for the mobility of persons with sight 
and hearing disabilities.
    Several public and private organizations promoted the rights of 
persons with disabilities. CONAIPD is the Government agency responsible 
for protecting those rights. There were no reported patterns of abuse 
in prisons or in educational or mental health facilities, although 
CONAIPD reported isolated incidents, including sexual abuse, in such 
facilities. There are no statistics or formal mechanisms for complaint 
for abuse of persons with disabilities.
    CONAIPD reported that persons were fired after becoming disabled, 
that persons with disabilities were not considered for work they were 
qualified for, and that some schools would not accept children with 
disabilities due to lack of facilities and resources. There is no 
formal system for filing a complaint with the Government.
    CONAIPD conducted awareness campaigns, provided sensitivity 
training to 1,173 persons in 15 institutions from the public and 
private sectors, promoted the hiring of persons with disabilities, and 
trained doctors and teachers about the rights of the disabled. The 
Government's Fund for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities 
assisted financially individuals who were wounded or had a disability 
as a result of the civil war but had not yet paid some obligations 
through 2009. President Funes stated the Government would pay owed 
pensions. The Rehabilitation Foundation, in cooperation with the 
Salvadoran Institute for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (ISRI), 
continued to operate a treatment center for persons with disabilities. 
However, CONAIPD reported that the Government provided minimal funding 
for ISRI. The vast majority of persons with disabilities received care 
at home by relatives with little or no government support or 
supervision.

    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. According to the 2007 
census, indigenous persons formed approximately 0.2 percent of the 
national population in three principal groups: Nahua-Pipiles in western 
and central areas of the country and Lencas and Cacaoperas in the 
eastern region. Indigenous rights groups and the PDDH complained that 
the Government's methodology used to determine indigenous self-
identification underestimated the actual size of the indigenous 
population. For example, indigenous rights groups stated that 
Nahuizalco, a town in the department of Sonsonate, may have up to 
39,000 indigenous inhabitants, approximately 0.7 percent of the 
country's population. Births of indigenous persons were reportedly more 
likely not to be registered officially, reducing educational 
opportunities since school registration requires a birth certificate.
    Although few individuals publicly identified themselves as 
indigenous, there were a few small indigenous communities whose members 
continued to maintain traditional customs without repression or 
interference by the Government or nonindigenous groups. Government 
estimates in 2004, the most recent available, indicated that 
approximately 99 percent of indigenous persons lived below the poverty 
level.
    There are no laws giving indigenous people rights to share in 
revenue from exploitation of natural resources on indigenous lands. The 
Government did not demarcate any lands as belonging to indigenous 
communities. Access to land was a problem for indigenous persons. 
Because few possessed title to land, opportunities for bank loans and 
other forms of credit were extremely limited.
    The municipality of Nahuizalco passed a law on October 24 
recognizing the origin and existence of indigenous persons and their 
right to practice their customs and beliefs, outlawing any form of 
discrimination, and pledging assistance in maternal care.
    There were no government programs dedicated to combating 
discrimination against or communicating with indigenous persons. The 
PDDH reported that indigenous persons faced employment and workplace 
discrimination. In practice citizens are not able to register their 
children with indigenous names under a 1990 law, which allows municipal 
workers to require an appeal to the mayor's office if a proposed name 
is considered improper.
    On October 10, President Funes publicly apologized to the country's 
indigenous people for the persecution and ``extermination'' they have 
suffered over the past five centuries. He acknowledged the country as a 
multiethnic and multicultural society.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Although the law prohibits 
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, in practice 
discrimination was widespread, especially against transgender persons. 
In January the new administration approved the legal registration 
application filed in August 2009 by the gay rights NGO Entre Amigos. 
This is the first NGO focused on sexual minorities registered by the 
Government whose primary declared work was other than the prevention of 
HIV/AIDS.
    There was widespread official and societal discrimination based on 
sexual orientation in employment and access to health care and identity 
documents. Entre Amigos reported that public officials, including the 
police, engaged in violence and discrimination against sexual 
minorities. Persons from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender 
(LGBT) community stated that the PNC and OAG ridiculed them when they 
reported cases of violence against LGBT persons. The Government 
responded to these abuses primarily through PDDH reports that 
publicized specific cases of violence and discrimination against sexual 
minorities.
    On May 13, President Funes signed an order forbidding workplace 
discrimination in government offices based on sexual orientation. The 
order also created the Office of Sexual Diversity within the 
Secretariat of Social Inclusion. In general violence and discrimination 
against sexual minorities went unpunished.
    LGBT rights supporters held one gay pride march, for which the 
municipality of San Salvador provided authorization. The Government 
provided sufficient police security for marchers.
    Entre Amigos reported the killings of two persons from the LGBT 
community during the year, compared with 23 during 2009. Entre Amigos 
attributed the decline to the end of the debate over a proposed 
constitutional amendment to define marriage as only between a man and a 
woman.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Although the law 
prohibits discrimination on the basis of HIV/AIDS status, in practice 
discrimination was widespread. Lack of public information remained a 
problem in confronting discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS or 
in assisting persons suffering from HIV/AIDS. The Ministry of Health 
reported that 25,530 persons were infected with HIV, of whom 8,000 had 
AIDS. A UN Development Program survey conducted during the year 
reported that 31.4 percent of persons infected with HIV/AIDS 
experienced some form of discrimination, including credible reports of 
denial of public services (such as schooling) and loss of employment. 
Persons denied entry into the armed forces charged that the military 
illegally required HIV testing for its soldiers.
    In August 2009 the Ministry of Public Health launched an awareness 
campaign aimed at reducing stigmatization of HIV-positive persons. A 
number of NGOs worked without government interference to produce media 
and outreach campaigns to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and testing.
    Reports indicated that rape and other sexual abuse of males was 
substantially underreported to authorities. The PNC reported 258 cases 
of rape against males during the year, and ISDEMU provided health and 
psychological assistance to 165 men and boys who were victims of 
physical or sexual abuse.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution provides for the 
right of workers, except military personnel, national police, judges, 
high-level public officers, and workers who are in ``positions of 
trust,'' to form and join unions of their choice. In 2009 the 
Government amended the constitution to grant legal status to public 
worker unions. Workers do not require prior authorization from the 
Government to organize, but must meet certain requirements to be 
legally registered. According to official census figures, the country 
had a workforce of 2.365 million in 2009, of which 215,000 were in the 
agricultural and fishing industries. Among the requirements to obtain 
legal standing, unions must have a minimum of 35 members in the 
workplace, hold a convention, and elect officers. The constitution 
permits the participation of noncitizens in unions, but requires that 
union leaders be citizens.
    The Ministry of Labor encouraged the formation of new unions and 
streamlined the registration process. The law permits unions to conduct 
their activities without government interference. Some unions alleged 
the Ministry of Labor interfered with their activities by encouraging 
and facilitating the formation of ``parallel unions,'' which supported 
the FMLN.
    As of September there were 557 unions, of which 294 were in the 
private sector, 18 were in autonomous government organizations, and 55 
in the public sector. The Ministry of Labor reported it registered 51 
unions during the year, of which 24 were in the public sector and 27 in 
the private sector, including in autonomous government organizations. 
The Ministry of Labor also reported that 31 unions had become defunct, 
while 159 were either without leadership or inactive.
    The ministry denied registration to three unions--a public sector 
municipal workers' union (SITESMUES) and two private sector unions, the 
transportation workers' union (STITCPAS) and the independent workers' 
Movement for Democracy, Development and Peace (Movimiento para la 
Democracia, el Desarrollo y la Paz)--because they did not meet legal 
requirements.
    On December 14, the Administrative Court of Justice declared 
illegal the Ministry of Labor's February 1 refusal to recognize the 
results of the January elections of a construction workers' union, 
Sindicato Union de Trabajadores de la Construccion (SUTC), and the 
ministry carried out the court's instruction to credential the union's 
board of directors on December 17.
    On November 6, the Legislative Assembly refused a request by the 
union of workers of the Legislative Assembly (SITRAL) to represent its 
workers, on the grounds that the workers were in ``positions of 
trust.'' In December the employment contract of the SITRAL's secretary 
general Luis Ortega was not renewed.
    There were some reported instances of violence against union 
leaders. On January 15, Santa Ana municipal workers (SITRAMSA) union 
leader Abel Victorio Vega was murdered in an execution-style killing by 
six assailants at a public plaza in Santa Ana, according to official 
PNC reports. The OAG reported in August that it was investigating the 
possibility that the killing was linked to Vega's unionizing 
activities. However, by year's end, no charges had been brought in the 
case.
    In October SITRAMSA reported that its workers had received death 
threats when the union announced it would strike over alleged 
intimidation and withholding of workers' pay by the municipality. The 
union reported that the municipality had also withdrawn security guards 
from worksites. The subsequent strike was later declared illegal by the 
Santa Ana Labor Court. The municipality reduced the strikers' wages by 
approximately 50 percent for the time they were striking. At year's end 
the case was on appeal.
    The constitution recognizes the right to strike, except for public 
and municipal employees and workers in essential services. The law does 
not specifically designate which services are considered essential. 
Although the law contains complex and cumbersome registration 
procedures for conducting a legal strike, workers freely exercised this 
right in practice.
    A legal strike must be supported by 51 percent of workers in an 
enterprise, 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 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 striking. The law 
prohibits workers from appealing a government decision declaring a 
strike illegal. In practice, workers engaged in strikes regardless of 
whether the legal requirements were met. Although the Ministry of Labor 
did not approve any strikes during the year, it did not report any 
instances where the right to strike was denied.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law permits 
collective bargaining by employees in the private and public sectors, 
but the Government enforced rules on collective bargaining selectively. 
In October the Ministry of Labor reported that 51,885 workers, 
including 3.5 percent of the urban workforce, are covered by collective 
bargaining agreements.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and the Government 
enforced the law. However, there were reports of antiunion 
discrimination, including dismissals of workers attempting to unionize 
and threats against labor union members. The Ministry of Labor imposed 
10 fines for illegally dismissing unionized workers. There are no 
special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws inside the free 
trade zones.
    There were reports that security guard agencies COSASE, which 
provides security for the Government, and COARMI dismissed workers 
trying to unionize during the year, and failed to provide the dismissed 
workers with back pay, vacation, social security and bonuses due to 
them.
    During the year auto shop owners alleged that the Ministry of Labor 
required them to bargain with the Union Federation of El Salvador 
(FESS), although FESS did not meet the minimum requirement of having at 
least 35 workers to form a union. The Ministry of Labor denied the 
allegation that it required the owners to accept the agreement with 
FESS.
    The OAG reported that between January and July it opened 426 
investigations against employers for illegally retaining social 
security and pension payments, two investigations for violations of 
labor safety conditions, three investigation for labor discrimination, 
and four investigations for violations against freedom of association 
and the right to strike.
    During the year the Ministry of Labor reportedly conducted 507 
inspections and 255 reinspections in the textile sector. The ministry 
conducted an additional 212 inspections and 103 reinspections for 
gender discrimination, covering 61,478 apparel assembly workers. The 
ministry imposed 240 fines for labor violations.
    As of October, the Ministry of Labor had reported 50 complaints of 
illegal firings of union leaders, 22 of which were resolved. The 
ministry imposed fines in 24 cases involving 97 workers (71 men and 26 
women). The ministry also received 68 complaints for dismissals of 
pregnant workers. Of these, 44 cases were resolved. The ministry 
imposed fines in 13 cases involving 62 workers. It did not receive any 
complaints concerning mandatory HIV tests as a condition of employment.
    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 sought to undermine union organizing, 
including dismissing union members. As of September the Ministry of 
Labor reported no instances of blacklisting workers who were union 
members, and no instances of employers refusing to negotiate with 
unions.
    The Labor Code does not require employers to reinstate illegally 
dismissed workers. Reinstatement is generally handled through mediation 
by the courts and the Ministry of Labor. Although not required by law, 
the Ministry of Labor requested some employers to rehire 256 fired 
workers during the year, basing its requests on International Labor 
Organization (ILO) Administrative Court rulings.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor except in the case of natural 
catastrophe and other instances specified by law. The Ministry of Labor 
reported it had received no complaints of forced labor during the year. 
However, some forced labor was believed to occur. In October the 
Government's Migration Office reported that there was anecdotal 
evidence that forced labor occurred in the informal sector, for 
instance among migrant domestic workers, and may also occur among 
subcontracted construction workers.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at http://www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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.
    Children age 12 and older are allowed to engage in light work, so 
long as it does not harm their health or interfere with their 
education. Children under 16 years of age are prohibited from working 
more than seven hours per day and 34 hours per week; those under age 18 
are prohibited from working at night or in occupations considered 
hazardous. The Ministry of Labor was responsible for enforcing child 
labor laws. In practice, labor inspectors focused almost exclusively on 
the formal sector.
    According to the 2008 School Registration Census, the most recent 
available, there were approximately 110,000 child workers, with the 
largest numbers engaged in coffee, sugarcane, and other agricultural 
activities; domestic work; street vending; and fishing. Child labor in 
its worst forms was a serious problem in coffee and sugarcane 
cultivation, fishing, mollusk extraction, and fireworks production. 
There were reports of children engaging in garbage scavenging. Orphans 
and children from poor families frequently worked for survival as 
street vendors and general laborers in small businesses. Children also 
worked as domestic servants.
    The Ministry of Labor reported receiving few complaints of 
violations of child labor laws, primarily because many Salvadorans view 
child labor as an essential component of family income rather than as a 
human rights problem. During the year the Government increased 
inspections of child labor but lacked adequate resources to effectively 
enforce child labor laws in agricultural activities, especially coffee 
and sugarcane production, or in the large informal sector. Most reports 
were made by telephone or through third parties, according to the Labor 
Ministry.
    The Government made significant efforts to combat child labor 
during the year. The Ministry of Labor reported that its 208 nationwide 
labor inspectors were trained in child labor, including 10 from the 
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, as well as four specialists in 
child labor issues and six liaison officers trained in child labor 
issues in branch offices in Santa Ana, San Miguel, Sonsonate, La Paz, 
Usulutan, and La Union. The Ministry of Labor reported that it also 
changed inspection hours to correspond with times children were likely 
to be working.
    The Ministry of Labor led a government interagency program to 
advance its ``Road Map'' to eliminate child labor in its worst forms by 
2015 and in its entirety by 2020. As part of its implementation, the 
Government participated in a new, $10 million ILO project that seeks to 
provide educational opportunities to children while offering livelihood 
alternatives for their families. It also developed a series of events 
to raise awareness about child labor in local communities. The 
Government also participated in a four-year, $3.4 million ILO project 
that ended in July. This project provided educational opportunities to 
more than 13,000 children who worked or were at risk of working.
    The Ministry of Education promoted child labor awareness and 
encouraged school attendance. The Ministry of Labor reported that the 
Government continued operating 134 after-school programs during the 
year and was assisted by funding from Intervida, Plan Internacional, 
and the Fundacion Telefonica. The Government also incorporated material 
on combating child labor into its elementary school curriculum, and 
provided lunches, uniforms, school supplies and shoes to impoverished 
students.
    The Ministry of Labor reported that when inspectors encountered 
incidents of child labor, the Government removed the victims and placed 
them in educational programs. As of September the ministry reported 
that 13 children had been removed from child labor. The ministry 
reported it verified that these situations did not reoccur, and that it 
continues to monitor the area where this work was identified. There was 
no information on specific investigations or prosecutions.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no national minimum 
wage; the minimum wage is determined by sector. The minimum daily wage 
was $6.92 for retail and service employees, $6.77 for industrial 
laborers, and $5.79 for apparel assembly workers. The agricultural 
minimum wage was $3.24. The minimum wage did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family. The highest monthly minimum 
wage nationally was $207.60. The lowest monthly minimum wage, for 
agricultural workers, was $97.20. The Consumer Defense Center (an NGO) 
reported that basic subsistence costs for food during the year were 
$184.94 per month. The Government reported slightly different costs, 
indicating that the amount needed for subsistence in urban areas was 
$171.19 and in rural areas $120.03.
    In 2009 the Social Security Institute confirmed that Joaquin 
Salvador Montalvo Machado had complied with the Third Sentencing 
Court's fine of $144,724 imposed in 2006 for illegally retaining social 
security and pension payments of workers at the Hermosa Manufacturing 
apparel assembly plant. On May 23, 10 Hermosa workers received 
severance pay and other compensation following a favorable verdict from 
the Apopa Court of Instruction. Ten other workers received severance 
pay and other compensation after mediation by the OAG on June 29. The 
Salvadoran Social Security Institute also plans to provide medical care 
for Hermosa workers suffering from cancer. However, as of September the 
Ministry of Labor reported that Montalvo had not paid legally required 
severance and other payments to all workers, and 34 workers who lost 
their labor cases plan to file fraud charges against Montalvo, with the 
support of the Ministry of Labor.
    During the year the Ministry of Labor reported 37 complaints for 
unpaid back wages and social security payments against the Miretex 
apparel factory, of which 22 were resolved.
    The Ministry of Labor reported that in November, the Royal Textiles 
Flexiler factory illegally withheld workers' social security and 
pension payments. The case was ongoing at year's end.
    The Ministry of Labor reported conducting 9,206 inspections, 
including 305 in the coffee sector, 111 in the sugar sector, 65 in the 
fireworks industry, and 1,493 in the fishing industry. There were 1,732 
inspections in the industrial sector, 1,275 in the commercial sector, 
and 2,607 in the service sector. The ministry also conducted 437 
inspections for workplace discrimination covering 63,924 workers, 84 of 
whom were pregnant workers. The ministry reported that, as of 
September, 183 employers had been sanctioned, resulting in 186 fines 
for nonpayment of minimum wages. The average fine was $54.43. The 
Government reportedly effectively enforced the minimum wage law in the 
formal sector but not in the informal sector.
    The Government increased its inspection force from 159 to 208 
during the year, and provided updated training to its inspectors for 
both occupational safety and labor standards. There continued to be 
allegations of corruption among labor inspectors in the apparel 
assembly industry.
    The law sets a maximum normal workweek of 44 hours, limited to no 
more than six days, and to no more than eight hours per day, but allows 
overtime if a bonus is paid. The law mandates that full-time employees 
be paid for an eight-hour day of rest in addition to the 44-hour normal 
workweek. The law prohibits compulsory overtime.
    The Government's gender and labor discrimination unit reported that 
assembly plants generally respected the laws on overtime. However, some 
of these plants required workers to work extra days in order to meet 
production goals, with a promise of incentive pay in addition to 
overtime. There were no reports of workers not receiving incentive pay.
    During the year the Ministry of Labor received 375 complaints 
regarding unpaid overtime from industrial and commercial workers, and 
none from agricultural workers.
    As of October the Ministry of Labor reported that it had received 
2,085 complaints of unpaid salaries; 452 complaints of unpaid overtime, 
involving 2,380 and 533 workers, respectively. During the year the 
Ministry of Labor imposed 62 fines for unpaid salaries. There were 
reports from unions that the Ministry of Labor failed to enforce the 
minimum wage for subcontracted workers hired for public reconstruction 
contracts.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for setting workplace safety 
standards, and the law on occupational health and safety standards 
establishes a tripartite committee to review the standards. 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. This 
includes prohibitions on the employment of persons under age 18 in 
occupations considered hazardous or morally dangerous.
    The Legislative Assembly passed a new workplace safety law in 
January, which will take effect in May 2011. The new law is based on 
ILO Convention 155. It promotes occupational safety, training, and 
worker participation in occupational health and safety matters. The new 
law also addresses sexual harassment and violence against women as well 
as other workplace harassment issues. The law requires that employers 
provide preventive safety measures, including proper equipment and 
training, to employees, and a violence-free workplace, in order to 
reasonably ensure the safety and health of workers. Employers who 
violate the law can be fined. The Ministry of Labor is charged with 
enforcing the law.
    From June 2009 to June 2010, the Ministry of Labor reported that it 
trained 300 companies on occupational safety and created 127 committees 
of occupational health and safety.
    The Ministry of Labor reported contradictory information regarding 
whether workers have the right to remove themselves from hazardous 
situations without jeopardy to their continued employment. The ministry 
noted that the Government's ratification of ILO Convention 155 provides 
workers with the right to remove themselves. At the same time, the 
ministry also reported workers can be fired for refusing to undertake 
hazardous work, although they must be compensated. In practice workers 
were not informed about this right. The Ministry of Labor reported 
conducting 8,390 inspections and 6,449 reinspections for workplace 
health and safety and 1,680 environmental studies during the year. It 
also reported reaccreditation of 500 workplace safety committees and 
the formation of 387 new committees.

                               __________

                                GRENADA

    Grenada is a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislature. 
Grenada and two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, have 
a population of approximately 105,000. In generally free and fair 
elections in July 2008, the National Democratic Congress won 11 of 15 
seats in Parliament, and Tillman Thomas was sworn in as prime minister. 
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Human rights 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 formal complaints or confirmed reports that government 
officials employed them. While young detainees occasionally claimed to 
have been roughed up by the police to family and friends, no one 
appealed to the press or approached the authorities with allegations. 
Flogging, a legal form of punishment for sex crimes and assault, was 
not uncommon.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Overcrowding was a 
significant problem; in the sole penitentiary there were 440 prisoners, 
of whom 16 were women, held in space designed for 98 persons. Some 
prisoners slept on mattresses or blankets on the ground. The prison 
initiated an education program for the inmates and hired a counselor to 
work with the prison population.
    Women were held in a separate section of the prison from men. There 
was no separate facility for its six juveniles, who mix with the 
general prison population in the course of the day.
    Prison conditions are monitored by the Government's Prison Visiting 
Committee. The Government permits monitoring of prison conditions by 
independent human rights groups, but no such visits were requested 
during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally 
observed these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The country does not 
have a military. The 1,011-person Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) is 
headed by the police commissioner and encompasses the Coast Guard, the 
Special Services Unit, the Fire Fighting Unit, and other specialized 
units. The RGPF is supplemented by 260 rural constables. The RGPF 
generally was effective at responding to complaints and maintained a 
community policing program.
    The police report to the minister for national security, who is 
also 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. Civilian 
authorities maintained effective control over the RGPF, and the 
Government had effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and 
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security 
forces during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
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 appoints a lawyer 
for the indigent in cases of murder and other capital crimes.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution and law provide 
for an independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected 
judicial independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution and law provide for the right 
to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this 
right.
    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. There are jury trials 
in the High Court only; trials are open to the public unless the 
charges are sexual in nature or a minor is involved.
    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 can no longer afford that lawyer's services. 
With the exception of foreign-born drug suspects or persons charged 
with murder, the courts granted most defendants bail while awaiting 
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 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. In November the Media Workers 
Association of Grenada (MWAG) criticized the prime minister for 
characterizing a blogger as ``dangerous to Grenada'' and ``trying to 
create instability.'' MWAG's statement generated debate among 
journalists about whether the prime minister's comment constituted 
intimidation.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The 
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were 24 
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2009.

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in the single instance where assistance was requested with regard to 
refugees and asylum seekers. In this case, the Government agreed not to 
deport a family that claimed political asylum while UNHCR sought a 
country for resettlement.
    The law does not address forced exile. The Government did not 
resort to it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. 
The Government has no formal channels for providing protection to 
refugees or asylum seekers. The Government provided protection against 
the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion.

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.--The most recent general 
elections were held in July 2008, when the National Democratic Congress 
won 11 of the 15 seats in the House of Representatives, defeating the 
New National Party, which had governed for 13 years. The Organization 
of American States led a 25-member election observer mission, which 
deemed the elections free and fair.
    Political parties could operate without restriction or outside 
interference.
    Two women served in the House of Representatives. Four of the 13 
appointed senators are women, including the president of the senate. 
Three female legislators served as ministers of government. In the 
civil service, women held 17 of the 19 most senior positions--permanent 
secretaries.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    Although the law provides criminal penalties for official 
corruption, the Government did not implement the law effectively. 
Allegations continued to surface that present or former officials 
engaged in corrupt practices with impunity, but few investigations were 
concluded during the year. The World Bank's governance indicators 
reflected that corruption remained a problem.
    In 2007 Parliament passed the country's first anticorruption laws, 
including a bill establishing an Integrity Commission. In October 2009 
the Government appointed seven persons to the Integrity Commission, 
which met but was not yet operational at the end of the year.
    Although the anticorruption laws require all public servants to 
report their income and assets, the appropriate regulations had not 
been promulgated by year's end.
    There are no laws mandating transparent reporting of political 
donations or limiting the amount of political donations from outside 
the country.
    Although there is no law providing for public access to government 
information, citizens may request access to any information that is not 
deemed classified. However, government responsiveness to those requests 
was not tracked.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
often were cooperative and responsive to their views.
    The country's first ombudsman, a career public servant who 
previously served as cabinet secretary, assumed office in 2009. The 
ombudsman has authority to investigate complaints from persons who 
object to government actions they deem to be unfair, an abuse of power, 
contrary to law, discriminatory, or negligent. By December the Office 
of the Ombudsman handled approximately 60 complaints. While several 
complaints involved nongovernment institutions and fell outside the 
ombudsman's jurisdiction, most complaints were forwarded to the 
appropriate ministries for action and remained under consideration. In 
two cases, the ombudsman opened formal investigations when the 
referrals did not resolve the complaint. The ombudsman planned to 
submit his first annual report to Parliament in 2011.

Section 6. 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.--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. Authorities referred 42 
charges involving rape or related charges for prosecution, and the 
court convicted 34 persons during the year.
    Women's rights monitors noted that violence against women remained 
a serious problem. A new Domestic Violence Bill expanded the range of 
eligible relationships subject to domestic violence provisions, persons 
who may apply for assistance on behalf of victims, and the definition 
of abuse, which now includes harassment and damage against property. 
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 shelter accommodating 
approximately 18 battered and abused women and their children operated 
in the northern part of the country, staffed by medical and 
psychological counseling personnel. Victims and persons seeking to 
report cases of abuse contact the Ministry of Social Development and 
local ministry offices in three parishes and the island of Carriacou.
    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.
    Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and had 
access to contraception as well as obstetric and post-natal care. Life-
style choices (such as tobacco and alcohol use) contributed to a high 
percentage of premature births, which resulted in an infant mortality 
rate of 15 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2008. Incidence of maternal 
mortality was not available. Essential obstetric and postpartum care 
was widely available, as were skilled attendants at births. Women and 
men had equal access to treatment for 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. Due in part to factors like post-hurricane 
reconstruction, the poor economy, and high levels of unemployment, 
women moved into nontraditional fields such as carpentry and 
construction. Television and radio public service announcements 
continued to combat spousal abuse and raise women's awareness of their 
rights.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived from birth in the country or, if 
abroad, by birth to a Grenadian parent upon petition. There is 
universal birth registration.
    The Social Welfare Division within the Ministry of Social 
Development provided probationary and rehabilitative services to youth, 
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.
    Government social service agencies reported 92 cases of physical 
abuse, 23 cases of sexual abuse, and 13 incest cases involving minors 
during the year. Government officials attributed the rise in reported 
cases over previous years to a growing awareness among youth and others 
of the availability of support for victims. 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. In October Parliament 
passed the Child Protection and Adoption Bill, which mandates reporting 
of suspected child abuse cases by education, health care, and other 
professionals. The Government used television and radio spots to raise 
awareness within the population about child abuse and incest.
    A statutory rape law applies to children 16 years and under. 
Penalties are 15 years' imprisonment if the victim was less than 14 and 
five years' imprisonment if the victim was 14 to 16 years of age. No 
specific laws address child pornography; but the law does prohibit the 
importation, sale, and public display of pornography. The criminal code 
prohibits sale and trafficking of girls for prostitution, for the 
production of pornography, or for pornographic performances, but lacks 
similar prohibitions that apply to boys.
    The Government is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on 
International Child Abduction. For information on international 
parental child abduction, please see the Department of State's annual 
report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html, as well as country specific 
information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/country--
3781.html

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no organized Jewish community, and there 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--In 2009 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. 
Although the law does not mandate access to public buildings or 
services, building owners increasingly incorporated disabled access 
into new construction and premises renovation. Although public schools 
accepted special needs children and sought to meet their needs, many 
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, faced no 
discrimination in access to information and communication, and suffered 
no restrictions on the right to vote or to participate fully in civic 
affairs. The Government and NGOs continued to provide training and work 
opportunities for such persons. The Ministry of Social Services 
includes an office responsible for looking after persons with 
disabilities, as well as the Council for the Disabled, which reviews 
disability-related issues.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Approximately 8 percent of 
citizens are descendants of individuals who came to the country from 
India as indentured servants, many of whom found themselves in slave-
like conditions. Some complained of residual discrimination based on 
their origins, although most have intermarried with persons of European 
or African descent.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law criminalizes 
consensual homosexual relations, providing penalties of up to 10 years' 
imprisonment. Society generally was intolerant of homosexuality, and 
many churches condemned it. Members of sexual minorities generally did 
not acknowledge openly their sexual orientation. The Grenada Caribbean 
HIV AIDS Program (GrenCHAP) participated on the National AIDS Council 
and served as an advocate for sexual minorities and at-risk 
populations. There were no reports of violence linked to sexual 
orientation. There were no reports that sexual orientation affected 
employment and occupation, housing, statelessness, or access to 
education or health care.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--It was not uncommon for 
persons to be shunned by family members or face discrimination in 
housing and employment should their HIV-positive status become known. 
According to civil society contacts, fear of disclosing their status 
prevented some persons with HIV/AIDS from seeking services provided by 
government or civil society. While the Government acted to ameliorate 
concerns by the public about persons with HIV, it moved less quickly to 
finalize policies in draft or to act on recommendations provided by the 
HIV-positive community. The Government encouraged citizens to be tested 
and to get treatment. NGOs such as GRENCHAP and Hope Pals provided 
counseling to those affected by HIV/AIDS; made recommendations to the 
Government on outreach and policy; and urged local companies to educate 
themselves and their workers about HIV/AIDS in the workplace and not to 
discriminate against employees with the disease.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution and law allow 
workers to form and join independent labor unions. All major unions 
belong to one umbrella labor federation, the Grenada Trades Union 
Council, which was subsidized by the Government. Labor ministry 
officials estimated that in 2009, 52 percent of the work force was 
unionized.
    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, employers generally did so in practice. 
Renegotiation of contracts between the Government and government worker 
unions, which expired in December 2008, remained pending.
    The law provides workers with the right to strike, and workers 
exercised this right in practice. The Technical and Allied Workers 
Union conducted six brief strikes or work stoppages during the year. 
The Commercial and Industrial Union conducted one. In addition there 
was a strike by the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association in June 
against a regional carrier. While essential workers have the right to 
strike, the labor minister may refer disputes involving essential 
services to compulsory arbitration. The Government's list of essential 
services is broad and includes services no longer regarded by the 
International Labor Organization as essential. A revision of the list 
was under discussion between government and labor.

    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.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination, and employers can be 
forced to rehire employees or otherwise compensate the employee if a 
court finds they were discharged illegally. No such violation of law 
came to the notice of government during the year.
    There are no export processing zones.

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

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
statutory minimum age for employment of children is 18 years. 
Inspectors from the labor ministry enforced this provision in the 
formal sector through periodic checks, but enforcement in the informal 
sector remained a problem, particularly for family farms. The Labor 
Ministry inspected family farms for child workers upon receipt of child 
labor allegations.
    The legal code does not specifically prohibit the sale and 
trafficking of children for exploitive labor. Also see the Department 
of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/
tip/.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor last 
updated minimum wages in 2002. In 2008 a tripartite committee reviewed 
wage levels. Although the committee provided its recommendations to the 
Government in April 2009, no further action has been taken. Under the 
2002 minimum wage levels, wages are linked to various categories of 
workers; for example, agricultural workers were classified into male 
and female workers. Rates for men were EC$5.00 ($1.85) per hour and for 
women EC$4.75 ($1.75) per hour; however, if a woman performed the same 
task as a man, her rate of pay was the same. The minimum wage for 
domestic workers was set at EC$400 ($148) monthly. The national minimum 
wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and 
family. In 2009 approximately 30 percent of the population earned less 
than the official poverty line, which was drawn at EC$599 ($222) per 
month. The Government effectively enforced minimum wages. While not 
subject to minimum wage provisions, most foreign contract workers 
earned more than minimum wage.
    The law provides for a 40-hour maximum workweek. The law does not 
stipulate rest periods, although no one can be asked to work for longer 
than five hours consecutively without a one-hour meal break. In 
addition domestic employees may not, by law, be asked to work longer 
than a 10-hour period without at least two hours of breaks for meals 
and rest periods. Union-negotiated contracts often mandated rest 
breaks. The law requires a premium for work above the standard workweek 
and prohibits excessive or compulsory overtime. There were no 
exceptions for foreign contract workers. No violations of the law were 
brought to the notice of government authorities.
    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 their continued employment.

                               __________

                               GUATEMALA

    Guatemala is a democratic, multiparty republic with a population 
estimated at 14.4 million. Alvaro Colom of the National Unity of Hope 
(UNE) party won the 2007 presidential election, which international 
observers generally considered free and fair, and began his four-year 
term in January 2008. Although security forces reported to civilian 
authorities, there were instances in which members of the security 
forces acted independently of civilian control.
    Human rights abuses included the following: 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 serious crimes, 
including unlawful killings, drug trafficking, and extortion; impunity 
for criminal activity; harsh and dangerous prison conditions; arbitrary 
arrest and detention; failure of the judicial system to ensure full and 
timely investigations and fair trials; failure to protect judicial 
sector officials, witnesses, and civil society representatives from 
intimidation; threats and intimidation against, and killings of, 
journalists and trade unionists; discrimination and violence against 
women; trafficking in persons; discrimination against indigenous 
communities; discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and 
gender identity; and ineffective enforcement of labor laws and 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 politically 
motivated killings, members of the police force committed unlawful 
killings. Corruption, intimidation, and ineffectiveness within the 
police and other institutions prevented adequate investigation of many 
such killings as well as the arrest and successful prosecution of 
perpetrators.
    The National Civilian Police (PNC) and its Office of Professional 
Responsibility (ORP) reported that they investigated 10 accusations of 
killings involving 10 PNC agents, all of whom remained under 
investigation at year's end.
    On February 11, authorities arrested army Major Hugo Leonel Zielke 
Puac, PNC officials Ernesto Gutierrez Cos, Jairo Manuel Orozco, Osmandi 
Lopez Fuentes and Jorge Amilcar Ramirez Cerna, and Korean businessmen 
Woo Kun Yang and Young Gag Lee for the January 18 killing of Te Paek 
Soung Kim, whose body was found in Palin, Escuintla. The press reported 
that Te Paek died after the kidnappers tried to extort from him 12 
million quetzales ($1.5 million) that he won at an illegal casino 
operated by Woo Kun Yang and Young Gag Lee. At year's end the suspects 
remained in preventative prison and an investigation continued.
    On June 23, authorities arrested PNC officials Juan Carlos Rojas 
Salguero and Martir Garcia Hernandez for the January 2009 unlawful 
killing of PNC officer Marco Aurelio Sandoval. Authorities were also 
investigating the two officials for participating in an organized crime 
band engaged in kidnappings and killings for hire.
    At year's end PNC officers Mynor Joel Loarca Morales and Isaias 
Miguel Pineda remained in preventative detention awaiting trial for the 
January 2009 killing of Walter Garcia Suruy in Guatemala City.
    PNC agents Mario Luiz Paz Mejia, Wilfredo Antonio Paz Mejia, and 
Carlos Humberto Aragon Cardona and 10 others remained under detention 
awaiting trial for the April 2009 killing of coffee grower and 
businessman Khalil Musa and his daughter, Marjorie, in Guatemala City.
    On July 15, authorities convicted 11 members of an organized crime 
group, including police agents Mario Luis Paz Mejia, Wilfredo Antonio 
Paz Mejia, Carlos Humberto Aragon Cardona, three former police 
officers, and one retired member of the military for planning and 
carrying out the May 2009 murder of Rodrigo Rosenberg. At year's end 
the brothers Francisco and Estuardo Valdez Paiz, accused of homicide in 
the Rosenberg case, were awaiting trial; other suspects remained at 
large.
    On February 26, soldiers Cacao Coy and Garcia Ramirez were 
convicted of manslaughter in the May 2009 killing of 15-year-old Pedro 
de Jesus Sacul Pop when the driver of the truck in which Sacul Pop was 
a passenger failed to stop in Alta Verapaz.
    At year's end Jeiner Estanislao Vasquez Garcia, prosecutors Mario 
Adolfo Soberanis Pinelo, Oscar Efrain Vasquez Fuentes, and Rigoberto 
Arturo Castanon Mejia, and PNC officers Marlon Josue Garcia Lopez and 
David Ezequiel Vasquez continued to remain in custody in relation to 
the killing in 2009 of Castulo and Ana Leticia Vasquez Garcia.
    At year's end, there were no further developments, and none were 
expected, in the case involving PNC agents Omar Evidan Godoy Arana and 
Gendy Misael Chinchilla Samayoa, who remained in custody awaiting trial 
for the 2008 killing of bus assistant Jose Angel Hernandez.
    On June 7, authorities sentenced Juan Carlos Policarpio to 820 
years in prison for murder in the 2008 killing of 16 passengers of a 
Nicaraguan bus in eastern Guatemala. Authorities sentenced Rony Eduardo 
Terraza Hernandez at the same time to three years' imprisonment for 
attempting to conceal the crime. At year's end nine other suspects, 
including Marvin Montel Marin, alleged leader of the assailants, 
remained at large.
    On July 28, authorities arrested Cesar Augusto Paiz Cordova, 
Aurelio Ruiz, Nelson Oswaldo Milian Giron, and Santiago Enrique Sis 
Garcia for the killing in 2008 of former PNC official and government 
advisor Victor Rivera. At year's end, Paiz, Milian, and Garcia remained 
in prison awaiting trial. Seven other suspects, including Rivera's 
former secretary Maria del Rosario Melgar Martinez, remained at large.
    By year's end authorities had dropped obstruction of justice and 
conspiracy charges against assistant prosecutors Denys Billy Herrera 
Arita and Carlos Rodriguez Serrano, but former chief homicide 
prosecutor Alvaro Matus, assistant prosecutor Pedro Pablo Giron, and 
Public Ministry deputy chief Leyla Susana Lemus Arriaga were out on 
bail awaiting trial in relation to the 2008 killing of Victor Rivera.
    At year's end a trial had begun for nine PNC officers for the 2007 
killing of Antonio de Leon Lopez in Huehuetenango during an 
antinarcotics operation. ; a tenth officer remained at large.
    On December 2, Jutiapa mayor-elect and former member of Congress 
Manuel de Jesus Castillo was convicted of masterminding the 2007 
killings of three Salvadoran members of the Central American Parliament 
(PARLACEN) and their driver. Seven other suspects were also convicted, 
and another was absolved, for participating in the killings, including 
former PNC agent Marvin Contreras Natareno. Sentences ranged between 17 
and 210 years in jail.
    There were no further developments in the case against the former 
director of El Boqueron prison, Manuel Antonio Recinos Aguirre; his 
deputy, Baldimiro Rodene Lopez y Lopez; and several police officers 
with alleged ties to narcotics trafficking who continued to remain in 
custody awaiting trial in connection with the killing of four PNC 
suspects in the 2007 PARLACEN case.
    On August 17, authorities arrested former prison director Alejandro 
Giammattei and former PNC criminal investigation department chief 
Victor Soto for alleged extrajudicial killings of inmates during the 
retaking of Pavon Prison in 2006. At years's end a Spanish court was 
considering a request filed by the Government of Guatemala to extradite 
former minister of government Carlos Vielmann for involvement in the 
killings. The Government also filed arrest warrants for former PNC 
director Erwin Sperinsen and former deputy director Javier Figueroa, 
who continued to remain at large at year's end.
    At year's end there were no further developments in the court's 
reopening and reinvestigation in December 2009 of the 1993 
assassination of former presidential candidate and journalist Jorge 
Carpio Nicolle and the killing of three of his political associates.
    At year's end there were no further developments in the Supreme 
Court's order of December 2009 to reopen and reinvestigate the 1990 
``street children case'' and the ``white van case,'' of 1987 and 1988, 
involving kidnappings, torture, and killings by state security agents.
    On February 12, authorities arrested retired army special forces 
members Manuel Pop Sun and Reyes Collin Gualip for participating in the 
1982 Dos Erres massacre in which military officials killed an estimated 
252 men, women, and children. On March 1, authorities arrested retired 
colonel Carlos Antonio Carias Lopez, also in connection with the Dos 
Erres massacre. At year's end the three suspects remained in preventive 
detention awaiting trial, and 13 other suspects remained at large.
    At year's end there were no new developments in the case of former 
army captain Jose Antonio Solares Gonzalez and former Civil Defense 
Patrol members Ambrosio Perez Laju and Domingo Chen--three suspects 
sought for the 1982 killings of 177 civilians in Rio Negro, Baja 
Verapaz.
    According to PNC statistics, vigilante mobs (most often in rural 
indigenous communities) killed 33 persons and injured 36 in lynchings 
and attempted lynchings during the year. Many observers attributed the 
lynchings to public frustration with the failure of police and judicial 
authorities to provide security and to the emergence of local citizen-
security groups. There were continued reports of community lynchings of 
individuals suspected of rape, kidnapping, or attempted kidnapping of 
children to sell for adoption. In many instances PNC agents refused to 
intervene out of fear for their own safety.
    At year's end there was no information, and none was expected, 
regarding:
    The January 22 lynching of three robbery suspects, including an 11-
year-old boy, by students from University Rafael Landivar in Guatemala 
City;
    Any investigation regarding a February 14 mob lynching and 
dismemberment of three men suspected of assaulting passengers in a bus 
and of killing a bus assistant in the town of Patzutzun, Solola;
    Any investigation regarding the April 9, beating and killing by 
villagers from Chichicastenango of three brothers suspected of 
extortion.

    b. Disappearance.--Although there were no reports of politically 
motivated disappearances, there were reports of police involvement in 
kidnappings for ransom. The PNC's ORP reported that during the year 
there were five complaints of kidnapping by PNC personnel.
    On September 22, the Constitutional Court overturned the Supreme 
Court's December 2009 decision to reopen the case of the forced 
disappearance of Efrain Bamaca Velasquez in 1992 in accordance with an 
order issued in 2002 by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In 
explaining its decision, the Constitutional Court noted that the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights decision ordered the Government to 
conduct a new investigation rather than to reopen the case. In response 
to the Constitutional Court's decision, on December 10, the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights ordered the Government to fully 
investigate the case.
    On October 29, former PNC officer Hector Roderico Rodriguez Rios 
and retired PNC officer Abraham Lancerio Gomez were sentenced to 40 
years each in jail for the 1984 forced disappearance of labor leader 
Edgar Fernando Garcia; two additional suspects, Hugo Rolando Gomez 
Osorio and Alfonso Guillermo de Leon Marroquin, remained at large, and 
their whereabouts were unknown.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and the law prohibit such 
practices, government agents did not always respect these provisions. 
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.
    On October 14, police officers Carlos Alberto Fuentes Gomes and 
Lisandro Florentino Jochin Lopez were arrested for allegedly beating to 
death Byron Canadro Gomez when he resisted arrest on September 28. At 
year's end there were no further developments regarding this case.
    During the year there were a number of reported incidents 
throughout the country, particularly in rural areas, of vigilante mobs 
publicly beating, humiliating, and sometimes killing, persons suspected 
of criminal acts. There were no reports regarding investigations of 
these incidents.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
harsh and dangerous, and there were multiple instances of killings by 
inmates. The prison system continued to suffer from a severe lack of 
resources, particularly in the areas of prison security and medical 
services and facilities. Prisoners complained of inadequate food and 
medical care. Prisons had inadequate provisions for sanitation, 
ventilation, temperature, lighting, basic emergency and medical care, 
and access to potable water. Illegal drug sales and use were 
widespread. Prison officials reported frequent escape attempts, gang 
fights, and other manifestations of prisoner unrest. Prisoners 
reportedly used cell phones frequently to demand extortion payments, 
coordinate kidnappings for ransom and killings of bus drivers and 
assistants, and direct other criminal activity both inside and outside 
the prison. Several prisons installed equipment to block such calls, 
but this equipment frequently did not operate.
    Inadequate security measures undermined the penitentiary system's 
ability to control prisoners effectively; there were only 2,250 prison 
guards nationwide. In the prisons, 16 percent of inmates reportedly 
belonged to gangs, which were active in these prisons and occasionally 
attacked prison guards. Prison work and educational programs were 
inadequate to rehabilitate prisoners and decrease the 90 percent 
recidivism rate.
    The media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported that 
physical and sexual abuse of women and juvenile inmates was a serious 
problem. Many of the abused juvenile inmates were suspected gang 
members.
    Prison overcrowding continued to be a problem. According to the 
prison system registry, as of mid-July, 19 prisons and jails designed 
to hold 6,974 persons held 11,140 inmates. Of the national penitentiary 
system population, approximately 50 percent was in pretrial detention; 
743 were adult women.
    At year's end Jorge Torres, director of the Pavoncito Preventive 
Prison and seven prison guards were in preventive detention awaiting 
trial for alleged involvement in the February 2009 escape of inmate 
Leonel Giovanni Herrera Reyes.
    At year's end inmates Byron Alberto Morales Villatoro, Carlos 
Esteban Galindo Pardo, Jose Armando Sapon Ola, and Leopoldo Zaid 
Castillo Belloso, who escaped in September 2009 from Quetzaltenango 
Preventive Prison, remained at large. During the year, Wilmer Armando 
Argueta and Bartoleme Teni Cuc were recaptured and returned to 
preventative prison. On September 3, PNC officials Gonzalo David 
Morales, Hilario Antonio Lopez, Juan Carlos Mendez, Jose Pedro Rojas, 
and Francisco Javier Agustin were sentenced to 10 years in prison for 
their role in allowing the escape.
    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; on rare 
occasions, juveniles and adults were held together. Prisoners and 
detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were permitted 
religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to 
submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to 
request investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. 
Authorities did not regularly investigate credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions and document the results of such investigations in 
a publicly accessible manner. The Government investigated and monitored 
prison and detention center conditions.
    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; such visits 
took place throughout the year.
    The human rights ombudsmen does not have authority to serve on 
behalf of prisoners and detainees to consider such matters as 
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders in order to 
alleviate inhumane overcrowding, to address the status and 
circumstances of confinement of juvenile offenders, or to improve 
pretrial detention, bail and recordkeeping procedures to ensure 
prisoners do not serve beyond the maximum sentence for the charged 
offense.

    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 sometimes failed to bring suspects before 
magistrates within the legally mandated six-hour deadline, and 
magistrates sometimes failed to hold a hearing within the legally 
mandated 24-hour period.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The 24,260-member PNC, 
headed by a director general appointed by the minister of government, 
has responsibility in law and practice for law enforcement and 
maintenance of order in the country. The PNC remained understaffed, 
inadequately trained, and insufficiently funded, which substantially 
impeded its effectiveness.
    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 crime. Joint police and 
military operations under PNC operational control continued in 
Guatemala City high-crime areas as well as other areas.
    Police impunity for criminal activities remained a serious problem. 
There were credible reports that individual PNC officers and some 
police units or persons disguised as police officers stopped cars and 
buses to demand bribes or steal private property, and in some cases 
kidnapped, assaulted, and raped victims. Police and immigration 
officials reportedly extorted and mistreated persons attempting to 
enter the country illegally. The PNC routinely transferred officers 
suspected of wrongdoing rather than investigating and punishing them.
    Police threatened persons engaged in prostitution and other 
commercial sexual activities with false drug charges to extort money or 
sexual favors and harassed lesbian, gay, and transvestite persons with 
similar threats. Critics accused police of indiscriminate and illegal 
detentions when conducting antigang operations in some high-crime 
neighborhoods. Security officials allegedly arrested and imprisoned 
suspected gang members without warrants or sometimes on false drug 
charges.
    At year's end the Public Ministry continued its investigation of 
former PNC officials Porfirio Perez Paniagua, Victor de Jesus Lopez, 
and Hector David Castellanos Soto in relation to an alleged attempted 
theft of a large quantity of cocaine during a counternarcotics 
operation in 2009. At year's end former police officials Porfirio Perez 
Paniagua, Benigno Lopez Fuentes and Mario Roberto Castillo remained in 
custody awaiting trial for allegedly stealing $350,000 in cash in 2009.
    At year's end there were no developments, and none were expected, 
regarding the arrest in 2008 of two deputy PNC commissioners and 12 
other PNC officers for alleged involvement in a Guatemala City criminal 
group.
    The PNC's Office of Professional Responsibility (ORP), which is the 
mechanism for investigating security force abuse, conducted internal 
investigations of misconduct by police officers. During the year the 
ORP reported receiving 1,009 complaints, which included three 
complaints of killings, three forced disappearances, five kidnappings, 
34 illegal detentions, 46 thefts, five rapes, 60 threats, and 224 cases 
of abuse of authority.
    During the year the ORP investigated 787 police officers; 439 of 
these were exonerated. While no officers were fired as a result of 
these investigations, the ORP referred 348 cases with sufficient 
evidence of criminal activity to the Public Ministry for further 
investigation and possible prosecution. Few such cases went to trial. 
The PNC trained 3,001 cadets in human rights and professional ethics. 
The army required civil affairs officers at each command to plan and 
document human rights training provided to soldiers. As of year's end, 
6,490 military officers and soldiers had received human rights 
training, according to the Ministry of Defense.
    Approximately two-thirds of police districts remained understaffed. 
Indigenous rights advocates asserted that continuing lack of 
sensitivity by security authorities to indigenous cultural norms and 
practices engendered misunderstandings and complained that few 
indigenous police officers worked in their own ethnic or linguistic 
communities.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in 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. However, this 
right was not respected effectively in practice. 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 prohibits the execution of 
search warrants between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless a state of siege has 
been declared. 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. A judge has the 
discretion to determine whether bail is necessary or permissible for 
pretrial detainees, depending on the circumstances of the charges.
    During the year the ORP received 34 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.
    In high-crime areas of Guatemala City, Mixco, and Villa Nueva the 
Government continued to operate five 24-hour court pilot projects that 
significantly reduced the number of cases dismissed for lack of merit 
or on technical grounds and increased the prosecution rate in the 
Guatemala City metropolitan area. These projects enhanced the 
Government's ability to comply with legal requirements to bring 
suspects before a judge within six hours of initial detention.
    Although the law establishes a three-month limit for pretrial 
detention, prisoners often were detained past their legal trial or 
release dates. Authorities did not release some prisoners in a timely 
fashion after completing full sentences due to the failure of judges to 
issue the necessary court order or due to other bureaucratic problems.

    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 judiciary was generally independent in 
practice. Very few reported crimes were investigated or prosecuted; 
fewer resulted in conviction. Many high-profile criminal cases remained 
pending in the courts for long periods, as defense attorneys employed 
successive appeals and motions.
    There were numerous reports of ineffectiveness and manipulation of 
the judiciary. Judges, prosecutors, plaintiffs, and witnesses also 
continued to report threats, intimidation, and surveillance. During the 
year the special prosecutor for crimes against judicial workers 
received 154 cases of threats or aggression against workers in the 
judicial branch, compared with 68 in 2009.
    The Ministry of Government assigned police officers to the 
International Commission to Combat Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) to 
augment security. The CICIG-vetted prosecutor unit, created by the 
Public Ministry, continued to be directly supervised by a senior CICIG 
prosecutor. At year's end CICIG continued its investigation of 27 high-
profile cases, 11 prosecutions, and various cases involving killings of 
women, bus drivers, and assistants; trafficking in persons; and attacks 
against and killings of unionists and human rights defenders.
    There were credible reports of killings of witnesses. On April 18, 
unknown assailants shot to death Lidia Estela Estrada Navas in El 
Chaguite, Jalapa. Estrada was the sole survivor and witness to a 
massacre committed in April 2009, which resulted in the death of five 
of her family members. Estrada had reported to authorities that she 
received death threats, but the Public Ministry did not provide her 
with requested protection. By year's end 178 persons were in the Public 
Ministry's witness protection program.
    At year's end there were no developments, and none were expected, 
in the 2008 killings by unknown gunmen of Judge Jose Vidal Barillas 
Monzon, president of the Appeals Court of Retalhuleu and Assistant 
Homicide Prosecutor Juan Carlos Martinez.
    The Supreme Court continued to seek the suspension of judges and to 
conduct criminal investigations for improprieties or irregularities in 
cases under its jurisdiction. The Judicial Disciplinary Unit 
investigated 906 complaints of wrongdoing and held hearings for 888 
complaints during the year and applied sanctions to several cases, 
ranging from written notice to 30-day suspension. Between January and 
July, the Judicial Disciplinary Unit sanctioned 10 judges.

    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 in a timely manner. Juries 
are not used at trials. The Government provides at public expense 
attorneys for defendants facing serious criminal charges. Defendants 
and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to 
their case. The law provides for plea bargaining, and the right of 
appeal. Three-judge panels render verdicts. The law provides for oral 
trials and mandates language interpretation for those needing it, in 
particular the large number of indigenous persons who are not fluent in 
Spanish, although inadequate government funding limited effective 
application of this requirement. The Public Ministry utilized 20 
interpreters nationwide, including in former conflict areas of the 
country, and the Office of the Public Defender employed 44 bilingual 
public defenders in locations where they could also serve as 
translators.
    The Public Ministry, acting semi-independently 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 plaintiffs. Lengthy investigations and frequent 
procedural motions used by both defense and prosecution often led to 
excessively long pretrial detention, 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.--Citizens had access to 
administrative and judicial remedies to bring lawsuits seeking damages 
for, or cessation of, a human rights violation or other alleged wrongs. 
While the judiciary was generally impartial and independent in civil 
matters, it suffered from inefficiency and institutional weaknesses. 
There were problems in enforcing civil court orders. Some killings 
resulted from PNC failure to enforce restraining orders promptly.

    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 October 13, authorities absolved Chief of Presidential Security 
Carlos Quintanilla of charges he had placed listening devices in the 
offices of the president and first lady. At year's end Gustavo Solano, 
former head of the Secretariat of Strategic Analysis, was awaiting 
trial on the same charges.

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.
    The independent media, including international news organizations, 
operated freely and actively and expressed a wide variety of views 
without overt government restriction. Some members of the press 
reported receiving pressure by various public officials regarding the 
selection and content of reporting. Some owners and members of the 
media also accused the Government of following a discriminatory 
advertising policy, particularly with respect to leading print and 
broadcast media that expressed news or commentary perceived as critical 
of the president, his administration, the first lady, or public 
officials and programs.
    Members of the press claimed that increasing levels of impunity and 
violence in the country, particularly associated with narcotics 
trafficking, threatened the practice of free and open journalism. The 
press also complained of threats made against them by organized crime 
and drug-trafficking organizations, noting that these threats increased 
their sense of vulnerability.
    The Special Prosecutor's Unit for Crimes against Journalists and 
Unionists received 25 complaints of attacks and other acts of 
intimidation against journalists. The MP reported 13 incidents of 
intimidation of journalists, compared with 24 during 2009.
    On February 26, the Public Ministry reportedly sent two prosecutors 
to harass La Hora newspaper for reporting about Mi Familia Progressa 
government cash transfer program for the impoverished.
    On April 8, an unknown assailant shot and injured journalist, Luis 
Felipe Valenzuela. At year's end no one had been arrested in relation 
to the shooting, and the case remained open.
    On June 24 and again on September 29, unknown persons broke into 
the home and stole computer files of El Periodico reporter Marvin del 
Cid Acevedo, who had been undertaking investigative reporting on 
corruption. There were no arrests by year's end.
    There were no developments, and none were expected, in the 
following cases from 2008: the killing of Prensa Libre correspondent 
Jorge Merida Perez in Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango; the death threat 
against Prensa Libre news correspondent Danilo Lopez in Suichitepequez, 
and the shooting attack on the home of Radio Punto news correspondent 
Edin Rodelmiro Maaz Bol in Coban.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Leading independent print, broadcast media, and a 
growing number of small and medium-size news organizations featured 
Internet editions and operated freely. Individuals and groups engaged 
in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-
mail. The International Telecommunication Union reported that there 
were 16 Internet users per 100 inhabitants.

    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 the law provide for freedoms of assembly and association, and the 
Government generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide 
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, 
and repatriation; and the Government generally respected these rights 
in practice.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use 
forced exile (internal or external) in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The constitution and the law provide for 
the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the Government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened 
on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion.
    During the year the Government received 10 requests for refugee 
status and accorded asylum, or refugee status to seven persons.

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, including choosing the president, 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 2007 Alvaro Colom of the 
UNE party won a four-year term as president with approximately 53 
percent of the vote. The Organization of American States international 
observation mission characterized the elections as generally free and 
fair. Amnesty International reported an estimated 26 killings of 
political activists during the election campaign.
    There were 20 women in the 158-seat Congress. A total of 319 women 
served as judges nationwide, including one each on the Supreme Court 
and the Constitutional Court. There were no women in the 13-member 
cabinet. Six of the country's 332 mayors were women.
    There was one indigenous cabinet member, no indigenous Supreme 
Court justices, 113 indigenous mayors, and approximately 20 indigenous 
members of Congress.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. There 
was substantial corruption within the police force and the judiciary.
    Government corruption was widely perceived to be a serious problem 
and was so reflected in World Bank governance indicators. The Public 
Ministry continued to prosecute for corruption former president Alfonso 
Portillo, former vice president Reyes Lopez, and other senior members 
of previous governments.
    On March 8, Congresswoman Nineth Montenegro announced that unknown 
persons had made death threats against her. The press reported that 
Montenegro had been conducting corruption audits on public spending by 
the National Peace Fund. At year's end the case remained open, and no 
arrests had been made.
    On May 14, authorities fired Deputy Director of the Prison System 
Carlos Schwarz for allegedly extorting inmates.
    By year's end several former government officials were under 
arrest, awaiting trial, or fugitives from justice on corruption-related 
charges involving refurbishing the Fraijanes II Detention Center. On 
May 28, authorities arrested Oscar Humberto Andrade Elizondo and 
Ricardo Gustavo Maldonado Ortega, and Ricardo Alfonso Lancerio Ignacio 
on suspicion of stealing 17 million quetzales ($2.1 million). The three 
had served as officers for the Foundation for Development and 
Technology (Fundtech). In September authorities arrested Rodrigo 
Lainfiestaon on fraud and money laundering charges, for receiving a 
check for 600,000 quetzales ($75,000) from Fundtech, and former Office 
of the Comptroller General's auditors Fernando Rodriguez Trejo, 
Francisco Javier Alvarado, Carlos Enrique Lopez Gutierrez, Luis Alvarez 
Pereira and Francisco Villatoro for alleged corrupt activities related 
to Fundtech. Authorities were also investigating former minister of 
government Raul Velasquez and former minister of government Salvador 
Gandara in relation to this case.
    On July 23, authorities placed under house arrest former minister 
of government Francisco Jimenez on suspicion of abuse of authority and 
conspiracy to commit fraud with respect to a 2006 contract between the 
National Register (RENAP) and the private company Easy Marketing to 
issue the new national identification documents. Other public officers 
under investigation in relation to the case included former RENAP 
director Enrique Cossich, former RENAP directorate member Mauricio 
Radford, Electoral Tribunal magistrate Patricia Cervantes, and former 
vice minister of government Angel Rodriguez Tello.
    On August 25, authorities sentenced former PNC Director Baltazar 
Gomez and former PNC Deputy Logistics Director Hector Lepoyeu to five 
years each in prison for their role in embezzling 52 million quetzales 
($6.5 million) in gasoline coupons for PNC patrol units. Former 
Minister of Government Raul Velasquez and former secretary of 
presidential administrative affairs Juan Carlos Leal Medina remained at 
large for their alleged participation in the case.
    At year's end there were no developments regarding the case of 
former minister of defense and former minister of government Eduardo 
Arevalo Lacs, who remained in custody awaiting trial since 2009 for 
embezzling 120 million quetzales ($15 million). At year's end former 
president of Congress Eduardo Meyer and Ruben Dario Morales remained 
under house arrest, and Mercado de Futuro General Manager Raul Giron 
remained in preventive prison in connection with the illegal transfer 
in 2008 by private secretary Byron Sanchez of 83 million quetzales 
($10.3 million). Sanchez and former congressional chief financial 
officer Jose Conde, also wanted in the case, remained at large.
    At year's end the Public Ministry continued its investigation that 
began in 2009 of former president of Congress Ruben Dario Morales, who 
remained under house arrest for embezzlement and fraud of 300,000 
quetzales ($37,500) of congressional funds in 2007.
    At year's end the Constitutional Court had accepted a request, but 
had not taken further action, to extradite former President Portillo to 
the United States to face charges of embezzlement allegedly committed 
during his presidency. Portillo and former minister of finance Manuel 
Maza, arrested on March 12 for his involvement in the case, remained in 
preventive prison.
    As of November authorities continued investigating retired general 
Enrique Rios Sosa, Captain Pedro Adolfo Catalan Munoz, and retired 
lieutenant Miguel Angel Salguero Torres, as well as 29 other members of 
the military in relation to alleged document forgery and embezzlement 
between 2001 and 2003 during the Portillo administration. Rios Sosa, 
Catalan Munoz, and Salguero Torres remained under arrest in detention, 
and retired colonel Sergio Hugo Cardenas Sagastume, Captain Rodolfo 
Leonel Chacon Alvarez, and Colonel Luis Alberto Gomez Guillermo 
remained under house arrest.
    Public officials who earn more than 8,000 quetzales ($1,000) per 
month or who manage public funds are subject to financial disclosure 
laws overseen and enforced by the Controller General's Office. Lack of 
political will and rampant impunity facilitated government corruption.
    The law provides for the right of citizens to access public 
information and establishes fines for government agencies that obstruct 
such access. In practice the Government granted, but at times in a slow 
and incomplete manner, access for citizens and noncitizens, including 
foreign media, to public information. If the Government denied requests 
for information, it at times provided unclear reasons for denying the 
request. There is no formal mechanism to appeal such denials. However, 
petitioners often appealed to the Office of the Human Rights for 
assistance relating to a government denial of public information. The 
press criticized the Government for not having provided sufficient 
resources to allow government and publicly funded offices to comply 
fully with the access to public information law.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were generally cooperative, open to their views, responded to their 
inquiries, and at times took action in response to their reports and 
recommendations.
    A number of NGOs, human rights workers, and trade unionists 
reported threats or intimidation by unidentified persons, many with 
reputed links to organized crime, private security companies, and 
``social cleansing'' groups, and complained that the Government did 
little to investigate these reports or to prevent further incidents.
    The Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights opened new 
cases involving anonymous telephone or written threats, physical 
assaults, and 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.
    The NGO Guatemalan Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit reported 
that there had been eight killings of human rights defenders during the 
year. On January 14, unknown persons in Quetzaltenango shot to death 
Evelinda Ramirez Reyes, president of the NGO Resistance Front in the 
Defense of Natural Resources (FRENA), which had demonstrated against 
electric company Union Fenosa. On February 17, unknown assailants in 
Malacatan shot to death FRENA member Octavio Roblero.
    On December 7, unknown persons in Huehuetenango kidnapped driver 
Victor Lopez and Emilia Margarita Quan Staackmann, an anthropologist 
working for Guatemala Western Border Center for Studies and 
Documentation (CEDFOG). Lopez was released by the kidnappers. Quan, who 
had been hit and tied up, was found dead a day later. Police arrested 
Evelio Aristides Rivas and Jorge Hernan Lopez, two of the four 
suspects. Local persons lynched the two suspects before they could be 
interrogated by authorities regarding the crime and their motive for 
committing it. At year's end there were no further developments in the 
case.
    There were no known developments, and none were expected, in the 
Public Ministry's investigations of cases reportedly involving violence 
and intimidation against human rights defenders: death threats in 2008 
against Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini, indigenous leader Amilcar Pop, and a 
family member of Norma Cruz, director of the Survivors Foundation; and 
the killing of indigenous community leader Antonio Morales Lopez.
    The resident Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 
advised and assisted the Government and monitored the human rights 
situation. The Government cooperated with the office and other 
international organizations, including the International Commission to 
combat Impunity in Guatemala. Between May 12 and 18, UN Special 
Rapporteur on the Right to Health Anand Grover visited the country to 
review health issues. Between June 14 and 15, UN Special Rapporteur on 
the Rights of Indigenous People James Anaya visited the country to hold 
consultations and collect information about licensing of natural 
resources extraction on indigenous lands.
    The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH), headed by Sergio 
Morales, reports to Congress and monitors the human rights set forth in 
the constitution. The PDH operated without government or party 
interference, had the Government's cooperation, and issued reports and 
recommendations that were made public, including an annual report to 
Congress on fulfillment of its mandate. The PDH did not have adequate 
resources but was considered reasonably effective and trusted by the 
public.
    The President's Commission on Human Rights (COPREDEH), led by Ruth 
del Valle, is charged with formulating and promoting the Government's 
human rights policy, representing the Government before the IACHR, and 
negotiating amicable settlements in cases before the Inter-American 
Court of Human Rights. COPREDEH also led coordination of police 
protection for various human rights and labor activists during the 
year. COPREDEH enjoyed the Government's cooperation and operated 
without government or party interference. It did not have adequate 
resources but was considered reasonably effective and had the trust of 
the public.
    The Congressional Committee on Human Rights drafts and provides 
advice on legislation regarding human rights matters. By law all 
political parties represented in Congress are required to have a 
representative on the committee. NGOs reported that they considered the 
committee to be an effective public forum for promoting and protecting 
human rights. The committee was not independent of party or government 
influence.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The constitution and the law prohibit discrimination based on race, 
gender, disability, language, or social status. In practice the 
Government frequently did not enforce these provisions due to 
inadequate resources, corruption, and a dysfunctional judicial system.

    Women.--Rape and other sexual offenses remained serious problems. 
However, there were no reliable statistics to approximate the 
pervasiveness of these crimes. The law criminalizes rape, including 
spousal rape and aggravated rape, and sets penalties between five and 
50 years in prison. The law also establishes penalties for physical, 
economic, and psychological violence committed against women because of 
their gender. However, the Government did not enforce the law 
effectively. At year's end 786 cases of economic abuse, including 
withholding earnings of victims, and 43,803 cases of sexual abuse and 
other forms of physical violence had been reported.
    On September 10, a court sentenced Abelino Mendez to 37 years in 
jail for 14 rapes he committed between 2007 and 2008. Victims 
complained that the court did not base the sentence on new legal 
provisions, which provide harsher penalties for perpetrators of 
violence against women.
    Police had minimal training or capacity to investigate sexual 
crimes or assist victims of such crimes. The Government maintained the 
PNC Special Unit for Sex Crimes, the Office of Attention to Victims, 
the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against Women, and a 
special unit for trafficking in persons and illegal adoptions within 
the Special Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime. According to NGOs, 
rape victims frequently did not report crimes due to lack of confidence 
in the justice system and fear of reprisals.
    Violence against women, including domestic violence, remained a 
common and serious problem. Economic difficulties resulting from 
flooding and other natural disasters during the year contributed to 
increases in violence against women, as measured by increased police 
reporting and victim use of NGO counseling and shelter services. The 
law prohibits domestic abuse, provides for the issuance of restraining 
orders against alleged aggressors and police protection for victims, 
and requires the PNC to intervene in violent situations in the home. In 
practice, the PNC often failed to respond to requests for assistance 
related to domestic violence. Women's groups commented that few 
officers were trained to deal with domestic violence or assist victims.
    The Institute of Public Criminal Defense continued to provide free 
legal, medical, and psychological assistance to victims of domestic 
violence. By year's end the project had attended to 12,641 cases of 
domestic violence.
    According to press reports, the Government's Program for Prevention 
and Eradication of Intrafamily Violence, under the first lady's 
Secretariat of Social Work, received on average seven calls daily from 
battered women and children via its three emergency hotlines. At year's 
end the Public Ministry reported that it received more than 43,803 
complaints of violence against women and children, including domestic 
violence, economic violence, and sexual crimes. Of the 4,365 complaints 
of sexual crimes, at year's end the Government reported 45 convictions. 
The Public Ministry did not provide data on punishment.
    Justices of the peace issued an unspecified number of restraining 
orders against domestic violence aggressors and ordered police 
protection for victims. Full investigation and prosecution of domestic 
violence and rape cases usually took an average of one year. Although 
the law affords protection, including shelter, to victims of domestic 
violence, in practice there were insufficient facilities for this 
purpose.
    The Office of the Ombudsman for Indigenous Women within COPREDEH 
provided social services for victims of domestic or social violence, as 
well as mediation, conflict resolution, and legal services for 
indigenous women. The 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. There were no 
firm statistics available on the number of cases the office handled.
    Killings of all types continued, including those with reported 
evidence of sexual assault, torture, and mutilation of women. The PNC 
reported 5,960 killings during the year, including 695 killings of 
women, compared with 6,498 total killings, including 720 women, in 
2009. There were 13 prosecutions for killings of women in Guatemala 
City during the year, but few prosecutions resulted in convictions.
    The Ministry of Government continued to operate eight shelters for 
victims of abuse in departments with the greatest incidence of domestic 
violence. The centers provided legal and psychological support and 
temporary accommodation. The Institute of Public Criminal Defense 
hotline to assist female victims of physical violence received 59,319 
calls during the year.
    A Guatemala City women's shelter for victims of violence continued 
to operate with capacity to house 20 victims and their families for six 
months at a time. There were also two other shelters for women and 
their children, with a capacity to house 40 persons each, in Guatemala 
City and Quetzaltenango. The Government, along with foreign donors, 
provided funding for these three shelters. There were also an unknown 
number of smaller private shelters operating in the countryside.
    The law does not prohibit sexual harassment, and there were no 
accurate estimates of its incidence. 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 sectors; it was also a problem in the police force.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of children, free from 
discrimination, coercion, and violence. The Government provided access 
to family planning information and sex education throughout the public 
health system. Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) noted, 
however, that among the population in general, there was a low level of 
knowledge regarding family planning methods and the female reproductive 
cycle. The Population Reference Bureau reported a contraceptive use of 
43 percent among married women. The PPFA reported that access to 
reproductive health care was not equal throughout the country, with 
cultural, geographic, and linguistic barriers, particularly in 
indigenous areas, preventing women and men from accessing reproductive 
health services.
    Discriminatory attitudes among health care providers and a lack of 
culturally sensitive maternal health services deterred many indigenous 
women from accessing these services. The UN Population Fund estimated 
that the maternal mortality rate was 110 deaths per 100,000 live births 
in 2008. The PPFA reported that hemorrhages and other obstetrical 
complications during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period were 
principal causes of maternal mortality. The National Survey on Infant 
and Maternal Health reported that between 2008 and 2009, among women 
who received prenatal care, 63 percent of rural women used services at 
home or from a traditional midwife, and 76 percent of urban women went 
to clinics or hospitals.
    Women and men had equal access to diagnosis and treatment for HIV 
and other sexually transmitted infections.
    While the law establishes the principle of gender equality, in 
practice women faced job discrimination and were less likely to hold 
management positions. Women were employed primarily in low-wage jobs in 
agriculture, retail businesses, the service sector, the textile and 
apparel industries, and the Government. They 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 Government's Secretariat for Women's Affairs advised the 
president 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.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory and from one's parents. The UNHCR reported that there were 
problems in registering births, especially in indigenous communities, 
due to inadequate government registration and documentation systems. 
Cultural factors, such as the need to travel to unfamiliar urban areas 
and interact with nonindigenous male government officials, at times 
inhibited indigenous women from registering themselves and their 
children. Lack of registration sometimes restricted children's access 
to public services.
    Child abuse remained a serious problem. The Special Prosecutor's 
Office for Women, Unit of Adolescent and Child Victims, investigated 
cases of child abuse. It achieved 55 convictions in the 67 child abuse 
cases.
    The Secretariat of Social Welfare, 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 juveniles who 
had criminal records.
    There were credible reports of forced early marriages in some rural 
indigenous communities. There were no reported government efforts to 
combat child marriage.
    Child prostitution remained a problem. Child sex tourism was a 
growing problem, with credible reports of child sex tourism in Antigua, 
Guatemala City, and Solola. The minimum age of consensual sex is 18. 
The Law against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and Trafficking in 
Persons provides sentences ranging from 13 to 24 years in prison, 
depending on the victim's age, for sex with a minor. The law also 
prohibits child pornography and establishes penalties of six to 10 
years in prison for the production, promotion, and selling of child 
pornography and two to four years' imprisonment for possession of it.
    Rescue operations conducted by the Government during the course of 
the year resulted in the rescue of approximately 21 sexually exploited 
minors under age 18. The Secretariat of Social Welfare handled two 
child protection cases, including cases of sexually exploited minors, 
as part of a national plan to combat the commercial sexual exploitation 
of children. The Office of the Attorney General achieved convictions in 
two cases of child prostitution.
    Credible estimates put the number of children who were members of 
street gangs at 3,000 nationwide. Many street children had left home 
after being abused. Criminals often recruited street children for 
purposes of stealing, transporting contraband, prostitution, and 
illegal drug activities. The NGO Mutual Support Group reported that 
through October, 55 minors suffered violent deaths nationwide. NGOs 
dealing with gangs and other youth reported concerns that street youth 
detained by police were subject to abusive treatment, including 
physical assaults.
    The Government operated a girl's shelter in Antigua and a boy's 
shelter in San Jose Pinula. Two other shelters in Quetzaltenango and 
Zacapa served both boys and girls. The Government devoted insufficient 
funds to shelters, and authorities often preferred to send juveniles to 
youth shelters operated by NGOs. The Government provided no funding 
assistance for shelter costs to these NGOs. Security authorities 
incarcerated juvenile offenders at separate youth detention facilities.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html as well as 
country specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The 
Jewish population numbered approximately 2,000 persons.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution contains no specific 
prohibitions against discrimination based on physical, sensory, 
intellectual, and mental disabilities in employment, education, access 
to health care, or the provision of other state services or other 
areas. The law, however, mandates equal access to public facilities and 
provides some other legal protections. In many cases, persons with 
physical and mental disabilities did not enjoy these rights, and the 
Government devoted few resources to addressing the problem. The law 
does not mandate that persons with disabilities have access to 
information or communications.
    There were minimal educational resources for persons with special 
needs, and the majority of universities did not have accessibility 
facilities for persons with disabilities. The National Hospital for 
Mental Health, the principal health provider for persons with mental 
illness, lacked basic supplies, equipment, hygienic living conditions, 
and adequate professional staffing. The National Council for the 
Disabled, composed of representatives of relevant government ministries 
and agencies, is the principal government organ responsible for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. It met regularly to 
discuss initiatives and had a budget of five million quetzales 
($625,000).

    Indigenous People.--Indigenous persons from 22 ethnic groups 
constituted an estimated 43 percent of the population. The law provides 
for equal rights for indigenous persons and obliges the Government to 
recognize, respect, and promote their lifestyles, customs, traditions, 
social organizations, and manner of dress.
    Although some indigenous persons 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, lack of awareness of their rights, and 
pervasive discrimination. While the indigenous population increased its 
political participation, some civil society representatives questioned 
whether such participation had resulted in greater influence in the 
national political party structure. Indigenous lands often were not 
effectively demarcated, making formal recognition of titles to land 
they occupied or claimed frequently problematic.
    In March unknown actors made telephone death threats against Jorge 
Morales Toj, community organizer and lawyer for the Mayan Youth 
Movement, reportedly to force him to discontinue his efforts to raise 
public awareness about environmental degradation in indigenous 
communities. At year's end there was no information regarding any 
investigation of these incidents.
    On August 25, unknown assailants in Solola killed Mayan cultural 
activist and community leader Leonardo Lisandro Guarcax Gonzalez. In 
May 2009 Jesus Ernesto and Carlos Emilio Guarcax Gonzales, Mayan 
activists and cousins of Lisandro Guarcax, were also killed 
attributably in connection with extortion, retribution from corrupt 
local government officials, or community territorial power struggles. 
At year's end there was no information available regarding any 
investigations of these killings.
    Many indigenous persons were illiterate, and approximately 29 
percent did not speak Spanish, according to the 2006 National 
Statistics Institute National Survey of Life Conditions report, the 
latest data available. While the average nonindigenous child from seven 
to 17 years of age had received 4.4 years of schooling, indigenous 
children of the same age range had received an average of 3.7 years, 
according to the same report. More than 50 percent of indigenous women 
over the age of 15 were illiterate, and a disproportionate number of 
indigenous girls did not attend school. According to the Ministry of 
Education 93,987 preschool- and kindergarten-age indigenous children 
were enrolled in Spanish-indigenous language bilingual education 
programs.
    The Department of Indigenous People in the Ministry of Labor, 
tasked with investigating cases of discrimination and representing 
indigenous rights, counseled indigenous persons on their rights. This 
department had a budget of 40,000 quetzales ($5,000) and only three 
employees to investigate discrimination claims.
    Legally mandated court interpreters for criminal proceedings were 
rarely available, placing indigenous persons arrested for crimes at a 
disadvantage due to their sometimes limited comprehension of Spanish. 
There were 118 judges who spoke Mayan languages among the 536 tribunals 
in the country. There were 110 court interpreters, including 101 
bilingual Mayan speakers, and the Supreme Court reported that the 
judicial system had 1,027 employees who spoke indigenous languages. 
However, in many instances bilingual judicial personnel continued to be 
assigned to areas where their second language was not spoken.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) rights support groups alleged that members of the 
police sometimes waited outside clubs and bars frequented by sexual 
minorities and demanded that persons engaged in commercial sexual 
activities provide protection money. A lack of trust in the judicial 
system and a fear of further persecution or social recrimination 
discouraged victims from filing complaints. There was general societal 
discrimination against LGBT persons in access to education and health 
care, employment, statelessness, and housing. The Government undertook 
minimal efforts to address this discrimination.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law does not 
expressly include HIV/AIDS status among the categories prohibited from 
discrimination, and there was societal discrimination against persons 
with HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--While the law provides all workers, 
with the exception of security force members, the right to form and 
join trade unions of their choice, violence against unionists and 
worker activists combined with weak and ineffective enforcement of 
labor and employment laws restricted this right in practice.
    The 2009 official report reviewing a 2008 public submission under 
the Dominican Republic-Central American-U.S. Free Trade Agreement 
(CAFTA-DR) noted serious, systemic problems regarding labor law 
enforcement in the areas of freedom of association, collective 
bargaining and acceptable conditions of work. The Government took part 
in formal cooperative labor consultations under CAFTA-DR during the 
year but failed to take concrete enforcement action to measurably 
improve compliance with the country's labor laws.
    According to figures compiled by the Guatemalan Labor, Indigenous, 
and Peasant Movement, only 2.2 percent of the country's economically 
active workforce of 5.4 million workers was unionized. Of the 118,017 
workers that belonged to unions, only 12.5 percent, or 13,103, were 
workers in the private sector. The remaining 91,890 unionized workers 
belonged to unions in the public sector.
    Legal recognition of a new industry wide union requires that the 
membership constitute 50 percent-plus-one majority of the workers in an 
industry. The International Labor Organization reiterated its concern 
that the requirement restricted the free formation of unions. The law 
also restricts union leadership to Guatemalan citizens.
    The Ministry of Labor granted legal status to 29 labor unions, 
compared with 72 during 2009. Most of these new organizations were 
small unions in the countryside, primarily in the agricultural and 
municipal sectors. Although there were 2,035 legally registered labor 
unions, administrative registration records indicated that about two 
thirds appeared to be active. The law allows unions to conduct their 
activities without government interference.
    Violence and threats against trade unionists remained serious 
problems. Several labor leaders were killed and others reported 
receiving death threats and being targets of other acts of 
intimidation. The Unit for the Protection of Guatemalan Human Rights 
Defenders indicated in its annual report that 36 trade unionists had 
been attacked and at least three of these killed by unknown assailants. 
The International Labor Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts 
stressed its deep concern regarding violence against trade union 
leaders and members and also concluded that the Government had not 
demonstrated sufficient political will to combat violence against trade 
union leaders and members or combat impunity.
    On January 29, Pedro Antonio Garcia, a leader in the Malacatan 
Municipal Workers Union in the department of San Marcos was murdered. 
Prior to his death, the union was involved in a labor dispute with the 
municipality regarding its alleged failure to comply with a collective 
agreement and the payment of wages.
    On March 6, Luis Felipe Cho, a member of the Consultative Council 
of the Santa Cruz Municipal Workers' Union in the department of Alta 
Verapaz was killed following threats related to his trade union 
activities.
    The deaths of four union members belonging to the Guatemalan 
National Health Care Workers' Union and the serious wounding of a fifth 
in a series of separate shooting incidents during the second half of 
the year may have been related to union activity although no evidence 
emerged to indicate that the shootings were directly related. At year's 
end, no one had been arrested in the shootings, which were under 
investigation as common crimes by local prosecutors rather than by the 
Special Prosecutor's Unit for Crimes against Journalists and Unionists.
    On January 6, unknown actors kidnapped and tortured Maria Vasquez, 
deputy secretary general of the union of the company Winners, S.A. The 
Guatemalan Labor, Indigenous and Campesino Movement reported that the 
incident occurred shortly after Vasquez was named the union's deputy 
secretary general and raised concerns that the company was not 
complying with several labor laws.
    On July 31, unknown assailants shot and wounded Rodrigo Garcia 
Cunen, secretary general of the Soledad Farm Workers' Union. Cunen had 
previously reported receiving death threats and requested, but did not 
receive, protective measures from the Government.
    In May Jose Gabriel Zelada and Nilda Ileana Quex de Sincal of the 
NGO Center for Studies and Support for Local Development that promoted 
labor rights and supported a worker rights center in Chimaltenango, 
reported receiving phone calls containing death threats.
    On October 18, Silvia Hernandez Ibarra, a member of a union-
organizing committee at the Avandia apparel factory, received a letter 
threatening her with death if she did not quit her union position. The 
threat occurred a few days after a meeting between Hernandez and 
auditors from Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production.
    It was generally difficult to identify motives for killings, since 
most were not well investigated and went unprosecuted. Local unions 
urged that the killings of unionists be investigated and called for 
increased security for union leaders and members. The Special 
Prosecutor's Unit for Crimes against Journalists and Unionists within 
the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights was charged with 
investigating attacks against union members. The unit's small size (two 
full-time prosecutors and six assistant prosecutors) limited its 
effectiveness. The unit accepted 47 new union-related cases during the 
year, but did not report data regarding convictions for crimes against 
trade unionists.
    There were no known developments in the Public Ministry's 
investigations in the following cases highlighted as examples of 
violence and intimidation against labor leaders and activists:
    The April 2009 attack by gunmen on the house of Edgar Neftaly 
Aldana Valencia, secretary general of the National Health Professionals 
Union, San Benito branch, which reportedly has complained of corruption 
and discrimination at San Benito Hospital, Peten.
    The October 2009 killing of Victor Galvez, a union leader who had 
demonstrated in front of the National Electricity Institute.
    The 2008 killing of labor leader Miguel Angel Ramirez Enriquez, a 
founder of the Union of Banana Workers of the South.
    The 2008 killing of Carlos Enrique Cruz Hernandez, a member of the 
Union of Banana Workers of Izabal.
    The 2008 killing of Freddy Morales Villagran, a member of the 
Consultative Council of the Peten Distributor Employees Union.
    The 2008 killing of Edvin Portillo, treasurer of the Pension 
Administration Board and member of the port workers union of the 
National Santo Tomas Port Company.
    Workers have the right to strike, but by law must have the support 
of 51 percent of a company's workforce. Such procedural hurdles, 
combined with the small number of unionized workers and ongoing 
impunity for employers ignoring court orders protecting freedom of 
association and collective bargaining, limited this right in practice. 
The judiciary's statistical department reported that there were two 
legal strikes during the year. However, teachers, health-care workers, 
farm workers, and other labor groups organized and participated in 
various protests, marches, and demonstrations.
    The law prohibits employer retaliation against strikers engaged in 
legal strikes. However, 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 empowers the president and cabinet to suspend any strike 
deemed ``gravely prejudicial to the country's essential activities and 
public services.'' The Government defined ``essential services'' 
broadly, thus denying the right to strike to a large number of public 
workers, such as those working in education; postal services; 
transport; and energy production, transport, and distribution. Workers 
in such essential services and public services sectors may address 
grievances by means of mediation and arbitration through the Ministry 
of Labor's General Inspectorate of Labor and also directly through the 
labor courts.
    Organized labor continued to object to the Government's use of 
national security and emergency arguments to enjoin what organized 
labor considered ``legal'' strikes. Unions also continued to criticize 
arrests, incarcerations, and fines imposed against protesters as 
violations of ILO conventions on the right to strike.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides the right to organize and allows unions to bargain 
collectively. In practice, the Government did little to investigate, 
prosecute, and punish employers who violated this law. The law requires 
that union members approve a collective bargaining agreement by simple 
majority; however, the small number of unionized workers and 
restrictions on union formation limited the practice of collective 
bargaining. In particular, formation restrictions effectively 
eliminated the possibility for workers to exercise their rights to 
negotiate and engage employers formally at an industry level (see 
section 7.a.).
    According to the law, a factory or business owner is not obligated 
to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement unless at least 25 
percent of the total number of workers in that factory or business are 
union members and request negotiations. Many employers ignored judicial 
rulings requiring the employer to negotiate with recognized unions. 
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. The Ministry 
of Labor reported that there were 27 new collective bargaining 
agreements, including agreements reached with teachers and health 
workers unions, during the year.
    Although the law stipulates that trade unions have an exclusive 
right to negotiate work conditions on behalf of workers, unions 
asserted that management promoted solidarity associations to discourage 
the formation of trade unions or to compete with existing labor unions.
    An active ``Solidarismo'' (a national solidarity association 
movement) claimed to have 90 affiliated associations with approximately 
30,000 members. Another 95 independent, nonaffiliated associations 
claimed approximately 60,000 members. Unions may operate legally in 
workplaces that have solidarity associations, and workers have the 
right to belong to either or both.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination and employer 
interference in union activities, but enforcement of these provisions 
remained weak. Many employers routinely resisted union formation 
attempts and there were credible reports of retaliation by employers 
against workers who tried to exercise their labor rights. Common 
practices included termination and harassment of workers who attempted 
to form workplace unions, creation of illegal company-supported unions 
to counter legally established unions, blacklisting of union 
organizers, and threats of factory closures. Employers threatened to 
not renew contracts or offer subcontracted workers permanent employment 
if the worker joined a union or refused to disaffiliate. There 
continued to be reports that management or persons hired by management 
harassed and made death threats against workers who did not accept 
employer dismissals or refused to forfeit their right to reinstatement.
    Local unions reported that businesses continued to use fraudulent 
bankruptcies, ownership substitution, and re-registration of companies 
to circumvent legal obligations to recognize newly formed or 
established unions. Unions and workers also reported that employers 
subdivided into smaller companies in order to make it more difficult 
for nascent unions to find the 20 supporters required. Government 
institutions continued to tolerate these practices.
    The law requires employers to reinstate workers dismissed illegally 
for union-organizing activities. In practice employers often failed to 
comply with reinstatement orders. During the year workers who suffered 
illegal dismissal won 221court injunctions ordering reinstatement. 
Appeals by employers, along with legal recourse such as reincorporation 
as a different entity, often prolonged reinstatement proceedings. The 
labor courts rarely dismissed frivolous cases or appeals, did not 
operate in a timely manner, and did not ensure enforcement of their 
decisions. According to Labor Ministry officials, authorities rarely 
sanctioned employers for ignoring legally binding court orders. 
Employers often failed to pay the full amount of legally required 
severances to workers with impunity.
    Some employers refused to permit labor inspectors to enter 
facilities to investigate worker complaints. In some instances, 
inspectors failed to take action to ensure access to worksites. 
Penalties for labor law violations were inadequate and rarely enforced. 
This was further compounded by the fact that only labor courts, and not 
labor inspectors, have the authority to impose sanctions for labor law 
violations. Procedures to impose and enforce penalties were not 
utilized, utilized late, or never enforced, thus making them typically 
slow and ineffective. The labor courts had a backlog of cases regarding 
the reinstatement of workers. The length of time to process such cases 
was excessive, with cases often taking two to four years and some 
lasting more than 10 years. The delay in processing legal complaints, 
from submission to final resolution, facilitated impunity for 
employers.
    During the year the labor courts received 1,099 cases from the 
Labor Inspectorate and issued 401 decisions. Court decisions favorable 
to workers were rarely enforced due to frequent refusals by employers 
to honor the decisions.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the 16 active export processing zones (EPZs) and within the garment 
factories that operated under an EPZ-like regime. Due to inadequate 
enforcement of labor laws and illegal measures taken by employers to 
prevent the formation of new unions or undermine existing unions, there 
were few successes in organizing workers in EPZs and in the garment 
sector. Some factories closed and then reopened with a new name and new 
tax exemption status. Of the 247 companies operating in the EPZs, only 
11 had recognized trade unions; none had collective bargaining 
agreements. There were systemic violations of wage and hour laws, 
mandatory overtime at nonpremium pay, terminations of workers who tried 
to form unions, withholding of social security payments, and illegal 
pregnancy testing as a condition to obtain and retain employment.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The constitution and 
the law prohibit forced or compulsory labor; however, there were 
reports that Guatemalan men and women were subjected to forced labor in 
agriculture and domestic service. There were also reports of forced 
child labor (see section 7d.).
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 persons under the age of 18 
from work where alcoholic beverages are served, in unhealthy or 
dangerous conditions, and at night or overtime. The legal workday for 
persons younger than 14 is six hours; for persons 14 to 17 years of 
age, seven hours. Despite these protections, some child laborers of all 
ages worked on average in excess of 45 hours per week.
    The NGO Asociacion Proyecto Conrado de la Cruz estimated that the 
workforce includes approximately one million children between the ages 
of 5 and 17. In 2009 the ILO expressed deep concern about the situation 
of children under 14 years working in the country, noted that it 
appeared very difficult to apply in practice the national child labor 
legislation, and encouraged the Government to increase efforts to 
improve the situation of child laborers under age 14.
    Most child labor occurred in rural indigenous areas. The informal 
and agricultural sectors regularly employed children below 14 years of 
age, usually in small family enterprises, and there were reports during 
the year that child labor existed in the production of broccoli, 
coffee, corn, fireworks, gravel, and sugar. Indigenous children also 
worked frequently in street sales, rubber and timber production, and as 
shoe shiners and bricklayer assistants.
    Children, primarily indigenous girls, worked as domestic servants 
and were often vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse. In the Mexican 
border area, there were reports of forced child labor in municipal 
dumps and in street begging. Also see the Department of State's annual 
Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The Ministry of Labor's Child Worker Protection Unit 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 did not effectively enforce laws governing the employment of 
minors, a situation exacerbated by the weakness of the labor-inspection 
and labor-court systems. While in exceptional cases the Labor 
Inspectorate may authorize children under the age of 14 to work, the 
Ministry of Labor has committed, in accordance with the applicable ILO 
convention, not to provide such authorizations. In keeping with this 
commitment, the Labor Inspectorate reported that it had not made such 
authorizations during the year. The Government devoted insufficient 
resources to prevention programs.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The law set national minimum 
wages for agricultural and nonagricultural work and work in garment 
factories. The minimum wage was 63.70 quetzales ($7.96) per day for 
agricultural and nonagricultural work and 59.45 quetzales ($7.43) per 
day for work in garment factories.
    The minimum wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a 
worker and family. In December the National Statistics Institute 
estimated that the minimum food budget for a family of five was 2,149 
quetzales ($268) per month. The basic basket for vital needs, including 
food and housing, was 3,922 quetzales ($490). Labor representatives 
noted that even where both parents worked, the minimum wage did not 
enable a family to meet the basic basket of vital needs.
    The Ministry of Labor conducted inspections to monitor compliance 
with minimum-wage law provisions, but the Government allocated 
inadequate resources to enable inspectors to enforce the law 
adequately, especially in the very large informal sector. Noncompliance 
with minimum wage provisions in the informal sector was widespread. 
Advocacy groups focused on rural sector matters estimated that more 
than half of the 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 credible estimates, between 
65 and 75 percent of the workforce continued to work within the 
informal sector and outside the basic protections afforded by law.
    The legal workweek is 48 hours with at least one paid 24-hour rest 
period. Daily and weekly maximum hour limits do not apply to domestic 
workers. Time-and-a-half pay is required for overtime work. Although 
the law prohibits excessive compulsory overtime, trade union leaders 
and human rights groups charged that employers forced workers to work 
overtime without legally mandated premium pay with impunity. Management 
often manipulated employer-provided transportation to force employees 
to work overtime, especially in EPZs located in isolated areas with 
limited transportation alternatives. Labor inspectors reported 
uncovering numerous instances of overtime abuses, but effective 
enforcement was undermined due to inadequate fines, labor court 
inefficiencies, employer refusals to permit labor inspectors into 
facilities or provide access to payroll records and other 
documentation, and inspectors' lack of effective follow-up in the face 
of such refusals. Moreover, labor inspectors were not empowered to 
adopt administrative measures or to impose fines, but had to send 
alleged violations to the labor courts, where decisions favorable to 
workers were rarely enforced.
    The Ministry of Labor operated a call center that received 51,647 
calls to request information or advice, or register complaints about 
labor law violations. Complaints were referred to labor inspectors and 
labor courts for further action. Local unions continued to highlight 
and protest violations by employers who failed to pay employer and 
employee contributions to the national social security system despite 
employee contribution deductions from workers' paychecks. These 
violations, particularly common in the private sector and export 
industries, resulted in limiting or denying employees access to the 
public health system and reducing or underpaying workers' pension 
benefits during their retirement years.
    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 onsite 
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 760,000. President Bharrat Jagdeo was 
reelected to a second full term in 2006 elections that international 
observers considered generally free and fair. President Jagdeo's 
People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has been the majority party in 
Parliament since 1992. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    The principal human rights abuses were complaints of unlawful 
killings by police, mistreatment of suspects and detainees by security 
forces, poor prison and jail conditions, and lengthy pretrial 
detention. Other problems included allegations of government 
corruption, including among police officials, and sexual and domestic 
violence against women and abuse of minors.

                        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, 
the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) received 13 complaints of 
unlawful killings.
    On June 7, police officers, responding to a disturbance at a high 
school, shot and killed 16-year-old student Kelvin Fraser. The police 
said Fraser was shot during a scuffle, while an eyewitness said that 
Fraser was fleeing the scene at the time he was shot. A post-mortem 
examination found that Fraser died of shock and hemorrhage from trauma 
caused by gunshots fired at close range. On June 28, authorities 
charged police officer Quancy John with the murder. He was remanded to 
prison, and the case was transferred to the Wales Magistrate's Court 
and was pending at year's end.
    There were no known developments in the investigation by the Office 
of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the April 2009 fatal shooting 
by an off-duty member of the Presidential Guard.
    Murder charges remained pending against three on-duty members of 
the Coast Guard for the August 2009 killing of businessman Dweive Kant 
Ramdass. The case was set for a court hearing in early 2011.
    At year's end prison officials Kurt Corbin and Gladwin Samuels 
awaited trial in the High Court for a 2008 manslaughter case.
    In the 2008 case of extreme violence in Lusignan in which 11 
persons were killed, Mark Williams, Dwane Williams, and James Hiles 
awaited trial in the High Court.
    In the 2008 case of extreme violence in Bartica, in which 12 
persons were killed, authorities in May 2009 charged five individuals: 
Mark Williams, Dennis Williams, Clebert Reece, Michael Caesar, and 
Roger Simon. The preliminary investigation concluded, and the case was 
scheduled for a court hearing in early 2011.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, however; there were 
reports alleging mistreatment of inmates by prison officials. There 
were also allegations of police abuse of suspects and detainees; 
however, unlike in 2009, there were no reports of torture.
    During the year the PCA received 11 complaints of unnecessary use 
of violence. Local media reported several cases of random police 
brutality, arrest, and interrogation prior to investigation.
    On December 9, Detective Corporal Ricardo Inniss was accused of 
raping a 21-year-old woman who was in custody at the Turkeyen Police 
Station. The woman alleged that the detective, who was on duty, 
threatened her with continued confinement, took her into a room, and 
had sex with her against her will. The woman reported the incident, and 
the detective was detained. No charges had been filed at year's end.
    The October 2009 case against three police officers, Sergeant 
Narine Lall, Constable Mohanram Dolai, and Corporal Oswald Foo, for 
maliciously wounding three suspects, 14-year-old Twyon Thomas, 
Deonarine Rafick, and Nouravie Wilfred, during a murder investigation 
remained pending at year's end. The complainants did not respond to 
court orders to appear to testify.
    The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions recommended 
dismissal from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) of police officer Lennox 
King, who allegedly sexually harassed and attempted to rape a Brazilian 
woman in November 2009.
    In December 2009 authorities remanded police constable Gavin Holder 
to prison on charges of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl who 
was in police custody; authorities also charged police constable Gary 
Verwayne for the same offense. A court sentenced Gary Verwayne to two 
months' imprisonment, while Gavin Holder's case remained pending at 
year's end.
    In December 2009 authorities arrested police constable Colin Jonas 
and an accomplice for robbing a businessperson of cash and jewelry 
worth 500,000 Guyanese dollars ($2,500) at his shop in Crabwood Creek. 
The suspects were released on bail of 300,000 Guyanese dollars ($1,500) 
in December 2009, and the case remained pending at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and jail conditions 
were poor and deteriorating, particularly in police holding cells. 
Capacity and resource constraints were a problem. The Prison Authority 
reported that at the end of October, there were 2,122 prisoners in five 
facilities, which had a combined design capacity of 1,580. 
Approximately half of the prisoners were in Georgetown's Camp Street 
Prison, which was designed to hold 600 inmates but held 1,060. 
Overcrowding was in large part due to backlogs of pretrial detainees, 
who constituted approximately 41 percent of the total prison 
population. Government medical officers visit each prison location on a 
monthly basis. In addition, a medical staff consisting of a medical 
examiner, registered nurses, and assistant nurses provide daily 
treatment and monitor the sick as advised by the medical doctors. There 
were 83 female prisoners, all at the New Amsterdam prison. There were 
no juveniles in custody.
    Unlike in past years when all newly hired prison guards received 
limited human rights training from the Guyana Human Rights Association, 
the association was not invited to perform training during the year.
    Conditions improved at the Brickdam facility lockups this year, 
after the facility reopened following renovations, including improved 
cells and bathroom facilities. Although precinct jails were intended to 
serve only as pretrial holding areas, some suspects were detained there 
as long as two years, awaiting judicial action on their cases.
    There were reported cases of death in prisons due to neglect or 
prison official abuse. On February 5, two prisoners died following a 
fight at the Georgetown Prison. An investigation concluded that inmate 
Soloman Blackman stabbed inmate Dyal Singh. Other inmates then beat and 
killed Blackman. Blackman had been diagnosed by a prison psychiatrist 
as mentally ill but was returned to the general prison population after 
he showed signs of improvement following medical treatment. Following 
the incident, the Guyana Prison Service announced measures to keep 
mentally unstable inmates segregated from the general prison population 
until construction of a separate facility to hold them.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Prison chaplains representing the major 
faiths in the country were appointed to all prison facilities. 
Prisoners and detainees are able to submit complaints to judicial 
authorities without censorship and to request investigation of credible 
allegations of inhumane conditions. Prisoners often circumvent 
procedures for submitting complaints by passing letters addressed to 
government officials to family members. The Government investigated and 
monitored prison and detention center conditions. On October 1, the 
minister of home affairs appointed chairmen and members to the prison 
visiting committees of the Georgetown, Mazaruni, New Amsterdam, and 
Timehri prisons. These committees are required to monitor prison 
conditions and report findings to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the 
Prison Administration.
    Juvenile offenders 16 years of age and older were held with the 
adult prison population. Juvenile offenders ages 15 and younger were 
held in the New Opportunity Corp (NOC), a juvenile correctional center 
that offered primary education, vocational training, and basic medical 
care. Problems at the NOC included lax security and understaffing. 
There were complaints that juvenile runaways, or those out of their 
guardians' care, were placed with juveniles who had committed crimes 
leading some petty offenders to become involved in more serious 
criminal activity.
    The Prison Authority reported that there were 83 female inmates in 
the women's prison located in New Amsterdam. Due to inadequate 
facilities, juvenile female pretrial detainees were sometimes held with 
adult female pretrial detainees.
    The Prison Authority offered rehabilitation programs focused on 
vocational training and education; however, such programs did not 
adequately address the needs of prisoners with substance abuse 
problems.
    While the constitution provides for the appointment of an ombudsman 
who may investigate any action taken by any government department or 
authority in relation to the administrative functions of that 
department or authority, the position has been vacant since 2005. There 
was no indication that the Government declined to permit independent 
monitoring of prison conditions, but there were no known monitoring 
visits during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention; however, during the year the PCA received 50 
complaints of unlawful arrest.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The GPF, which is 
headed by the commissioner of police and overseen by the Ministry of 
Home Affairs, employed 2,884 officers and is responsible for 
maintaining internal security. The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) duties 
include defending the country's territorial integrity, assisting civil 
authorities to maintain law and order, and contributing to economic 
development. The GDF, headed by the chief of staff, consisted of 
approximately 2,600 troops; it falls under the purview of the Defense 
Board, which the president chairs.
    Inadequate training, poor equipment, and acute budgetary 
constraints severely limited the GPF's effectiveness. Public confidence 
in, and cooperation with, the police remained low. There were reports 
of corruption in the police force. Police force abuses may be reported 
to the PCA; however, the PCA does not possess an independent 
investigation unit. On occasion the GPF reportedly failed to respond 
adequately to narcotics-related violence.
    The PCA received approximately 400 written and oral complaints, 230 
of which were sent from the commissioner of police, primarily for 
police neglect of duties or misconduct in public places, unlawful 
arrest, illegal search, corrupt transactions, and unnecessary use of 
force.
    As of November the GPF Office of Professional Responsibility 
received 186 complaints; it concluded 144 investigations, and 13 were 
sent to the director of public prosecutions. PCA efforts to conduct 
impartial and transparent assessment of the accusations it received 
were obstructed by staff shortages (five of eight full-time positions 
were filled), as well as the lack of an investigative unit. By law the 
police commissioner must comply with the PCA's recommendations on 
complaints, but the PCA relied on the GPF to conduct investigations 
into complaints against its own officers. Long delays in receiving 
reports from the commissioner also thwarted the complaints process. 
Most cases involving charges against police officers were heard by 
lower magistrates' courts, where specially trained police officers 
served as the prosecutors.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--An arrest 
requires a warrant issued by a court official, unless an officer who 
witnesses a crime believes 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 
cases of capital offenses and narcotics trafficking.
    Although the law provides criminal detainees prompt access to a 
lawyer of their choice and to family members, in practice these rights 
sometimes were not fully respected. The state provides legal counsel 
for indigent persons only when such persons are charged with a capital 
offense. However, the Legal Aid Clinic provides legal counsel at a 
reduced fee in certain circumstances, as determined by the Clinic. 
Police routinely required permission from the senior investigating 
officer, who was seldom on the premises, before permitting counsel 
access to a client.
    Lengthy pretrial detention, due primarily to judicial inefficiency, 
staff shortages, and cumbersome legal procedures, remained a problem. 
Pretrial detainees constituted 41 percent of the prison and detainee 
population. The average length of pretrial detention ranged from six to 
18 months for those awaiting trial at a magistrate's court and for 
those awaiting trial in the High Court.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice.
    Delays and inefficiencies undermined judicial due process. Prisoner 
Justin John was taken into custody in 2003 and charged with murder; his 
trial was scheduled to begin in 2008, but in May 2010, he was among 23 
prisoners who requested an early trial; he was freed on June 16 after 
the state was unable to produce witnesses in support of its case.
    In May according to prison records, 132 inmates of the Georgetown 
Prison were scheduled to stand trial in the High Court; some had been 
incarcerated since 2003. Delays 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.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public and defendants enjoy a 
presumption of innocence. Cases in magistrates' courts are tried 
without jury. Cases involving more serious crimes are tried by jury in 
the High Court. Defendants can confront witnesses against them and have 
access to relevant government-held evidence. Defendants have the right 
to appeal. Trial postponements were granted routinely to both the 
defense and the prosecution. The law extends these rights to all 
citizens.
    The law recognizes the right to legal counsel; however, it was 
limited to those who could afford to pay, except in cases involving 
capital crimes. 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.--There were no reports of 
political prisoners or detainees.
    The case of former GDF officer Oliver Hinckson, whose indictment in 
2008 for sedition some observers claimed was politically motivated, was 
dismissed on June 28.

    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. There is 
access to courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation 
of, some human rights violations. The magistrates' 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 remedies in civil matters, and there was a large backlog of 
civil cases.

    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; however, the Government's monopoly on radio 
broadcasting continued. The Government attempted to censor or restrict 
content; the Government sought indirectly to censor the print media by 
controlling advertising.
    On August 9, the Government announced the establishment of a Web 
site through which procurement opportunities must be advertised. This 
announcement was made following the passage of legislation in the 
National Assembly to permit the publication of government procurement 
opportunities on a freely accessible Web site. Stabroek News claimed 
that after the announcement the Government Information Agency (GINA) 
placed no advertisements in Stabroek News or any other private 
newspapers, although some appeared in the Government-run Guyana 
Chronicle. Another newspaper, Kaieteur News, offered the Government 
free placements of advertisements based on the availability of space. 
Some attributed this pattern to a government attempt to deprive 
independent newspapers of advertising earnings.
    Government officials used libel laws to suppress criticism, and the 
Government closed the UN-funded Media Monitoring Unit, established in 
2006 to monitor media in advance of the elections.
    On July 12, President Bharrat Jagdeo filed a libel suit for 10 
million Guyanese dollars ($50,000) against the publishers of the 
Kaieteur News; its editor in chief, Adam Harris; and columnist 
Frederick Kissoon. The suit stemmed from statements in a June 28 
article, ``King Kong sent his goons to disrupt the conference.'' On 
July 13, the acting chief justice, Ian Chang, granted an interim 
injunction, restraining Kissoon, Harris, and the National Media and 
Publishing Company Limited, publisher of Kaieteur News, from reprinting 
the words or similar ones as contained in the column. The suit contends 
that the article contained ``false and manufactured allegations'' and 
was also ``malicious, irresponsible, and inflammatory, calculated and 
designed to excite racial hostilities amongst the people of Guyana.'' 
The case remained pending at year's end.
    On November 23, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud sued 
businessman and presidential hopeful Peter Ramsaroop and Property 
Holdings Inc. (owners of WRHM Channel 7) for 10 million Guyanese 
dollars ($50,000) following the broadcast of a taped television show on 
November 7. The minister claimed he was libeled in that broadcast. On 
November 23, a judge granted an injunction barring the channel and 
Ramsaroop from repeating the alleged libel. The minister asserted that 
statements on the program suggested that ``he is dishonest, had 
committed malfeasance in public office,'' and was ``guilty of fraud and 
other kindred criminal offenses.'' The case remained pending at year's 
end.
    On August 5, reporters Gary Eleazar from Kaieteur News; Colin 
Smith, editor of the Catholic Standard and local BBC correspondent; 
Arianna Gordon of the Guyana Times; and Victor Vanvield of Prime News 
were turned away from a press briefing at the Office of the President 
for not having a GINA pass. They were informed that they would not be 
allowed in without a GINA pass and that the Guyana Press Association 
accreditation was not acceptable. Cabinet Secretary Roger Luncheon 
stated that the Government would not surrender accreditation to any 
firm or entity other than GINA.
    All radio stations operating on the electromagnetic spectrum are 
government controlled. In October 2009 the Court of Appeal ruled that 
the Government had an unlawful monopoly on the airwaves and that the 
National Frequency Management Unit was not adequately considering radio 
license applications. The Government's monopoly on radio broadcasting 
continued, limiting the expression of opposition views.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The 
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were an 
estimated 29 Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2009.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedoms of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The Government cooperated with the UN Development Program Office 
and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other 
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to 
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum 
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
    The Amerindian Act requires that the local village council grant 
permission for travel to Amerindian areas. In practice most persons 
traveled throughout these areas without a permit.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government has not established a 
system for providing protection to refugees. In practice the Government 
did not expel or return refugees to a country where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion; however, no such cases arose during the year.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The law provides citizens the right to change their government 
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through 
periodic, free, and fair national elections based on universal 
suffrage. However, local government elections, which the law provides 
should be held every three years, have not been carried out since 1994. 
On December 2, the National Assembly passed the Local Authorities 
(Elections) (Amendment) Bill, which extended to December 1, 2011, the 
date for holding local-government elections. Political parties operated 
without restrictions or outside interference.

    Elections and Political Participation.--The most recent elections 
took place in 2006, when citizens voted in a generally free election to 
keep the PPP/C government in office. Incumbent President Bharrat Jagdeo 
was reelected 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, declared the 
election substantially free and fair but found that ruling party use of 
government resources during the campaign disadvantaged opposition 
parties.
    On February 16, the chief justice dismissed an election petition 
filed in the High Court by the minority party, Alliance for Change 
(AFC), in which the AFC claimed that incorrect vote counting in Region 
10 in the 2006 national elections had wrongly awarded a seat to the 
PPP/C that should have gone to the AFC. The chief justice ruled that 
the party had breached a mandatory procedure by not filing the 
affidavit of service in a timely manner. The AFC filed the document 10 
months after the petition, which the chief justice ruled was too long. 
The case was dismissed approximately three years after it was filed.
    The constitution requires that one-third of each party list of 
candidates be women but does not require the parties to select women 
for seats. There were 20 women in the 65-seat National Assembly and 
five women in the 21-member cabinet.
    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 three indigenous members. The cabinet was also ethnically 
diverse, mirroring the ethnic makeup of the general population. Five of 
the 21 cabinet members were Afro-Guyanese, including the prime minister 
and the head of the presidential secretariat; there were also two 
Amerindian cabinet ministers.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides for criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, there were reports alleging government corruption and 
complacency in enforcing these laws with respect to officials engaged 
in corrupt practices. The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators 
reflected that government corruption was a serious problem. 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. In January there were 62 GPF 
members before the courts charged with various crimes including 
robbery, simply larceny, bribery, and indecent assault.
    Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws and are 
required to submit information about personal assets to the Integrity 
Commission, but compliance was uneven and the commission had no 
resources for enforcement or investigations.
    The law does not provide for public access to government 
information. Government officials were generally reluctant to provide 
information without approval from senior administration officials.

Section 5. 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. Groups at times, however, complained that 
government officials were uncooperative and unresponsive to their 
views; when they did respond, it was generally to criticize.
    The constitution allows for a governmental human rights commission, 
but it has not been established. While the constitution provides for an 
Office of the Ombudsman to provide redress to government employees, the 
ombudsman position has been vacant since 2005.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    While the constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, 
gender, disability, language, social status, religion, or national 
origin, the Government did not always effectively enforce these 
prohibitions.

    Women.--Rape and incest are illegal but were neither frequently 
reported nor successfully prosecuted. Rape is a problem and pervasive 
in society. Ineffective police and prosecutors resulted in few charges 
and fewer convictions.
    On May 24, the president signed into law a Sexual Offenses Bill 
that broadened the definition of rape to include spousal rape, 
coercion, new child-sex offenses, and the creation of offenses for 
vulnerable adults with a learning disability or mental disorder. Other 
offenses, such as indecent exposure, voyeurism, and bestiality are 
included; the assumption that males under the age of 14 years are 
incapable of sexual intercourse was abolished.
    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 apparent norm appeared to be a sentence of five to 10 
years' imprisonment. During the year 42 persons were charged with rape 
and 20 were convicted (a figure that includes persons charged in 
preceding years). Additionally, during the year, 201 persons were 
charged with statutory rape and 53 were convicted (including persons 
charged in preceding years).
    Domestic violence and violence against women, including spousal 
abuse, was widespread and crossed racial and socioeconomic lines. The 
law prohibits domestic violence and allows victims to seek prompt 
protection, occupation, or tenancy orders from a magistrate. Penalties 
for violation of protection orders include fines up to 10,000 Guyanese 
dollars ($500) and 12 months' imprisonment; however, this legislation 
frequently was not enforced because of a lack of willingness to press 
charges on behalf of the victims and/or a lack of confidence in 
obtaining a remedy through the courts. Some victims preferred to reach 
a pecuniary settlement out of court. There were reports of police 
accepting bribes and other reports of magistrates applying inadequate 
sentences to convictions. Additionally, cases that appear for a 
violation of protective order tend to be categorized as assault cases.
    According to the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Help and 
Shelter, the GPF refurbished police units, which are required to 
include domestic violence units where victims can be counseled in 
private. The group noted discrepancies in police training for domestic 
violence, with some divisions actively involved in training, while 
others remained unfamiliar with the basic violence protection order. 
The GPF reported that it had established domestic violence units in 
four police divisions by year's end.
    Help and Shelter handled 346 cases of abuse and violence, including 
child, spousal, and other domestic abuse, of which 24 were formally 
filed in a court. Of these, three were prosecuted and one was dismissed 
during the year. Investigations in the remaining 20 cases continued at 
year's end.
    During the year the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social 
Security established a Task Force on Violence Against Women. A 
representative from Help and Shelter sits on the Task Force.
    Help and Shelter ran a free shelter for victims of domestic 
violence and operated a hotline to counsel victims with the funds it 
received from both private donors and the Government. During the year 
Help and Shelter conducted 36 workshops and 132 awareness sessions in 
sensitizing individuals about domestic violence, reaching 4,313 
individuals, and 929 were counseled for domestic abuse or violence 
during face-to-face counseling sessions and via the telephone hotline.
    Sexual harassment is prohibited under the Prevention of 
Discrimination Act, which provides for monetary penalties and award of 
damages to victims, but its application is confined to the workplace. 
Harassment in schools, for instance, is not covered under the law. 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 known prosecutions for sexual 
harassment under the Prevention of Discrimination Act, and charges of 
sexual harassment were often settled out of court.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide freely the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children and had the information and means 
to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Access to 
contraception and skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care 
were widely available. The UN Children's Fund reported that 83 percent 
of births had a skilled attendant. The UN Population Fund reported a 
contraceptive prevalence rate of 34 percent. The UN Population Fund 
estimated the maternal mortality ratio in 2008 at 270 deaths per 
100,000 live births. The Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association 
(GRPA), established in 1973, collaborated closely with the Ministry of 
Health's Maternal and Child Health Department to lecture on safe 
parenthood. GRPA has offered contraceptive services at its headquarters 
and government clinics since the early 1980s.
    Women and men had equal access to diagnostic services and treatment 
for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
    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 treated unequally as well as 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, whose chairperson was sworn in 
during April.
    The law protects women's property rights in common law marriages. 
It entitles a woman who separates or divorces to one-half of the 
couple's property if she had regular employment during the marriage and 
one-third of the property if she had not been employed. In practice 
women's property rights were generally observed.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory or by birth to a Guyanese citizen abroad.
    There were some reports of physical and sexual abuse of children. 
During the year Help and Shelter handled 78 cases of child abuse and 
nine child abuse cases were filed with the courts, of which one was 
committed to the High Court, two were dismissed and six were ongoing. 
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, NGOs noted reports that some police officers 
and magistrates could be bribed to make cases of child abuse ``go 
away.''
    The Child Care and Protection Agency, established in 2009, operated 
a hotline to take calls regarding suspected abuse of children. The 
hotline received 447 child abuse reports, involving 770 children.
    The age of sexual consent is 16. Under the law anyone who has 
sexual relations with a girl under 16 can be found guilty of a felony 
and imprisoned for life. There were reports of child prostitution, 
although there were no indications that the country is a destination 
for child sex tourism.
    There is no specific legal prohibition of child pornography. 
However, the law regulates selling, publishing, or exhibiting obscene 
material, defined as anything that could deprive or corrupt those open 
to immoral influences.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small, perhaps fewer 
than 50 members. There were no reports of anti-Semitism.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 
www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution mandates the state to 
``take legislative and other measures'' designed to protect 
disadvantaged persons and persons with disabilities. On November 2, 
President Jagdeo signed the Persons with Disabilities Act, which 
provides for equal protection under the law. The act stipulates that 
the National Commission on Disabilities shall comprise 12 members 
appointed by the president; it charges the commission with advising the 
Government, coordinating actions on issues affecting persons with 
disabilities, and addressing implementation and monitoring of the act's 
provisions. Regardless, lack of appropriate infrastructure to provide 
access to both public and private facilities made it difficult for 
persons with disabilities to be employed outside their homes. The Open 
Door Center offered assistance and training to persons with 
disabilities throughout the year.

    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. All indigenous communities had primary schools, and there 
were 13 secondary schools with an enrollment of 5,547 in remote 
regions. The secondary schools had dormitories that housed 
approximately 1,000 to 1,700 students at government expense. Government 
programs trained health workers, who staffed rudimentary health 
facilities in most communities.
    By law persons wishing to enter indigenous lands must obtain prior 
permission from the local village council, but most visitors traveled 
in these areas without a permit. Rules enacted by the village council 
require approval from the minister of Amerindian affairs before 
entering into force.
    Since passage of the Amerindian Act of 2006, which took effect on 
December 1, the Government has increased the number of communal land 
titles for Indigenous communities from 74 to 97, more than doubling the 
area from 6.5 percent of the national territory so designated to 14 
percent. At year's end 134 communities had collective land titles.
    To earn cash some villages contracted with loggers, saw millers, 
and miners to exploit timber and other natural resources on their land. 
Some indigenous groups and others perceived President Jagdeo's Low 
Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) as another government ``land grab.'' 
The Jagdeo administration conducted consultations with several 
indigenous communities on the LCDS, but many observers described the 
sessions as one-way presentations by government officials. The 
Government made efforts to grant land titles to indigenous communities, 
and these titles are to receive payments under the LCDS.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Sodomy is punishable with a 
maximum sentence of life in prison. There are no laws concerning 
female-to-female sex.
    In February 2009 police arrested several transgender persons and 
took them before the acting chief magistrate, who ordered levied a fine 
of 7,500 Guyanese dollars ($37). The magistrate told them they were 
``confused'' about their sexuality and gender, stating ``it's a curse 
on the family.'' Following this incident the Society Against Sexual 
Orientation Discrimination and four of the individuals filed a motion 
in the High Court against the law criminalizing cross dressing; the 
case remained pending at year end.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Violence and 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS were not widely reported.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution provides for the 
right of association and allows workers to form and join trade unions, 
and workers generally exercised this right in practice. However, the 
constitution bars military and paramilitary members from unionizing or 
associating with any established union. According to the Ministry of 
Labor, approximately 25 percent of the work force was unionized.
    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 
required one-month notice to the Ministry of Labor and leave a skeleton 
staff in place, although the International Labor Organization (ILO) 
continued to note that not all of the services deemed essential by the 
Government were considered essential under international definitions. 
Arbitration is compulsory for public employees, and employees engaging 
in illegal strikes are subject to sanctions or imprisonment. The ILO 
noted that such restrictions compromised workers' right to strike. The 
law defines and places limits on the retaliatory actions employers may 
take against strikers.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Public and 
private sector employees possessed and exercised the right to organize 
and bargain collectively. Eight collective bargaining agreements were 
signed in the first half of the year. The ILO noted that 40 percent of 
workers must be covered to conclude a collective bargaining agreement; 
22 percent of the workforce was covered by collective bargaining 
agreements. The Ministry of Labor is required to certify all collective 
bargaining agreements, and there were no reports that it refused to 
certify any specific agreement. Individual unions directly negotiate 
collective bargaining status.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers; however, 
some public-sector employee unions continued to allege antiunion 
discrimination by the Government. The Guyana Public Service Union and 
the Guyana Bauxite and General Workers' Union continued to allege 
antiunion discrimination by the Government. Trade union worker rights 
continued to be violated, and the Government did not effectively 
enforce its laws. There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor; there were reports of forced child labor, 
mainly involving the sexual exploitation of children. In February 
authorities rescued a child from a forced child-prostitution situation 
and charged a suspect in March. The case remained pending at year's 
end.

    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. The law 
prohibits the employment of children younger than 15 with some 
exceptions. Technical schools may employ children age 14 provided 
public authority approves and supervises such work. No person under 16 
may be employed at night, except under regulated circumstances. The law 
permits children under 16 to be employed only in enterprises in which 
members of the same family are also employed.
    Child labor was most prevalent in family-based businesses, farming, 
bars and restaurants, domestic work, and street vending. Small numbers 
of children also performed hazardous work in the construction, logging, 
farming, fishing, manufacturing, and mining industries. Isolated 
incidents of the worst forms of child labor occurred, mainly in gold 
mining, prostitution, and forced labor activities. Children who worked 
in gold mines operated dangerous mining equipment and were exposed to 
hazardous chemicals.
    There were also reports of sexual exploitation of children, most 
commonly in mining areas. Also see the Department of State's annual 
Trafficking in Persons Report at f.state.gov/g/tip.
    The Ministry of Labor collaborated with the Ministry of Education 
and the GPF to enforce child labor laws. The Ministry of Labor employed 
20 labor inspectors who were charged with investigating child and 
exploitative labor activities; however, these were not sufficient to 
enforce existing laws effectively. Despite conducting approximately 
4,000 worksite inspections, no fines or penalties were assessed, and no 
employers were charged.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The public sector minimum wage 
is 33,207 Guyanese dollars ($165) per month, and it is applicable to 
both public and private sectors; however, the Government set wage 
adjustments unilaterally for public-sector employees. Although the 
minimum wage is across the board, the private-sector wages/salaries are 
higher than that of the public sector for similar categories of workers 
such as clerks and drivers. The Ministry of Labor was responsible for 
enforcing the minimum wage, and although enforcement mechanisms exist 
they were not used effectively. Unorganized workers, particularly women 
and children in the informal sector, often were paid less than the 
service-sector legal 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. These standards were effectively enforced, according to the 
Ministry of Labor.
    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. 
According to the Ministry of Labour, there were 24 fatal industrial 
accidents during the year. Fifty percent of these accidents were in the 
mining sector and 17 percent in the forestry sector. More than half of 
those who died in these sectors were 15 to 35 years of age.
    The Ministry of Labor moderately enforced inspection findings; 
responsible employers were more likely to follow standards. Workers 
could not remove themselves from dangerous work situations without 
jeopardizing continued employment.

                               __________

                                 HAITI

    Haiti is a constitutional republic with a population of 
approximately 9.9 million. On January 12, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake 
struck the country, killing an estimated 230,000 persons and directly 
affecting approximately three million others. The country has a 
multiparty political system. Presidential and legislative elections 
occurred on November 28. Allegations of fraud and irregularities raised 
questions regarding the preliminary tally and prompted the president 
and the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to request a review by the 
Organization of American States. The CEP subsequently announced the 
final first round results; since none of the candidates received a 
majority of the vote, a runoff election between the two leading 
candidates was scheduled for March 2011. Elements of the security 
forces occasionally acted independently of civilian control.
    Human rights problems included allegations of extrajudicial 
killings by Haitian National Police (HNP) officers, findings of 
excessive use of force against prisoners, overcrowding and poor 
sanitation in prisons, prolonged pretrial detention, an inefficient 
judiciary subject to significant influence by the executive and 
legislative branches, severe corruption in all branches of government, 
violence and societal discrimination against women, child abuse, human 
trafficking, and ineffective enforcement of worker rights.

                        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 known politically motivated killings; 
however, there were allegations of HSP involvement in extrajudicial 
killings. HNP officers killed several persons who were armed and 
resisting arrest. Some cases of arbitrary killings were referred to the 
Office of the Inspector General for investigation.
    On January 19, in the aftermath of the earthquake, inmates in Les 
Cayes prison rioted. Officers from the departmental riot control police 
(UDMO) intervened, killing 12 inmates, while 22 others escaped and 
scores of others were injured. Three investigations were launched: one 
by the chief inspector general of the HNP, a second by the Government 
with the UN, and a third by the investigating judge in Les Cayes, in 
cooperation with the Government's Office of Citizen Protection (OPC). 
The chief inspector general concluded that the action of the joint 
departmental SWAT team and corrections officers caused the deaths of 10 
of the 12 inmates. Two other prisoners died of unrelated causes. The 
report noted that ``if the intervention was legitimate, the force used 
was excessive and disproportionate,'' and that ``a measured use of 
force was possible under the circumstances.'' The inspector general 
issued six recommendations, including the dismissal of prison warden 
Sylvestre Larack and the suspension of Les Cayes Police Chief Olrich 
Beaubrun. A joint HNP-UN report called the killings a grave violation 
of human rights and urged the justice system to prosecute those 
responsible. On May 27, the HNP placed Larack in preventive detention, 
as it reopened the chief inspector general's investigation and 
recommended that Frantz Dehonnet, the deputy administrator of prisons, 
resign. Authorities charged Beaubrun and ten other officers with 
homicide. At year's end their cases had yet to be tried, Beaubrun had 
not yet been arrested, and Dehonnet still held his post as deputy 
administrator of prisons.
    On January 21, police shot and killed Gentile Cherie for stealing 
rice. Foreign journalists saw police stop two men who had taken a bag 
of rice that had fallen from a truck; witnesses claimed that the 
officers shot the men in the back and left them on the sidewalk. The 
Office of the Inspector General had not received an official complaint 
nor opened an investigation into the matter.
    On December 6, unknown assailants shot and killed former inspector 
general of the HNP Etienne Saint Gourdin. Officials opened an 
investigation into his death.
    There were no further developments in the 2009 case concerning 
seven individuals, including two active police officers and one former 
police officer, who were arrested for killing the manager of a money-
exchange outlet during an armed robbery in Port-au-Prince. The case was 
under investigation by the court at year's end.
    The HNP Internal Investigations Unit completed its investigation of 
the 2008 death of Renece Charon while in police custody and sent the 
case to the criminal court, which found that other prisoners beat 
Charon to death.
    Residents in some areas resorted to vigilante justice. In November 
and December mobs attacked and killed Vodou (voodoo) practitioners 
accused of spreading cholera by placing contaminated powder into rivers 
and waterways. According to the HNP, 31 people were confirmed killed by 
the end of the year. Credible sources reported an additional 22 
possible killings. Two ministerial-level officials publicly denounced 
the killings, and local police confiscated 16 firearms, but made no 
arrests.
    Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also reported vigilante 
incidents including shootings, beatings, and lynchings in rural areas, 
where effective judicial and law enforcement institutions largely were 
absent. Police statistics documented 83 vigilante incidents through the 
end of the year, but police made no arrests. Observers attributed the 
majority of vigilante justice incidents to accusations of theft, 
witchcraft, or kidnapping.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances by government agents.
    Current and former HNP officers were accused of participation in 
kidnappings.
    The number of reported kidnappings nearly doubled from the previous 
year. There were 121 reported kidnapping victims during the year, 
compared with 66 through October 2009.
    Gonaives Police Commissioner Ernst Dorfeuille Bouquet, who was 
arrested and charged for the 2008 kidnapping and killing of Monica 
Pierre, escaped from the National Penitentiary on January 12, but later 
turned himself in to police in Petionville. At year's end he was 
awaiting trial after being returned to prison.
    There were no known developments in the following cases:
    The January 2009 abduction of Joseph Francois Robert Martello, the 
director of the National Commission of Public Markets (CNMP).
    The 2008 arrests of three Cap-Haitien police officers for allegedly 
heading a gang responsible for multiple kidnappings.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices, but there were some 
reports of degrading treatment, most notably in prisons, during the 
year.
    The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense provided an update in 2009 on 
the status of 23 Sri Lankan UN peacekeepers who were convicted in late 
2008 of sexually exploiting and abusing children while they were 
stationed in Haiti under UN auspices in 2007: 20 of them were 
discharged, demoted, formally reprimanded, or otherwise punished; and 
the other three were killed in military action.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisoners reported 
physical abuse by correctional officers; prisons also suffered from 
corruption and neglect. Due to insufficient staffing, equipment, and 
security officers avoided some cellblocks. At times officials used 
lethal force against prisoners to quell inmate uprisings (see section 
1.a.).
    Prisons and detention centers throughout the country remained 
overcrowded, poorly maintained, and unsanitary. Overcrowding was 
severe; in some prisons detainees slept in shifts due to lack of space. 
The earthquake, which damaged several prisons, intensified the existing 
problems. The earthquake damage compromised the holding capacity at 
facilities in Carrefour, Delmas, Jacmel, and the National Penitentiary 
in Port-au-Prince. Over 5,000 detainees escaped in the wake of the 
earthquake, including all 4,215 persons held at the National 
Penitentiary. Some prisons had no beds for detainees; some cells had no 
access to sunlight. Many prison facilities lacked basic services such 
as medical services, water, electricity, and medical isolation units 
for contagious patients. Many prisoners and detainees suffered from a 
lack of basic hygiene, malnutrition, poor quality health care, and 
illness caused by the presence of rodents. Some prisons did not allow 
prisoners out of their cells for exercise.
    On October 17, prisoners at the National Penitentiary overpowered 
guards in an attempted prison break, taking seven persons, including UN 
Police (UNPOL) officers and visiting Swedish police officers, hostage 
for several hours. The authorities regained control of the 
penitentiary, but three prisoners were killed in the process; two were 
shot, and one was reportedly trampled by other prisoners.
    In some prisons the incidence of preventable diseases such as AIDS, 
malaria, and drug-resistant tuberculosis remained a serious problem. 
The cholera outbreak also affected the prisons. Within the first week 
of the outbreak, five detainees in the Mirebalais Prison died. The 
Bureau of Prisons responded by limiting outside contact.
    At year's end the total prison population, including both pretrial 
detainees and sentenced prisoners in the country's 17 prisons, was more 
than three times the planned capacity of the country's prisons. 
Pretrial detention and its effect on overcrowding remained a serious 
problem during the year (see section 1.d.).
    The overburdened prison system had insufficient holding facilities. 
The Civil Prison of Port-au-Prince (CPPP) contained approximately half 
of the country's prisoners and pretrial detainees in its intake room. 
Provincial authorities, in particular, incarcerated many convicted 
prisoners for terms of months or even years in temporary holding cells. 
Severely overcrowded police stations served as prisons in the cities of 
Gonaives and Petit Goave, whose prisons were destroyed in 2004. 
Gonaives, for example, held 140 long-term prisoners in its local police 
station in October.
    Port-au-Prince maintained separate penitentiaries for adult men and 
women, but in other prisons, there were instances of male and female 
prisoners being held together due to space constraints. Children 16 and 
older were confined with adults. Minors and adults sometimes occupied 
the same cells due to lack of available space. Pretrial detainees were 
held together with convicted prisoners in the women's prison. When 
space was available, boys were held in a separate cell of a facility in 
Port-au-Prince. By law that facility may hold only boys ages 13 to 15, 
although a few child inmates claimed to be as young as age 10. Girls 
were not held separately from women at the Petionville Women's 
Penitentiary.
    For most of the year, prisoners and detainees had reasonable access 
to visitors, who were allowed to bring them food and clothing. Inmates 
also were permitted religious observance and could request to see a 
Protestant minister, a Catholic priest, or a Vodou (voodoo) leader. 
However, these policies were suspended at the end of October in 
response to the nationwide cholera outbreak. The Administration of 
Prisons barred any outsider from entering prisons, in an attempt to 
curb the spread of cholera. Prisoners and detainees were permitted to 
make a written or verbal complaint regarding their conditions to the 
facility supervisor. If their complaint was regarding the supervisor, 
they were given the option to refer it up the chain of command for 
investigation.
    The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UN 
Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), the local NGO National Human 
Rights Network for Haiti, and the OPC monitored prison conditions in 
cooperation with the Department of Prison Administration.
    Authorities freely permitted the 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. Primary concerns for most groups monitoring the 
conditions in the prisons related to adequate water, food, and 
sanitation. Although some programs, such as efforts to improve 
sanitation and health care delivery at the CPPP reported success, the 
Government did not implement many changes recommended by NGOs and donor 
governments.
    Authorities took some measures to improve prison conditions. In 
response to the prison killings in Les Cayes, Minister of Justice Paul 
Denis began a series of unannounced prison visits, beginning with the 
Women's prison in Petionville followed by the National Penitentiary. In 
addition, the Government started releasing defendants who had been held 
in preventive detention for unacceptably long periods, pending formal 
charges and trial. Officials implemented a pilot project at the 
Petionville Women's Prison, establishing a special correctional 
tribunal to deal with the 257 detainees awaiting formal charges. 
Between June 8 and 14, the tribunal heard 15 cases, including three 
involving juveniles; 14 defendants were released, including an inmate 
who had served her sentence but remained incarcerated. The Ministry of 
Justice held hearings in August and September to reduce the pretrial 
detention backlog in the National Penitentiary, and the court committee 
released 30 inmates as a result. Still, since most of the 1,570 
detainees awaiting trial in the Penitentiary were held for serious 
crimes that warranted a jury trial, they were effectively denied the 
right to a prompt trial. An estimated 15 percent of detainees in the 
National Penitentiary had been convicted by year's end.
    The ICRC, in collaboration with the Prison Authority, renovated and 
refurbished the earthquake-damaged civil prison in Jacmel.

    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 warrant 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. Officials frequently 
did not comply with these provisions in practice.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--MINUSTAH, deploying 
8,766 soldiers, 3,082 police officers, and 481 civilian UN officials, 
trained and supported the national police force, provided disaster 
recovery assistance, and assisted the Government in suppressing gang-
related violence.
    The approximately 8,500-member HNP has sole responsibility for law 
enforcement and maintenance of order; there are no military forces. The 
UN has estimated that the country needs a force of at least 14,000 
police officers, although it recommended 18,000 to 22,000.Women make up 
less than 10 percent of the total police force, however the HNP 
established a recruiting drive for female officers in 2008, and 350 of 
the 2,755 recruits hired in the past four years were women. The HNP is 
officially an autonomous civilian institution under the authority of a 
director general and includes police, corrections, and coast guard 
functions in separate units. The Ministry of Justice and Public 
Security, through its minister and the secretary of state for public 
security, provides oversight.
    The HNP lost 142 officers in the January earthquake (72 confirmed 
deceased and 70 missing), and an additional 253 were injured. 
Approximately 40 police stations and offices were damaged. The HNP 
worked with UNPOL and MINUSTAH to provide security for aid operations 
and to patrol internally displaced person (IDP) camps.
    The Inspector General's (IG) Office of the HNP accepts and 
investigates allegations from any complainant of police wrongdoing, 
including human rights violations, complicity in criminal acts, and 
other violations. IG investigations revealing criminal activity were 
referred to the regional prosecutor. The IG also conducted vetting with 
MINUSTAH to certify that members of the HNP had no serious disciplinary 
violations or accusations of human rights abuses pending against them.
    Reform and professionalization of the HNP continued as 
international programs and foreign governments provided human rights 
and other training and equipment for new recruits and for existing 
officers; police station upgrades; security and humanitarian 
improvements to prisons; vehicles, computers, communications equipment; 
and other technical assistance. Some units, notably the Anti-Kidnapping 
Unit, made significant improvements.
    Although the HNP's efforts resulted in significantly increased 
levels of physical security and policing effectiveness, the HNP often 
could not prevent or respond to gang-related and other societal 
violence, such as vigilante justice, due to an insufficient number of 
officers and inadequate equipment or training.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
permits police officers to make arrests when a suspect is caught during 
the commission of a crime, or later with a court-authorized warrant. 
Police sometimes apprehended persons without warrants or with warrants 
not issued by a duly authorized official. The authorities occasionally 
detained individuals on unspecified charges or pending investigation.
    The Government frequently did not observe the legal requirement to 
present detainees before a judge within 48 hours, and prolonged 
pretrial detention remained a serious problem. Many detainees were held 
in pretrial detention for extended periods--in some cases up to five 
years--without being informed of charges against them.
    Investigative judges granted bail at their discretion. Bail 
hearings were not routine, 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 routinely 
did not provide free counsel.
    Some returnees, some of whom spent substantial portions or most of 
their lives abroad, alleged corruption, widespread discrimination, and 
social abuse after returning home. Reported discriminatory practices 
included arbitrary arrests, false accusations about their activities to 
local police, and extortion attempts against them and their families 
abroad during the initial detention phase, in exchange for quicker 
release from administrative quarantine.
    Lengthy pretrial detention was a problem during the year. By the 
end of the year, of the 5,331 persons in custody, only 1,722 had been 
tried and sentenced, while 3,609 awaited trial. Approximately one third 
of those awaiting trial had been incarcerated for a year or longer.
    Prison population statistics did not include the large number of 
persons held in police stations around the country in prolonged 
pretrial detention (without a hearing or filed charges) 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 prolonged 
detention.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The justice system sustained 
significant losses in the January earthquake. The Ministry of Justice 
and the Palais de Justice (Supreme Court) were destroyed, and 27 court 
and tribunal buildings were damaged. A subsequent fire at the Palais de 
Justice destroyed all the records, including records of cases pending 
trial. Although the law provides for an independent judiciary, in 
practice the executive and legislative branches exerted significant 
influence on the judicial branch. Judges assigned to politically 
sensitive cases complained about interference from the executive 
branch. Credible reports of judicial corruption were commonplace (see 
section 4).
    Pervasive and long-standing problems--including a shortage of 
funding and adequately trained and qualified justices of the peace, 
judges, and prosecutors as well as failure to convene court sessions on 
the schedule provided by law--contributed to the large backlog of 
criminal cases, and many detainees waited years for a court date. The 
Government took steps during the year to reduce the pretrial backlog 
(see section 1.c.).
    The code of criminal procedure does not assign clear responsibility 
for criminal investigations and divides authority among police, 
justices of the peace, prosecutors, and investigative magistrates. 
Authorities often failed to question witnesses or complete 
investigations and rarely conducted autopsies, and examining 
magistrates often received incomplete files.
    An outdated juridical fee scale created another barrier for crime 
victims requesting investigation of their cases. After a citizen 
reported being the victim of a crime, some justices of the peace 
charged varying ``fees'' to initiate criminal prosecutions based on 
their perceptions of what a service should cost.
    Long distances and limited transportation between citizens' 
residences and the courts also limited access to the judicial system. 
In most regions judges lacked basic resources and professional 
training.
    The School for Magistrates was the temporary seat of the Supreme 
Court after the January earthquake. The school continued in-service 
training for justices of the peace, and the majority of justices from 
all 18 jurisdictions had completed the intensive six-week training 
program. However, the school had not had a class of magistrates in more 
than five years. An internationally funded program continued to provide 
training for judges, prosecutors, and other court personnel; furnished 
technical assistance in drafting rules and procedures; and assisted in 
curriculum planning for the school. The Judicial Strengthening Program 
begun by the National Center for State Courts provided assistance with 
training and curricula for judges and court personnel.

    Trial Procedures.--The judicial apparatus follows a civil law 
system based on the Napoleonic Code, largely unchanged since 1880. In 
practice authorities widely ignored the constitutionally provided right 
to a fair public trial. 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. Defendants who could not 
afford representation were more vulnerable to interrogation without 
counsel. However, some defendants had access to counsel during trials. 
With the support of the national government and the local legal 
community, international groups provided funds to indigent defendants 
for professional legal representation.
    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, judges frequently denied defendants these rights. 
The lack of a witness protection program and widespread impunity 
discouraged some witnesses from testifying at trials. Defendants and 
their attorneys had access to government-held evidence before trial. 
Defendants had the right to appeal.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Victims of alleged human 
rights abuses are able to bring their cases before a judge for 
cessation of the violation. Damages can be awarded if the claim is 
brought as a civil suit and the judge convicts the perpetrator. Seeking 
legal remedies for human rights abuses is difficult, especially in the 
aftermath of the January earthquake, since very few organizations had 
the resources to start and maintain a case through its duration in the 
system.

    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 and elected officials 
generally respected these rights in practice. However, there were a few 
incidents of local government officers and elected officials harassing 
or threatening journalists.
    On September 16, several agents in the Cite Soleil police station 
shoved and beat female journalist, Orpha Dessources, from Radio 
Boukman. She was there to attend a press conference by Cite Soleil 
police on the arrest of a notorious gangster. The journalist filed a 
complaint with the Office of the Inspector General of the HNP. The 
motivation for the attack was unknown. The HNP spokesperson, Commissar 
Leurebours, said that the incident was being investigated and made 
recommendations to journalists about how to behave in police stations. 
However, the HNP Internal Investigations Unit (IG) stated at year's end 
that they had never received a complaint on the issue and never opened 
an investigation.
    There were no further developments in the case of radio journalist 
Sainlus Augustin, who was publicly harassed, struck, and threatened by 
the brother and other supporters of senatorial candidate Wilot Joseph, 
allegedly because they objected to Augustin's attempt to interview 
supporters of the political opposition in 2009. Repeated anonymous 
death threats forced Augustin into hiding.
    In December 2009, HNP officers in Port-au-Prince beat journalist 
Edwige Joseph Watson and destroyed his equipment when he attempted to 
take photographs of a peaceful student demonstration. Following an 
investigation by the Office of the Inspector General, one police 
officer was given an administrative sanction of 40 days' suspension 
without pay. His case was then referred to the criminal court for 
investigation.
    There were no further developments in the 2008 attack on news 
correspondent Joachim Marcel by the deputy mayor of Cap-Haitien and his 
bodyguards, allegedly in retaliation for Marcel's investigation of 
voting corruption.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
Approximately 30 percent of the population had routine access to the 
Internet during the year, primarily via Internet cafes. Lack of 
infrastructure 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. Citizens must apply for a permit to 
hold legal demonstrations; the HNP regularly issued permits.
    Demonstrations were infrequent during the first part of the year, 
but starting in August, political parties, displaced persons, and 
students staged protests. An uptick in protests and demonstrations 
occurred in the days preceding the November 28 election and continued 
into December. Demonstrators fired shots, threw rocks, and blocked 
roadways.
    On October 8, Jean Philbert Louis was injured during a 
demonstration for quality education when a tear gas canister fired by a 
police officer hit him in the head. The next day, Louis died in the 
hospital. Authorities arrested the officer who shot the canister, and 
the case was investigated by the IG, who found wrongdoing and forwarded 
the case to the parquet (prosecutor's office). At year's end the 
incident remained under investigation at the parquet.
    On December 9, a group of four armed men began firing openly on 
supporters of presidential candidate Michel Martelly in the Champ de 
Mars area. The Martelly supporters were planning a demonstration as 
President Preval's motorcade passed through the area. Authorities 
arrested the four men but then released them without charge by order of 
the prosecutor's office.
    In June 2009 bystander Kerel Pascal was killed during a public 
funeral, allegedly by peacekeeping forces. Television cameras recorded 
a force member discharging a weapon in the general direction of Pascal. 
MINUSTAH began an investigation and conducted an autopsy. At year's end 
MINUSTAH Human Rights section reported that the inquiry was 
inconclusive as to whether MINUSTAH forces fired the shot that killed 
Pascal.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. Persons deported from other countries were sometimes 
subjected to amendments in their Haitian passports by the Immigration 
office, denoting the infraction for which they were deported.
    The Government coordinated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other governments and humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports of its 
use. However, according to anecdotal reports, former government 
officials sometimes abandoned the country with their families for fear 
of retaliation or prosecution by political enemies.

    Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).--More than a million people 
were displaced by the January 12 earthquake. Approximately 500,000 IDPs 
left for other parts of the country to stay with family or friends, and 
an estimated 20 percent of those who fled the city remained in the 
provinces, severely straining provincial and other resources. By the 
end of December, approximately one million earthquake-affected 
individuals remained displaced in more than 1,150 spontaneous and 
planned settlement sites in and around Port -au-Prince, with temporary 
housing and difficult living conditions. The Government worked with 
domestic and international humanitarian organizations, through a 
combination of mechanisms, to coordinate the oversight of and the 
provision of assistance to IDPs. The Government continued to work with 
foreign government agencies, international organizations, the UN, and 
NGOs to coordinate humanitarian efforts and to facilitate the 
transition from emergency relief activities to recovery and 
reconstruction.
    To provide displaced persons with the opportunity to return to 
their former residences, the Ministry of Public Works assessed 
approximately 400,000 buildings for habitability and safety. The 
assessment found that 51 percent of houses were safe for habitation, 
with another 26 percent classified as dwellings that could be made safe 
with repairs, and the remaining 23 percent deemed unsafe for habitation 
and requiring major repairs or demolition. IDPs were encouraged to 
return to safe houses, and humanitarian groups completed repairs on 
some near-safe houses. Reconstruction focused on enabling earthquake-
affected families to return to their neighborhoods of origin where they 
maintained family and social ties and employment possibilities. 
However, those whose homes were destroyed or uninhabitable remained in 
IDP camps. The problem of resettlement has been magnified by lack of 
land tenure and contradictory land registry records, as well as a slow 
government response.
    MINUSTAH estimated that more than 8,000 displaced individuals have 
been subject to forced evictions (especially from land that was the 
location of ongoing concerns such as schools, places of worship, and 
businesses) by private property owners or gang members who seek to 
resume pre-earthquake operations. More than 11,000 others remained in 
situations that place them at risk of involuntary evictions and 
secondary displacement by private property owners.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
refugee status or asylum, and the Government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
usually through missions or consulates abroad, handled asylum and 
refugee requests. In practice the Government provided protection 
against the expulsion or return of refugees to a country where their 
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion; however, 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 provides citizens the right to change their government 
peacefully, however in practice citizens were not always able to 
exercise this right. The November elections were marred by fraud, 
flawed voter registration lists, ballot stuffing, intimidation, and 
some violence at the polls.

    Elections and Political Participation.--Multiparty presidential and 
parliamentary elections in November were marked by irregularities and 
criticism from multiple sources. Several presidential candidates 
denounced the elections as fraudulent before the voting concluded. 
Independent election observers and NGOs noted irregularities at many 
polling stations. The preliminary results released on December 7 called 
into question the legitimacy of the electoral process, resulting in 
public protests and prompting the CEP to review the vote tally. On 
December 29, as part of an agreement between the Government and the 
Organization of American States, electoral and legal experts began 
reviewing the results of the first-round elections.
    Some restrictions were placed on certain political parties. In 
November 2009 the CEP considered 69 political parties for the 2010 
parliamentary elections and approved 53. The CEP rejected 16 parties, 
including, for the second time during the year, former president Jean-
Bertrand Aristide's party, Fanmi Lavalas, for documentation that was 
inconsistent, lacked notarization, and did not conform to legal 
requirements. Other rejected major parties included Union, Popular 
Solidarity Alliance, Struggling People's Organization, and Fusion. The 
latter two groups allied under a new party banner, Alternative, which 
officially boycotted the elections, although many of the party's 
legislative candidates participated in the elections.
    The constitution requires that following local and municipal 
elections, local officials must hold a series of indirect elections to 
staff departmental organs of self-government and an interdepartmental 
council to advise the national government and nominate candidates for 
the CEP. The law requires that the three branches of the national 
government select from among these nominees the council's nine members. 
Since these indirect elections have not taken place since the 
constitution was written, the country continued to operate with the 
presidentially appointed CEP.
    The electoral legislation mandated that political parties 
nominating at least 30 percent female candidates and electing 20 
percent of those nominated receive twice as much public financing for 
those same positions in the next election. None of the political 
parties met these criteria in the November election. On November 28, 
two women ran as candidates for president, eight for the Senate, and 55 
for deputy seats. Of the deputy candidates, two won their seats 
outright in the first round, and seven qualified to run in the second 
round. Mirlande Manigat, one of the female presidential candidates, won 
approximately 30 percent of the vote, qualifying her to run in the 
second round.
    The monetary deposit required of female candidates for political 
office (if sponsored by a recognized party) was one-half that required 
of male candidates. Six women served in the outgoing Senate and Chamber 
of Deputies, which had a combined membership of 129 legislators; three 
women served in the 18-member cabinet; and no women served on the 
Supreme Court.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials often engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. According 
to the World Bank's worldwide governance indicators, government 
corruption was a severe problem. Corruption remained widespread in all 
branches and at all levels of government. The constitution mandates 
that high-level officials and parliament members accused of official 
corruption be prosecuted before the Senate, not within the judicial 
system. However, the Senate brought no such prosecutions.
    In July the Government's Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) investigated 
charges of corruption against Jean Enel Desir, a member of the CEP who 
represented the Catholic Church. He resigned from his position, and the 
ULCC's investigation revealed evidence to support the charges. The 
prosecutor's office had the file but put the investigation on hold 
because Desir was deemed too ill to stand trial.
    In October the Ministry of Justice replaced two judges in Les Cayes 
who were accused of corruption. There were no further developments in 
the case at year's end.
    There were reports of corruption in the HNP. For instance, affluent 
prisoners at times obtained favorable conditions of detention. The HNP 
investigated allegations of police malfeasance, leading to the arrest 
or termination of employment of some officers. For example in 
September, the HNP arrested seven officers for alleged involvement in 
kidnapping and drug gangs. The HNP, with the assistance of UN civilian 
police, continued efforts to eliminate corruption within its ranks, and 
the Government continued to investigate individuals in the business 
sector and in government for corruption but brought no charges. The 
Center for Pleas and Legal Assistance offered judicial assistance to 
victims and witnesses of government corruption and widely disseminated 
telephone and e-mail contact information.
    Authorities arrested or detained a few low-level public servants, 
mainly customs officials, on corruption or corruption-related charges.
    The director of the Social Security Agency, Sandro Joseph, who was 
arrested in May 2009 on charges of misuse of funds within the social 
security system, escaped from prison on January 12. His case had not 
yet gone to trial.
    The ULCC investigation into the use of approximately HTG7.9 billion 
($197 million) of humanitarian assistance provided to the country by 
Petrocaribe in the aftermath of the 2008 storm season continued at 
year's end.
    The Financial Control and Information Office has responsibility for 
combating financial crimes. By law the president, the prime minister, 
cabinet ministers, other high-level public officials, and members of 
the HNP must declare assets. The ULCC reported in December that 444 
public officials had observed the law and filed disclosure statements 
by the August 30 deadline. This number includes only four senators and 
27 deputies, and accounts for less than 10 percent of all public 
officials. Public officials who do not fulfill this obligation are 
subject first to a 50 percent reduction in salary, followed by 
suspension, until they file their statements. However, by the end of 
the year the Government sanctioned no officials for failure to file the 
disclosures.
    The National Commission for Public Markets is charged with 
certifying and adjudicating public procurement contracts. In September 
2009 the law was amended by presidential decree to raise the threshold 
of contracts subject to oversight. The certification requirement 
applies for supplies contracts in excess of 300,000 Haitian gourdes 
(HTG, or approximately $7,440), public works contracts in excess of 
HTG800,000 (approximately $19,840), and services contracts in excess of 
HTG2,500,000 (approximately $62,000).
    No law requires public access to government information, but there 
were no reports that the Government prevented public access to 
government information.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. 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 OPC is mandated to protect individuals against any form of 
abuse by the Government. The OPC offered free legal assistance to any 
citizen who appeared before a court regarding a filed complaint. The 
OPC took an active role in investigating allegations of government 
abuse, and worked collaboratively with international organizations.
    The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate each had a human rights 
committee; however, neither committee published any reports or 
introduced any legislation during the year.

Section 6. 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, no effective governmental 
mechanism administered or enforced these provisions.

    Women.--The law prohibits and provides penalties for rape but does 
not recognize spousal rape as a crime. The penalty for rape is a 
minimum of 10 years of forced labor, increasing to a mandatory 15 years 
if the victim was less than 16 years old. In the case of gang rape, the 
maximum penalty is lifelong forced labor. Prosecution was often not 
pursued due to lack of reporting and follow-up on victims' claims. 
Actual sentences were often less rigorous, with sentences for 
convictions in the past year averaging approximately three years. 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 subject to prosecution. 
Anecdotal evidence suggested that some younger women were detained 
after violently resisting sexual attackers, who were sometimes family 
members. Kidnappers often raped their female abductees.
    Reported sexual assault cases increased significantly. HNP 
statistics showed that 974 rapes were reported by the end of the year, 
compared with 218 through October 2009. Of these, 84 victims were 
minors. NGOs noted alarming increases in sexual violence against women 
in IDP camps. In addition, the increase in the number of reported rapes 
may be in part a result of the referral and awareness campaign 
initiated by the UN, in partnership with the HNP and NGOs. On December 
22, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended that the 
Government adopt ``urgent measures'' to prevent, report, and address 
violence against women and girls in the IDP camps of the Port-au-Prince 
area. By year's end, the Government had not addressed the commission's 
recommendations.
    In Saint-Marc the Federation for Women of the Lower Artibonite 
reported that it provided shelter services for 516 women and girls and 
assisted 909 victims of violence during the year.
    Rape was especially common in areas with minimal police presence. 
Many credible NGOs and government sources believed that urban gangs 
used rape as a systematic instrument of intimidation. Women's shelters 
and organizations reported that armed gangs frequently raped and 
harassed girls and women.
    Rape was often treated in society as a relatively minor infraction 
or a family or community matter instead of a prosecutable offense. 
Substantial disincentives discouraging victims from reporting rapes 
included: victims' desire to protect themselves from the social or 
physical consequences of bringing accusations against the perpetrators, 
who often lived in the community; tacit cultural acceptance of sexual 
assault; the lack of sufficient facilities or services at police 
stations to aid rape victims; the long distances between homes and 
qualified tribunals; and finally, the slow-moving judicial system that 
fosters a perception of impunity. However, cases that were heard in 
court, particularly in Port-au-Prince and Port-de-Paix, sometimes 
resulted in convictions and stiff penalties. In the 12-month period 
between October 2009 and October 2010, 48 individuals were convicted 
for rape. Their sentences ranged from a fine to a life sentence of 
forced labor. The average sentence was three to 10 years.
    MINUSTAH's Gender-Based Violence (GBV) unit, in partnership with 
the HNP, mapped GBV referral services to identify organizations 
providing GBV services by type, assessed the quality of services, and 
provided more complete information for GBV referral cards. The unit 
distributed referral cards to community workers and local and 
international NGOs to facilitate survivor access to appropriate 
medical, psychosocial, and legal services. MINUSTAH also provided an 
18-officer Gender Mobile Unit, staffed mostly with female UNPOL 
Officers. The two HNP referral centers for victims of sexual violence 
were damaged by the earthquake. They remained operational, but worked 
out of limited space in a tent, which they shared with a collocated 
police station. The HNP does not have a sexual assault or domestic 
violence unit. The Criminal Unit investigates violence against adult 
women and the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM) investigates 
assaults on children. In Saint-Marc the local government commissioner 
worked closely with the only local NGO offering comprehensive services 
to sexual assault victims in the region to protect victims' safety and 
access to the justice system.
    The law prohibits and provides penalties for domestic violence 
against minors, but does not classify domestic violence against adults 
as a distinct crime. Instead, the Criminal Unit processes crimes of 
domestic violence against adults (e.g. assault, rape, harassment, 
etc.). Police figures reported 30 incidents of domestic violence 
against minors during the year (compared with 38 incidents from January 
to October of 2009). Women's rights groups and human rights 
organizations reported that domestic violence against women remained 
commonplace and underreported. Police rarely arrested the perpetrators 
or investigated the incidents, and the victims sometimes suffered 
further harassment and reprisals from perpetrators, sometimes prompting 
secondary displacement of victims within IDP camps. Corrupt judges 
often released suspects arrested for domestic violence and rape.
    The Government, with the support of international donors, sponsored 
a program for victims of violence that provided medical and legal 
assistance for victims, as well as a campaign denouncing violence 
against women.
    The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although 
the labor code states that men and women have the same rights and 
obligations. Data concerning sexual harassment in the workplace were 
not available, although observers suggested that sexual harassment was 
common. Such incidents went unreported because of high unemployment and 
because citizens had little confidence in the ability of the judicial 
system to protect them.
    Couples and individuals have the legal right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children. UNICEF data indicated that 32 percent 
of women ages 15-49 used modern contraceptive methods in 2008. Despite 
high levels of general knowledge of contraceptive methods, women had 
few opportunities to acquire additional information on family planning 
methods. The UN Population Fund estimated the maternal mortality ratio 
in 2008 at 300 deaths per 100,000 live births. Although UNICEF reported 
that 85 percent of pregnant women received prenatal care at least once 
during their pregnancy, only 26 percent had a skilled attendant at 
delivery in 2008. The vast majority of women delivered their babies at 
home without the benefits of a skilled birth attendant or the ability 
to find adequate care in the event of complications. Women and men had 
equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually 
transmitted infections, including HIV.
    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 the traditional occupations of 
farming, marketing, and domestic labor. Very poor female heads of 
household in urban areas also often faced limited employment 
opportunities, working in domestic labor and sales. Government and 
private sectors seldom promoted women to supervisory positions.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived through an individual's parents; 
only one parent of either sex is necessary to transmit citizenship. 
Citizenship can also be acquired through a formal request to the 
Ministry of the Interior.
    The Government did not register all births immediately and did not 
keep statistics concerning the number of births unregistered each year. 
One government report estimated births of more than 10 percent of 
Haitians were not registered. Birth documents are legally necessary to 
register for school, open a bank account, apply for credit, gain 
admission to a hospital, and vote. Individuals without required birth 
documents were not denied emergency medical services or educational 
opportunities on that basis. Many official documents were destroyed in 
the earthquake. The National Archives saw its requests for certified 
copies of documents more than triple upon reopening after the 
earthquake, and the Office of National Identification faced long lines 
for months as people sought to replace lost or damaged identification 
cards. Both institutions were overwhelmed by the demand, but addressed 
the backlog incrementally.
    Primary and secondary education was not compulsory, free, and 
universal. Before January 12, only half of school-age children were 
enrolled in classes. Almost 5,000 school buildings in the earthquake 
zone were destroyed or damaged on January 12. Hundreds of teachers and 
thousands of students were killed. After the earthquake, most schools 
remained closed through the summer, and reopened in early October. 
International donors and NGOs worked to build and repair schools. Many 
families who were not able to get their children into a public school 
paid for their children to attend private schools, which were generally 
unaccredited and unregulated.
    Credible sources reported that over 200,000 domestically trafficked 
children worked as indentured household servants, or ``restaveks'' (see 
section 7.c.). Approximately 65 percent of these children are girls, 
and nearly three quarters of them work as servants in the home of 
relatives. Governmental agencies and programs promoted children's 
rights and welfare, but the Government lacked sufficient resources to 
support or enforce existing mechanisms adequately.
    Children also reportedly worked on the street and in IDP camps in 
prostitution. Recruitment of children for sexual exploitation, 
pornography, and illicit activities is illegal. The law prohibits the 
corruption of youth under the age of 21 years, including by 
prostitution, with penalties ranging from six months' to three years' 
imprisonment.
    The minimum age of consensual sex is 18. Inefficiencies in 
reporting and investigating allegations of rape contributed to 
uncertainties regarding penalties, if any, for statutory rape.
    The January earthquake created a large number of displaced children 
and left many as orphans. In cooperation with the Government, NGOs and 
international donors established health clinics and child-friendly 
spaces in many of the camps; nevertheless, security issues posed a risk 
as many children were left on their own during the day.
    Port-au-Prince's population of several thousand street children 
included many who were dismissed from or fled employers' homes or 
abusive families, but also some children who lost parents or caretakers 
in the earthquake. Almost 75 percent of street children were boys, 
according to estimates. NGOs reported that street children were likely 
to be sexually or otherwise abused, received little or no education, 
and were easily exploited by trafficking recruiters. Criminal gangs 
also reportedly enlisted minors to commit illegal acts.
    The Ministry of Social Affairs provided some assistance, such as 
food and temporary shelter, to street children.
    In the aftermath of the January earthquake, many orphans were 
evacuated to other countries for expedited adoption. The Institute of 
Social Welfare and Research (IBERS), which oversaw adoptions and 
orphanages, resumed operations in March. Because IBERS had limited 
resources, many orphanages remain unregistered and unmonitored. Lack of 
sanitation, overcrowding, insufficient food, an absence of education, 
and poor adult supervision characterized many facilities.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. For information on international 
parental child abduction, please see the Department of State's annual 
report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small. There were no 
reports of anti-Semitic acts or other societal abuses or discrimination 
based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution and laws do not 
explicitly prohibit discrimination against persons with physical and 
mental disabilities, and 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. According to the National 
Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), approximately 805,000 
persons lived with a physical disability during the year. The 
earthquake exacerbated the difficulties faced by persons with 
disabilities, with the RNDDH reporting that 6,000 persons were left 
with an amputated limb as a result of the earthquake. Only 3 percent of 
children with disabilities have access to schools.
    The Secretariat of State for the Integration of Handicapped Persons 
(SEIPH) is the lead government agency responsible for providing 
assistance to and ensuring that the concerns of the disabled are taken 
into account, especially during the reconstruction phase. SEIPH worked 
with the UN Health Cluster to coordinate the Injury, Rehabilitation, 
and Disability working group, which coordinated all activity concerning 
the rehabilitation of injured persons, the fitting of orthopedic 
devices, and the provision of assistance to persons with disabilities. 
SEIPH also signed an agreement with foreign donors to enable the 
construction in the coming year of a rehabilitation center for persons 
with disabilities. The center will train teachers and technicians and 
will provide prostheses and hearing aids. SEIPH's broader mandate is to 
improve the living conditions of persons with disabilities, raise 
public awareness on national and international disability issues, 
strengthen the response capacity of associations or institutions that 
work on disability issues, and to establish a legal framework for 
persons with disabilities.
    There were no reports of abuse in mental health facilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There was a minimal presence 
of lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) advocacy NGOs operating 
within the country.
    There were no officially confirmed reports of discrimination 
against the LGBT community, but local NGOs reported that LGBT persons 
faced widespread societal discrimination including social stigma, 
targeted physical violence, sexual assault, and employment insecurity. 
NGOs also reported that such persons did not report human rights 
violations due to fear of reprisal.

    Other Societal Violence or 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 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows some workers, 
excluding public-sector employees, to form and join unions of their 
choice. The law also prohibits employers, management, and anyone who 
represents the interests of employers from joining a union. Freelance 
workers and workers in the informal economy are not covered under the 
Labor Code. The law 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. Any association with more than 20 
members must obtain prior authorization from the Government in order to 
be recognized. In practice most unions were not independent 
organizations, but extensions of political parties. There were nine 
principal labor federations representing approximately 5 percent of the 
labor force.
    The labor code provides for the right to strike, with restrictions, 
and workers exercised this right in practice. The Haitian Labor Code 
considers four types of strikes legal: workers striking while remaining 
at their posts; striking without abandoning the institution; walking 
out and abandoning the institution; and striking in solidarity with 
another strike. Managers, administrators, other heads of 
establishments, public utility service workers, and public sector 
enterprise workers may not strike. 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.'' A 48-hour notice period is compulsory for all strikes, and 
strikes may not exceed one day.
    Despite the prohibition there were a few public sector strikes, 
usually related to the Government's failure to pay staff. On April 20, 
bailiffs and clerks went on strike to demand higher wages from the 
Ministry of Justice. On July 1, teachers from both public and private 
schools struck to oblige the Ministry of Education to maintain its 
commitment to subsidize schools damaged by the earthquake. On July 22, 
transport workers called for a general strike and urged President Rene 
Preval to replace the CEP and to satisfy key demands of Haitian drivers 
and workers. They also protested a ``toll'' imposed by Haitian 
authorities at the Malpasse/Jimani border with the Dominican Republic.

    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.
    Although workers had access to labor courts established to resolve 
common labor-management disputes, the courts' judgments were not 
enforced, and as a result labor courts were considered weak and 
ineffective. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Labor and Social 
Affairs, the courts are responsible for adjudicating minor conflicts; 
however unions stated that the process was ineffective. Seven labor 
courts operated in Port-au-Prince, and in the provinces, plaintiffs 
utilized municipal courts.
    The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers, who are 
liable to a monetary fine for each individual violation. Although 
illegally fired workers have the right to recoup any compensation to 
which they are entitled, the law does not specify that employers must 
reinstate workers illegally fired for union activity.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the export processing zone in Ouanaminthe, a town on the Dominican 
border.

    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, namely instances of forced labor 
among child domestics or restaveks. Also see the Department of State's 
annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
minimum employment age for employment in industrial, agricultural, or 
commercial companies is 15. The minimum age for apprenticeships is 14. 
There is no minimum age restriction for work in domestic service and 
there are no legal penalties for employing children in domestic labor 
unless the nature or condition of domestic service harms their health, 
safety, or morals. The law prohibits the exploitation of children, 
which includes servitude and forced or compulsory labor. The law also 
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 in the informal sector to supplement family income. Activities 
and sectors in which children commonly work include domestic work, 
subsistence agriculture, and street trades, such as selling goods, 
washing cars, serving as porters in public markets and bus stations, 
and begging. 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.
    Parents unable to care for their children have traditionally sent 
them to relatives or strangers, who were expected to provide the 
children with food, shelter, and an education in exchange for 
housework. Such children were known as restaveks. The practice was so 
entrenched that even poor families routinely kept one or more restaveks 
who came from even poorer families. Parents often offered their 
children as restaveks when they were six years old or younger. Domestic 
work as a restavek was the primary form of child employment, and there 
was no legal penalty for families that employed restaveks. While some 
host families cared for restaveks and sent them to school, most 
restaveks were subjected to abuse and involuntary domestic servitude. 
Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report 
at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    Government and NGO estimates of the number of restaveks ranged 
between 90,000 and 300,000. A 2009 survey estimated 225,000 children 
work as restaveks in urban areas of Haiti alone. The majority of 
restaveks were girls between the ages of six and 14. Host family 
exploitation of restaveks typically included forcing the children to 
work excessive hours on physically demanding tasks without pay or 
adequate food, not sending them to school, and subjecting them to 
physical and/or sexual abuse. Girls were generally placed in domestic 
servitude in private urban homes, while boys more frequently were 
exploited for labor on farms. Restaveks who did not run away usually 
remained with the host family until age 14. Labor laws require 
employers to pay domestic workers over 15 years old, so many host 
families forced restaveks from the household before that age. Others 
ignored the law, which was not well enforced. Abandoned and runaway 
restaveks constituted a significant proportion of the large population 
of children living on the street, where many were forced into 
prostitution or street crime by criminal gangs, while others became 
street vendors or beggars. The thousands of individuals displaced and/
or orphaned as a result of the January earthquake likely increased the 
number of both restaveks and street children.
    Although the Government charged it with implementation and 
enforcement of child labor laws and regulations, the Institute of 
Social Well-Being and Research (IBESR) lacked adequate funding to 
investigate exploitive child labor cases effectively. Other factors 
contributing to ineffective investigation and lack of judicial recourse 
were border permeability and lack of an adequately trained and equipped 
police force. Since the January 12 earthquake, there has been improved 
collaboration between IBESR and the BPM, the 35-person HNP unit 
responsible for child protection, to remove children from child labor 
and other dangerous and violent situations. Prior to January 12, the 
Government of Haiti also established a program in Carrefour to provide 
basic education, lodging, and food to street children.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On October 1, the daily minimum 
wage increased from HTG125 (approximately $3.00) to HTG150 
(approximately $3.60) in the textile sector and remained at HTG200 
(approximately $4.80) in the commercial and industrial sectors. Workers 
paid at a piecework rate received a minimum of HTG200 per day. For all 
other industrial and commercial establishments, the daily minimum wage 
was fixed at HTG200 for eight hours of work. The minimum wage would put 
a household's income at about twice the average in Haiti, but still 
provided for only a minimal standard of living. Minimum wage levels 
were often not effectively enforced.
    Most citizens worked in the informal sector and subsistence 
agriculture, in which minimum wage legislation does not apply, and 
daily wages of HTG15 ($0.37) were common. Many women worked as domestic 
employees, an area of work also exempted from minimum wage legislation.
    The law sets the standard workday for industrial, commercial, and 
agricultural establishments at eight hours and the workweek at 48 
hours, with 24 hours of rest. It also provides for the payment of 
overtime and prohibits excessive compulsory overtime. However, the law 
grants exemptions to health care, lodging, food and beverage, and 
entertainment establishments; managerial positions; and family 
establishments that employ only family members. The Labor Directorate 
may grant exemptions for other employers not specifically exempted by 
the law. These laws were not effectively enforced. The law is also 
silent concerning public sector employees. Due to staff shortages and 
special events, salaried HNP officers sometimes worked 12-hour shifts 
six days per week and received no overtime, although they received 
standardized bonuses at year's end. HNP officers had also not been 
incorporated into the standardized government schedule of benefits 
after their initial three-year probationary contracts. In severely 
understaffed regions, officers sometimes worked longer hours to serve 
the needs of their communities.
    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 effectively enforce 
them. No group collected formal data, but unions alleged job-related 
injuries occurred frequently in the construction and public works 
sectors. Although they have the legal right to do so, in practice 
workers could not exercise the right to remove themselves from 
dangerous work situations without jeopardizing their continued 
employment.

                               __________

                                HONDURAS

    Honduras is a constitutional multiparty republic with a population 
of approximately eight million. Pursuant to November 2009 elections, 
which the international community generally recognized as free and 
fair, on January 27, Porfirio ``Pepe'' Lobo assumed the presidency and 
formed a government of national unity representing all five registered 
political parties. The Lobo government undertook efforts to reintegrate 
the country into the international community and address political 
polarization and human rights concerns that had arisen out of the June 
2009 coup. There were instances in which elements of the security 
forces acted independently of civilian control.
    Human rights problems reported included the following: unlawful 
killings by police and government agents, which the Government took 
some steps to prosecute; arbitrary and summary killings committed by 
vigilantes and former members of the security forces; harsh prison 
conditions; violence against detainees; corruption and impunity within 
the security forces; lengthy pretrial detention and failure to provide 
due process of law; politicization, corruption, and institutional 
weakness of the judiciary; corruption in the legislative and executive 
branches; government restrictions on the recognition of some civil 
society groups; violence and discrimination against women; child 
prostitution and abuse; trafficking in persons; discrimination against 
indigenous communities; violence and discrimination against persons 
based on sexual orientation; ineffective enforcement of labor laws; and 
child labor.
    On November 22, the Government swore in Ana Pineda as minister of 
the Secretariat of State for Human Rights and Justice, created by the 
legislature on September 28 to promote inter-institutional coordination 
of respect for human rights and to design policies and programs to 
strengthen rule of law, access to justice, and protection of vulnerable 
groups. On December 20, the National Congress allocated 35 million 
lempiras ($1,842,100), of 50 million lempiras ($2,632,500) requested 
for the operation of the secretariat.

                        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 
confrontations over a long-standing land dispute between owners of 
African palm plantations and protesting rural agricultural workers in 
the Aguan Valley, Colon Department resulted in the deaths or injuries 
of approximately 17 agricultural workers, 13 private security guards, 
and one police officer. Human rights groups alleged that police and 
private security guards used disproportionate force against protesting 
workers. Plantation owners asserted that on several occasions some 
armed members of the Unified Aguan Agricultural Workers' Movement 
(MUCA) invaded their plantations, resulting in the killings of security 
guards. Following a November 15 confrontation between agricultural 
workers belonging to the Peasant Movement of the Aguan (MCA) and 
private security guards at the Tumbador Farm, which left at least four 
agricultural workers dead, the Government dispatched a 400-person, 
civilian-led contingent of police and military officials to Aguan, with 
the stated mission to disarm the opposing groups involved in the 
confrontation. The Government also dispatched prosecutors to Aguan to 
assist in police investigations, but as of year's end there were no 
reported investigations of the killings.
    On February 4, unknown actors abducted and strangled Vanessa Zepeda 
in Tegucigalpa. The victim's parents alleged that her death was 
connected to her involvement in the anticoup Resistance movement 
(Resistance). On March 15, authorities arrested and charged with murder 
Rafael Alejandro Sierra Linares for the killing. By year's end a police 
investigation had concluded that the killing was not related to 
Zepeda's political activities, and Sierra Linares was in detention 
awaiting trial.
    Human rights nongovernmental organization (NGO) Committee of 
Relatives of Detained and Disappeared in Honduras (COFADEH) reported 
that on February 15, four unknown men in Comayaguela fatally shot Julio 
Funes, a member of the water and sewer workers union (SITRASANAA) and a 
local leader of the Resistance. COFADEH alleged that Funes had received 
death threats due to his anticoup activities. Police identified as 
suspects several gang members and stated that the killing was linked to 
Funes' antigang activism. At year's end there was no further 
information available regarding the killing.
    COFADEH reported that on February 24, four unidentified persons 
fatally shot Claudia Larissa Brizuela at her home in San Pedro Sula. 
The victim's father, Pedro Brizuela, alleged that his daughter's death 
was related to his Resistance activities. A police investigation 
concluded that there was no indication that the killing was politically 
motivated. At year's end an investigation continued.
    Human rights groups alleged that on March 12, unknown persons 
dressed as police officers entered the home of Resistance member Ramon 
Ulises Castellanos and that several hours later the bodies of 
Castellanos and Miguel Sauceda were found by neighbors. Both victims 
had been shot and killed. Police asserted that the unknown persons were 
impersonating policemen. At year's end an investigation continued.
    On March 17, unknown persons reportedly shot and killed Francisco 
Castillo in Tegucigalpa. Castillo had a pending application for 
protective measures with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 
(IACHR) due to his alleged anticoup activities. At year's end an 
investigation continued.
    On March 23, unknown persons shot and killed Jose Manuel Flores 
outside the public school where he worked in Tegucigalpa. Human rights 
organizations stated that Flores was active in the Resistance. Police 
identified a 14-year-old boy as the primary suspect. At year's end an 
investigation continued.
    On May 26, unknown gunmen shot and killed in Tegucigalpa Pedro 
Antonio Gomez and Oscar Tulio Martinez, respectively the brother and 
brother-in-law of Arcadia Gomez, minister of social affairs in the 
Government of former president Jose Manuel ``Mel'' Zelaya. The NGO 
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH) reported 
that Antonio Gomez and Martinez were active in the Resistance, and that 
gunmen had entered the house asking for Arcadia Gomez. The IACHR had 
requested that the Government provide protective measures to Arcadia 
Gomez due to threats she allegedly received for her anticoup political 
activity. At year's end an investigation continued.
    In August authorities arrested 10 police officers for the reported 
June 2 beating to death of Mario Orlando Sequeira at a hotel room in 
Siguatepeque after management reported that Sequiera was causing a 
disturbance. At an August 6 hearing, a court denied the prosecutor's 
request for preventive arrest but required the accused to appear before 
the court on a weekly basis. On September 17, authorities brought 
charges of homicide, torture, and illegal detention against the police 
chief of Siguatepeque and seven other police officers. By year's end 
the police chief had been dismissed, pending the results of a trial, a 
date for which had not been set.
    On June 20, the body of 17-year-old Oscar Yovani Ramirez was found 
shot with 15 bullet holes at the La Aurora African palm farm in the 
Aguan Valley, Tocoa. Police reported that before authorities received 
information about the location of the body, they apprehended and 
detained at the farm's entrance five agricultural workers who had been 
discharging rifles. After police learned about the discovery of 
Ramirez' body, agricultural workers reportedly refused to allow 
officers to enter and investigate the site. In detention the workers 
told police that Ramirez was not with them at the time of the arrival 
of the police on June 20 and that Ramirez was last seen on the morning 
of June 19. Human rights organizations alleged that police and private 
security guards killed Ramirez. At year's end the prosecutor in Tocoa 
continued investigating the case.
    Casa Alianza reported a lack of investigation by the authorities in 
relation to a substantial increase, in comparison with previous years, 
of execution-style killings by unknown persons of adolescents and 
children. As of September the Government reported receiving 108 
complaints of killings of children, of which 36 were at the trial 
stage, 20 for which arrest warrants had been issued, 51 under 
investigation, and one for which charges had been dismissed.
    There were a number of reported hate crime killings by unknown 
actors of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
community, including the May and August fatal shootings respectively of 
Neraldys and Imperia Gamaniel, leaders of the NGO Colectivo TTT (see 
section 6).
    At year's end an investigation continued following the January 2009 
arrest of Norman Gilberto Reyes for the January 2009 carjacking and 
fatal shooting of Rodrigo Eugenio Valladares Pineda, son of former 
human rights commissioner Leo Rodrigo Valladares Lanza, Edmund Jeffry 
Trochez, and Isaiah Nahum Bonilla Escobar.
    At year's end an investigation continued regarding the February 
2009 fatal shooting by unknown assailants of National Party 
congressional candidate Marco Tulio Velasquez in Santa Rosa de Copan.
    There was no information available regarding the investigation of 
the February 2009 fatal shooting by unknown assailants of 
environmentalist Jose Miguel Pagoada Tercero, who had been assisting in 
the Hato de Enmedio community's reforestation.
    At year's end an investigation continued into the March 2009 fatal 
shooting by unknown assailants of Liberal Party congressional candidate 
and adviser to the mayor of San Pedro Sula Oscar Heberto Mejia 
Villafranca.
    At year's end authorities had identified a suspect in the March 
2009 fatal shooting by two unknown persons of land-rights activist 
Miguel Angel Reyes in Cofradia. In September authorities reported that 
a trial would be scheduled for Adan Rodriguez Cabrera accused in the 
April 2009 fatal shooting of Cofradia land rights activist Juan Angel 
Rivera Gonzalez. At year's end there was no further information 
regarding the scheduling of the trial. An investigation continued into 
the April 2009 fatal shooting of Odilio Acosta and Santos Aguilar of 
the Campesino Movement of Rigores in Trujillo, Colon.
    At year's end an investigation continued into the June 2009 fatal 
shooting by unknown persons wearing police uniforms of Andres Reyes, 
Marlon Javier Turcios, Heber Rendon, Felix Omar Mayorquin, Dagner 
Canales, Santos Sabillon, Carlos Villatoro, Allan Belis, and Harry 
Plama in Saba, Colon Department.
    On August 2, the civil society groups Center for Investigation and 
Promotion of Human Rights in Honduras (CIPRODEH), Movement for Dignity 
and Justice, and Team for Reflection, Investigation, and Communication 
of the Society of Jesus submitted a complaint to the Office of the 
Special Prosecutor for Human Rights against former de facto regime 
leader Roberto Micheletti, and several other de facto regime officials 
including: head of the armed forces, Romeo Vasquez Velasquez; the 
defense minister, Adolfo Lionel Sevilla; and the security minister, 
Jorge Rodas. The complaint alleged the commission of multiple and 
systematic violations of human rights, including assassinations, 
torture, and illegal detention of 481 persons in El Paraiso Department 
between July and August 2009. At year's end of the prosecutor was 
investigating the case.
    The Public Ministry continued its investigation into the July 2009 
fatal shooting of Isis Obed Murillo during an anticoup demonstration at 
Toncontin Airport. By year's end the military had not given to the 
Public Ministry 25 of approximately 1,000 weapons, which security 
forces held at the airport on the day of the shooting and which the 
military reportedly agreed to hand over to the ministry. The Public 
Ministry also reported that the military twice denied requests to 
provide information on police and military deployments at the airport 
that day.
    At year's end there was no further information about the 
prosecutor's investigation of the August 2009 death of Roger Vallejo 
due to gunshot injuries he received during a July 2009 anticoup 
demonstration in Tegucigalpa.
    There was still no further information available regarding the 
investigation by Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights into 
the complaint received by the IACHR that in August 2009 a military 
official fatally shot Pedro Pablo Hernandez at a military roadblock 
during curfew hours.
    Police officer Denis Omar Montoya, who in September 2009 reportedly 
shot and killed bicyclist Jacobo Perdomo, remained at large.
    At year's end there was no further information available regarding 
the investigation into the September 2009 shooting by unknown 
assailants of Jairo Sanchez, president of the labor union at the 
Institute of Professional Training, during an anticoup protest in 
Tegucigalpa. In October 2009 Sanchez died from injuries he sustained 
during the shooting.
    There was no further information available regarding the September 
2009 fatal shooting by unknown persons of Francisco Moncada Alvorado 
during a police dispersal of an anticoup demonstration in the Flor de 
Campo neighborhood in Tegucigalpa.
    There was no further information available regarding the November 
2009 shooting and subsequent death due to injuries of Angel Salgado 
when he drove through a military roadblock in Tegucigalpa.
    By year's end authorities reported that the case against four gang 
members for the 2008 killing of labor leader Altagracia Fuentes and of 
Liberal Party congressional deputy Mario Fernando Hernandez Bonilla 
would be closed due to the deaths of the suspects.
    There was no further information, and none was expected, regarding 
the 2008 killing of 11 persons involved in a land dispute between 
relatives of police official Henry Osortes and MUCA.
    At year's end there was no further information available regarding 
the 2009 arrest of Julio Cesar Galan Rodriguez for the 2008 killing in 
Trujillo of Irene Ramirez, a member of the MCA.
    There was no further information available regarding the case 
against Amilcar Antonio Hernandez, who was awaiting trial at the end of 
2009, for the 2008 killing of land-rights activist and community leader 
Elias Murcia. There also was no further information regarding the 
status of the cases of Fredi Osorto and Ubence Aguilar, who were killed 
with Murcia.
    There was no further information, and none was expected, regarding 
the investigation of the killings in 2008 of Danilo Edgardo Castro 
Hernandez, La Lima vice mayoral candidate, or of Julio Cesar Padilla, 
Liberal Party mayoral candidate for Morazan.
    There were no developments, and none were expected, regarding four 
police officers, who remained at large since 2008 in relation to the 
2006 killing of environmentalist Heraldo Zuniga.
    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. Human rights 
organizations asserted that some citizen security councils 
(neighborhood protection groups) and private security companies, with 
ties to former and current military or police officials, acted with the 
complicity of police as vigilantes or death squads to use lethal force 
against supposed habitual criminals.

    b. Disappearance.--There were reports of politically motivated and 
other disappearances. Some disappearances, including those involving 
disappearances of minors, were thought to be criminally motivated 
abductions, and others were attributed to voluntary acts of persons 
leaving the country for employment elsewhere or to escape death 
threats. Police reported investigating 63 cases of kidnapping during 
the year, compared with 88 reported in 2009.
    Human rights groups reported that on February 1, three unknown 
persons kidnapped Hermes Reyes in Siguatepeque, injuring his eye; they 
released him later that day. An investigation continued.
    Manuel de Jesus Murillo and Ricardo Rodriguez, cameramen for Globo 
TV, reported to CODEH that on February 2, four unknown armed persons 
kidnapped, beat, and questioned them about the Resistance movement. At 
year's end authorities had identified four suspects and were planning 
to present indictments.
    Oscar Flores, a CODEH volunteer and Resistance activist, reported 
that on April 20, unknown persons kidnapped and questioned him about 
his involvement in the Resistance movement. Police denied holding 
Flores in custody. At year's end there was no information regarding an 
investigation of this incident.
    On October 19, two unknown persons reportedly forced into a taxi 
and abducted a legal consultant for the NGO Association for a More Just 
Society (ASJ), questioned her about her work for ASJ and involvement in 
investigating Technical Security of Honduras, a private company under 
contract with the Government; threatened to kill her; and released her 
the same day. On November 3, two unknown persons on a motorcycle 
threatened at gunpoint another ASJ lawyer, reportedly referencing the 
lawyer's association with ASJ and the NGO Transformemos Honduras.
    There was no further information regarding the investigation of the 
March 2009 kidnapping by unknown actors of Bernardo Rivera Paz whose 
remains were found in July 2009 in Florida, Copan Department.
    There was no further information, and none was expected, regarding 
the 2008 disappearance of Jose Alfredo Guevera, Carlos Lazo, and Hector 
Herrera.
    There was no further information available, and none was expected, 
regarding an investigation into the whereabouts of public defender Juan 
Bautista Vargas who disappeared in 2008 and whose vehicle had been used 
until September 2009 by police officers without informing their 
superiors.
    The National Reparations Program, created by government decree in 
2008, did not operate after the Office of the Prosecutor Against 
Corruption determined that the Government had already provided 
compensation to some of the designated program beneficiaries. At year's 
end the court system was reviewing nullification of the decree creating 
the program.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and law prohibit such practices, 
there were instances in which the police and military employed them, 
including police beatings and other abuse of detainees.
    On June 30, police in Tegucigalpa reportedly arrested, forced into 
a vehicle, subjected to pepper spray and Tasers for several hours, and 
taunted about his membership in the Resistance Edwin Robelo Espinal. 
COFADEH and Espinal alleged that police had been harassing him and his 
family since 2009 due to their participation in Resistance activities. 
Police reported that they arrested Espinal for disorderly conduct and 
inappropriate behavior. On July 22, the IACHR requested that the 
Government provide precautionary measures to protect Espinal's life and 
physical security. In July government officials signed an accord with 
Espinal and COFADEH to provide precautionary measures. Espinal alleged 
that the measures provided were inadequate, and that the police 
involved in the June 30 incident continued to intimidate him. As of the 
end of December, the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights 
was continuing an investigation of the case.
    There was no further information available regarding the 
whereabouts of police officer Delmi Yamileth Martinez for whom police 
issued an arrest warrant in August 2009 for aggravated illegal 
detention, torture, and threats to kill anticoup demonstrator Antonia 
Coello.
    On February 9, unknown persons reportedly wearing military uniforms 
and ski masks raped a woman and her sister-in-law at their home near 
San Pedro Sula. According to the woman, the perpetrators stated that 
she was being raped for complaining to authorities that four police 
officers raped her in August 2009 due to her anti-coup political 
activities. At year's end the Office of the Special Prosecutor for 
Human Rights continued its investigation of the 2009 case and the 
February reported assault.
    There was no further information available regarding any 
investigation of an October 2009 incident during which security forces 
reportedly beat on the head, kicked, and shot and injured with rubber 
bullets, an 18-year-old Garifuna, Luis Norales during an anticoup 
political demonstration in Tegucigalpa.
    On September 9, a court sentenced Marvin Javier Martinez Bermudez 
and Jose Santiago Lopez Villalobo to 40 years' imprisonment for the 
2007 murder of Judge Alba Leticia Bueso. Ruben Antonio Pineda 
Hernandez, another suspect in the case, remained at large.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Human rights groups 
reported that prisoners suffered from severe overcrowding, 
malnutrition, and lack of adequate sanitation. Authorities did not 
provide adequate food or other basic necessities. The ready access of 
prisoners to weapons and other contraband, impunity for inmate attacks 
against nonviolent prisoners, inmate escapes, and threats by inmates 
and their associates outside prisons against prison officials and their 
families contributed to an unstable and dangerous penitentiary system 
environment. Human rights organizations charged that prison officials 
used excessive force against prisoners, including beatings, as well as 
isolation and threats. There were reports that prisoners were tortured 
or otherwise abused in, or on their way to, prisons and other detention 
facilities.
    Persons with mental illnesses, as well as those with tuberculosis 
and other infectious diseases, were held among the general prison 
population. Authorities at the Dr. Marco Aurelio Soto National 
Penitentiary at Tamara reported that while their facility was the only 
prison in the country with an antiretroviral treatment program, the 
facility did not have necessary materials to test or diagnose for HIV/
AIDS, tuberculosis, or diabetes. For the nearly 3,000 inmates held at 
Tamara in August, there was only one dentist, and the surgical facility 
lacked anesthesia, surgical gloves, and needles.
    There were credible reports that security officials condoned rapes 
and other physical assaults on LGBT detainees. Prisoners were subject 
to various abuses, including rape by other inmates.
    Between January and August, seven inmates reportedly died due to 
violence with another seven dying of natural causes. Prison authorities 
attempted to hold prisoners from rival gangs in different facilities or 
in different areas of the same prison to reduce intergang violence but 
lacked an efficient classification system to identify potentially 
violent new arrivals.
    Authorities reported that former prison directors Leonel Ramos 
Andino and Luis Trochez Pineda and prison officials Wilfredo Maradiaga 
Oeguera and Aldo Rodolfo Oliva Rodriguez, who were charged or under 
investigation in 2009 with abuse of authority, were reassigned to the 
Preventive National Police. The country has 24 prisons, 23 for men or 
mixed populations, and one exclusively for women. In December the total 
prison population was 11,846 of which 411 were women. Forty-nine 
percent of inmates had been formally sentenced while 51 percent were in 
the processing phase. As of late September, authorities reported that 
the men's section of the Tamara complex, which has a designed holding 
capacity of 1,500, was holding 2,779 male inmates. There were 500 
additional offenders serving sentences under house-arrest.
    There was one juvenile prison in Tamara, which operated under the 
supervision of the Honduran Institute of the Child and Family. As of 
September Tamara held 87 male and 34 female juvenile inmates. Judges 
tended to place minors in detention centers in the absence of other 
educational or reform programs.
    Female prisoners generally were held in separate facilities under 
conditions similar to those of male prisoners but, unlike their male 
counterparts, did not have conjugal visit privileges. At certain lower-
security prisons, women were held with the general population. Children 
up to the age of two were permitted to stay with their mothers in 
prison. Authorities often held pretrial detainees together with 
convicted prisoners. Minors were sometimes held together with adults.
    Authorities generally permitted inmates with reasonable access to 
visitors and religious services of their choice. Authorities permitted 
inmates to submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship 
and request investigation of credible allegations of inhuman 
conditions. The director of prisons held meetings with human rights 
organizations. While the Government did not directly monitor prison 
conditions, the National Preventive Police, National Police, and the 
Secretariat of State of Security investigated credible allegations from 
prisoners or NGOs regarding inhuman conditions. Investigations resulted 
in written reports, which were available to the public.
    The Government generally permitted prison visits by independent 
local and international human rights observers, including the 
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and such visits 
occurred during the year. The visits were in accordance with ICRC 
standard procedures and practices.
    According to the National Direction of Special Preventive Service, 
the National Commissioner on Human Rights (CONADEH), which performs 
some of the functions of an ombudsman, does not serve on behalf of 
prisoners and detainees for such matters as alternatives to 
incarceration for nonviolent offenders to alleviate overcrowding; 
addressing the status and circumstances of confinement of juvenile 
offenders; and improving pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping 
procedures to ensure that prisoners do not serve beyond the maximum 
sentence for the charged offense. These functions were performed by 
public, defenders, judges, and the NGO CODEH. The Secretariat of State 
of Security continued a major prison reform program involving the 
construction of new facilities to reduce overcrowding, separate the 
most dangerous prisoners from nonviolent offenders, and promote 
rehabilitation. The Government did not increase the amount of resources 
for maintaining or improving the prison system.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, but authorities at times 
failed to enforce these prohibitions effectively.
    There was no information available, and none was expected, 
regarding developments in the investigation of the 2008 unlawful 
detention of land-rights activists Mario Alvarez, Nelson Alvarez, 
Heliodoro Amador, and Alonso Andino in Suntule, Francisco Morazan 
Department.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of 
Security oversees police operations, including those of the Honduran 
National Police (HNP), the National Preventive Police, Criminal 
Investigation Division (DGIC), Transit Police, Frontier Police, Tourist 
Police, and Prison Police. Corruption and impunity were serious 
problems that impeded the effectiveness of the security forces.
    The Office of Internal Affairs in the Secretariat of State of 
Security is charged with investigating allegations of illegal 
activities committed by members of the police. The HNP and the DGIC 
each have an office of professional responsibility that conducts 
internal reviews of police misconduct. At year's end there were 
approximately 95 ongoing investigations against police officers in 
relation to administrative and criminal complaints, including conduct 
not befitting an officer, abuse of authority, police brutality, 
robbery, and homicide.
    During the year the National Police Academy provided 150 hours of 
human rights training to the Honduran Police National University, 120 
hours to the National Police Academy, 60 hours to the Officers 
Candidate School, and 20 hours to the Police Technology Institute.
    Gang violence and intimidation, notably on public transport, 
remained serious problems. The Government did not effectively respond 
to these problems.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
provides that police can 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. The 
law requires police to inform a person of the grounds for arrest and 
bring a detainee before a competent authority within 24 hours. The law 
provides that the prosecutor has 24 hours to decide if there was 
probable cause for an indictment, and a judge then has 24 hours to 
decide whether to issue a temporary detention order that could 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 some felonies and the right of prisoners to prompt access 
to family members. The authorities generally respected these provisions 
effectively, and in practice detainees were promptly informed of 
charges against them and allowed access to family members. Although the 
law also provides for prisoners to have the right of prompt access to a 
lawyer of their choice, and, if indigent, to state-provided counsel, 
authorities did not always follow these requirements.
    Lengthy pretrial detention was a serious problem. 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, 
corruption, and insufficient resources delayed proceedings in the 
criminal justice system.
    As a result of trial 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 officials to process their releases.

    Amnesty.--On January 26, the National Congress passed a decree, 
which President Lobo signed on January 27, granting amnesty to persons 
who committed between January 1, 2008, and January 27, the political 
crimes of treason, terrorism, and sedition, and crimes against the form 
of government. The decree also provided amnesty for the following 
common crimes connected to political crimes: abuse of power; crimes 
committed by individuals against the exercise of rights provided by the 
constitution; and the crimes of disobedience, abuse of authority, and 
violation of public officials' duties. The decree's provisions excluded 
amnesty for human rights violations.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the constitution and the 
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.
    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.
    On June 1, the Supreme Court ratified its May 5 decision to dismiss 
four judges and a public defender, who were members of the anticoup 
``Judges for Democracy'' organization. Domestic and international civil 
society groups alleged that the dismissals were in retaliation for the 
anticoup activism of the dismissed four judges and one public defender. 
Following its May 15 to 18 visit to review the human rights situation 
in the country, the IACHR expressed concern about harassment directed 
at judges who participated in activities against the coup and stated 
that the reasons motivating the May 5 dismissals were ``undoubtedly 
linked'' to participation in anticoup demonstrations or expression of 
an opinion against the coup. The IACHR requested that the authorities 
reverse the decision to render the dismissals, which it stated 
``seriously undermines the rule of law. In July the dismissed personnel 
presented a petition for reinstatement to the Council for the Judicial 
Career. At year's end there was no information regarding any action the 
Government had taken to respond to the petition or the IACHR's 
concerns.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides for the right to a fair public 
trial for all citizens, permits defendants to confront or question 
witnesses, present witnesses and evidence on their behalf, and provides 
defendants access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases. 
Although the law recognizes 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. Jury trials are not used.
    Although the law prohibits cases from proceeding where a suspect 
lacks legal representation, the Government allocated minimal resources 
to the public defenders. As a result, the public defender was not able 
to meet the demand for legal assistance to those unable to afford 
representation.
    Throughout the year common challenges to criminal prosecutions 
included a lack of credible evidence presented by the prosecution, lack 
of witness protection, widespread public distrust in the legal system, 
and judicial corruption.

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

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--On June 10, to comply with 
an Inter-American Court of Human rights ruling, the Government held a 
public ceremony to commemorate the 1995 murder in Tela of environmental 
activist Blanca Jeanette Kawas Fernandez. At the ceremony, President 
Lobo stated that the Government would comply with all other provisions 
of the ruling.

    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. A litigant 
can bring such charges when the criminal court determines that damages 
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 into a private residence 
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 
occasionally failed to obtain the required authorization before 
entering a private home.
    At year's end, an investigation continued regarding a July 2009 
incident during which military officers reportedly entered the home of 
former president Zelaya's cousin, former Liberal Party congresswoman 
Margarita Zelaya, allegedly to intimidate her.
    Garifuna and other ethnic minority 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 6).

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
    a. Freedom of Speech and Press.--The constitution and the laws 
provide for freedom of speech and of the press, and upon assuming 
office on January 27, the Lobo government respected these rights in 
practice. Independent media were active and expressed political views 
without government restriction, and individuals could criticize the 
Government publicly or privately without government reprisal.
    On August 31, the Government abrogated decree number 124-2009, 
which the de facto regime adopted in October 2009 to authorize the 
National Council on Telecommunications to cancel licenses of television 
and radio stations disseminating messages that generated ``national 
hate, promoted social anarchy, or disturbed the peace.''
    The news media continued to suffer from venality, politicization, 
vulnerability to special interest manipulation, and weak 
professionalism in reporting and analyzing news. A small number of 
powerful business magnates with intersecting commercial, political, and 
family ties owned most of the country's news media and substantially 
influenced the political and factual content of reporting.
    During the year there were reports that unknown actors killed 10 
journalists and intimidated other members of the media. In May, June, 
and September, the IACHR expressed serious concerns about acts of 
violence against journalists. On August 25, President Lobo publicly 
pledged to investigate fully these killings. On September 20, the IACHR 
requested that the Government take all measures necessary to prevent 
such acts and duly to investigate and punish the perpetrators.
    On March 1, unknown actors fatally shot Joseph Antony Hernandez 
while he was driving a vehicle in which procoup journalist Wendy 
Carolina ``Karol'' Cabrera was a passenger. Cabrera suffered a gunshot 
wound, but survived. At year's end an investigation continued. The 
Office of the Prosecutor continued its review of the December 2009 case 
involving the fatal shooting by unknown assailants of Catherine, the 
daughter of Cabrera, and Catherine's unborn child.
    On June 1, authorities issued arrest warrants for Mario Roberto 
Guevara and three other persons in relation to the March 11 fatal 
shooting of journalist David Enrique Meza in La Ceiba. On August 19, 
Guevara voluntarily turned himself into police but declared his 
innocence. On August 25, authorities temporarily dismissed the charges 
against Guevara. At year's end the Public Ministry continued its 
investigation of the case.
    On March 14, unknown assailants shot and killed Nahum Palacios, 
director of Aguan television Channel 5, who allegedly was illegally 
detained and beaten while in police custody in June 2009, in Tocoa, 
Colon Department. On April 20, authorities charged Hector Tercero with 
abuse of authority, illegal detention, and harassment in relation to 
the detention of Palacios. On December 19, the press reported that the 
Supreme Judicial Court confirmed a lower court's dismissal of these 
charges. At year's end the case against Tercero remained under appeal 
and an investigation continued into the killing of Palacios.
    On April 21, ``Georgino'' Jorge Alberto Orellana, was fatally shot 
after broadcasting a program at Channel TVH. Authorities arrested 
Jonathan Joseph Cockborn in Villanueva, Cortes Department, who at 
year's end remained in detention.
    By year's end authorities were investigating the killings by 
unknown individuals of the following journalists: Jose Bayardo Mairena 
of Radio Excelsio and Channel RZ and Victor Manuel Juarez on March 26; 
W105 radio show host Luis Antonio Chevez on April 26; Luis Arturo 
Mondragon, owner and news director of TV Channel 19, on June 15; radio 
journalist Israel Zelaya on August 24; and Henry Suazo on December 28.
    On September 14, unknown persons fired shots at Radio Globo 
journalist Luis Galdamez Alvarez, who was able to flee the scene 
unharmed. On September 20, the IACHR condemned the attack and expressed 
concern that the authorities had failed to provide adequate protective 
measures to Galdamez Alvarez, which the commission had requested in 
July 2009, due to death threats the journalist had been receiving. At 
year's end the Public Ministry was investigating this case.
    There was no further information available regarding a trial of 
officers Dora Elvira Rivera Zuniga, Leonardo Rerrufino, and Walter 
Castellanos of DGIC on charges of detention and abuse of authority for 
detaining La Tribuna newspaper reporter Martin Ramirez in February 
2009.
    As of November there was no further information available regarding 
an investigation of the March 2009 fatal shooting by unknown assailants 
of Radio Cadena Voces correspondent Rafael Munguia, who had been 
reporting on organized crime and gangs.
    By year's end authorities had presented evidence and begun judicial 
proceedings regarding the April 2009 attempted killing by unknown 
gunmen of reporter and owner of television station Telemaya Channel 12, 
Carlos Roberto Chinchilla.
    In June the First Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's 
decision dismissing criminal charges against army Lieutenant Colonel 
Jose Arnulfo Jimenez for abuse of authority in occupying anticoup 
television station Channel 30 during the coup in June 2009. The court's 
decision required, however, that a public trial be scheduled for the 
case, Jimenez would report to the court twice per month and would be 
prohibited from approaching Channel 36 or its owner. On August 31, the 
judge presiding over the second stage of the criminal process 
provisionally dismissed the charges. By year's end the prosecution had 
appealed the dismissal.
    There was no further information available regarding a 2009 pending 
Public Ministry investigation into the legality of the de facto regime-
imposed decree 016-2009 restricting freedom of expression and other 
civil liberties; the military's June 2009 damage to equipment; 
censorship and blocking of transmissions of Radio Globo, Radio 
Progreso, Cable Color, Channel 8, television stations Channel 11 and 
Channel 36; or the August 2009 damage by masked individuals to 
equipment of Radio Globo and Channel 36.
    At year's end, an investigation was ongoing into the July 2009 
fatal shooting by masked assailants of radio journalist Gabriel Fino 
Noriega who had been covering anticoup activities in Atlantida 
Department.
    On September 10, the Supreme Judicial Court dismissed the cases 
against former de facto regime head of the National Telecommunications 
Commission Miguel Rodas and others for abuse of authority in relation 
to the September 2009 forced closure of Channel 36 and Radio Globo, 
after the prosecutor appealed a lower court's April 13 dismissal of the 
original indictment.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Generally individuals and groups could engage in 
the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
There were approximately 10 Internet users per 100 inhabitants, and 
lack of infrastructure in rural areas greatly limited access for many 
persons.

    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, 
which the Government generally respected.
    On August 3, pursuant to the Honduran National Autonomous 
University's request for police assistance to control approximately 100 
students, current and former university employees, and suspected gang 
members who had taken control of the university's main gate, police 
used tear gas to respond to rocks and other projectiles thrown at them 
by protesters. Four police and four protestors suffered minor injuries.
    Human rights NGOs alleged that the security forces employed 
disproportionate force, including the spraying of tear gas, during 
striking teachers' demonstrations on August 18, in Choloma and on 
August 20, 26, and 27, in Tegucigalpa. At the August 26 demonstration 
outside the presidential office building, demonstrators attacked 
security forces with rocks and sticks containing embedded nails. On 
August 21, a court hearing was held for demonstrators Luis Alonso Sosa 
Salgado, Edgar Arnulfo Soriano Davila, Andres Martinez Solorzano, and 
Carlos Francisco Anariba, who were arrested on August 20 and charged 
with carrying out an illegal demonstration. The four demonstrators were 
reportedly released on condition that they appear before the court 
weekly. On September 16, a court found the demonstrators not guilty of 
sedition and suspended the charges. CODEH asserted that security forces 
did not release information about the contents of the tear gas, 
impeding the ability of hospitals to treat persons exposed to the 
spraying during the demonstrations.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution and the law generally 
provide for freedom of association, and the Government generally 
respected this right in practice. The penal code prohibits illicit 
association and prescribes prison terms of two to four years and a fine 
between 30,000 and 60,000 lempiras ($1,500 to $3,000) for anyone who 
convokes or directs an illicit meeting or demonstration, defined as 
those attended by persons bearing arms, explosive devices, or dangerous 
objects with the goal of committing a crime. The penal code prescribes 
prison terms between 20 and 30 years and a fine between 100,000 and 
300,000 lempiras ($5,000 and $15,000) to heads of gangs or other groups 
that associate to commit a crime. Human rights organizations continued 
to criticize the law and its implementation as an undue restriction on 
the right to associate freely. LGBT advocacy groups continued to 
express concerns that the law could be used to criminalize social 
activities and organizations of the LGBT community. On November 18, the 
legislature approved a law against terrorist financing that enables the 
Government to close business organizations deemed to be engaged in 
terrorist financing. NGOs expressed concern that the Government could 
use the law to close NGOs for political reasons.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and law provide for 
freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government abrogated decrees instituted in 2009 that 
limited movement within the country.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not use 
forced exile in practice.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's law provides for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the Government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees.
    In law and practice, the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion.
    The Government determined that eight persons holding South African 
passports, who were detained in 2008 and later applied for asylum, were 
citizens of Eritrea. The Government reported that it granted them 90-
day residence permits and, as of September, the eight persons had 
withdrawn their asylum applications and voluntarily returned to 
Eritrea.

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. Citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of nearly 
universal suffrage. The law does not permit active members of the 
clergy and of the military and civilian security forces to vote.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On January 27, Porfirio 
Lobo assumed office for a four-year presidential term, following 
elections in November 2009 that international observers considered to 
be free and fair.
    Political parties could operate without restriction or outside 
interference. Women participated actively in politics. Women held 30 of 
128 seats in the National Congress. Thirty women were alternate members 
of congress. Six women sat on the 15-member executive board of 
congress, and 12 women presided over congressional committees. One of 
three presidential designates in the Government, with equivalent status 
to that of a vice president, was a woman. There were three female 
cabinet members, namely the secretaries of state for justice and human 
rights, tourism, and social development.
    The National Congress had one Misquito community member and one 
Afro-Honduran member. The cabinet-level minister of the Secretariat of 
State for Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Affairs, created on October 14, 
was an Afro-Honduran.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for corruption. However, 
authorities did not effectively implement the law. The World Bank 
governance indicators reflected that government corruption was a 
serious problem. Government institutions were subject to corruption and 
political influence, and officials engaged in corrupt practices with 
impunity.
    Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws. The 
Public Ministry, police investigative services, and the Superior 
Accounting Tribunal are the Government agencies responsible for 
combating corruption. There is an Anti-Corruption Inter-Institutional 
Working Group composed of the Superior Accounting Tribunal, the Office 
of the Solicitor General, the Public Ministry, the Supreme Court, the 
Institute for Access to Public Information, the National Commission of 
Human Rights, and the Anti-Corruption Council. There was a widespread 
public perception that the country's anticorruption institutions had 
not taken the steps necessary to combat corruption and were unwilling 
or lacked the professional capacity and or the resources to 
investigate, arrest, and prosecute those involved in high level 
corruption.
    On February 23, the Government expressed its commitment to 
transparency and accountability by declaring the Year of Transparency 
and enacting an executive decree, signed by all members of the cabinet, 
pledging adherence to an ethical pact. President Lobo and the cabinet 
also appeared before the Superior Accounting Tribunal to file legally 
required sworn statements about their property and assets. On September 
8, the Secretariat of State of Interior and Justice and the National 
Anti-Corruption Council signed a framework convention on 
interinstitutional cooperation.
    Following an April 2009 IACHR request, the Government provided 
protective measures to Ines Yadira Cubero Gonzalez, the victim of a 
March 2009 attempted shooting. Authorities charged police officers 
Denis Geovanny Orellana and Jorge Meza Cruz with violation of their 
duties as public officials. Authorities reported that the Orellana and 
Meza Cruz would be tried, but as of year's end no date had been set.
    On July 2, authorities arrested Marcelo Chimirri, the former head 
of the state-owned telephone company, Hondutel, and charged him with 
embezzlement involving alleged bribes paid to Hondutel officials. 
Chimirri remained in custody during his trial. Upon sentencing he paid 
a fine in lieu of serving time in prison, a legal option for prison 
sentences of under four years. On August 22, authorities brought 
corruption charges against Hondutel auditor Julio Daniel Flores. On 
November 4, an appeals court upheld a guilty verdict, which was issued 
earlier in the year against Flores.
    By year's end the prosecutor had appealed a court decision to 
dismiss abuse of authority charges against Enrique Flores Lanza, 
secretary of the presidency under the Zelaya administration, for 
allegedly withdrawing in June 2009, 40 million lempiras ($2 million) 
from the central bank. Lanza remained at large and his whereabouts were 
unknown.
    On April 9, authorities dismissed charges of abuse of authority, 
issued in July 2009, against Zelaya administration executive vice 
president Aristides Mejia and head of the state energy company Rixi 
Ramona Moncada. On June 1, abuse-of-authority charges against Zelaya 
administration finance minister Rebeca Santos were suspended pending a 
Court of Appeals ruling.
    The Government allowed access to public information for citizens 
and noncitizens, including foreign media through the Institute for the 
Access to Public Information (IAIP). The institute operated a Web site 
for citizens to request information from government agencies and is 
responsible for ensuring that government institutions comply with the 
Government transparency rules and practices for permitting access to 
public information. If a government agency denies a request for public 
information, a party can submit a claim with the IAIP, which has the 
authority to grant a resolution, including sanctioning noncompliance 
with fines. During the year IAIP staff travelled nationwide to increase 
public awareness of the Law on Transparency and Access to Public 
Information and entered into an agreement with secondary schools to 
enhance community awareness of the law.
    There was no further information, and none was expected, regarding 
the Public Ministry's January 2009 announcement that it had reopened a 
2008 case involving a Cuban immigrant trafficking network.
    At year's end a trial was underway for the 2008 case against 
Guillermo Seaman for approving fraudulent certifications of airline 
employees.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
operated in the country, investigating and publishing their findings on 
human rights cases. Government officials generally cooperated with 
domestic and international NGOs and were usually responsive to their 
views. A number of human rights defender groups refused to recognize 
the Lobo government and, therefore, would not meet executive branch 
officials to discuss human rights issues. Some groups subsequently 
resumed dialogue with the Government. The Government met with Garifuna 
advocates and other human rights and civil society organizations and 
responded to their inquiries and recommendations.
    In a report issued on June 3 regarding its May 15 to 18 visit, the 
IACHR stated that the Government's efforts to implement precautionary 
measures to protect human rights defenders and other persons due to 
intimidation reportedly connected with their political activities, were 
inadequate and, in some cases, nonexistent. On June 7, the IACHR noted 
that based on its May visit observations, human rights defenders, 
journalists, social communicators, teachers, trade union members, and 
members of the Resistance were subject to threats and harassment. The 
commission further stated that complaints received from members of 
these groups could correspond to the same pattern of violence begun in 
the context of the June 2009 coup, but that the authorities were not 
investigating the killings and other forms of intimidation in a way to 
make it possible to clarify whether the incidents were related to the 
context of the coup.
    On August 30, the Government requested that the Office of the High 
Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) open an office in the country. The 
OHCHR appointed a two-person team to provide staff for advising the 
Government and assisting government and civil society on protecting 
human rights in the country.
    There was no further information, and none was expected, regarding 
an investigation of the 2008 killing by unidentified gunmen of educator 
and CONADEH member Luis Gustavo Galeano Romero.
    On March 12, President Lobo created the position of presidential 
commissioner for human rights and appointed Ana Pineda as commissioner 
to formulate government human rights policy. On September 28, the 
National Congress approved the creation of a Secretariat of State for 
Human Rights and Justice, and on November 22, swore in Pineda as 
minister for the secretariat. Pineda's mandate is to promote and 
execute interinstitutional coordination of respect for human rights; to 
design policies and programs to strengthen rule of law, access to 
justice, and protection of vulnerable groups; and to increase public 
awareness about human rights. The secretariat was considered to be 
effective in fostering dialogue with civil society, but by year's end 
the Government had allocated only 35 million lempiras ($1,842,100) of 
the 50 million lempiras ($2,632,500) Pineda had requested to operate 
the secretariat.
    CONADEH was headed by Human Rights Commissioner Ramon Custodio 
Lopez. Domestic and international human rights organizations lacked 
confidence in Custodio's work, which they viewed as partisan, 
politicized, and supportive of the June 2009 coup. In October CONADEH 
released one special report on public security designed to assist in 
fostering a national environment for respecting human rights and public 
security. The report highlighted lack of citizen confidence in the 
police, which deterred many victims from reporting abuses, and lack of 
adequate investigation as primary reasons for the high rate of impunity 
in the country. The Government did not respond to the report.
    On May 4, the Government installed the Truth Commission, provided 
for under the Tegucigalpa-San Jose Accord with the goal of producing an 
objective report about the facts surrounding the June 2009 coup. The 
commission, designed to operate for nine months, consisted of three 
international and two Honduran commissioners. On June 8, former 
president Zelaya called on the members of his former government not to 
cooperate with the Truth Commission. On June 28, the Human Rights 
Platform, made up of six human rights NGOs: Center for the Rights of 
Women, Center of Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation of the 
Victims of Torture and their Relatives, For the Right to Food, 
CIPRODEH, CODEH, and COFADEH, established an alternative ``Commission 
of Truth.''

Section 6. 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 suffered social and economic 
discrimination and, along with other vulnerable groups, experienced an 
erosion of human rights protections following the 2009 coup.

    Women.--The law criminalizes all forms of rape, including spousal 
rape. With the exception of spousal rape, which is evaluated on a case-
by-case basis, rape is considered a public crime. A rapist can be 
prosecuted even if the victim does not press charges. The penalties for 
rape range from three to nine years' imprisonment, and the courts 
enforced these penalties in practice. Rape was reportedly a serious and 
pervasive societal problem. Through September the police reported 
receiving 2,048 cases of rape with 1,697 of these against minors.
    Violence against women, including systematic killing, occurred 
throughout the year. The law criminalizes domestic violence with 
between two and 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 intra-familial 
violence. In many cases, victims were reluctant to press charges 
against abusers, and the authorities did not enforce the law 
effectively.
    The police reported receiving 7,742 complaints of domestic abuse. 
The National Criminal Investigation Division reported 267 killings of 
women during the year. There were two local government-operated 
domestic violence shelters: one in Choluteca and another in La Ceiba, 
which received assistance from the Spanish government. NGOs operated 
shelters in Santa Rosa de Copan and Juticalpa. However, the Government 
provided insufficient financial and other resources to enable these 
facilities to operate effectively.
    Women were trafficked for sexual exploitation and debt bondage. 
There were no reports that the Government was involved or complicit in 
these activities.
    The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace and provides 
penalties of one to three years' imprisonment, but the Government did 
not effectively enforce the law, and sexual harassment continued to be 
a problem. The Secretariat of State of Labor and Social Security, the 
Public Ministry and the National Institute of Women promoted 
enforcement of the law, through public awareness campaigns to encourage 
public reporting of sexual harassment.
    Couples and individuals had basic rights to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children. 
Information about access to contraception was widely available, and 
access to contraception was free from discrimination, violence, and 
coercion. Skilled attendance, including essential obstetric, prenatal, 
and postpartum care before and during childbirth and access to maternal 
health services were available only to those that could afford it. 
According to the UN Population Fund, only 67 percent of births were 
attended to by trained medical personnel. The UN Population Fund 
reported an estimated maternal mortality rate of 110 deaths per 100,000 
live births in 2008.
    As of June all targeted national hospitals complied with the law 
for obtaining signed consent forms for patients undergoing voluntary 
female sterilization. There was no known difference in access of men 
and women to diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted 
infections, including HIV.
    Although the law accords women and men equal rights, including 
property rights in divorce cases, in practice women did not enjoy such 
rights.
    Most employed 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. 
By 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 women's lower salaries. Workers in the 
textile export industries continued to report that they were required 
to take pregnancy tests as a condition for employment.
    The National Institute for Women develops government policy on 
women and gender. On July 28, the Government enacted a National Plan on 
Equality and Gender Equity to incorporate objectives to achieve gender 
equity. In August the Supreme Electoral Tribunal established an office 
for gender equity. The NGO Center for the Rights of Women actively 
addressed women's issues.

    Children.--Birth registration was widely available. Under the 
constitution, citizenship is derived by birth within the territory, 
from one's parents, or by naturalization.
    Child abuse was a serious problem. The law establishes prison 
sentences of up to three years for persons convicted of child abuse. 
The Government reactivated the Permanent Commission on Protection for 
the Physical and Moral Well-Being of Children, coordinated by the 
Secretary of State of Interior and Justice, for unifying and 
coordinating public and private entity efforts to combat child abuse.
    Abuse of youth and children in poor neighborhoods remained a 
serious problem. Police, gangs, and members of the general population 
engaged in violence against poor youth and children. Human rights 
groups alleged that individual members of the security forces and 
civilians used unwarranted lethal force against supposed habitual 
criminals, suspected gang members, and other youths not known to be 
involved in criminal activity. At year's end there was no information 
available about developments in two cases Casa Alianza reported in 2009 
regarding cruel police treatment of minors.
    Trafficking in children for commercial sexual exploitation and 
child prostitution were problems. Penalties for facilitating 
prostitution are between nine and 15 years in prison and a fine ranging 
between 50,000 and 100,000 lempiras (between $2,360 and $5,290). The 
penalty increases by half if the victim is less than 18 years of age. 
There is no statutory rape law, but the penalty for rape of a minor 
under the age of 12 is between 15 and 20 years in prison and between 
nine and 13 years if the victim is the age of 13 or older. The law 
prohibits the use of children less than 18 years old for exhibitions or 
performances of a sexual nature and in the production of pornography.
    The country was a destination point for child prostitution. The 
Honduran embassy in Guatemala and the National Forum for Migration in 
Honduras reported continuing problems with child prostitution in 
municipalities near the Honduras-Guatemala border.
    In July the UN Children's Fund and the Honduran Commission Against 
Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Children and 
Adolescents launched the ``Break the Silence'' campaign for 
highlighting the problem of child exploitation and coordinating a 
coherent policy response. The Office of the Prosecutor for Crimes 
against Children reported that there was no clear state policy for 
caring for child victims of sexual exploitation or other abuse.
    Casa Alianza operated three shelters (with a daily capacity for 180 
children) for victims of commercial sexual exploitation, street 
children, and children with substance abuse problems and provided 
vocational and educational training for the parents of 365 children at 
risk. The Government established a hotline where suspected crimes 
against children could be conveyed directly to investigative 
authorities. Authorities reported receiving more than 300 calls to the 
hotline within the first 48 hours of its operation in May.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The 
Jewish community, which lived primarily in San Pedro Sula, numbered 
approximately 1,000 persons.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental 
disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or the 
provision of other state services, but the Government did not 
adequately enforce these provisions. Statutory provisions make it 
illegal for an employer to discriminate against a worker based on 
disability. There were no verifiable reports of discrimination against 
persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health 
care, or the provision of other state services. The law requires access 
to buildings for persons with disabilities. In practice few buildings 
were accessible, and the Government did not effectively implement laws 
or programs to ensure such access. The Honduran National Federation of 
Organizations for Persons with Disabilities stated that the national 
library contained the nation's only copy of the constitution in 
Braille. One publicly available National Educational Television program 
used sign language interpretation to familiarize viewers with the 
constitution.
    The Government created a disabilities unit in the Ministry of 
Social Development and a Secretariat of the Presidency Special 
Commissioner for Disabilities. The National Congress Committee on Human 
Rights established an internal committee to act as congressional 
liaison for disabilities. The Directorate General for the Development 
of Persons with Disabilities expressed concern that disability issues 
had not been incorporated into the Government's National Development 
Plan.
    A trial was scheduled for September 17 in relation to the March 
2009 arrest of former principal Melvin Alvarado Diaz for allegedly 
sexually molesting 16 students at Pilar Salinas School for the Blind. 
At year's end Alvarado was on temporary release pending trial.

    Indigenous People.--Approximately 621,000 persons, constituting 8 
percent of the general population, were members of indigenous and other 
ethnic minority groups. These groups, including the Misquitos, 
Tawahkas, Pech, Tolupans, Lencas, Maya-Chortis, Nahual, Bay 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 community. 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 by landless nonindigenous settlers, powerful 
business elites, and government entities interested in exploiting 
coastlines, forests, and other lands traditionally occupied or utilized 
by indigenous and other ethnic minority communities. Indigenous and 
nonindigenous communities criticized the Government's alleged 
complicity in the exploitation of timber and other natural resources on 
these lands. Indigenous groups maintained that their community-based 
land systems more effectively protected their lands from encroachment 
by large landowners and that outside groups engaged in illegal 
activities. Garifuna leaders continued to allege that groups engaged in 
drug smuggling and other contraband trafficking had illegally 
appropriated vast areas of their communal lands.
    On September 15, Maya-Chorti community members stated that if the 
Government did not respond by September 17 to their long-standing 
concerns about noncompliance with land restitution commitments made in 
2008, provide payments to teachers for indigenous students, and address 
landowner threats to eject community members from Maya-Chorti lands, 
the community would consider taking over the Mayan Ruins Archeological 
Park in Copan. There was no information regarding whether the 
Government had responded to the community's concerns. By year's end 
there had been no takeovers of the ruin site.
    On June 2, a court in Tegucigalpa absolved Pedro Antonio Chirnos 
Reyes of the 2008 killing of Tolupan youth Geovanny Banegas Sevilla 
and, on the same day, a court in Talanga, Francisco Morazan, absolved 
Chirnos Reyes of the 2008 killing of Tolupan youth Jose Mastul.
    The National Criminal Investigation Directorate determined that the 
crime alleged in a complaint involving the 2008 reported abduction and 
physical assault of Garifuna activist Santos Feliciano Aguilar Alvares 
by 10 private security guards in San Juan Tela, Atlantida Department, 
was a misdemeanor and not punishable by imprisonment. However, at 
year's end the Office of the Prosecutor for Ethnicity and Cultural 
Patrimony reported that it had retaken the case and was investigating 
the matter with a view to presenting it as a criminal offence 
punishable by imprisonment.
    At year's end the Office of the Prosecutor for Ethnicity and 
Cultural Patrimony continued an investigation based on a complaint 
filed in 2008 by anthropologist Danira Miralda Bulnes that the National 
Congress did not consult with indigenous Misquito, Tawaka, Pech, and 
Lenca populations when granting a private concession to build several 
dams on the Rio Patuca in 1997. Indigenous communities claimed that the 
dams negatively affected their welfare and livelihood.
    Persons from indigenous and Afro-descendant communities continued 
to experience discrimination with respect to employment and occupation, 
education, housing, and health services. There were minimal government 
efforts to combat this discrimination.
    On November 30, the Government swore in Luis Green, a member of the 
Garifuna community, to the cabinet-level position heading the 
Secretariat of State for Indigenous and Afro-Honduran Affairs, which 
was established on October 14. The Government provided the ministry 
with a budget of 35 million lempiras ($1.85 million).

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no discriminatory 
laws based on sexual orientation, but in practice social discrimination 
against persons from sexual minority communities was widespread. 
Representatives of NGOs focusing on sexual diversity rights asserted 
that throughout the year security forces killed and abused their 
members. The prosecutor often encountered serious difficulties in 
investigating suspicious deaths of LGBT persons because the victims had 
concealed their identity or sexual orientation.
    Criminal investigations did not recognize a ``transgender'' 
category. Sexual minority rights groups asserted that throughout the 
year security forces, government agencies, and private employers 
engaged in antigay discriminatory hiring practices. These groups also 
reported that intimidation, fear of reprisal, and police corruption 
made LGBT victims reluctant to file charges or proceed with 
prosecutions.
    In January the NGOs Lesbian Gay Rainbow Association of Comayaguela 
(ARCOIRIS) and CIPRODEH released a report documenting killings and 
other serious human rights abuses reportedly perpetrated by member of 
the security forces and other individuals against members of the LGBT 
community. For example, on September 9, a court sentenced police 
officer Amado Rodriguez Borjas to between 10 and 13 years' imprisonment 
for a 2008 attack on Nohelia, a transgender person, who had resisted 
Rodriguez Borjas' advances. On September 8, a court found Rodriguez 
Borjas guilty of aggravated attempted homicide for attacking 
``Protected Witness E,'' who had witnessed the assault on Nohelia. As 
of October Rodriguez Borjas, in prison for the attack on Nohelia, was 
also awaiting sentencing in the ``Protected Witness E'' case.
    On May 17, the LGBT community organized a demonstration in 
Tegucigalpa to raised awareness about homophobia. In July the NGO Gay 
Community of San Pedro Sula organized a gay pride event, which the 
Government authorized. On December 13, the LGBT community organized a 
demonstration in front of the Public Ministry to commemorate the one-
year anniversary of the killing of LGBT and HIV/AIDS activist Walter 
Trochez. It was not known if the police provided sufficient protection 
for participants at these events.
    In May unknown persons fatally shot in San Pedro Sula transvestite 
Neraldys, vice president of Colectivo TTT. On August 31, two unknown 
persons on a motorcycle reportedly fatally shot in San Pedro Sula 
transvestite sex worker and president of the LGBT NGO Coletivo TTT, 
Imperia Gamaniel Parson. Human rights advocates asserted that these 
killings were hate crimes. LGBT activists submitted a complaint to the 
prosecutor in San Pedro Sula. At year's end there was no information 
regarding any investigation of these killings (see section 1.a.).
    In October LGBT activists reported that authorities located the 
vehicle used by unknown assailants in the January 2009 fatal shooting 
of Cynthia Nicole, a transgender sex worker. LGBT rights defenders also 
reported that authorities were in the process of issuing an arrest 
warrant for a suspect.
    At year's end, there was no information available regarding any 
investigation of the June 2009 fatal shooting by unknown assailants of 
transvestite sex worker Vicky Hernandez Castillo in San Pedro Sula 
during a curfew imposed by the de facto regime.
    At year's end there were no known developments in the prosecutor's 
investigation of the December 2009 fatal shooting by unknown assailants 
of LGBT activist Walter Orlando Trochez in Tegucigalpa.
    There was no information available, and none was expected, 
regarding any response by the Committee on Human Rights to an LGBT 
rights advocate's complaint that authorities reportedly denied 
transgender persons national identity cards because the applicants were 
wearing cosmetics and feminine accessories.
    On June 9, a tribunal in Tegucigalpa sentenced police officer 
Nelson Daniel Gaytan to 39 months imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 
lempiras ($2,630) for the crime of illegal detention in relation to the 
2007 police beating, detention, and gang rape while in detention, of 
LGBT activist Donny Reyes.
    There was no information available, and none was expected, 
regarding the status of a police officer awaiting trial in 2009 for 
unlawful detention in 2007 of several members of ARCOIRIS.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There was no reported 
widespread societal violence or discrimination against persons based on 
their HIV/AIDS status.
    Job-related age discrimination remained a serious problem.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides for the right of 
workers to form and join unions of their choice, but in practice 
workers exercised this right with difficulty. The law prohibits members 
of the armed forces and the police force from forming labor unions and 
prohibits certain public service employees from going on strike or 
participating in collective bargaining. There were an estimated 519 
unions representing approximately 8 percent of the work force, 
excluding the agriculture sector.
    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, and 
requires that union officials be employed in the economic activity of 
the business the union represents.
    Union leaders were subjected to violence and threats. On September 
17, unknown actors shot and killed Juana Bustillo, the regional 
president of the Social Security Institute's labor union after he left 
a meeting with workers. Several other unionists, who were also members 
of the Resistance movement, were killed, including Vanessa Zepeda, 
member of the Social Security Institute union; Julio Funes Benitez, 
member of the water and sewer workers' union; and Jose Manuel Flores 
Arguijo, member of the teachers' union (see section 1.a.). Labor 
leaders reported receiving death threats and other forms of 
intimidation.
    On November 3, unknown actors shot at, but did not harm, Pedro 
Elvir, president of the National Children's Foundation Union 
(SITRAPANI). Elvir was returning to his office after participating in a 
protest against the rate of the minimum wage increase and a law 
legalizing temporary employment. The SITRAPANI leadership has reported 
threats to the organization and increased monitoring by unknown 
individuals since the coup.
    COFADEH reported that in February unknown persons broke into the 
house of a vice president of the Beverage Workers Union (STIBYS) and 
that in May armed men entered into the offices of STIBYS and fired 
shots at a labor leader. At year's end no progress had been reported in 
the investigations.
    There were no new developments regarding a Public Ministry 
investigation into the location of union leader Lorna Jackson, who 
remained in hiding since 2008 after receiving death threats in relation 
to the 2008 dismissal of 1,800 workers at Alcoa factories in El 
Progreso and Choloma.
    The law permits unions to operate without government interference, 
and the Government generally respects this right in practice. The law 
provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised this right in 
practice. However, the law places several restrictions on this right, 
including prohibiting labor federations and confederations from calling 
strikes and requiring that a two-thirds majority of the total 
membership of the trade union call for a strike. The law also prohibits 
strikes in a wide range of economic activities that the Government 
deemed essential services and any others that, in the Government's 
opinion, affect individual's rights to security, health, education, 
economic, or social life. In addition transportation workers are, by 
law, not permitted to go on strike while en route to their scheduled 
destination.
    Strikes in the public sector are illegal in certain areas where the 
Government determines public health and welfare would be affected. 
Public-sector health care workers, social security workers, municipal 
sanitation workers, staple food production workers, and public water, 
electricity, and telecommunications workers are allowed to strike, but 
they must continue to provide basic services. The law also requires 
that public-sector workers involved in the refining, transportation, 
and distribution of petroleum products must submit their grievances to 
the Ministry of Labor and Social Security prior to striking.
    Civil servants occasionally engaged in illegal work stoppages 
without experiencing reprisals. However, the Ministry of Labor has the 
power to declare such work stoppages illegal and to dismiss the 
protesting workers. The International Labor Organization (ILO) 
continued to express concerns about the Government's authority to end 
disputes in several sectors, including oil production and transport. It 
also noted with concern the law's requirement that employees in state-
owned enterprises must either obtain the Government's previous 
authorization or give six months of notice before striking.
    On August 31, the Government reached an agreement with the 
teachers' union, which ended strikes that had lasted for more than 20 
consecutive days, and teachers returned to work in their classrooms. 
The strikers had called for an increase in the minimum wage, payments 
to the pension fund, and reinstatement of dismissed colleagues. 
Teachers were on strike for 42 days of the 200-day school year during 
the year. This was down from 56 days in 2009. On November 8, the 
Ministry of Education announced that striking teachers who did not 
submit grades for their students would not be paid.

    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 with impunity to engage in 
bargaining.
    Antiunion discrimination was a serious problem. Although the law 
prohibits employer retribution for engaging in trade union activity, 
employers commonly threatened to close unionized factories and harassed 
or dismissed workers seeking to unionize--including firing leaders soon 
after unions were formed to prevent the union from functioning. Failure 
to reinstate workers was a serious problem. The Ministry of Labor can 
reach administrative decisions and fine companies for unfair dismissal, 
but the ILO noted that penalties for such discrimination were 
inadequate and lacked credibility in the eyes of companies and 
municipalities. The Government also did not allocate adequate resources 
to the Ministry of Labor for labor inspectors to perform their duties. 
Moreover, only a court can order reinstatement of workers. Employers 
often failed (with impunity) to comply with court orders requiring them 
to reinstate workers fired for engaging in union activity.
    Although the law prohibits blacklisting, there was credible 
evidence that apparel assembly factory employers continued with 
impunity to blacklist employees seeking to form unions. Some companies 
also established employer-controlled unions, thereby preventing the 
formation of an independent union because of the restriction permitting 
only one union per company.
    On July 28, Nike agreed to pay 31 million lempiras ($1.6 million) 
to a relief fund for workers as part of the settlement of a dispute 
with the union representing former workers at Nike supplier factories 
Hugger and Vision Tex, which were closed in 2009.
    On March 4, the Fruit of the Loom/Russell Corporation inaugurated 
its Jerzees Nuevo Dia factory in Choloma. The reopening of the factory 
followed the November 2009 signing of an agreement between Fruit of the 
Loom/Russell Corporation and the factory union SITRAJERZEESH.
    There were allegations that the mayor of Choloma dismissed 28 
municipal employees in retaliation for their union activities. At 
year's end the mayor continued to challenge the union organizers' 
efforts to reinvigorate a dormant municipal workers' union. The mayor 
claimed that the union organizers did not provide him with the required 
list of 30 eligible municipal workers required to form a union and that 
the union included names from the municipal water authority, a public-
private partnership. The union organizers rejected this claim and 
continued their efforts to form a union. On November 30, the mayor 
signed a pledge to reinstate municipal employees who had allegedly been 
fired for union activity. However, on December 3, he stated that his 
signature had been forged and that none of the employees would be 
rehired.
    Strikes are permitted in the 102 registered export-processing zones 
(EPZs) and the 19 industrial parks operating as EPZs. However, the law 
requires that strikes not impede the operations of other factories in 
the industrial parks. An additional 26 companies that provided services 
for industrial parks had their own free zones, outside the industrial 
parks. Workers are permitted to strike in these zones as long as 
strikes are held in accordance with similar labor code requirements as 
those that govern the EPZs. 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.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor; however, there were some reports that such 
practices occurred. The International Trade Union Confederation also 
reported allegations that factory management in EPZs required 
compulsory overtime, with some factories enforcing this requirement by 
locking workers inside.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law regulates child labor, sets the minimum age for employment at 14, 
and provides that minors between the ages of 14 to 18 cannot work 
unless authorities determine that the work is indispensable for the 
family's income and will not conflict with schooling. The constitution 
and the law establish the maximum work hours for children under the age 
of 18 at six hours daily and 30 hours weekly. Parents or a legal 
guardian can request special permission from the Ministry of Labor to 
allow children between the ages of 14 and 15 to work, and the ministry 
is supposed to perform a home study to ensure that the child 
demonstrates an economic necessity to work and that the child will not 
work outside the country or in hazardous conditions, including offshore 
fishing.
    The law prohibits night work and overtime for minors under the age 
of 18 and requires that employers with more than 20 school-age children 
working at their business facility provide a location for a school. The 
law provides for between three and five years in prison for persons 
violating child labor laws. In practice the vast majority of children 
who worked did so without ministry permits.
    Child labor was a problem. A household survey of 2008, the most 
recent available, found that approximately 370,000 children between the 
ages of five and 17 and 123,600 children between the ages of five and 
14, representing 12 percent and 6 percent respectively of the 
populations in those age groups, were child laborers. Children often 
harvested melons, coffee, and sugarcane; rummaged at garbage dumps; 
worked in the forestry, hunting, and fishing sectors; and worked as 
deckhands and divers in the lobster industry. Children worked as 
domestic servants, peddled goods such as fruit, begged, washed cars, 
hauled loads, and were employed in limestone and lime production. Most 
child labor occurred in rural areas. Children worked, often out of 
economic necessity, alongside other family members in agriculture and 
in other sectors such as fishing, construction, transportation, and 
small businesses. Children were engaged in the worst forms of child 
labor in lobster fishing, harvesting coffee and sugar cane, and 
production of lime and limestone.
    The Government did not devote adequate resources or inspectors to 
follow up, prevent, or monitor compliance with child labor laws. The 
Ministry of Labor, the Government agency responsible for enforcing 
child labor laws, did not effectively enforce child labor laws outside 
the apparel assembly sector, and there were frequent violations of the 
child labor laws. During the year the ministry received 24 complaints 
of companies violating child labor laws. At year's end there was no 
information regarding a resolution of these complaints. There was no 
known change to the practice of appointing child-labor inspectors only 
to offices in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, which reportedly limited 
the Ministry of Labor's ability to investigate allegations of child 
labor, particularly in rural and other remote areas.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On October 31, the Ministry of 
Labor announced the minimum wage for the year. The wages were 
retroactive to September 1. For businesses with one to 20 employees, 
the minimum wage remained 5,000 lempiras ($291) per month in urban 
areas and 4,055 lempiras ($214) per month in rural areas. For 
businesses with 20 to 50 employees, the minimum wage was increased to 
5,665 lempiras ($300) in urban areas and increased to 4,167 lempiras 
($220) in rural areas. For businesses with over 50 employees, the 
minimum wage was increased to 5,886 lempiras ($311) in urban areas and 
4,339 lempiras ($230) in rural areas. The minimum wage in the maquila 
sector remained unchanged at 3,894 lempiras ($206). In practice many 
employers did not pay employees the legal minimum wage. The ILO 
reported that the national minimum wage did not provide a decent 
standard of living for a worker and family.
    The law applies equally to national and foreign workers and 
prescribes a maximum eight-hour shift per day, a 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, and the Ministry of Labor failed 
to effectively enforce these requirements.
    There were credible allegations of compulsory overtime at apparel 
assembly factories (particularly for women, who made up approximately 
65 percent of that sector's workforce), in the private security sector, 
and among household workers. Human rights organizations frequently 
reported that in the private security and household sectors, workers 
were typically obliged to work more than 60 hours a week and were paid 
for only 44 hours. The labor rights of domestic workers are, in 
practice, rarely protected by labor laws. These household workers often 
lacked contracts and were paid salaries below the minimum wage. As many 
lived on-site, their work hours often varied widely based on the will 
of individual employers. Private security guards also often worked for 
salaries below the minimum wage. Many guards worked every other day on 
24-hour shifts, which violated labor law restrictions on maximum number 
of hours worked.
    The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing national 
occupational health and safety laws, but it did not do so consistently 
or effectively. Worker safety standards were enforced poorly, 
particularly in the construction industry, the garment assembly sector, 
and in agriculture production activities. The ILO reported that labor 
law violations discovered during inspections were typically corrected, 
although the limited number of inspectors precluded comprehensive 
inspections of worksites. Because labor inspectors were concentrated in 
Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, complete labor inspections as well as 
follow-up visits to confirm compliance with findings were far less 
frequent. The law does not provide workers with the right to leave a 
dangerous work situation without jeopardy to continued employment.
    The Ministry of Labor did not investigate alleged violations of 
occupational health and safety laws and other labor rights problems 
relating to the approximately 3,000 lobster divers, many from the 
Misquito indigenous and other ethnic minority groups in Gracias a Dios 
Department. Since 2003 approximately 365 lobster divers have died and 
at least 2,000 became disabled due to the dangerous nature of their 
work.

                               __________

                                JAMAICA

    Jamaica is a constitutional parliamentary democracy with a 
population of approximately 2.8 million. In generally free and fair 
elections in September 2007, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) won 32 of 
the 60 seats in the House of Representatives, and JLP leader Bruce 
Golding was sworn in as prime minister. There were instances in which 
elements of security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    There were serious human rights problems in some areas, including 
unlawful killings committed by members of the security forces, abuse of 
detainees and prisoners by police and prison guards, poor prison and 
jail conditions, impunity for police who committed crimes, an 
overburdened judicial system and frequent lengthy delays in trials, 
violence and discrimination against women, violence against and sexual 
abuse of children, trafficking in persons, and violence against persons 
based on their suspected or known sexual orientation.

                        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, there 
were reliable accounts that security forces committed unlawful or 
unwarranted killings during the year.
    According to official statistics, there were more than 309 killings 
involving police during the year. This figure does not include the 73 
civilians security forces killed in May during operations to arrest an 
alleged drug lord and gain control of a criminally controlled area.
    Reliable sources indicated that many killings by police were 
unreported, with police meting out the justice they see as unavailable 
through the judicial system. In most shooting incidents, police alleged 
that the victims were carrying firearms and opened fire on them. In 
many cases, however, eyewitness testimony contradicted the police 
accounts. In other cases allegations of ``police murder'' were suspect, 
because well-armed gangs trafficking in weapons and narcotics and 
running lottery scams controlled many inner-city communities and were 
often better equipped than the police force.
    Violent crime remained rampant, and on many occasions the Jamaica 
Constabulary Force (JCF) employed lethal force in apprehending criminal 
suspects. The JCF's Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) investigated 
all police killings, and when appropriate, forwarded some to the 
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for prosecution. The BSI 
completed 308 investigations during the year and sent 291 to the DPP 
for further consideration. However, it takes many years to bring police 
officers to trial for unlawful killings. Although there was progress 
during the year in bringing some cases to trial, there were no 
convictions, and no police officer accused of human rights violations 
has been convicted since 2006. In August the Government created an 
Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), with the power to 
take over and direct BSI investigations.
    The BSI investigated and the DPP brought charges against a 
constable in connection with the April 9 killing of 17-year-old Shanna-
Kaye Clarke. The constable reportedly was involved in a relationship 
with Clarke. The constable identified another suspect in connection 
with the incident, but subsequent investigations led to the constable 
being arrested and charged.
    In May security forces entered West Kingston, after gunmen loyal to 
former Tivoli Gardens don Christopher ``Dudus'' Coke set fire to police 
stations and barricaded themselves inside the community. Seventy-three 
civilians and three security force members were killed. Preliminary 
forensics reports suggested that some individuals were shot execution-
style. An official report authored by the Public Defender's Office with 
the support of international donors is scheduled to be released in 
2011.
    In June security forces shot and killed Keith Clarke, businessman 
and brother of former government minister Claude Clarke, inside his St. 
Andrew home during the search for the fugitive Coke. A report 
documented that Clarke sustained 20 gunshot wounds. As of October the 
police commissioner declared the investigation partially completed and 
pending forensic and ballistic reports.
    On July 29, an amateur video clip carried on a local newscast 
showed policemen beating Ian Lloyd on the ground and shooting him in 
full view of a crowd. The video contradicted reports by the police that 
Lloyd was killed after he attacked police. Authorities charged one 
policeman with murder, and his case remained before the court.
    On September 23, police shot and killed Leroy Berry, and his death 
sparked angry protests. Berry and his wife were involved in an 
altercation with police in 2006, an incident that was caught on camera 
and caused outrage because of how Berry was treated. The September 
killing was controversial because a vehicle carrying Transport 
Authority staff and police rammed a car carrying Berry, his wife, and 
two children in an effort to stop the car. During an ensuing argument 
Berry was reportedly shot in the stomach.
    On November 4, police shot and killed Frederick ``Mickey'' Hill, a 
prominent businessman in Negril, where numerous eyewitnesses observed 
the incident. Hill was confronted by seven or eight police officers 
wearing masks or with ``kerchiefs'' tied over their faces. They 
demanded that he tell them what was in a bag that he carried. When Hill 
was in the process of showing them the contents of the bag (cornmeal 
and condensed milk), the police shot him twice at point-blank range. On 
December 23, an investigation was completed and the results forwarded 
to the DPP, with a recommendation to charge the security officers. At 
year's end the DPP had yet to evaluate the evidence collected or make a 
determination as to whether charges should be filed.
    On November 16, security forces shot and killed Pastor Trevor 
Edwards when he was returning home from work by taxi. Police chased and 
fired through the rear of the moving taxi, which was carrying unarmed 
passengers. A bullet hit Edwards in the back, puncturing his heart. 
According to Edwards' brother, the police stated the taxi was stolen.
    The case of the policeman charged with the murder of Paul Brown, 
who was driving a bus in January 2009 when he allegedly hit a 
policeman's personal car, remained before the Home Circuit Court with 
trial scheduled for February 5, 2011.
    The BSI completed the investigation of the January 2009 police 
killing of Anthony Nelson, a security guard, at Nelson's workplace and 
referred the file to the DPP in September 2009. By year's end the DPP 
had not reached a decision on whether charges should be filed.
    The BSI completed its investigation into the April 2009 killing of 
16-year-old Hussein McCormack and referred the file to the DPP in 
April. The DPP had not reached a decision by year's end.
    The BSI continued its investigation into the May 2009 police 
killing of Ramon Hopkins. It completed its investigation into the May 
2009 police killing of Dane Daley and referred the case to the DPP on 
February 25. The DPP had not reached a determination on the matter by 
year's end.
    In December 2009 police shot and killed entertainer Robert Hill at 
his Kingston home in what police accounts called a ``shootout.'' The 
DPP ruled that the matter should be referred to Kingston and St. Andrew 
Coroner's Court. An inquest was set to begin on January 25, 2011.
    In February 2009 the DPP brought murder charges against Christopher 
Thompson, the police officer accused of murdering Randeen Hall in 2008. 
The Home Circuit Court set the case for trial in November but postponed 
it until January 4, 2011.
    The Home Circuit Court postponed the trial of the police officers 
charged in the 2008 murder of Carlton Grant, the 17-year-old son of 
dancehall artist Spragga Benz, until February 21, 2011.
    The BSI completed the investigation into the killing of Jehvanie 
Robinson in 2008 and sent the case to the DPP in April 2009, but the 
DPP had not made a ruling on the matter by year's end. The BSI 
completed the investigation of the 2008 death of Fabian Wray and 
forwarded the file to the DPP in December 2009, but there had not been 
a ruling on the matter by year's end. The 2008 death of Randal Richards 
was under investigation by the BSI at year's end.
    The BSI completed its investigation into the 2007 police shooting 
deaths of Dexter Hyatt and Tian Wolfe and submitted the case to the DPP 
for a decision on whether to bring charges. The DPP had not made a 
ruling by year's end.
    In December 2007 the DPP charged four policemen, Noel Bryan, 
Phillip Dunstan, Omar Miller, and Clayton Fearon, with murder in the 
2007 death of Andre Thomas. The Home Circuit Court set a trial date for 
March 14, 2011.
    An inquest into the 2005 shooting death of Jeff Smellie started in 
November 2007 and was concluded on July 5 with a verdict of ``death 
caused by accident.'' The matter involving the 2005 police killings of 
Nicholas Weir and Donald Allen was referred to Spanish Town Coroner's 
Court, which commenced hearings on August 23 and was scheduled to 
continue taking evidence on January 24, 2011.
    In June 2009 authorities arrested Loui Lynch, Paul Edwards, and 
Victor Barrett, policemen involved in the 2004 abduction and killing of 
Kemar Walters and Oliver Duncan, and charged them with murder. The Home 
Circuit Court set a trial date of February 14, 2011.
    In May 2009 the DPP, in response to a Privy Council ruling, decided 
not to prosecute police officer Rohan Allen a second time for the 2000 
killing of 12-year-old Janice Allen. In April the Supreme Court upheld 
the DPP's decision, deciding there was no need for judicial review.
    Mob killings continued to be a problem and often went unpunished. 
On April 13, three men armed with guns and knives robbed several 
persons in the community of St. Catherine. An alarm went off, and the 
residents reportedly attacked the men, killing one, stabbing and 
holding another, while the third one escaped.
    On July 14, a mob killed Omar Levy, who was wanted by the 
Christiana police in a case of shooting with intent. Police reports 
stated that officers saw Levy in the area, but he managed to elude 
them. Residents went in search of him and inflicted vigilante 
``justice.'' While trying to rescue Levy, a police officer was injured. 
Police took Levy to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
    On August 20, a mob in Kingston killed an unidentified man. 
According to the police, the man was involved in a dispute with another 
person, whom he had wounded. The mob later stabbed this man to death.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances.
    During the security operations that took place in West Kingston's 
Tivoli Gardens, teenagers Dale Anthony Davis, Dwayne Edwards, and Andre 
Smith vanished and their whereabouts remained unknown. On October 8, 
the BSI, which was investigating the matter, stated that checks with 
the National Intelligence Bureau, the Inspectorate Branch, and a review 
of the list of detainees held at the National Arena in Kingston turned 
up no trace of the three. Andre Smith's body was later found in a 
marked grave in May Pen cemetery.

    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.
    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. However, 
official complaints and investigations were infrequent.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor, primarily due to overcrowding and poor sanitation. Tower Street 
Adult Correctional Center, located in downtown Kingston, housed 
approximately 1,600 inmates, nearly double the capacity for which the 
facility was built. Men and women were incarcerated in separate 
facilities under similar conditions. Female prisoners were generally 
incarcerated under better conditions than their male counterparts. 
Cells in some facilities had little natural light, inadequate 
artificial light, and poor ventilation.
    On February 8, a prison riot broke out at the Horizon Remand 
Center, where as many as 40 inmates suffered injuries when 128 
detainees in three security areas managed to remove the locks from 
their cells before gathering in a corridor. The riot began as inmates 
protested poor living conditions at the facility, including the lack of 
water caused by a shortage that affected several parishes, and a 
failure to provide breakfast by noon. At St. Andrew Juvenile Remand 
Center, notorious for repression and corporal punishment, boys were 
kept indoors at all times, never being permitted activity in the open 
air.
    Hunt's Bay Lockup held prisoners in a cage-like structure open to 
the rain and sun and the gazes of passersby. The women's prison, Fort 
Augusta, with about 200 inmates, had no indoor water supply. Inmates 
had to obtain water from a central source in containers they provided 
themselves. Inmates who did not own a container could not bathe.
    Prison food was poor, and wardens were observed serving themselves 
generously with whatever meat was available, leaving only leftover 
gravy for the inmates. Mattresses were not provided; inmates slept on 
the concrete floors. Those with access to funds and outside contacts 
were permitted to purchase thin foam mattresses that often became 
infested with bedbugs. Ringworm was a common malady.
    Prison medical care was also poor, primarily a result of having 
only three full-time doctors, one full-time nurse, and one psychiatrist 
to cover 12 facilities (eight adult, four juvenile) with almost 5,000 
inmates across the island. Prisoners in need of dentures and unable to 
eat the prison food encountered difficulties in gaining access to a 
dentist.
    In May 2009 seven girls perished in a fire at the Armadale Juvenile 
Correctional Facility, and many more were injured. The results of a 
three-month investigation were leaked to the media in March. According 
to investigators, a police officer, responding to a disturbance, 
discharged a tear gas canister into the dormitory. The key to the main 
door could not be located during the fire, and the surviving girls were 
rescued through barred dormitory windows. The staff testified during 
the investigation that there were no fire extinguishers, fire drills, 
or emergency training.
    Although the law prohibits the incarceration of children in adult 
prisons in most cases, some juveniles as young as 13 years old were 
held in adult jails because there were no juvenile facilities with 
adequate security. Armadale remained closed, and the 50 female 
juveniles previously held there were moved to the Horizon maximum-
security remand center, where the island's most violent male offenders 
are held, and to Fort Augusta Women's Prison. Juveniles and adults were 
housed together in these facilities. In one case a 16-year-old was held 
in detention with adult arrestees for more than two months while the 
judicial process was underway.
    Nonviolent youth offenders were under the jurisdiction of the 
social services agency and were generally sent to unsecured halfway 
houses (called ``places of safety'' or ``juvenile remand centers'') 
after they were removed from their homes. However, because the law does 
not clearly define an ``uncontrollable child,'' a large number of 
minors were classified as uncontrollable and detained for long periods 
of time without regard to the nature of their offenses.
    In October 2009 the Office of the Children's Advocate investigated 
reports of children being held in police lock-ups and made a number of 
recommendations to Parliament, including a request that the Child Care 
and Protection Act of 2004 be revised to limit to 90 days the amount of 
time children spent in lock-up, thereby preventing extended detention. 
However, Parliament did not address the issue.
    Reliable reports indicated that there was no clear separation of 
detainees according to the different stages of criminal procedure. 
Persons detained without charges, remandees, and convicted persons were 
held together in the same facility, and often shared cells.
    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. Prisoners were 
able to make complaints to the Public Defender's Office without 
censorship, and representatives generally were able to enter the 
detention centers and interview prisoners without problems. Although 
access was denied after a riot at the Horizon Remand Center, the prime 
minister subsequently ordered the center to restore access.
    The Government invited a UN special rapporteur to conduct a fact-
finding mission in February regarding detention facilities, where he 
was promised access to senior state officials, representatives of civil 
society, and detainees. He reported, however, that officers at the 
Hunt's Bay Police Station were ``very obstructive, uncooperative, 
aggressive, and openly threatened his team during their visit.'' After 
completion, he presented his preliminary findings and recommendations 
to the Government, including: reduce police custody to 48 hours and 
ensure remandees are held in proper remand centers and not in police 
lock-ups, introduce accessible complaint mechanisms within places of 
detention, ensure investigations of all allegations of abuse or 
excessive force, ensure that justices of the peace and magistrates 
conduct regular visits to all police lock-ups, remove all children from 
adult detention facilities, and abolish capital punishment. By year's 
end, however, the Government had not taken any action on his report.

    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. Although they can legally hold persons for 24 to 48 hours 
before charging or releasing them, police sometimes reportedly held 
individuals for as long as five weeks.
    During the period from May 23 to July 22, authorities detained and 
then released more than 4,000 persons under a declared state of 
emergency, initiated to allow security forces to enter West Kingston 
and regain control after gunmen barricaded themselves inside the 
community. Most of the individuals detained were young men who were 
fingerprinted, photographed, and interviewed by detectives and were 
later released without being charged for any offense.

    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 Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is charged 
with national defense, maritime narcotics interdiction, and JCF 
support. The JDF routinely conducts joint patrols and checkpoints in 
conjunction with the JCF. As the minister of defense, and outside of a 
state of emergency, the prime minister is the approval authority for 
all JDF operations in support of the JCF. The Ministry of National 
Security exercises the prime minister's authority for oversight of the 
JCF and JDF.
    The JCF is headed by a commissioner who delegates authority through 
the ranks to constables. The force maintains divisions focusing on 
community policing, special response, intelligence gathering, and 
internal affairs.
    The JCF conducted administrative and criminal investigations into 
all incidents involving fatal shootings by police. The JCF's BSI 
addressed police shootings, but no officer was found criminally liable 
during the year. The BSI, unable to keep up with its caseload, had a 
backlog of approximately 932 cases with 37 full-time and nine part-time 
investigating officers. In August INDECOM replaced the civilian Police 
Public Complaints Authority; the new body has the power to take over 
and direct BSI investigations.
    The JCF continued a community policing initiative to address the 
long-standing antipathy between the security forces and many poor 
inner-city neighborhoods. Through the Community Safety and Security 
Branch, during the year the JCF conducted targeted training of 309 
officers in 38 communities, trained community safety officers, and 
assigned JCF personnel to targeted schools as resource officers to stem 
school violence. These officers also served as liaisons between the 
students, faculty, parents, and police. The Government bolstered these 
efforts through public education and by nominating deputy divisional 
commanders with responsibility to introduce community policing to all 
the communities within their division.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in 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. Police often used the warrant as the first step in an 
investigation to search for evidence. The law requires detained 
suspects to be charged or released within 24 to 48 hours of arrest, 
unless a justice of the peace or a resident magistrate grants a special 
waiver.
    If a detainee requests access to counsel, the law requires police 
to contact duty counsel (a private attorney who volunteers to represent 
detainees at police stations and until cases go to trial) under the 
Legal Aid Program; however, authorities continued to wait until after 
detainees had been identified in a lineup before contacting duty 
counsel for them. There was a functioning bail system, and detainees 
were provided with prompt access to family members.
    Although the law requires police to present a detainee in court 
within a reasonable time period, in practice authorities sometimes 
remanded suspects for psychiatric evaluation, some for as long as three 
years when their cases were ``lost in the system.'' Magistrates were 
required to inquire at least once a week into the welfare of each 
person listed by the JCF as detained, but few did so in practice, 
especially in the busy Kingston/St. Andrew corporate area.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, the judicial system relied entirely on the 
Ministry of Justice for all resources.
    Trials in many cases were delayed for years, and other cases were 
dismissed because files could not be located or had been destroyed. 
Some trials suffered as a result of antiquated rules of evidence as 
well as from lack of equipment for collecting and storing evidence. For 
example, drug evidence collected in an arrest had to be stored in its 
entirety; samples or photographs were not acceptable. Storage 
facilities were inadequate and understaffed, and evidence went missing, 
rotted in the warehouse, or could not be located when needed.
    The resident magistrate's courts, which handle more than 90 percent 
of the cases in the court system, continued operation of a night court 
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. This alleviated some of the civil case backlog 
in that court. The resident magistrate's courts also used alternative 
dispute resolution in limited cases.
    Some criminal trials were dismissed because witnesses failed to 
come forward as a result of threats, intimidation, or murder. 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.

    Trial Procedures.--Most trials are public and adjudicated by a lone 
judge. More serious criminal offenses are tried with juries in circuit 
court at the Supreme Court level. There was a persistent problem 
seating jurors for cases, which contributed to the extensive judicial 
backlog. Citizens were reluctant to serve as jurors for fear of 
retribution.
    The constitution provides that defendants are presumed innocent and 
have the right to counsel and 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 and in the case of offenses in which the defendant 
is not liable to incarceration. The Office of the Public Defender (OPD) 
may bring cases on behalf of persons who have had their constitutional 
rights violated but the OPD cannot appear in court on their behalf. 
Although the OPD contracted with private attorneys to represent 
indigent clients, funds were insufficient to meet 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 Government is required to undertake 
pretrial negotiations or mediation in an attempt to settle out of 
court, but the Government often did not do so. When there were 
settlements, whether in or out of court, the Government often lacked 
the funds to pay, resulting in a backlog of awards.

    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.

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. Newspapers were independent and free of government 
control. Broadcast media were largely state owned but open to 
pluralistic points of view.
    Some local media professionals expressed concern that the country's 
libel laws limited 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 a 
speech on May 17, Prime Minister Golding expressed the need to reform 
the libel laws to enable greater transparency and accountability in 
government.
    The Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) continued to advocate for 
changes in the country's ``antiquated'' libel and defamation laws. The 
PAJ also advocated repealing the Official Secrets Act, ``which runs 
counter to the Access to Information Act,'' requested that whistle-
blower legislation be enacted to help the media expose corruption, and 
called for strict separation between management and editorial 
departments since a free press ``requires the absence of undue 
influence of media owners on newsroom output.''
    Some journalists also stated that they censored their political 
coverage based on fear of violent reprisals, and the UN Human Rights 
Council's 2010 Freedom in the World Report stated that journalists 
sometimes faced intimidation in the run-up to elections.
    In July the police attempted to confiscate the camera of a CVM TV 
correspondent at the scene of an alleged police killing in St. Ann. 
Authorities detained the journalist and later released him. Later that 
month, in a meeting with representatives from the PAJ and the Media 
Association Jamaica Limited, Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington 
pledged to publish guidelines governing conduct between members of the 
JCF and the media at crime scenes. However, no guidelines had been 
published by year's end. Ellington also said the JCF would take action 
against officers who prevented journalists from carrying out legitimate 
duties at crime scenes.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
According to the International Telecommunication Union, there were 58 
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2009.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom.
    With respect to cultural events, the Jamaica Broadcasting 
Commission (JBC) sought to regulate and limit the dissemination of 
certain popular music deemed inconsistent with public morality. Since 
2009 the JBC banned certain lyrics deemed inappropriate to broadcast, 
including dancehall songs referring to the simulation of aggressive or 
violent sex, and employed editing methods to expunge lyrics thought 
unfit for broadcast. The commission stated that its directive was aimed 
at ``all types of musical broadcast output, including soca music and 
carnival music.''

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and there were no reports that it 
occurred.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government has established a system 
for processing and providing protection to refugees. In practice the 
Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened, 
and it handled refugee or asylum cases administratively.
    The Government was prepared to cooperate with the Office of the UN 
High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in 
assisting refugees and asylum seekers, should such cases arise.
    Following the January earthquake in Haiti, the Government stated 
that it would provide temporary accommodations, health inspections, and 
food for Haitians fleeing the earthquake until they could safely return 
home. Between March and April, the Government provided temporary 
shelter and medical treatment for 93 Haitians who landed in three 
vessels. The Government stated that due to financial constraints, the 
Haitians would be repatriated. The JDF Coast Guard returned all 93, 
plus an additional 24 who were being held on immigration violations, to 
Haiti by the end of April.

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 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,'' 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 to intimidate supporters of the 
opposing political party. These factors impeded the free exercise of 
their right to vote. According to Amnesty International, at least nine 
persons died as a result of election-related violence in the 2007 
campaign period.
    In the 2007 elections, after a legal challenge in one district, 
authorities determined that the JLP won 32 out of 60 seats in the House 
of Representatives. People's National Party (PNP) challengers filed 
four cases against elected parliamentarians who held dual 
nationalities, citing a constitutional provision that bars from office 
those who have ``sworn allegiance to a foreign power.'' Although three 
winning JLP candidates subsequently renounced their foreign 
citizenship, the Supreme Court ruled that if the candidate had held 
dual citizenship at the time of nomination for office, he or she was 
ineligible to hold a seat in Parliament. In three of the four cases, 
the Supreme Court ordered by-elections, each of which was won by the 
incumbent JLP parliamentarian after renouncing dual nationality. On 
June 2, the parliamentary seat held by Shahine Robinson was vacated 
after she was alleged to be a foreign citizen when nominated for the 
2007 general election. On November 26, the prime minister called for a 
by-election for the empty seat, and Robinson regained her seat on 
December 20.
    In August Betty Ann Blaine, along with 10 other founding members, 
launched a new political party, the New National Coalition. It 
announced plans to contest all 60 constituencies in the next election.
    There were eight women elected to the 60-seat House of 
Representatives and three women appointed to the 21-seat Senate. Two of 
the 16 cabinet ministers were women.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, but 
the Government did not implement the law effectively. The contractor 
general stated in his 2009 annual report that 30 formal criminal 
offenses were referred to the DPP, with no criminal charge, arrest, or 
prosecution arising out of any of the matters.
    The JCF Anti-Corruption Branch, headed by a British police officer 
hired as assistant commissioner of police, has responsibility for 
addressing corruption in the force, and some recent improvements were 
noted. However, suspicions of corruption and impunity within the force 
remained, despite a notable increase in the number of arrests of 
officers for corruption.
    In February JCF officers seized a large load of weapons in Kingston 
that were traced back to the police armory. Authorities arrested 11 
suspects, including a police sergeant, in connection with the seizure. 
A full investigation by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the JCF ensued. 
In October three civilians charged in the case pleaded guilty, and a 
court sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 10 to 13 years. The 
sergeant was charged with illegal possession of 18 firearms and 9,540 
rounds of ammunition and was awaiting trial in Gun Court at year's end.
    In August the JCF announced that 149 rogue police officers had been 
removed in the first seven months of the year; by year's end 188 police 
officers had been dismissed. Authorities arrested 21 police personnel 
and charged them with breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act. Police 
personnel are required to sign five-year contracts with renewal 
contingent upon good conduct. They are barred from reenlisting whenever 
there is information that they are not efficient or effective in 
carrying out their duty with integrity.
    Also in August authorities dismissed Lenice Barnett, executive 
director of the Student Loan Bureau (SLB), and forced the resignation 
of its Board of Directors, following an audit conducted by the Public 
Accountability Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance. The ministry 
stated that Barnett was augmenting her pay through receipt of a 
gratuity paid on a monthly basis, implementing an unapproved monetary 
incentive scheme, and providing access to loans without SLB 
management's knowledge.
    In October Prime Minister Golding announced that a commission of 
inquiry would be formed to probe the Government's handling of an 
extradition request for alleged drug lord Christopher ``Dudus'' Coke. 
The commission was to look into charges that the Government hired a 
foreign lobbying firm, possibly to derail the request. The prime 
minister had approved the extradition request in May and stated that 
when the lobbying firm was hired, he was not acting as the Government 
leader but only in his capacity as head of the JLP.
    In October 2008 authorities arrested Kern Spencer, a former junior 
minister, and charged him with fraud, corruption, and money laundering 
in a scheme to distribute and install energy efficient light bulbs 
donated by Cuba. His trial began on June 30, and the matter was still 
before the Magistrate Court at year's end.
    In December 2009 a court found former police superintendent Harry 
Daley guilty of corruption, and a judge sentenced him to 18 months of 
hard labor. However, at year's end he was on bail pending an appeal 
hearing.
    The Corruption Prevention Act requires many government officials to 
file financial declarations; however, reports indicated that more than 
5,000 civil servants failed to file or filed late or incomplete 
financial declarations required under the act. The DPP's Office has the 
authority to identify noncompliant officials and send their cases to 
the Magistrate's Office, but the Government did not levy any fines on 
officials during the year. The Ministry of Justice and the Attorney 
General's Office have overall responsibility to combat official 
corruption, but various other ministries are responsible for their own 
investigations.
    Despite provisions in the Access to Information Act to promote 
transparency, media accounts indicated that access to information was 
sometimes categorically denied. The act contains no sanctions or 
penalties to discourage lack of response to applications.

Section 5. 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 Public Defender's Office provides services 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.
    The Government was generally supportive of international human 
rights concerns and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). 
The Government invited a UN special rapporteur to conduct a fact-
finding mission in February regarding detention facilities, where he 
had access to senior state officials, representatives of civil society, 
and detainees (see section 1.c.).

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, place of 
origin, political opinion, 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.--Rape is illegal and carries a maximum penalty of 25 years' 
imprisonment. The 2009 Sexual Offenses Act criminalizes spousal rape, 
but only in certain circumstances. Human rights groups continued to 
advocate for a more comprehensive law. While that law replaced an 
existing patchwork of laws relating to sexual assault, rape, and 
incest, the authorities had yet to implement many of its provisions. 
The number of rapes victims reported declined slightly to 668, compared 
with 695 in 2009. NGOs believed the actual numbers were much higher, 
but no other statistics were available. The JCF Rape Investigative and 
Juvenile Unit, which was headed by a female deputy superintendent, 
handled sex crimes.
    Social and cultural norms 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 
prohibits domestic violence and provides remedies including restraining 
orders and other noncustodial sentencing. Breaching a restraining order 
is punishable by a fine of up to J$10,000 (approximately $114) and six 
months' imprisonment. Police were generally reluctant to become 
involved in domestic issues, which led to cases not being pursued 
vigorously when reported. The Bureau of Women's Affairs (BWA) operated 
crisis hotlines and managed a public education campaign to raise the 
profile of domestic violence, while the NGO Woman Inc. operated a 
shelter that received some government funds.
    Sex tourism continued to be a problem.
    There is no legislation that addresses sexual harassment, and the 
BWA reported that it had become a ``disturbing problem.'' There were 
anecdotal reports of sexual harassment of women by the police as well 
as in the workplace, but few statistics were available. The BWA and 
NGOs such as Woman Inc. and Women's Media Watch believed that women 
often did not report such incidents because there was no legal remedy.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and means to 
do so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception 
and skilled attendance at delivery were widely available. However, 
essential obstetric and postpartum care was often lacking. The UN 
Population Fund reported a 2008 maternal mortality ratio of 89 deaths 
per 100,000 live births and a modern contraceptive prevalence rate of 
66 percent. Missionaries of the Poor, a Kingston-based NGO, provided 
counseling and medical services to expectant mothers. Women and men 
were given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for 
sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
    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. 
According to the World Economic Forum's 2010 Global Gender Gap Report, 
women earned 36 percent less than men for comparable work. The BWA, 
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. Women sought jobs and served in 
almost every occupation in both the public and private sectors.
    There was an active community of women's rights groups, which 
focused on the protection of victims of sexual abuse, participation of 
women in the political process, and legislative reforms affecting 
women.

    Children.--Every person born in the country after August 5, 1962, 
is entitled to citizenship. Persons born or adopted outside the country 
to one or more Jamaican parents can claim citizenship, and those 
married to Jamaican spouses may also claim citizenship. There is 
universal birth registration, either in the hospital at the time of 
birth or at a local registrar's office if the child is not born in a 
hospital.
    There was no societal pattern of abuse of children; however, child 
abuse, especially sexual abuse, was a substantial problem. The Office 
of Children's Registry (OCR) receives, records, and stores data 
relating to the mistreatment and abuse of children. The law requires 
anyone who knows of or suspects a child is being abused to make a 
report to the OCR, with a penalty of up to J$500,000 ($5,800) for 
failure to do so. The OCR received approximately 6,330 reports of child 
abuse, compared with 6,778 cases reported in 2009.
    Under the Child Care and Protection Act, the Child Development 
Authority (CDA) in the Ministry of Health is responsible for 
implementation of the Government's programs to prevent child abuse. 
According to the CDA, sexual assault was the most common reason for 
children to be taken to hospitals, with children under age 10 
accounting for 17 percent of all sexual assault cases and children 
between the ages of 10 and 19 accounting for 57 percent. In the 2008 
Reproductive Health Survey (the most recent one conducted), almost half 
of young women reported that they had been pressured or forced into 
sexual intercourse at the time of their first sexual experience. NGOs 
reported that inner-city gang leaders and sometimes even fathers 
initiated sex with young girls as a ``right.'' There were 538 cases of 
carnal abuse reported to the JCF, compared with 578 cases reported in 
2009.
    The Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA) has broad 
responsibilities for reviewing laws, policies, practices, and 
government services affecting children, as well as providing legal 
services to protect the best interests of children. In February the OCA 
launched a Web site to provide information on children's rights. The 
site also includes downloadable forms so that persons can lodge 
complaints electronically or by fax. The OCA reported it received over 
400 complaints during the year, conducted some preliminary 
investigations, and referred other cases to appropriate government 
institutions.
    Child prostitution and sex tourism were problems, especially in 
tourist areas. In September authorities uncovered a prostitution ring 
in Kingston, involving an undisclosed number of minors.
    The law prohibits statutory rape, defined as sexual relations with 
a person less than 16 years old, the minimum age for consensual sex. 
Sexual relations by an adult with a child between the ages of 12 and 16 
are a misdemeanor punishable by not more than seven years in prison; if 
the victim is under 12, it is a felony punishable by up to life 
imprisonment. The 2009 Sexual Offences Act included the establishment 
of a Sex Offenders Registry, which children's rights advocacy groups 
considered a vast improvement over the old legislation in terms of its 
ability to protect children.
    In September 2009 Parliament enacted the Child Pornography 
(Prevention) Act, criminalizing the commercial sexual exploitation of 
children. The law applies to the protection, possession, importation, 
exportation, and distribution of child pornography and carries a 
maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of J$500,000 
($5,800).
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was a small practicing Jewish congregation in 
the country. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There are no laws prohibiting 
discrimination against persons with disabilities or 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.
    The Ministry of Labor has responsibility for the Jamaica Council 
for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), which had a budget of J$48 
million ($560,000) in 2009-10. The JCPD distributes Economic 
Empowerment Grants of up to J$50,000 ($580) to persons with 
disabilities to help them embark on small entrepreneurial ventures such 
as vending or furniture making, or to provide them with assistive aids, 
such as prosthetics or hearing aids. These economic empowerment grants 
are significantly larger than the maximum sum of J$15,000 ($174) that 
persons with disabilities occasionally received in the form of 
rehabilitation grants ostensibly for the same purposes. The Ministry of 
Labor also has responsibility for the Early Stimulation Project, an 
education program for children with disabilities, as well as the 
Abilities Foundation, a vocational program for older persons with 
disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Maroons, descendants of slaves 
who escaped to the mountainous interior in the 17th and 18th centuries, 
considered themselves a group apart and maintained some African 
traditions distinct from those of the larger society. They continued to 
defend their rights and legal status, which stem from peace treaties 
signed with the British in 1739-40. In Maroon communities such as 
Accompong and Nanny Town, voters elect a colonel for a five-year term, 
who governs the community assisted by an appointed 32-member council. 
Maroons also vote in general elections, and their leaders worked with 
Parliament to ensure that their communities' needs are considered when 
making important decisions. Maroons are exempt from national taxes and 
land is held in common; however, there are major infrastructural needs 
that the Maroons believe the central government neglects. Formal 
education was not available in Maroon communities beyond the junior 
high school level, and unemployment rates were high. Many young Maroons 
leave the region for employment elsewhere; this migration and the 
influx of popular island-wide culture threatened the communities' 
culture.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law 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 arbitrary detention, 
mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of gay and lesbian patients by 
hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of such persons. 
Police often did not investigate such incidents. During the year, J-
FLAG received 43 reports of sexually motivated harassment or abuse, 
which included 26 cases of attempted or actual assault, including three 
murders and three cases of rape. This violence created a climate of 
fear that prompted many gay persons to emigrate, while the gross 
indecency laws left those who remained vulnerable to extortion from 
neighbors who threatened to report them to the police unless they were 
paid off.
    In September six men brutally gang-raped a lesbian woman and cut 
her genitals after the assault ended. These men had previously taunted 
their victim, and this attack typified a phenomenon known as 
``corrective rape,'' whereby rapists justify their actions under the 
rationale that forcing their victim into sex will somehow convert the 
injured party to heterosexuality. Three days later a taxi driver raped 
another lesbian woman in an unrelated attack staged in the same 
northern parish of St. Ann's. J-FLAG protested both rapes, stating that 
the women were attacked because of their sexual orientation. The 
organization believed that, as with heterosexual women, many homosexual 
rape victims were hesitant to report their abuse out of fear, shame, or 
for any number of personal reasons, suggesting that the actual 
incidence of sexual violence perpetrated against such persons could be 
notably higher.
    J-FLAG members also suffered attacks on their property and home 
intrusions, as people demanded to know the number of persons and beds 
in a home. Victims reported numerous cases of threats and intimidation 
to J-FLAG. In many instances family members expelled their own 
relatives from homes because of sexual orientation. In other cases 
neighbors drove gay and lesbian persons out of their communities, 
slashing tires and hurling insults. Many gays and lesbians faced death 
and arson threats, with some threats also directed at J-FLAG offices. 
As a result of such threats, J-FLAG elected not to publicize its 
location, and one of its officials reported feeling unsafe having 
meetings with clients at the organization's office.
    The trial of six suspects arrested for the 2005 robbery and murder 
of prominent gay rights advocate Lenford ``Steve'' Harvey, initially 
begun and then postponed in 2007, was scheduled to recommence in early 
2011.
    Male inmates deemed by prison wardens to be gay 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 confirm their homosexuality for 
their own safety. There were numerous reports of violence against gay 
inmates, perpetrated by the wardens and by other inmates, but few 
inmates sought recourse through the prison system.
    Gay men were hesitant to report incidents against them because of 
fear for their physical well-being. Human rights NGOs and government 
entities agreed that brutality against such persons, primarily by 
private citizens, was widespread in the community.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--No laws protect persons 
with HIV/AIDS from discrimination. Human rights NGOs reported severe 
stigma and discrimination against this group. The International Labor 
Organization (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. Health-care facilities 
were prepared to handle patients with HIV/AIDS, but health-care workers 
often neglected such patients. The Ministry of Labor, in conjunction 
with the ILO and the Ministry of Health, conducted workplace education 
programs on HIV/AIDS issues. Laws banning homosexual acts and societal 
attitudes prevented distribution of condoms in prisons and similar 
institutions.

Section 7. 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. It was not uncommon for private-
sector employers to lay off union workers and rehire them as 
contractors, a practice unions did not oppose so long as labor and 
management agreed.
    The law neither authorizes nor prohibits the right to strike, and 
strikes occurred. 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 due to 
strike action during the year. Workers in 10 categories of ``essential 
services'' must first take disputes to the Ministry of Labor before 
they can legally strike. The ILO has repeatedly criticized the 
Government for its broad definition of these 10 categories. Nurses and 
other public sector workers--although taking their disputes to the 
Ministry of Labor as required--circumvented the ministry's permission 
to strike by holding ``sick outs'' during the year.

    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 estimated 20 to 25 
percent of the work force was covered by a collective bargaining 
agreement. An independent Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) hears 
cases when management and labor fail to reach agreement. Cases not 
resolved by the IDT pass to the civil courts. The IDT received 23 cases 
during the year, with most cases decided within 90 days. Some took 
longer to resolve due to the complexity of the dispute or delays 
requested by involved parties.
    Collective bargaining is denied to a bargaining unit if no single 
union represents at least 40 percent of the workers in the unit or when 
the union seeking recognition does not obtain support from 50 percent 
of the workers (whether or not they are affiliated with the union). The 
ILO Committee of Experts asked the Government to change this threshold, 
but the Government expressed no intention to change the existing law.
    The law allows for union activity and prohibits antiunion 
discrimination. Employers generally respected the law in practice. 
However, some labor unions reported that private-sector workers were 
increasingly fearful of management retaliation against unionization as 
the job market contracted in the past year. While union organizers and 
members were entitled to full legal protections that were enforced 
effectively, both management and workers were often unaware of their 
rights and obligations.
    Domestic labor laws apply equally to the country's ``free zones'' 
(export processing zones), but there were no unionized companies in any 
of these three publicly owned zones. Union organizers suspected that 
foreign owners in the zones resisted organization efforts and that many 
free-zone employees chose not to unionize for fear of losing their 
jobs. Employer-controlled ``workers' councils'' handled grievance 
resolution in most of these companies but did not negotiate wages and 
conditions, which were set by management.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The country has 
ratified relevant ILO conventions, which carries a legal obligation to 
apply their provisions. There are otherwise no specific laws 
prohibiting forced or compulsory labor. There were reports of girls in 
rural areas recruited for domestic labor and then forced into 
servitude. Some cases of coerced employment of suspected trafficking 
victims were reported and were being treated in the court system. Also 
see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 
www.state.gov/g/tip.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law protects children from exploitation in the workplace and stipulates 
that every citizen has a duty to report child abuse. The minimum age 
for employment is 15 years, and the law prohibits the employment of 
children under age 13 in any type of work. Children between 13 and 15 
years are permitted to engage in ``light work,'' as defined by the 
Ministry of Labor, which will not disrupt their education or be harmful 
to their health. The ministry's Child Labor Unit was responsible for 
monitoring and controlling child labor.
    The Ministry of Labor assisted the Office of Health and Safety in 
child labor enforcement efforts. The CDA is responsible for carrying 
out investigations of abuse. According to CDA officials, resources to 
investigate exploitive child labor were insufficient. Children under 
the age of 12 peddled goods and services, begged on city streets, and 
worked on plantations, farms, and construction sites, as well as in 
gardens, shops, and markets. In May the CDA reported that there were 
approximately 6,000 street and working children in the country.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Government sets the minimum 
wage in a transparent process after receiving recommendations from the 
tripartite National Minimum Wage Advisory Commission. The minimum wage 
was J$4,070 (approximately $47) per week for all workers, although 
there were some reports of domestic workers receiving less. The minimum 
wage did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and 
family, leading most minimum-wage earners to work two or more jobs. 
However, 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 generally respected. The law does not prohibit excessive 
compulsory overtime, and some employees, notably security guards, were 
regularly required to work 12-hour shifts without overtime 
compensation.
    The Ministry of Labor's Industrial Safety Division (ISD) sets and 
enforces industrial health and safety standards, mainly through factory 
inspections. Insufficient staffing in the Ministries of Labor, Finance, 
National Security, and Public Service contributed to difficulties in 
enforcing workplace regulations. The ISD conducted inspections, 
investigated accidents, warned violators, and gave them 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 approximately 112 million, is a 
federal republic composed of 31 states and a federal district, with an 
elected president and bicameral legislature. President Felipe Calderon 
of the National Action Party was elected in 2006 to a six-year term in 
generally free and fair multiparty elections. The country continued its 
fight against organized crime, which involved frequent clashes between 
security forces and drug traffickers. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities; however, there were instances in which elements 
of these forces acted outside the Government's policies.
    The following problems were reported during the year by the 
country's National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) and other sources: 
unlawful killings by security forces; kidnappings; physical abuse; poor 
and overcrowded prison conditions; arbitrary arrests and detention; 
corruption, inefficiency, and lack of transparency that engendered 
impunity within the judicial system; confessions coerced through 
torture; violence and threats against journalists leading to self-
censorship. Societal problems were domestic violence, including 
killings of women; trafficking in persons; social and economic 
discrimination against some members of the indigenous population; 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 federal 
government or its state agents did not commit any politically motivated 
killings; however, security forces, acting both within and outside the 
line of duty, killed several persons, including minors, during the 
year.
    As the Government brought enforcement pressure against 
Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs), both the TCOs and gangs 
linked to them battled each other and the Government for control of 
trafficking routes and markets. Officials reported 15,273 drug-related 
homicides during the year. The Government continued to deploy as many 
as 45,000 military troops dedicated to counternarcotics activities to 
assist civilian law enforcement authorities. In Ciudad Juarez in April, 
the Government gave the lead in public security to the Federal Police, 
which deployed 5,000 elements and coordinated 2,800 municipal police 
and 200 state police.
    Killings allegedly involving government security forces included 
the following:
    In January gunmen claiming to be federal police twice attacked a 
group of Central American migrants who were traveling on a train from 
Arriaga to Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca. The attacks left three dead, two 
women raped, and one minor injured. The migrants reported the incident 
to the Brothers Along the Road Shelter in Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca, which 
subsequently requested help from the state's Office of the Attorney 
General. The investigation reported no progress by year's end.
    On March 19, soldiers killed two students at Monterrey 
Technological Institute. The soldiers reportedly mistook the two 
students for criminals they were pursuing and shot them in the 
university library, killing both instantly. Investigations continued 
but no arrest had been made at year's end.
    CNDH alleged in June that the National Defense Secretariat (SEDENA) 
altered the scene in which Martin and Brayan Almanza Salazar, ages five 
and nine, respectively, were shot and killed on April 3, to create the 
impression that the shots occurred during a firefight with a criminal 
gang. CNDH concluded that the children had been killed by direct fire 
from army troops on the road from Nuevo Laredo to Reynosa, Tamaulipas; 
however, military findings concluded that the children had been killed 
by shrapnel from a grenade thrown by members of organized criminal 
organizations. The incident remained under investigation at year's end.
    On August 22, soldiers on a highway in Guerrero shot and killed 
U.S. citizen Joseph Proctor after he failed to stop at a military 
checkpoint. The soldiers involved were arrested and awaiting trial by 
military court.
    On September 5, a military convoy fired upon a vehicle that 
allegedly failed to stop at a checkpoint on a major thoroughfare 
leading into Monterrey. A family of seven was riding in the vehicle, 
and the shooting resulted in the deaths of 15 year-old Alejandro 
Gabriel de Leon Castellanos and his father Vicente de Leon; five other 
family members sustained injuries. SEDENA published the names of four 
soldiers who had been arrested for the incident and who at year's end 
were awaiting trial by military court for charges of violence resulting 
in homicide.
    There were no developments in the following cases from 2009:
    The investigation of the January migrant shooting incident 
involving two federal police officers and the deaths of three 
civilians.
    The investigation of the February abduction, torture, and killing 
of the president and secretary of the Organization for the Future of 
the Mixtec People (OFPM) in Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero.
    The case of 12 members of the army's First Regiment of the 
Motorized Cavalry, Eighth Military Zone indicted for the killings of 
three civilians.
    The case of an army soldier arrested in connection with the 
shooting of Naua Bonfillo Rubio, a civilian killed during a bus 
inspection at a military checkpoint.
    The military prosecutor general charged one soldier with homicide 
in the 2008 case from the 12th Infantry Battalion in Michoacan; the 
soldier reportedly opened fire at a military checkpoint on a pick-up 
truck, killing minor Victor Alfonso de la Paz Ortega and injuring Juan 
Carlos Penaloza Garcia. According to SEDENA the soldier was 
subsequently released, and the military investigation had concluded.
    There were no developments in the following 2008 cases of killings 
by security forces: the March killing of four persons in Sinaloa, the 
June killing of three civilians in Chihuahua, and the July killing of a 
teenager in Aguascalientes.
    A number of killings during the year appeared to be politically 
motivated. Prior to mid-term elections in July, armed men shot and 
killed Tamaulipas gubernatorial candidate Rodolfo Torre Cantu during a 
campaign event. Unidentified perpetrators killed 14 mayors of small 
towns in states along the northern border, allegedly for failing to 
cooperate with organized crime. In August the bodies of 72 migrants, 58 
men, and 14 women from Central and South America were discovered in the 
state of Tamaulipas. The migrants were kidnapped and shot by the drug 
cartels.
    The National Council for Private Security stated in July that of 
approximately 8,000 private security firms active in the country, only 
659 were registered and regulated by federal authorities. This large 
presence of unregulated security companies led to concerns about 
illegal use of weapons as well as the emergence of vigilantes, 
exemplified by a September incident in which residents of Asencion, 
Chihuahua, beat and stoned two suspected kidnappers to death and forced 
the resignation of the town's entire police force, which they claimed 
was corrupt.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no confirmed reports of politically 
motivated disappearances at the federal level; however, there were 
multiple reports of forced disappearances by the army and police. Most 
occurred in the course of security operations. In several cases of 
reported disappearances, security forces had detained the missing 
persons incommunicado for several days.
    In February soldiers in Chilpancingo allegedly beat and took 
Guerrero Raul Evangelista Alonso from his home. Several days later in 
the same city, Roberto Gonzalez Mosso was abducted by masked 
individuals claiming to be from the office of the Deputy Attorney 
General for Special Organized Crime Investigations (SIEDO). At year's 
end neither individual had been seen and information was unavailable on 
the investigation of the cases.
    SEDENA was investigating the case of the disappearance of Isaias 
Uribe Hernandez and Juan Pablo Alvarado Oliveros, two veterinarians who 
went missing in April 2009 while driving in Torreon, Coahuila. Family 
members presented complaints to the Coahuila State Human Rights 
Commission and state authorities. They alleged that SEDENA officials 
were responsible for the disappearances. SEDENA stated it had no 
information that military personnel were involved in the incident but 
were nevertheless investigating the case.
    There were no known developments in the 2008 disappearance of 
brothers Jose Luis and Carlos Guzman Zuniga in Ciudad Juarez after they 
were reportedly detained by soldiers.
    There were no known developments in the case of ecologist Javier 
Torres Cruz from Petatlan, Guerrero, who was allegedly detained in 2008 
by soldiers from the 19th Battalion and reappeared after 10 days with 
evidence of physical abuse.
    Kidnapping remained a serious problem for persons of all 
socioeconomic levels. The Government reported a 78.8 percent increase 
in kidnappings compared with 2008. Express kidnappings, 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 a bank account, remained 
a problem. Many kidnapping cases continued to go unreported, as 
families feared repercussions and often negotiated directly with 
kidnappers. Informed observers believed the number of cases reported to 
authorities was far less than the actual number of kidnappings. There 
were reports of police involvement in kidnappings for ransom, primarily 
at the state and local level.
    CNDH estimated that during the year approximately 20,000 migrants 
were kidnapped as they attempted to transit the country to cross the 
border into the United States, although the National Migration 
Institute disputed this claim, noting that they had registered only 222 
such cases during the year. Many migrants were reluctant to report such 
crimes due to fear of being deported.
    According to the Oaxaca-based migrant shelter, Hermanos en el 
Camino, 40 Central American migrants were abducted from a train in 
December. The initial alarm was raised by several migrants who escaped 
and reported the event. Both CNDH and the National Migration Institute 
(INM) continued to investigate the incident at year's end.
    There were anecdotal reports that government agents were complicit 
in kidnappings. Amnesty International reported instances of federal 
police kidnapping and extorting Central American migrants on freight 
trains. In November, a former director of the Chihuahua state police 
and several Chihuahua City municipal policemen were arrested and 
charged with operating a kidnapping ring.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or 
degrading treatment and stipulates that confessions obtained through 
illicit means such as torture are not admissible as evidence in court; 
similarly inadmissible is any confession made directly to police. To be 
admissible a confession must be formally recorded before a prosecutor 
with the acknowledgement that it is being made voluntarily and after 
examination by a doctor confirming that the person has not been 
subjected to physical abuse.
    The Government took steps to implement preventive measures against 
the practice of torture, including applying, at the federal level, the 
Istanbul Protocol, which contains guidance on investigating and 
documenting torture and other abuses. According to the Attorney 
General's Office (PGR), 12 of the country's 31 states had passed laws 
to implement the protocol and established consultant and evaluation 
offices. In addition, the PGR said it had provided training on human 
rights and torture to its local, state, and federal staff. CNDH made 
150 visits to civilian and military prisons and detention centers 
nationwide. During the year CNDH conducted 133 human rights-related 
courses for SEDENA, 153 for PGR, and 189 for Secretariat of Public 
Security (SSP); the courses included sections on torture.
    In May the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture made public 
the recommendations from its 2009 report on the subcommittee's visit. 
The Foreign Affairs Secretariat announced in July an action plan to 
implement the 122 recommendations listed in the report. The ad hoc 
multiagency working group to implement the recommendations includes 
representatives from five states, as well as the Secretariat of 
Government, SEDENA, the Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR), the National 
Migration Institute, and the National System for Integral Family 
Development. The plan seeks to formalize cooperation between federal 
and state authorities on the training of public officials, the 
standardization of interrogation procedures, the investigation of 
torture accusations, the improvement of detainment conditions, the 
implementation of judicial system reform, and follow-up on CNDH 
recommendations.
    During the year CNDH received 1,170 complaints of cruel or 
degrading treatment and 10 torture complaints, compared with 1,105 
complaints of cruel or degrading treatment and 33 torture complaints in 
2009.
    Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), 
criticized SEDENA for a lack of transparency in the information it 
makes available to the public. As of December SEDENA's Web site 
indicated that seven soldiers and one officer had been sentenced since 
2006 for human rights-related crimes committed against civilians. These 
involved a human rights case in Castanos, Coahuila, in which civilian 
courts tried and sentenced four soldiers for rape and battery and found 
four others not guilty. SEDENA further reported that 178 soldiers were 
under investigation and 42 were in a military trial process for a 
variety of human rights offenses.
    According to information from human rights organization Comision 
Mexicana para la Defensa y Promocion de los Derechos Humanos (CMDPDH), 
on May 13, individuals claiming to be from SIEDO detained Juan Jose 
Jimenez Barahona and five other local police officers from Cardenas, 
Tabasco, when they were called to the Public Security Command in 
Huimanguillo, Tabasco. The six officers were subsequently transferred 
to the Tabasco Attorney General's office, where they were allegedly 
tortured until they confessed to having links with organized crime 
groups. All of the officers required medical care following the 
incident, and Jimenez Barahona required surgery to remove his damaged 
spleen, as well as parts of his kidney and intestine. At year's end all 
of the officers were being detained in the Tabasco State Rehabilitation 
Center.
    According to CMDPDH, in March 2009 soldiers from the 28th Infantry 
Battalion of the Second Military Zone in Baja California allegedly 
detained and tortured 25 Tijuana municipal police, using electric 
shocks, beatings, and asphyxiation to force the police to make self-
incriminating statements that were used to charge them with crimes. The 
officers were transported to a state prison in Nayarit in May 2009. A 
complaint was made to CNDH, and an investigation was opened to 
determine the soldiers' responsibility for the alleged abuses. Human 
rights defenders working on the case reported receiving threats in May, 
causing them to halt work on the case. According to the PGR, 
investigations into both the abuse of the police officers and the 
threats to the human rights defenders continued at year's end.
    There were no developments in the June 2009 case involving alleged 
military abuses to members of the communities of Puerto de las Ollas, 
Las Palancas, and El Jilguero in the state of Guerrero, and the 
military's investigation reportedly continued at year's end.
    There were no developments in the 2006 San Salvador Atenco 
confrontation between local flower vendors and state and federal police 
agents in Mexico State. During the conflict two individuals were killed 
and more than 47 women were taken into custody, many of whom allegedly 
were raped by police officials. At year's end none of the 2,500 police 
officers who participated in the Atenco Operation had been convicted of 
any crime. According to CentroProdh, the case remained stagnant in the 
Mexico State judicial system.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor. During the year CNDH and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) 
reported that corruption, overcrowding, prisoner abuse, alcoholism, and 
drug addiction were prevalent in most facilities. According to CNDH, 
health and sanitary conditions were poor, and most prisons did not 
offer psychiatric care. According to accounts related to consular 
officers by prisoners, poorly trained, underpaid, and corrupt guards 
staffed most prisons, and 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. According to CNDH, in 
July there were 222,297 prisoners in 429 facilities, approximately 26 
percent above capacity. Approximately 95 percent of those inmates were 
men and 14 percent were juveniles. In its 2008-12 Strategic Plan, the 
SSP described the penitentiary system as ``one of the most 
underdeveloped and abandoned components of public security.''
    Prison conditions in the country varied greatly across states and 
facilities. There were reports of dire conditions for prisoners due to 
overcrowding, posing risks both to the prisoners' physical safety and 
long-term health. Prisoners at the La Mesa facility in Tijuana, for 
example, reported: a lack of beds; unsanitary living conditions, 
including insects, rats, and sewage on cell floors; inadequate food; 
and lack of potable water. Several prisons in Mexico City were 
dilapidated, with broken windows and inadequate lighting. CNDH noted 
that lack of access to adequate healthcare was a significant problem at 
all facilities.
    The SSP reported that during the year 150 inmates died in prison 
and 407 escaped in 27 separate incidents. The most significant prison 
riots during the year were caused by skirmishes between prisoners from 
rival gangs and cartels. For example: in January a fight between rival 
cartel members led to the death of 23 inmates in a prison in Durango; 
in March a fight resulted in the death of five inmates in Chihuahua; in 
August fighting between rival cartels killed 14 inmates and injured 10 
in Tamaulipas; and in December a riot over food at the Center for 
Juvenile Internment in Villahermosa, Tabasco, left one inmate dead and 
two others injured. In August CNDH noted that conditions for female 
prisoners were inferior to those for men, particularly for women who 
lived with their children in prison. There were anecdotal reports of 
sexual abuse of women while in detention. Pretrial detainees were 
routinely held together with convicted criminals.
    There were cases of prison officials abetting the escape of 
prisoners, including repeated instances of state prison officials at 
the rehabilitation center in G"mez Palacio, Durango allowing prisoners 
to leave the prison to commit crimes and then return to their cells. In 
July, prisoners from this rehabilitation center were found responsible 
for three killings in Torreon, Coahuila. In September 82 prisoners 
escaped from a facility in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. In December the 
attorney general declared 41 state prison officials responsible for 
allowing the escape of 152 prisoners from a facility in Nuevo Laredo, 
Tamaulipas.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. While prisoners and detainees were 
generally permitted to lodge complaints about human rights violations, 
access to justice was inconsistent and the results of investigations 
were generally not made public.
    The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions by human rights organizations. The International Committee 
of the Red Cross, CNDH, and state human rights commissions visited 
detainees during the year. CNDH reported making 150 prison visits 
during the year in addition to 309 in conjunction with the National 
Mechanism to Prevent Torture. Separately, CNDH opened 688 complaint 
cases based on concerns about human rights violations against 
prisoners. CNDH also received 19 complaints of ``cruel treatment.''
    Independent monitors are generally limited to making 
recommendations to authorities to improve prison conditions. Ombudsmen 
do not serve as legal representatives for prisoners.
    The federal government worked to improve prison conditions by 
implementing its 2008-12 strategic plan focused on security, 
rehabilitation, and education. During the year the SSP trained new 
corrections officials, technical staff, and administrative staff. The 
Government designated approximately 2.3 billion pesos ($186.2 million) 
in the fiscal year for prison construction, upgrades, and reform. Much 
of that funding was dedicated to the construction of new centers and 
renovation of others that continued at year's end. The SSP also worked 
towards developing a new prisoner classification system and a new unit 
to oversee the classification process.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention as well as sponsoring or covering up an illegal 
detention. However, CNDH reported receiving 1,197 complaints of 
arbitrary arrests and detentions during the year.
    SEDENA indicted two soldiers and one officer for their role in the 
January 2009 illegal detention of Arnulfo Anaya, Luis Carlos Perez, and 
Juan Ramon Castillo in Chihuahua. Investigations continued at the end 
of the reporting period.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--According to CNDH the 
Government entities with the greatest number of human rights complaints 
filed against them were SEDENA, the Mexican Institute for Social 
Security (IMSS), the Federal Police, and the PGR.
    Concerning the military CNDH reported that their deployment as 
domestic law enforcement in the struggle against TCOs led to an 
increased number of reported human rights abuses. SEMAR, which played 
an increasingly important domestic security role, saw CNDH human rights 
complaints more than quadruple from 42 in 2009 to 198 in 2010. Human 
rights NGOs continued to charge that an opaque military justice system 
led to impunity, pointing to a failure to openly and promptly 
investigate, prosecute, and convict members of the military. During the 
year CNDH received 1,415 complaints against SEDENA and issued 22 
recommendations (certifications that a case merits further 
investigation or sanction) concerning allegations of human rights 
violations committed by members of the armed forces, compared with 30 
in 2009. SEDENA accepted all of the recommendations and affirmed its 
commitment to collaborating with CNDH on outstanding investigations. 
CNDH issued six recommendations to SEMAR, compared with one in 2009; 
SEMAR did not accept two of these recommendations and refused to 
cooperate with CNDH on cases related to the December 2009 operation 
against Arturo Beltran Leyva. CNDH also issued two recommendations to 
PGR and six to the Federal Police. All of these recommendations were 
accepted.
    SEDENA's general directorate for human rights investigates military 
personnel for violations of human rights identified by CNDH and is 
tasked with promoting a culture of respect for human rights within the 
institution. However, the directorate has no power to ensure 
allegations are properly tried and prosecuted. Human rights NGOs such 
as CenterProdh complained about a lack of access to the directorate and 
maintained it had done little to improve SEDENA's human rights 
performance.
    Despite a persistent lack of human rights-related prosecutions by 
military tribunals, SEDENA took steps to increase transparency on its 
handling of human rights cases. In July it inaugurated a human-rights 
page on its Web site, providing a partial listing of the status of 
military trials and their compliance with CNDH recommendations. SEDENA 
also arrested four soldiers and released their names in the media in 
conjunction with the September 5 killings of 15 year-old Alejandro 
Gabriel de Leon Castellanos and his father Vicente de Leon Ramirez at a 
military checkpoint in Nuevo Leon.
    In June SEDENA founded the Community Liaison Unit that focuses on 
regular community outreach and identifying the needs of civilians in 
areas where SEDENA has engaged in military operations. This unit 
initiated a program of town hall meetings in regions with military 
presence to establish a mechanism for outreach and a forum to receive 
feedback from the local population.
    CNDH provided human rights training to 17,656 military personnel 
during the year. SEDENA reported that during the year 5,136 soldiers 
participated in 33 courses centered on human rights, 70,016 officials 
attended 549 conferences, and 129,107 soldiers attended 1,653 lectures. 
Additionally, SEDENA routinely instructed its personnel to promote 
respect for human rights during operations.
    CNDH received 595 complaints during the year against the federal 
police, which upon investigation produced a finding of 384 violations 
in categories that included arbitrary detention (155), noncompliance 
with arrest warrant procedures (20), and cruel and inhuman treatment 
(169). More than half the complaints received were resolved by 
reorienting the complainant to the proper authority (281), suspending 
an investigation for lack of evidence (34), and reaching an amicable 
agreement (six). The SSP made amends to victims and adopted procedural 
measures to comply with its obligations after receiving 573 complaints 
involving violations pertaining to treatment in prison and nine related 
to arbitrary detention.
    During the year the SSP conducted 50 courses specifically on human 
rights or with modules pertaining to the topic, training a total of 
2,570 personnel. The SSP also worked with the International 
Organization for Migration and experts from the International Committee 
of the Red Cross to train federal police officers. Additionally, CNDH 
trained 7,851 SSP officials. The SSP in collaboration with the National 
Autonomous University of Mexico also continued to provide human rights 
training to federal police officers throughout the country. Separately, 
CNDH provided training to 5,378 PGR personnel.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Only duly 
authorized officials are permitted to apprehend an individual; however, 
a warrant for arrest is not required if the official has reasonable 
suspicion about the person's involvement in a crime. Bail exists, but 
not for persons being held in connection with drug trafficking or other 
forms of organized crime. In most cases persons must be presented to a 
judge, along with sufficient evidence to justify their continued 
detention, within 48 hours of their arrest. According to many NGOs, in 
practice there were violations of this 48-hour provision. CNDH received 
346 complaints involving illegal detention, the 11th most common 
complaint submitted to the organization.
    In organized crime cases (involving three or more persons who 
organize for the purpose of committing certain crimes), suspects may be 
held for up to 96 hours before being presented to a judge. Only the 
federal judicial system can prosecute organized crime cases. However, 
recognizing the complex nature of organized crime, the constitution was 
amended to stipulate that, under a precautionary procedure known as 
``arraigo,'' certain suspects may, with the approval of a judge, be 
detained for up to 80 days prior to the filing of formal charges. 
Without levying formal charges persons so detained are not entitled to 
legal representation and are not eligible to receive credit for time 
served if convicted. Human rights NGOs considered this form of pretrial 
detention a violation of due process that facilitated torture, and some 
groups alleged it was used to obtain forced confessions.
    In areas involving military operations against TCOs, SEDENA 
personnel detained individuals without the involvement of state or 
federal investigators with the authority to collect evidence for use in 
subsequent prosecutions. The PGR claimed it was not always notified in 
a timely manner of the detentions, which complicated efforts to 
prosecute and convict arrestees.
    In November 2009 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 
(IACHR) held a special session on public safety and human rights in 
Tijuana and heard the cases of alleged torture and human rights abuses 
against prisoners held under arraigo by military members or police 
officers.
    In June 2009, 28th Infantry Battalion soldiers detained and 
allegedly tortured two former ministerial police officers from Baja 
California. Soldiers allegedly tried to force them to sign self-
incriminatory confessions of extortion and crime participation, but 
they refused. The victims were sent to the II Military Zone 
installation (28th Infantry Battalion headquarters) by the Baja 
California state attorney, Rommel Moreno Manjarrez, and local internal 
affairs officers. The two former police officers presented a complaint 
to CNDH against II Military Zone commander General Jorge Alonso Garrido 
for allowing arbitrary detentions and torture; in the absence of a 
satisfactory response, they presented their case to the IACHR. By 
year's end the IACHR had not taken action on the case, nor was there 
information that the case had progressed in civilian or military 
courts.
    In July 2009 soldiers detained without formal charges 20 police 
officers from Nuevo Leon. The police officers were reportedly tortured 
and forced to admit they belonged to organized crime.
    While detainees usually were allowed prompt access to family 
members and to counsel, there were complaints that in some cases police 
held persons incommunicado for several days and made arrests 
arbitrarily and without a warrant. Human rights NGOs documented, and 
CNDH issued several recommendations confirming, that the army 
frequently detained civilians for extended periods before placing them 
at the disposition of civilian authorities.
    According to the King's College World Prison Brief, the prison 
population has grown by more than 90,000 since 1998. The same study 
states that 42.1 percent of the prison population has not been tried in 
court. According to the Mexican Center for Research and Teaching in 
Economics (CIDE), the average period for prisoners awaiting trial is 
two years and of those sentenced, 14 percent were declared innocent 
after having served time in prison, and 85 percent received sentences 
of less than five years. For many of these, the time spent in prison 
ultimately exceeded the sentence.
    The law provides time limits within which an accused person must be 
tried. However, due to caseloads that far exceeded the capacity of the 
federal judicial system and the fact that most state judicial systems 
still used the written inquisitorial criminal justice system, such time 
limits often were disregarded. CIDE and HRW reported that more than 40 
percent of prisoners have never been convicted of a crime but were held 
in pretrial detention, often for years, waiting for a trial. Pretrial 
release on bond is supported by the 2008 reforms, but in jurisdictions 
that have not implemented the reforms, it was available only in cases 
in which the charges were not considered a serious crime.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the judiciary is 
independent, according to CIDE, court decisions were susceptible to 
improper influence by both private and public entities, particularly at 
the state and local level. Civil society organizations reported that 
corruption, inefficiency, and a lack of transparency continued to be 
major problems in the judiciary.
    International bodies have criticized the Government's failure to 
limit military jurisdiction over human rights cases. Article 13 of the 
constitution states that military jurisdiction applies to ``crimes 
against military discipline'' but that military tribunals have no 
jurisdiction over persons who do not belong to the military. However, 
article 57 of the military code of justice defines crimes against 
military discipline as ``state or common offenses that have been 
committed by active duty military.'' In practice civilian courts have 
generally ceded jurisdiction to the military in cases where military 
personnel stand accused of human rights violations committed against 
civilians (see Regional Human Rights Court Decisions below).
    In cases in which a member of the military is arrested by civil 
authorities, the military may request the immediate transfer of the 
case to military jurisdiction. Traditionally, civilian judicial 
authorities grant jurisdiction to the military in all cases involving 
soldiers. NGOs, such as CenterProdh, maintained that human rights abuse 
cases involving military personnel were not handled transparently by 
the military justice system, giving rise to concerns about impunity in 
these cases.

    Trial Procedures.--The civilian legal system is a hybrid system. 
While it incorporates some aspects of common law and accusatory-style 
systems, it draws primarily from traditional European code-based, 
inquisitorial systems. The 2008 constitutional criminal justice reforms 
mandated implementation of an oral adversarial system and the 
presumption of innocence by 2016. The military employs an inquisitorial 
legal system. SEDENA continued to move toward an oral accusatorial 
system.
    At year's end 10 states had passed legislation related to moving 
towards an oral, adversarial system and were at various stages of 
training and implementation, six states were legislating reforms, and 
seven states sought assistance to consider the reforms. Under the old 
system, still being used by the federal government, the federal 
district, and 22 states a typical trial 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 and only by special motion.
    The 2008 constitutional criminal justice reform establishes that 
defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence; however, such rights are 
not provided for in jurisdictions that have not finished with reform 
implementation and are still operating under the inquisitorial system.
    The new constitutional reform 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.
    While 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. Because of the nascent implementation stage of the 2008 
reforms, not all public defenders had preparation and training to serve 
adequately on the defendants' behalf, and often the state public 
defender system was not adequate to meet demand. Public defender 
services were placed either in the judicial or executive branch; there 
rarely were autonomous public defender services. According to AI and 
CIDE, most criminal suspects did not receive representation until after 
they were placed under judicial authority, thus making individuals 
vulnerable to coercion to sign false statements before being presented 
to a judge.
    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 due to limited resources. 
Indigenous defendants who did not speak Spanish sometimes were unaware 
of the status of their cases, and some suspects were convicted without 
fully understanding the documents they were required to sign.
    On June 30, the Supreme Court freed 12 men who had been in prison 
for more than four years for alleged crimes that occurred in 2006 
during violent protests in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico State. The 
Supreme Court found that the evidence against them was insufficient and 
that state authorities had used the legal proceedings to punish 
political opposition and limit free speech.
    According to human rights NGOs, including HRW and AI, despite 
enactment of judicial reform legislation in June 2008, judges, 
particularly in areas that had not yet implemented the reforms, 
continued to allow statements coerced through torture to be used as 
evidence against the accused. Confessions were often the primary 
evidence in criminal convictions in these cases (see section 1.c.). 
NGOs asserted that judges often gave greater evidentiary value to the 
first declaration of a defendant given in the absence of legal 
representation. This provided prosecutors an incentive to obtain an 
incriminating first confession and made it difficult for defendants to 
disavow such declarations. For their part, law enforcement officials 
complained that defendants frequently made baseless claims of coerced 
confessions as a way to win acquittal.
    The 2008 justice reform, which facilitates transition to an oral 
trial system: establishes strict guidelines on the use of confessions, 
evidence, and expert testimony; allows consensual monitoring of 
telephone calls; and gives police more responsibility for conducting 
investigations. The reform stipulates that all hearings and trials must 
be conducted by a judge and under the principles of public access, 
immediacy, confrontation, and cross-examination, promoting greater 
transparency and allowing defendants to challenge their accusers.

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--In a 2009 decision in the 
Rosendo Radilla Pacheco case, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights 
found the use of military courts to try human rights cases involving 
civilians deficient and issued a binding ruling calling for the country 
to evaluate and reform this process. The Inter-American Court of Human 
Rights called article 57 ``broad and imprecise,'' described it as 
``incompatible with the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights,'' 
and concluded that the Government ``should adopt corresponding 
legislative reforms.'' In March the UN Human Rights Committee observed 
that the country should amend its code of military justice ``to ensure 
that the jurisdiction of military courts does not extend to cases of 
human rights violations'' and that ``in no event may military courts 
judge cases where the victims are civilians.'' The executive branch 
presented a proposal for military justice code reform to Congress on 
October 18. The reform proposes that crimes of torture, rape, and 
forced disappearance be removed from the purview of the military 
justice system. Human rights groups criticized the Government's 
inclusion of only certain crimes in the reform instead of all human 
rights violations.
    In November 2009 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found in 
the so-called Cotton Field case that the Government denied justice to 
and failed to prevent the deaths of Claudia Gonzalez, Esmeralda 
Herrera, and Berenice Ramos, whose bodies were found near Ciudad 
Juarez, Chihuahua, in 2001. The Government had provided compensation to 
the victims' families but had not complied with the court's ruling to 
investigate the case by year's end.
    In October the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the 
Government to compensate Ines Fernandez Ortega and Valentina Rosendo 
Cantu, who were both abused in 2002 by soldiers in Guerrero State (see 
section 6, Indigenous People).
    On December 20, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights published 
its sentence in the case of Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera, ruling 
against Mexico for human rights violations committed in 1999 against 
the ecologists from the state of Guerrero, including violations of the 
rights to liberty, personal integrity, due process, and judicial 
protection. In its ruling the Court ordered the Government to carry 
out, within time periods set by the Court, specific reparation measures 
for the victims. It reiterated previous rulings and ordered the 
Government to remove human rights cases involving civilians from 
military jurisdiction.
    Numerous threats and attacks against members of the Organization of 
Indigenous Me'phaa People (OPIM) and OFPM prompted the Inter-American 
Court of Human Rights to order the Government in April 2009 to provide 
protective measures for 109 human rights defenders in Guerrero. 
According to local NGOs, this protection has not been forthcoming.

    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 human rights violation. However, for a plaintiff 
to secure damages against a defendant, the defendant first must have 
been found guilty in a criminal case, which was a high standard in view 
of the relatively low number of individuals convicted of human rights 
abuses in the country.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--Although the law prohibits such practices and requires 
search warrants, during the year CNDH received 729 complaints of 
illegal searches, most related to the country's fight against organized 
crime.

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. Most newspapers and television and radio stations 
were privately owned, and the Government had minimal presence in the 
ownership of news media.
    Despite federal government support for freedom of the press, many 
journalists were the victims of increased threats, harassment, and 
violence. Reporters covering corrupt public officials and crime 
acknowledged practicing self-censorship, recognizing the danger 
investigative journalism posed to them and to their families. In an 
initial report following their August country review , the UN and 
Organization of American States special rapporteurs for the promotion 
and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression 
characterized the states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guerrero, 
Michoacan, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, and Tamaulipas as ``completely silent'' 
due to dramatic levels of media self-censorship. According to CNDH, 
during the year nine journalists were killed and four disappeared. CNDH 
reported that 66 journalists have been killed and 12 disappeared since 
2000.
    The PGR's Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes Against 
Journalists accepted jurisdiction over 61 cases during the year, 28 of 
which were found to be lacking in evidence and 33 of which were 
investigated or remain under investigation. In October the Government 
announced an initiative to provide protection to journalists. NGOs 
Article 19 and the National Center of Social Communication criticized 
the mechanism's lack of funding, insufficient consultation with civil 
society, and reliance on local, rather than federal, authorities for 
protection responsibilities. CNDH issued five recommendations on crimes 
against journalists during the year.
    On June 28, unidentified gunmen killed two journalists in a small 
town near Acapulco, Guerrero--Juan Francisco Rodrigues Cortez and his 
wife, Maria Elvira Hernandez Galeana. Rodriguez Cortes was a reporter 
for the local newspaper, El Sol de Acapulco, and the secretary general 
of the local chapter of the National Union of Press Editors. He and his 
wife also edited a local weekly newspaper.
    On July 6, journalist Hugo Alfredo Olivera Cartas was found dead in 
his vehicle on the outskirts of Apatzingan, Michoacan. Olivera owned 
and published the Apatzingan newspaper, El Dia de Michoacan, operated a 
small local news agency, served as local correspondent for La Voz de 
Michoacan, and collaborated with the Quadratin news agency. He 
specialized in covering crime in the Apatzingan area.
    On July 9, a group of unidentified armed men abducted and killed 
Marco Aurelio Martinez Tijerina in Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon. Martinez 
was the producer and presenter of a local radio news program that 
covered various issues, including local politics.
    On July 26, kidnappers later identified as members of the Sinaloa 
Cartel abducted four journalists in the state of Durango. Reportedly 
unhappy with the media's coverage of alleged cooperation between cartel 
members and police at a jail in Durango, they instructed media outlets 
to broadcast videos implicating rival cartels in the incident. Several 
channels eventually broadcast the unedited TCO videos, and all four 
journalists were subsequently released or rescued by police.
    On August 7, hundreds of journalists demonstrated in several states 
against the violence and impunity associated with crimes against the 
press. The protest called for unity among journalists and criticized 
the Government for its lack of progress on the investigations of 66 
members of the press killed and 12 missing since 2000. The journalists 
declared the Office of the Special Prosecutor for Crimes against 
Journalists ineffective, claiming that it had brought criminal charges 
in only three of the 88 cases under consideration in the past four 
years.
    On September 16, gunmen ambushed two employees of the Ciudad Juarez 
newspaper El Diario. A new photographer at the paper, Luis Carlos 
Santiago, died, and an intern was seriously wounded. The newspaper 
subsequently published a front-page editorial, asking cartels to 
``explain what you want from us, what we should publish or not publish, 
so we know what to expect.''
    In September the PGR announced the arrest of two persons who may 
have been involved in the killing of journalist Armando Rodriguez 
Carreon, a veteran police reporter with the newspaper El Diario, which 
took place in 2008 in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua.
    The 2006 killing of Bradley Will, a documentary filmmaker and 
independent journalist who was shot while documenting civil unrest in 
Oaxaca, remained under investigation. Pursuant to a December 2009 
ruling by a federal judge, Juan Manuel Martinez Moreno, the only 
suspect in the case, was released in February, and jurisdiction over 
the case was transferred to Oaxaca state authorities.
    The law does not provide a legal framework for issuing permits to 
nongovernmental and noncommercial community radio stations. According 
to Article 19, the Government closed down at least one community radio 
station in Chiapas.
    Although defamation, libel, and slander are not federal offenses, 
17 states have criminal libel laws making journalists vulnerable to 
threats of imprisonment at the state level.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The 
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were 
approximately 28 Internet users per 100 inhabitants.
    There were no documented instances of the Government collecting 
personally identifiable information.

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government respected these rights in practice. 
However, according to several NGOs including AI, in the course of its 
operations the army occasionally restricted freedom of movement. The 
Government cooperated with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees 
(UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection 
and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning 
refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of 
concern. The law does not permit forced exile, and it was not 
practiced.

    Protection of Refugees.--The laws provide for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status, and the Government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees.
    In practice the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. The Government provided temporary protection to individuals 
who may not have qualified as refugees under the 1951 Convention and 
its 1967 Protocol; however, there were no available reports that it 
received such requests during the year.
    Pursuant to its 2008 migration agreement with Cuba, the country 
repatriated 154 undocumented Cubans.

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. There were occasional cases of criminal-style killings that 
had apparent political motivations (see section 1.a.).

    Elections and Political Participation.--The closely contested 
presidential and congressional elections of 2006, in which Felipe 
Calderon was elected president to a six-year term, were considered 
generally free and fair by the majority of neutral observers, including 
EU representatives and local and international civil society 
organizations. On July 4, local legislative and gubernatorial 
elections, which took place in select states, were free of significant 
violence or claims of fraud.
    The law prohibits all public and private funding of political 
advertisements on television or radio outside of time slots established 
by individual states. It also requires placement of all political 
campaign advertisements through the Federal Elections Institute (IFE) 
and stipulates allocation of broadcast time among registered political 
parties based on their share of the vote in the most recent election. 
The law also prohibits negative campaign messages and establishes 
public spending limits for presidential elections. Recognition as a 
national political party by IFE is based on having won at least 2 
percent of the vote in the previous national election.
    There were 27 women in the 128-seat Senate and 135 women in the 
500-seat lower house. Two female justices sat on the 11-member Supreme 
Court, and there were three women in the 19-member 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 established quotas for increased participation of 
indigenous groups in the legislative body, and no reliable statistics 
were 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. 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.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators and other 
indices reflected that corruption remained a problem at all levels of 
government, as some public officials continued to perpetrate 
bureaucratic abuses and some criminal acts with impunity. Corruption at 
the most basic level involved paying bribes for routine services or in 
lieu of fines to administrative officials and security forces. More 
sophisticated and less apparent forms of corruption included overpaying 
for goods and services to provide payment to elected officials and 
political parties.
    By the end of the year, 16 SSP and PGR officials had been indicted 
for corruption since the Government launched Operation Cleanup in 2008; 
however, none had been convicted. During the year the Customs Agency 
relieved more than 700 employees and replaced them with vetted 
officials.
    President Calderon remarked in speeches in March and October that 
corruption was a serious problem in the police forces and a primary 
reason for the use of the military in the domestic counternarcotics 
fight. CNDH reported that police, especially at the state and local 
level, were involved in kidnapping, extortion, and in providing 
protection for, or acting directly on behalf of, organized crime and 
drug traffickers. Local forces in particular tended to be poorly 
compensated and directly pressured by criminal groups, leaving them 
most vulnerable to infiltration. According to a 2009 HRW report, 
impunity was pervasive, contributing to the continued reluctance of 
many victims to file complaints. Responsibility for investigating 
federal police criminal abuse falls under the purview of the PGR or the 
Secretariat of Public Administration, depending on the type of offense.
    In May SIEDO arrested Gregorio Sanchez, the mayor of Cancun, and a 
federal judge charged him with money laundering, drug trafficking, and 
cooperating with drug traffickers. Officials at Cancun's municipal jail 
have been connected repeatedly with TCOs, and jail director Alberto 
Rojas Garcia was dismissed on September 15 amid allegations that he 
provided assistance to the perpetrators of the August 31 bombing of a 
Cancun nightclub.
    Other high-profile instances of corruption included the September 
incident involving congressman-elect Julio Cesar Godoy, who had been a 
fugitive for 15 months but was able to elude authorities by taking his 
oath in Congress and obtaining parliamentary immunity. According to 
public prosecutors, Godoy was in charge of providing institutional 
protection to La Familia. On December 14, however, Congress voted to 
remove this immunity. At year's end Godoy remained at large.
    Migration officials were implicated in a number of cases involving 
crimes against migrants and human trafficking. In December Oscar Manuel 
Navarrete Orozco and his wife Maria America Maldonado Alfaro, both 
former migration officials arrested in 2007, received prison sentences 
of 12 and eight years, respectively, for their role in operating a 
migrant smuggling ring.
    Despite significant institutional and regulatory changes increasing 
government transparency, access to information continued to be 
difficult in some states. The Federal Institute of Access to Public 
Information (IFAI), the agency responsible for information requests, 
received more than 120,000 such requests during the year. All states 
have laws complying with the 2007 constitutional reforms regarding 
access to information and have signed a formal agreement with IFAI to 
make the information system on government operations, Infomex, 
available for petitions for state government information.
    In September IFAI ordered SEDENA to make public information related 
to the 1998 military operation ``El Charco'' in Guerrero, in which 11 
persons, including one student, were killed and 22 persons were 
detained for four years for rebellion. SEDENA refused to comply with 
the order, claiming that the original request had come from an 
individual without residence in the country.
    In July CNDH brought a case before the Supreme Court challenging 
the PGR's right to withhold information from CNDH. This dispute stemmed 
from an unresolved conflict in the law under which CNDH should have 
access to all information it needs to fulfill its human rights mandate 
and investigate serious cases, while the PGR claims the right under law 
to withhold information on cases under investigation. At year's end the 
court had not ruled.
    To better manage the corruption problem, in January 2009 the 
Government enacted legislation establishing a four-year deadline to vet 
personnel in all of the country's 2,600 police forces using a series of 
testing mechanisms. The legislation requires all police forces to meet 
certain compensation and training standards and it makes it easier for 
authorities to fire corrupt or unfit officers. On August 30, 3,600 of 
the 34,500 Federal Police officers were dismissed after failing to 
perform their duties or engaging in criminal misconduct. An additional 
1,020 police officers were placed under investigation for failing the 
vetting process.
    Internal controls and vetting processes were applied to new SSP 
entrants and incrementally expanded to existing staff. SSP managed the 
``Kardex Police'' registry, which provides a database of police at all 
levels whose records, including misdeeds, are catalogued. SSP expanded 
the Intranet-based communications platform, Plataforma Mexico, allowing 
for communication and coordination with federal and some state and 
local police throughout the country. At both federal and state levels, 
authorities provided for the establishment of Citizen Participation 
Councils (CPCs) to address citizen complaints about police and other 
justice system actors. The Government's efforts to increase 
transparency through the Office of the Attorney General's CPC at 
national and state levels incorporate and institutionalize processes 
for receiving, addressing, and resolving citizen concerns. CPCs created 
``observatories'' to monitor criminal justice and security issues. They 
developed and launched two Web sites, a toll-free hotline, and the 
awareness campaign called ``Somos Mas'' to promote the online 
registration of citizen complaints. However, as noted by the Washington 
Office on Latin America and a number of human rights NGOs, citizen 
participation is limited to presenting complaints, and no clear 
mechanisms have been established for citizen participation in the 
design, implementation, and evaluation of public security policies.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. The Government made 
periodic attempts to engage civil society, particularly on security 
issues but also on human rights issues, by encouraging civil society's 
participation in policy debates and allowing individuals to register 
complaints. While some NGOs reported improved engagement with the 
Secretariat of Government, they also expressed frustration over the 
difficulty to engage in constructive human rights discussions with 
military officials.
    CNDH is the autonomous agency created by the Government and funded 
by the legislature to monitor and act on human rights violations and 
abuses. It can call upon government authorities to impose 
administrative sanctions or pursue criminal charges against officials, 
but it cannot impose legal sanctions itself. Whenever the relevant 
authority accepts a CNDH recommendation, CNDH is required to follow up 
with the authority to ensure that it is, in fact, carrying out the 
recommendation. CNDH sends a request to the authority asking for 
evidence of their compliance. CNDH then reports this follow-up 
information in its annual report. When authorities fail to accept a 
recommendation, CNDH publicly condemns the authority to show their lack 
of respect for human rights. NGOs and international organizations often 
draw attention to the failure of the country's institutions to comply 
with or even accept CNDH recommendations.
    NGOs generally praised CNDH for its investigations into alleged 
human rights violations but criticized its inability to bring 
sufficient pressure to bear upon the Government to comply with 
recommendations.
    Each of the 31 states plus the federal district has a state human 
rights commission, which maintains autonomy from CNDH.
    The UN and NGOs reported harassment of human rights defenders. 
According to a November update by the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR), from September 2009 to October 
2010, there were 37 attacks against human rights activists but only 
three prosecutions. The report criticized government authorities for 
the lack of comprehensive policies to reduce and eliminate the risks 
faced by human rights activists and recommended that the Government 
establish a national mechanism for protection of human rights 
defenders. NGOs maintained that state and municipal authorities 
harassed defenders. Due to continued threats against its staff, the 
Tlachinollan Mountain Center for Human Rights in Guerrero had not 
reopened its office in Ayutla by year's end. The Inter-American Court 
on Human Rights ordered protective measures for five human rights 
defenders during the year.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status. While the Government continued to make 
progress enforcing these provisions, significant problems, particularly 
violence against women, persisted.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and 
imposes penalties of up to 20 years' imprisonment. However, rape 
victims rarely filed complaints with police, in part because of the 
authorities' ineffective and unsupportive responses to victims, the 
victims' fear of publicity, and a perception that prosecution of cases 
was unlikely. Human rights organizations asserted that authorities did 
not take seriously reports of rape, and victims continued to be 
socially stigmatized and ostracized.
    Federal law prohibits domestic violence, including spousal abuse, 
and stipulates fines equal to 30 to 180 days' pay and detention for up 
to 36 hours; actual sentences, however, were normally lenient. This 
countrywide law obligates federal and local authorities to prevent, 
punish, and eradicate violence against women. Nevertheless, according 
to the NGO Citizen Femicide Observatory (Observatorio Ciudadano de 
Feminicidios), domestic violence was pervasive and mostly unreported.
    State-level laws sanctioning domestic violence are weak. Seven 
states do not criminalize it, and 15 states punish it only when it is a 
repeated offense. According to a survey conducted by the National 
Institute of Public Health in several of the country's rural and 
indigenous communities, victims did not report abuses for a variety of 
reasons, including fear of spousal reprisal, shame, and the view that 
the abuse did not merit filing a complaint.
    The 2006 National Survey on Household Relationships, the most 
recent such survey completed, suggested that 67 percent of women over 
age 15 had suffered some abusive treatment. According to the Citizen 
Femicide Observatory, more than 1,700 girls and women were killed 
between January 2009 and June 2010. According to statistics from the 
Government of the state of Mexico, femicides have increased in the 
state each year. With 225 cases during the year, the number of 
femicides has more than doubled since 2005.
    According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography, 
Mexico City and the 12 states of Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, 
Sonora, Tamaulipas, Mexico, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Tlaxcala, 
Tabasco, and Yucatan experienced high rates of alleged gender-driven 
homicide.
    FEVIMTRA--a PGR office staffed by 19 legal, administrative, and 
technical support professionals--is responsible for leading government 
programs to combat domestic violence and trafficking in persons. Its 
work includes prosecuting the crimes, raising awareness with potential 
victims and government officials, and providing the only government 
shelter for trafficking victims. With only five lawyers dedicated to 
federal cases of violence against women and trafficking countrywide, 
FEVIMTRA faced challenges in moving from investigations to convictions.
    INMUJERES, the federal government institution charged with 
directing national policy to achieve equality of opportunity between 
men and women, reported that its national hotline established under the 
National Plan for a Life without Violence received 70,761 calls during 
the year. Although there were approximately 70 government-funded 
shelters, civil society and women's rights groups maintained most 
available shelters.
    The country was a destination for sex tourists. There are no laws 
specifically prohibiting sex tourism, although federal law criminalizes 
corruption of minors, for which the penalty is five to 10 years' 
imprisonment.
    Federal law prohibits sexual harassment and provides for fines of 
up to 40 days' minimum salary, but victims must press charges. Sexual 
harassment is criminalized in 26 of the 31 states and in the federal 
district; 22 of these states have provisions for punishment when the 
perpetrator has a position of power. According to INMUJERES, sexual 
harassment in the workplace was widespread, but victims were reluctant 
to come forward, and cases were difficult to prove.
    Couples and individuals have the legal right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children and have the information and means to 
do so free from discrimination. However, services, information, and 
public policies in the area of reproductive health were limited. 
Despite the existence of a national family planning program, the lack 
of sex education and contraceptives in public hospitals and rural areas 
undermined the Government's commitment to reproductive rights.
    In 2009 INMUJERES reported that 72.5 percent of women use some form 
of contraception. Information on maternal health was available at 
public and private health clinics and online at the Health 
Secretariat's Web site. Skilled attendants at delivery and in 
postpartum care were widely available except in some marginalized 
areas. According to INMUJERES the estimated maternal mortality rate in 
2008 was 57.23 per 100,000 live births. Women and men were given equal 
access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted 
infections, including HIV.
    The law provides women the same rights and obligations as men and 
``equal pay ... for equal work performed in equal jobs, hours of work, 
and conditions of efficiency.'' According to INMUJERES, during the year 
women earned on average 8.2 percent less than men for comparable work; 
however, in some occupations the disparity reached 51 percent.
    The law provides labor protection for pregnant women. According to 
the Information Group on Reproductive Rights, some employers reportedly 
sought to avoid this law by requiring pregnancy tests in pre-employment 
physicals and by continuing to make inquiries into a woman's 
reproductive status.

    Children.--The country provided universal birth registration in 
principle, with citizenship derived both by birth within the country's 
territory and from one's parents.
    Citizens generally registered the birth of newborns with local 
authorities. In some instances government officials visited private 
health institutions to facilitate the process. Failure to register 
births could result in the denial of public services, such as education 
or health care, to children living in communities where such services 
were in any event not widely available. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) 
country office survey data for 2000 estimated--based on the total 
population of children under the age of five when the survey was 
taken--that 90 percent or more of these children were registered at 
birth.
    Child marriage has historically remained a problem, although there 
were no statistics available for the year. The minimum marital age in 
the country is 14 for girls and 16 for boys with parental consent, and 
18 without parental consent. UNICEF estimated that in 2008--the latest 
year for which information was available--approximately 19.2 percent of 
women and 4.5 percent of males married before the age of 18.
    The antitrafficking law prohibits the commercial sexual 
exploitation of children. UNICEF reported that 16,000 children were 
involved in commercial sex exploitation. NGOs CEIDAS, Casa Alianza, and 
the National Network of Shelters reported that sex tourism and sexual 
exploitation of minors were significant problems in resort towns and 
northern border areas.
    The country does not have a statutory rape law, but it has laws 
against corruption of a minor, child pornography, and sexual tourism 
that apply to victims under 18 years of age. For the crimes of selling, 
distributing, or promoting pornography to a minor, the law stipulates a 
prison term of six months to five years and a fine of 300 to 500 times 
the daily minimum wage. For the crime of involving minors in acts of 
sexual exhibitionism, the law mandates seven to 12 years in prison and 
a fine of 800 to 2,500 times the daily minimum wage. The production, 
facilitation, reproduction, distribution, sale, and purchase of child 
pornography carries a punishment of seven to 12 years in prison and a 
fine of 800 to 2,000 times the daily minimum wage. Perpetrators who 
promote, publicize, or facilitate sexual tourism involving minors face 
seven to 12 years in prison and a fine of 800 to 2,000 times the daily 
minimum wage. For those involved in sexual tourism who commit a sexual 
act with a minor, the law requires a 12- to 18-year prison sentence and 
a fine of 2,000 to 3,000 times the daily minimum wage. The crime of 
sexual exploitation of a minor carries an eight- to 15-year prison 
sentence and a fine of 1,000 to 2,500 times the daily minimum wage.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html as well as 
country-specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
country/country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. The 
Jewish community numbered approximately 50,000 persons.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 
stipulations. Public buildings and facilities in Mexico City did not 
comply with the law requiring access for persons with disabilities, 
although the federal government stated that entrances, exits, and 
hallways in all of its offices were accessible to persons with 
disabilities. The education system provided special education for 
approximately 341,000 of an estimated two million students with 
disabilities; only 45 percent of the country's municipalities provided 
special education.
    In the 2000 census, 1.8 percent of the population reported having a 
disability, 72.6 percent of whom lived in urban areas. According to the 
National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, of children with 
disabilities between the ages of six and 14, 62.6 percent attended 
school, compared with 91.3 percent for those in the same age range 
without disabilities. Only 3.6 percent of the overall population with 
disabilities had finished university; 95.2 percent of all persons with 
disabilities had access to public or private health care. CNDH received 
21 complaints of discrimination against persons with physical 
disabilities and three complaints of discrimination against persons 
with mental disabilities.
    The secretary of health collaborated with the secretaries of social 
development, labor, and public education, as well as with the Integral 
Development of the Family (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. One popular and well-known 
program, spearheaded by the Humanitarian Foundation for Aid for the 
Handicapped, employed approximately 70 wheelchair users in the Mexico 
City airport. The program proved highly successful and was expanding 
across the country.
    Nevertheless, in a 2010 study, Disability Rights International 
found widespread human rights abuses in mental institutions across the 
country, including lack of access to justice, the use of physical and 
chemical restraints and lobotomies on patients, and trafficking of 
children with mental disabilities. According to the Latin American 
Network of NGOs for Disabled Individuals and their Families, 14 percent 
of workers with disabilities did not receive a salary and 22.6 percent 
earned below the minimum wage.

    Indigenous People.--CNDH and the Secretariat of Indigenous Peoples 
in Chiapas acknowledged that indigenous communities have long been 
socially and economically marginalized and subjected to discrimination, 
particularly in the central and southern regions, where indigenous 
persons sometimes represented more than one-third of the total state 
population. In the state of Chiapas, the NGOs Fray Bartolome de las 
Casas (FrayBa) and SiPaz argued that indigenous peoples' ability to 
participate in decisions affecting their lands, cultural traditions, 
and allocation of natural resources was negligible.
    Indigenous groups reported that the country's legal framework 
neither respected, nor prevented violations of, the property rights of 
indigenous communities. Communities and NGOs representing indigenous 
groups reported that the Government did not consult indigenous 
communities adequately when making decisions about development project 
implementation on indigenous land.
    Indigenous persons did not live on autonomous reservations, 
although some indigenous communities exercised considerable local 
control over economic, political, and social matters. In Oaxaca State, 
for example, 70 percent of the 570 municipalities were governed 
according to the indigenous regime of ``usages and customs,'' which did 
not follow democratic norms such as the secret ballot, universal 
suffrage, and political affiliation. These communities applied 
traditional practices to resolve disputes, chose local officials, and 
collected taxes without federal or state government interference. While 
such practices allowed communities to elect officials according to 
their traditions, usages and customs laws generally excluded women from 
the political process and often infringed on the rights of women and 
religious minorities.
    A conflict between factions of the Triqui indigenous group in 
Oaxaca led to the besieging of the town of San Juan Copala, which was 
blockaded by armed paramilitaries. On April 27, an armed group in 
Oaxaca attacked and killed two members of a humanitarian aid mission 
travelling on the road to the town. The delegation, which sought to 
deliver aid and document human rights violations against the Triquis, 
included NGO members, human rights defenders, and international human 
rights observers from Germany, Belgium, Finland, and Italy. Beatriz 
Alberta Carino, director of the CACTUS organization community radio 
group, and Jyri Antero Jaakkola, a Finnish observer, were killed during 
the attack. The incident remained under investigation with no known 
results at year's end.
    The Government generally showed respect for the desire of 
indigenous persons to retain elements of their traditional culture. The 
law provides protections for indigenous persons.
    The law provides for educational instruction in the national 
language, Spanish, without prejudice to the protection and promotion of 
indigenous languages. However, many indigenous children spoke only 
their native languages. In practice education in indigenous languages 
was limited by the lack of textbooks and teaching materials, as well as 
the lack of qualified teachers fluent in these languages.
    During the year CNDH received 132 complaints about human rights 
abuses of the indigenous population; by year's end it concluded 
investigations into 134 complaints and 35 remained pending. Most 
complaints pertained to a lack of interpreters and discriminatory 
practices by government officials.
    NGOs such as FrayBa and SiPaz reported that state authorities and 
nongovernmental actors harassed and abused indigenous human rights 
defenders.
    In 2009 the Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Center closed one of 
its offices in Ayutla de los Libres, Guerrero, because of threats and a 
climate of insecurity toward indigenous rights activists, and the 
office remained closed during the year.
    UNHCR and AI criticized the Government for arbitrarily detaining 
and imprisoning some indigenous members of the OPIM. In 2008 
authorities detained and charged OPIM members with the murder of 
Alejandro Feliciano Garcia, an army informant, in the town of El 
Camalote, Guerrero. The Tlachinollan Mountain Center for Human Rights 
defended the five in court and eventually secured the release of all, 
most recently Raul Hernandez in August.
    During the year AI documented cases of intimidation and harassment 
of OPIM and OFPM indigenous members, including the intimidation of 
human rights defender Raul Hernandez in Guerrero following his August 
release from prison.
    In October the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled on the 
cases of OPIM members Valentina Rosendo Cantu and Ines Fernandez 
Ortega, indigenous women whom soldiers allegedly detained arbitrarily 
and raped in separate incidents in 2002. The Inter-American Court of 
Human Rights decision ordered the military to compensate the victims 
and their families, who have complained of harassment and intimidation 
by soldiers in the area since the court accepted the cases in 2006. In 
2008 the brother of Ines Fernandez Ortega was found dead in Ayutla de 
los Libres, Guerrero, and in August 2009 her daughter was reportedly 
accosted and threatened by men in Ayutla.
    The OHCHR, as well as NGOs AI, SiPaz, and RedTDT, reported that 
Chiapas-based human rights defender Margarita Martinez and NGO FrayBa 
received death threats on November 24 in connection with their work on 
human rights for indigenous groups in Chiapas.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--While society increasingly 
accepted homosexual conduct, CNDH and the National Center to Prevent 
and Control HIV/AIDS stated that discrimination persisted. According to 
the National Center and the Mexican Foundation for Family Planning, 
societal discrimination based on sexual orientation was common, 
reflected principally in entertainment media programs and everyday 
attitudes. Activists organized gay pride marches in cities across the 
country; the largest, in which 400,000 persons participated, was held 
in June in Mexico City. In December 2009 Mexico City legalized gay 
marriage and adoption, which took effect in March. In August the 
Supreme Court ruled that all 31 states were required to recognize gay 
marriages conducted in states that permitted it and upheld a law that 
allows gay couples in the capital to adopt children.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--CNDH reported that 
police, immigration officers, and customs officials violated the rights 
of undocumented migrants and failed to provide for their safety. In 
August 72 migrants were kidnapped and killed in Tamaulipas, reportedly 
by TCO members, provoking the Government to implement an interagency 
plan to address violence against and exploitation of migrants traveling 
through the country. Another 50 migrants were reportedly kidnapped in 
Oaxaca in December.
    There were no known developments in the 2007 cases of Jose 
Alejandro Solalinde, a priest and activist for migrant rights, and 18 
Central American migrants who were reportedly beaten and detained for 
seven hours by police officers in Ixtepc, Oaxaca. Solalinde continued 
to receive threats; in April CNDH and the Inter-American Commission on 
Human Rights ordered protective measures for the priest and his migrant 
shelter. In December he reported receiving threats from Zetas and the 
Mara 13 gangs who threatened to enter the shelter by force to take 15 
migrants who had escaped from them earlier that month. Undocumented 
migrants rarely filed charges in abuse cases because the authorities 
generally deported such persons who came to their attention. The INM 
operated 48 detention centers specifically for undocumented migrants 
with a total capacity of 3,913. CNDH had an office in each of these 
facilities to monitor compliance for respect of detainee human rights.
    In 2008 CNDH issued recommendations to SEMAR and SEDENA for 
discrimination against military members with HIV. SEDENA accepted the 
recommendations and reported that the officials involved remained on 
duty, receiving pay and medical attention; SEMAR did not accept the 
recommendation and did not take further action.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--Federal law provides workers the 
right to form and join trade unions, and workers exercised this right 
in practice, but enforcement of this law continued to be weak. 
Approximately 10 percent of the country's workforce was organized, and 
many observers noted that a majority of organized workers belonged to 
unrepresentative unions. According to the National Institute of 
Statistics, during the year there were approximately 47 million workers 
in the workforce, with between 15 and 20 million in the formal sector, 
defined as those paying taxes and receiving benefits from the IMSS. The 
country's official unemployment rate was an estimated 5 percent, and 
its underemployment rate was approximately 9 percent, but unofficial 
estimates for unemployment as well as underemployment were much higher. 
The youth unemployment rates reached 9.2 percent in September, and the 
so-called ``ni-nis''--youth ages 14 to 25 who neither work nor study--
became a serious political discussion. The topic of informal sector 
employment also generated discussion, with the Government estimating 
that 26 percent of the workforce to be employed in the informal economy 
(those who do not pay taxes or receive benefits from IMSS). However, 
private think tanks estimated such informal employment to be 64 
percent.
    Approximately 10 percent of the formal sector was unionized. By law 
20 workers may formally register an independent union. However, 
administrative procedures for registration remained complex and 
burdensome, and government labor boards frequently rejected independent 
union registration applications on technicalities. A new union also 
must often challenge the existing union, if one exists, for control of 
the collective bargaining contract. Union organizers from several 
sectors complained about the overt and usually hostile involvement of 
the Government in their attempts to develop independent unions. 
Credible reports continued to note the use of officially sanctioned 
protection contracts, which consisted of an informal agreement whereby 
the company supported an unrepresentative union (i.e., not chosen 
democratically by workers) in exchange for labor peace. Exclusion 
clauses in these protection contracts gave promanagement unions the 
right to prevent the formation of an authentic union by expelling 
agitators from the ``official'' union, thereby obliging the company to 
fire these individuals. Some fired workers accused unions of harassment 
and intimidation. The Government's general failure to enforce labor and 
other laws left workers without much recourse with regard to violations 
of freedom of association by employers or unions, working conditions, 
or other problems. Workers were reportedly frequently expelled from 
official unions for trying to organize their colleagues. An 
international human rights organization also reported that workers who 
sought to form independent unions risked losing their jobs, as 
inadequate laws and poor enforcement generally failed to protect them 
from retaliatory dismissals.
    Elections for union leaders were traditionally not secret, despite 
a 2008 Supreme Court decision requiring their confidentiality. Union 
managers and officials were usually present with the presiding labor 
board official when workers openly declared their individual votes, and 
workers continued to face intimidation in the voting process.
    The Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas (SME) continued to seek 
legal existence after the Mexican government shut down its employer, 
Luz y Fuerza del Centro, after it was incorporated into the national 
power company Comision Federal de Electricidad in October 2009. During 
the year the SME faced a series of legal setbacks but remained 
militant. In December the SME held elections in which the de facto 
leader became the de jure leader. The leadership was granted official 
government recognition, and the union promised to keep fighting until 
its workers were employed again as public servants in the electricity 
industry.
    The law provides for the right to strike in both the public and 
private sector, and workers exercised this right. However, only 
officially recognized unions may call for a strike. Before a strike may 
be considered legal, a union must receive approval of a strike notice 
from the appropriate labor authorities. Independent union activists 
claim that this ``government veto'' on strikes gives authorities the 
power to show favoritism by determining which companies will be 
protected from strikes. Although few formal strikes actually occurred, 
informal stoppages of work by both union and nonunionized groups were 
fairly common. In the reporting period, 11 strikes were launched, and 
all but one was resolved.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively, but the 
Government did not consistently protect this right. Collective 
bargaining agreements covered approximately 10 percent of workers.
    The use of so-called protection contracts by employers continued to 
expand and was common in all sectors. Such contracts were collective 
bargaining agreements negotiated between management and a non-
representative union. These contracts were often developed prior to the 
hiring of a single worker at a new job site and managed without direct 
input from workers. Collective bargaining agreements resulting from 
protection contracts usually failed to provide workers benefits beyond 
the legal minimum and impeded the rights of legally recognized 
independent unions to effectively and legitimately bargain collectively 
on behalf of workers. Individuals and non-representative union leaders 
involved in the development of protection contracts took advantage of 
the lack of awareness of worker rights by the Mexican workforce to 
prevent workers from achieving more favorable collective contracts and 
fully exercising their rights to labor protection as defined by law.
    In June Grupo Mexico, a large mining company, won a Supreme Court 
case against the National Mine and Metalworkers Union (``los Mineros'') 
that allowed it to legally end a long-running strike, dissolve the 
collective contract, and rehire workers at the copper mine in Cananea, 
Sonora. Grupo Mexico very quickly began clean-up operations and set up 
a union to represent workers. Miners suspected this union would not be 
representative, and many feared that the presumed protection union 
would prevent los Mineros from representing Cananea's workers. In early 
September violence broke out between police forces protecting the mine 
and members of los Mineros who were maintaining a protest at the gate. 
The clash raged in the town of Cananea for just under 24 hours before 
federal and state police could restore calm. In the aftermath, one 
contract worker had been shot in the head and was in critical 
condition, and slightly more than 20 los Mineros members were detained 
and charged with violence and disturbing the peace. The struggle at 
Cananea continued to impact workers through the end of the year as 
lawsuits and labor rights campaigns persisted.
    A group of workers at Telefonica's ATENTO call centers launched a 
campaign to improve their working conditions after several health 
complaints. They eventually attempted to oust their protection union 
and form a legitimate union under the auspices of the National 
Telephone Workers Union. ATENTO fired the principal organizers, who 
reported harassment and intimidation, but the workers eventually won 
the right to a vote for their union. The independent union did not win 
its bid to represent ATENTO workers, but with the support of the 
National Telephone Workers Union the workers continued to organize and 
rally support against protection contracts.
    At the Johnson Controls Interiors plant in Puebla, several workers 
complained about health and safety problems. They were supported in 
their attempts to achieve better working conditions by the Worker 
Support Center (Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador--CAT), a local NGO. 
Workers alleged intimidation and violence on the part of the existing 
protection contract and consequently voted to change to an independent 
contract. At the end of the year, the independent contract remained 
pending finalization.
    In late December the CAT leader reported that its offices had been 
burgled and vandalized. Perpetrators stole personnel information, 
account information, cash, and computers and wrote threatening messages 
on the walls. Shortly after the break-in, the CAT leader left the 
country after receiving death threats. The case was submitted to the 
Inter-American Human Rights Commission.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from labor laws in export 
processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--Although the law 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor by children and adults, such 
practices commonly persisted in both the agricultural and industrial 
sectors. Migrants and children were the most vulnerable to forced 
labor. Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 the age of 14 from working and allows those between the ages of 
14 and 16 to work limited hours, not at night or in hazardous 
conditions, and only with parental permission. According to UNICEF and 
International Labor Organization statistics, 3.6 million (16 percent) 
children between the ages of five and 14--many of them indigenous--were 
involved in child labor activities. Approximately 1.5 million child 
laborers did not attend school.
    Child labor was especially prominent in the agriculture sector. 
According to the Government's 2007 national child labor survey, 3.1 
million children, ages five to 17, worked with approximately one-third 
of them in the agricultural production of melons, onions, sugarcane, 
tobacco, and tomatoes. Child labor in agriculture was most common among 
migrant and indigenous children. Other sectors with significant child 
labor included commerce (803,515), services (718,588), manufacturing 
(391,000), and construction (151,787).
    For child trafficking, see the Department of State's annual 
Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The Secretariat of Labor and Social Security (STPS), which is 
charged with protecting worker rights, carried out child labor 
inspections and led a number of initiatives to address child labor. The 
STPS conducts workplace inspections to verify that no child under age 
14 is working and that children between ages 14 and 16 are not 
participating in activities prohibited by federal labor law. The STPS 
was involved in programs that supported the elimination of such 
exploitation and the improvement of conditions for working minors. 
During the year the STPS provided workshops on child labor exploitation 
and planned to introduce on-line courses on the labor rights of 
children and adolescents. The STPS also designed a campaign to educate 
workers and employers about agriculture workers' rights in 26 of the 31 
states. The STPS continued to work with global donors to implement 
programs to combat child labor in the agriculture sector, including in 
Michoacan, Veracruz, Chiapas, and Sinaloa. The STPS also collaborated 
with other government secretariats and offices.
    In addition the Secretariat for Social Development, the PGR, and 
the Family Development Institute each has responsibility for 
enforcement of some aspects of child labor laws or intervention in 
cases where such laws are violated. The labor inspection process is 
complicated by complex and outdated divisions between federal and state 
jurisdictions. Furthermore, child labor inspections were made difficult 
by the economic need of many children to work for a living. Anecdotal 
evidence suggested children often colluded with their employers to 
avoid being removed from the workplace. Government enforcement was 
reasonably effective at large- and medium-sized companies, especially 
in the maquila sector and other industries under federal jurisdiction; 
inadequate at many small companies and in the agriculture and 
construction sectors; and nearly absent in the informal sector, in 
which most children worked.
    During the year the Secretariat for 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. Nevertheless, it was not uncommon to 
find girls under the age of 15 working in prostitution.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--By law the National Minimum Wage 
Commission of the STPS is charged with setting the minimum wage each 
December for the coming year. During the year the commission increased 
the minimum wage by 4.85 percent, just under the year's average 
inflation rate of 5 percent. The minimum daily wages, determined by 
zone, were 57.46 pesos ($4.65) in Zone A (Baja California, Federal 
District, State of Mexico, and large cities); 55.84 pesos ($4.52) in 
Zone B (Sonora, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Jalisco); and 
54.47 pesos ($4.41) in Zone C (all other municipalities). Most workers 
received between one and five times the minimum wage. Metropolitan 
Autonomous University experts noted that article 90 of the federal 
labor law states that an individual's salary should be sufficient to 
provide for the basic needs of the worker and his dependent family, and 
the minimum wage clearly did not meet that requirement.
    The law sets six eight-hour days and 48 hours per week 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; the law 
prohibits compulsory overtime. There were labor rights disputes filed 
with labor boards and international labor organizations during the year 
regarding complaints that workers did not receive overtime pay they 
were owed. Employers often used the ``hours bank'' approach--requiring 
long hours when the workload is heavy and cutting hours when it is 
light--to avoid compensating workers for overtime.
    The law requires employers to observe occupational safety and 
health regulations, issued jointly by the STPS and the IMSS. Legally 
mandated joint management and labor committees set standards and are 
responsible for overseeing workplace standards 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, but in 
practice this was often not permitted. Plaintiffs may bring complaints 
before the Federal Labor Board at no cost to themselves. STPS and IMSS 
officials reported compliance was reasonably good at most large 
companies.

                               __________

                               NICARAGUA

    Nicaragua is a constitutional democracy with a population of 
approximately six million. Daniel Ortega Saavedra of the Sandinista 
National Liberation Front (FSLN) began his second term as president in 
2007, following an election in 2006 that international observers 
characterized as generally free and fair. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities. There were instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of government control.
    The most significant human rights abuses during the year included 
restrictions of citizens' right to change their government and widely 
reported voting fraud in regional elections; occasional unlawful 
killings by security forces, which authorities in some cases 
investigated and punished; police abuse of suspects during arrest, 
which authorities in some instances investigated and punished; harsh 
and overcrowded prison conditions; arbitrary and lengthy pretrial 
detention; lack of respect for the rule of law and widespread 
corruption and politicization of the membership and actions of the 
Supreme Judicial Council (CSJ), the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), 
and other government organs; withholding of accreditation from 
election-monitoring nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); and erosion 
of freedom of speech and press, including government intimidation and 
harassment of journalists and independent media. There were also 
frequent instances of corrupt practices; government harassment and 
intimidation of NGOs; increasing violence against women; trafficking in 
persons; discrimination against ethnic minorities and indigenous 
persons and communities; widespread societal discrimination and abuse 
of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals; 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS; and violations of trade 
union rights.

                        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 killed eight persons during the year. The Office of the 
Inspector General, which makes determinations independently of court 
rulings, in some cases conducted parallel investigations and 
administered punishments, including demotion and dismissal of officers.
    On May 26, Judge Ruth Chamorro found voluntary police officer Cesar 
Augusto Cruz Jiron guilty of manslaughter and police officer Francisco 
Antonio Munoz not guilty in the February 15 shooting and killing of 
unarmed Manuel Quintanilla Carballo in Catarina. Jiron reportedly shot 
Quintanilla on the order of Munoz after Munoz and Quintanilla had 
exchanged words and fought on the street. In response to the verdict, a 
crowd of 200 to 300 persons--allegedly incited by Vice Mayor Isabel 
Carballo--attacked the Catarina police station, destroyed records and 
furniture, and burned a police car. An investigation by the NGO 
Institute of Strategic Studies and Public Politics (IEEPP) alleged 
longstanding animosity between the police force and citizens of 
Catarina that stemmed from police soliciting bribes and abusing 
authority. After the attack, Catarina police officers were reassigned 
to other departments and replaced.
    On March 21, Nicaraguan National Police (NNP) officers Mariano 
Esteban Membreno Lopez and Alvaro Vincente Membreno Lopez killed 
Winston J. Mendoza and injured Jesus Mercado in the Managua barrio of 
Dimitrov. Accounts by the officers and local residents differed (firing 
into the air while pursuing gang members versus intoxicated or drug-
influenced officers firing for no reason). The NNP failed to confiscate 
the officers' weapons even though the rounds that harmed the victims 
were from the same type of weapon issued to Mariano Esteban Membreno 
Lopez. On June 16, a court acquitted the Membreno brothers for lack of 
evidence.
    On April 1, during a religious celebration in Waslala in the North 
Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN), a shoot-out between police and 
civilians resulted in the killings of four civilians (Virgilio 
Quintero, Salome Zeledon, Jairo Zeledon, and Henry Ochoa) and two NNP 
officers (Captain Reynaldo Amador and Officer Nelson Joshua Hernandez). 
Initial reports from NNP Commissioner Anmita Granera claimed that 
police fired in self-defense while trying to disarm Quintero. An 
investigation by the NGO Nicaraguan Human Rights Center (CENIDH) 
reported evidence that the officers were intoxicated; eyewitness 
reports claimed the same and also related that police killed Quintero 
while he was handing over his weapon and Salome Zeledon while his 
pistol was holstered. A witness claimed that police shot and injured 
Ochoa, a bystander, as he attempted to flee and then killed him with a 
shot in the back. According to CENIDH, at year's end there were no 
trial developments because the district attorney in Matagalpa, 
responsible for prosecuting the case, had not received records from the 
prosecutor in Waslala.
    On July 7, in Chichigalpa, NNP officers shot and killed two 
citizens. The officers attempted to arrest Alonso Israel Cuadra Zamora, 
wanted for robbery, while he rode in a truck with other sugarcane 
workers. The NNP claimed that Zamora resisted arrest and a broad fight 
occurred; witnesses alleged that police fired into the truck and killed 
another rider, Urrita Lopez. In the following hours, civil unrest broke 
out and police used tear gas and gunfire to control unruly crowds, 
resulting in the shooting and killing of Norvin Antonio Flores and the 
injuring of 20 other civilians (three by gunfire, according to the 
media) and 12 officers. A CENIDH investigation reported that the NNP 
used excessive force and did not attempt mediation or antidisturbance 
tactics, but by year's end there were no developments in this case, and 
none were expected.
    By year's end there were no developments, and none were expected, 
in the February 2009 case of Jinotega police officer Rosendo Gomez 
Poveda, who shot and killed Jose Magdaleno Rocha Benavides, and in the 
October 2009 case of a police officer in Somoto, Madriz, who shot and 
killed Francisco Absalon Carrasco Montano.
    Concerning the case of the 2008 killing of Luis Angel Vargas 
Salgado, in April 2009 a jury found police officers Denis Cano and 
Norvin Sevilla guilty of homicide. A judge sentenced Cano, the patrol 
chief, to 12 years in prison (later reduced to two years and six 
months) and Sevilla to three years. On May 6, Salgado's mother filed a 
complaint with CENIDH, claiming that Cano and Sevilla had not been 
incarcerated immediately following their sentences and that her family 
had received numerous death threats. By year's end Sevilla was released 
from prison, and Cano's case was under appeal.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the law prohibits such practices, human rights 
and other NGOs received complaints that police frequently abused 
suspects during arrest; often used excessive force, including beatings 
on body areas that do not bruise easily; or engaged in degrading 
treatment that caused injuries to criminal suspects during arrests. 
According to an NNP report covering the period January-September, the 
NGO Permanent Commission on Human Rights (CPDH) and CENIDH--the main 
human rights organizations--received seven and five complaints, 
respectively, against the NNP for excessive force, arbitrary detention, 
and cruel or degrading treatment at prisons. Human rights organizations 
claimed that the Government generally did not take action on complaints 
against government authorities or security forces.
    The National Human Rights Institute (PDDH) reported that the 
largest number of complaints received during the year (1,291, or 35 
percent of the total) was related to the NNP and that the NNP had the 
highest rate of compliance with PDDH resolutions (80 percent) (see 
section 5).
    On March 17, during a carnival celebration, two student members of 
the National Network of Citizen Resistance (Jairo Contreras and Jessica 
Lottz) were distributing flyers that called for a protest against 
government corruption when a police antiriot squad with covered badges 
and identification numbers surrounded and without explanation assaulted 
and injured them and wrestled away their flyers. At year's end there 
were no developments, and none were expected, in this case.
    There were no investigations or charges, and none were expected, in 
the April 2009 warrantless home search, strip search, and beating case, 
notwithstanding a complaint filed with the CPDH; in the June 2009 case 
of police firing into a crowd of protesting indigenous lobster divers 
and injuring two persons; in the September 2009 case of antiriot police 
dispersing and injuring protesting artisanal salt makers; or in the 
October 2009 case of Sandinista-led Citizen Power Council (CPC) members 
beating a female member of the NGO Coordinadora Civil.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions 
continued to deteriorate due to antiquated infrastructure, increasing 
inmate populations, and lack of capital investment. The country's eight 
prisons, designed for fewer than 5,000 inmates, held more than 6,500 
prisoners. They suffered from parasites, inadequate medical attention, 
frequent food shortages, contaminated water, and inadequate sanitation. 
Family members, churches, and charitable organizations provided some 
prisoners with food and medical attention to mitigate harsh conditions 
since, according to NGOs, prisoners were only provided with the bare 
essentials: food (beans and rice) and water. The national budget 
allowed only 11 cordobas (approximately $0.50) per prisoner per day for 
three meals and lacked an amount for prisoner health. The Government 
permitted religious observance by prisoners and detainees.
    Conditions in jails and temporary holding cells were also harsh. 
Most facilities were old; infested with vermin; physically 
deteriorated; lacking in potable water; and equipped with inadequate 
ventilation, electric, or sewage systems. There were no reports of 
detainee deaths due to dangerous conditions, although many prisoners 
suffered mistreatment and discrimination from police officials and 
other inmates. The PDDH reported receiving 163 complaints related to 
prison conditions.
    In May Isolda del Socorro Herrera complained in a filing to CENIDH 
that during incarceration in the National Women's Prison, La Esparanza, 
in Managua, officials subjected her to numerous unnecessary vaginal 
searches and intentionally delayed her release.
    On July 11, police arrested a young gay man (identified in the 
media only by the initials J.O.M.) in Altagracia and placed him in a 
prison cell with four inmates on Ometepe Island. J.O.M. alleged that 
police told the other prisoners he was ``fresh meat,'' provided them 
condoms, and ignored his pleas for help as prisoners raped and 
sodomized him repeatedly until the next day. After his release his 
family complained to Altagracia officials; after no response, the 
family brought a case to the Rivas Department municipal court. The case 
began on October 11 and was underway at year's end.
    During the year CENIDH received some prisoner reports of 
mistreatment by the Judicial Auxiliary Directorate, the plainclothes 
police unit responsible for investigation of serious crimes. One family 
member reported to CENIDH the case of a prisoner subjected to electric 
shock; at year's end, CENIDH awaited the results of an examination by 
the CSJ Institute for Forensic Medicine (IML).
    Pretrial detainees often shared cells with convicted prisoners. 
Juvenile prisoners also shared cells with adults due to overcrowding, 
especially in the departments of Leon, Matagalpa, and Esteli. Suspects 
were regularly left in police holding cells during their trials because 
the Government did not allocate funds to transport them to court. 
During the year the CPDH identified cases where prisoners have waited 
for months in NNP holding cells for movement to permanent facilities or 
for judicial proceedings to commence. This problem was particularly 
serious in the RAAN and the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS). 
According to an NNP report released on November 17, 93 percent of the 
inmates in preventive holding cells in the RAAN and the RAAS should be 
incarcerated in the National Penitentiary System. The report also 
stated that the RAAN and the RAAS prison facilities had a capacity for 
1 percent of the country's total incarcerated population but held up to 
11 percent.
    Conditions for female inmates were generally better than those for 
men, but women still suffered from overcrowded and unhygienic cells. 
During the year human rights organizations reported that the National 
Women's Prison held approximately 290 women.
    The Government frequently denied prison visits by local and 
international human rights observers, and the CPDH claimed that the 
Government generally denied media access to prison facilities. In 
certain instances the Government restricted prisoners' access to 
visitors, attorneys, physicians, and human rights officials. Throughout 
the year local human rights groups claimed authorities denied them 
access to prisons and prevented them from interviewing detainees. Both 
the CPDH and CENIDH reported denials of access to prison facilities 
(except access to NNP holding cells), the CPDH, since 2007, and CENIDH, 
since 2009. In addition the National Assembly Human Rights Commission 
reported denials and slow or no response to requests for prison access. 
Due to their lack of access, human rights organizations received 
complaints through family members of inmates and often were unable to 
follow up cases until after release of the prisoner.
    The Government allowed foreign government representatives to meet 
with their imprisoned nationals. However, during the year the NNP 
failed to notify foreign government representatives in most cases of 
arrests of their citizens; virtually all notifications came through 
friends or family members of the arrestees. In one case foreign 
government representatives protested that the NNP confiscated and 
failed to return an arrestee's passport.
    Prisoners and detainees were permitted to submit complaints to 
judicial authorities without censorship and to request investigation of 
credible allegations of inhumane conditions. However, the complaints 
were often ignored or not processed. The ombudsman could serve on 
behalf of prisoners and detainees to consider such matters as 
alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders, although the 
CPDH claimed that this generally did not occur.
    The extent to which the Government monitored and investigated 
prison conditions was unknown, but the Government included funds in its 
budget to improve prison and detention facilities, including plans to 
repair facilities in the RAAN and to construct a new facility in 
Bluefields in the RAAS. During the year in Bluefields, two holding 
cells were remodeled, and dining- and kitchen-facility improvements 
were begun. On October 24, Minister of Government Ana Isabel Morales 
reported an annual penitentiary system allocation of approximately 340 
million cordobas ($15.5 million). The National Penitentiary System 
director publicly commented on requirements for a new Granada prison 
water well, a new Bluefields prison, and a new women's penal center, 
but by year's end there were no signs of new facility construction. In 
addition the CSJ implemented a program to ameliorate juvenile detention 
conditions that involved a media campaign, electronic filing systems, 
and psychological care for detainees. Its effectiveness at year's end 
was unknown.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government observed these prohibitions, 
with some exceptions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The president is 
commander in chief of the NNP, which is administered by the Ministry of 
Government. The NNP forms a single, unified force responsible for 
enforcing the law throughout the country. The NNP maintains internal 
security. The army is responsible for external security but also has 
some domestic security responsibilities, including combating drug 
trafficking. There were 10,072 NNP employees, of whom 9,341 were police 
officers and 731 were civilian personnel.
    The Government's inadequate funding of the NNP hampered efforts to 
improve police performance and resulted in a continuing shortage of 
officers. The NNP reported that its budget of approximately 1.1 billion 
cordobas ($50 million) was insufficient and negatively affected 
operational capacity. During October the Government began constructing 
a new medical forensic facility funded by foreign government 
assistance.
    The Office of the Inspector General in some cases investigated and 
punished officers through internal administrative measures and referred 
some corruption cases of lower-level officers to courts. The slow pace 
of the justice system fostered a public perception of impunity within 
the police force. The NNP Office of Internal Affairs is responsible for 
investigating police abuses. From January to September, the office 
registered 2,010 complaints and investigated 1,418 cases of alleged 
police misconduct involving a total of 2,296 officials. Of the 
complaints filed against police, approximately 73 percent pertained to 
human rights violations; 14 percent to corrupt acts; and 13 percent to 
minor offenses or infractions. Authorities disciplined 710 officials, 
resulting in 34 demotions, 126 minor disciplinary actions, and 550 
other types of disciplinary action. In 29 other cases, judicial 
resolution was pending at the end of the period.
    NNP regulations require that police trainees receive human rights 
instruction to graduate from the police academy and also annual 
recertification in human rights awareness. During the year the police 
academy formally trained 3,219 officers and trainees in human rights 
principles, of which 641 officers received continuous or follow-on 
training. The army included human rights training in its curriculum. 
Additionally, the antitrafficking-in-persons and antichild-labor NGO 
Casa Alianza reported providing training on basic human rights 
principles and human-trafficking prevention to approximately 230 police 
officers.
    The constitution establishes the NNP as an apolitical, nonpartisan 
institution protecting all citizens equally under the law. Human rights 
groups and other NGOs complained that in practice President Ortega 
continued to use his position as commander in chief and his embedded 
surrogates to politicize NNP affairs and threaten the organization's 
professionalism and institutional integrity.
    For example, on September 1, a pro-Sandinista union group staged a 
violent demonstration at the offices of La Prensa, an opposition 
newspaper, and the NNP made no attempt to stop or disperse the crowd. 
Demonstrators used explosive projectiles shot from homemade mortars and 
threatened newspaper workers and CENIDH personnel. There were no 
injuries or property damage reported, but newspaper delivery was 
delayed for several hours, and employees were denied access to their 
workplaces. CENIDH and the CPDH declared the demonstration to have been 
politically motivated and government organized to apply pressure to 
media sources and promote self-censorship before 2011 elections. On 
December 10, the same group demonstrated for three hours in front of 
the homes of La Prensa officials, including the general manager. The 
demonstrators threatened violence, and police reportedly took no action 
to disperse them.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Individuals 
are apprehended openly. 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 
mandates that a prosecutor accompany police making an arrest. Detainees 
have the right to an attorney immediately following their arrest. 
Police may hold a suspect legally for 48 hours before arraignment, when 
they must bring the person before a judge to decide if charges should 
be brought. The judge then must order the suspect released or 
transferred to jail for pretrial detention. In practice few prisoners 
were held beyond the 48-hour deadline. After the initial 48 hours, the 
suspect has access to bail, visits from family members, and legal 
representation.
    Arbitrary and lengthy pretrial detention after arraignment was a 
problem. Particularly in the RAAN and the RAAS, detainees often waited 
an average of six months for their cases to be presented formally 
before a judge due to limited facilities and high crime rates.
    On June 23, authorities detained lay Roman Catholic missionary and 
former opposition mayoral candidate Alberto Steffano Boschi, a dual 
national, for five hours at Managua airport and stripped him of his 
Nicaragua citizenship. Convicted in 2008 of assault--a charge that he 
and several human rights groups labeled as fabricated and politically 
motivated--and sentenced to one year in prison, Boschi had fled the 
country. Granted amnesty by a law passed in November 2009, Boschi 
returned to the country to reunite with his family, but the airport 
citizenship revocation without regard to normal administrative process 
meant that his reentry was only for a limited time as a foreign 
tourist. On October 11, he appealed; at year's end he remained in the 
country as a tourist, and a court decision was pending.
    In August Fausto Carcabelos complained to CENIDH that police 
arrested him at home, based on a March 2009 court order; held him 
illegally for three days; and denied him access to his attorney while 
incarcerated. Although pressed during the year, the NNP did not act on 
the complaint by year's end.

    Amnesty.--During the year the National Assembly received 800 pardon 
requests and granted 37.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--Although the law provides for an 
independent judiciary, the judicial system remained susceptible to 
corruption and politicization and did not function independently (see 
section 4). The law requires new judicial appointments be vetted by the 
CSJ, a process often based on nepotism, influence, or political 
affiliation. Once appointed, many judges were subject to political and 
economic pressures that affected their judicial independence. The PDDH 
reported receiving 759 complaints (18 percent of the total) concerning 
due process of law and 550 complaints related to access to justice 
during the year.
    The law does not permit military tribunals to try civilians, and 
the military code requires the civilian court system to try members of 
the military charged with common crimes. Human rights and lawyer groups 
complained of a delay of justice caused by judicial inaction and 
impunity, especially regarding family violence and sexual abuse.

    Trial Procedures.--Trials are public, and the law provides that 
defendants can choose a jury trial. Defendants have the right to legal 
counsel and are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Defendants also 
have the right of access to all information and evidence registered 
with the Government, as well as the right to know why and how it was 
obtained, but only during the discovery and trial phases, not during 
the pretrial period. 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 law extends these rights to all citizens regardless of gender, 
ethnicity, disability, or other status. The courts continued to use the 
Napoleonic legal process for cases that were initiated before December 
24, 2002.
    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 rather than face the prospect 
of detention in jail. This civil-based criminal caseload continued to 
divert resources from the overburdened Office of the Prosecutor.

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

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--On February 17, members of 
the Artola Delgadillo family, who had been granted special protection 
under precautionary measures from the Inter-American Court of Human 
Rights, filed a complaint with CENIDH that armed groups had again 
threatened them. The family members stated that relatives of Casimiro 
Candry, who had been sentenced in 2008 to 30 years in prison for the 
2007 killings of Villanueva and Gilberto Artola Delgadillo, threatened 
them after police had disarmed the family members.
    On May 28, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the 
Government in partial compliance with its 2005 judgment in the Yatama 
case, having paid indemnities for damages as well as expenses incurred 
by CENIDH and the Center for Justice and International Law. However, 
the court also found the Government in partial noncompliance, since it 
had not adopted legislative measures to establish judicial recourse for 
implementing CSE decisions, had not reformed electoral law to regulate 
the consequences of nonfulfillment of electoral participation 
requirements, had not reformed electoral law provisions that were 
declared in violation of the American Convention on Human Rights, had 
not adopted measures necessary for indigenous and ethnic community 
members to participate in electoral processes, and had not publicized 
certain paragraphs of the judgment. The court asked the Government to 
report its compliance progress every four months.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The law provides that 
persons can file lawsuits seeking damages for human rights violations 
before civil courts and also provides for litigants to use mediation to 
resolve civil claims. In practice many members of the judiciary did not 
render impartial judgments in civil matters and were not independent of 
political or other influence. 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 the 
enforcement of domestic court orders.

    Property Restitution.--The Government regularly failed to enforce 
court orders with respect to seizure, restitution, or compensation of 
private property. The PDDH reported receiving 110 complaints related to 
private property during the year. Even when courts order specific 
compensation, the Government refused to pay settlements, arguing it was 
illegal for a judge to determine compensation.
    For example, at year's end the following three cases, in which the 
Government failed to enforce court-ordered restitution, remained 
pending:
    Danilo Perez won cases ordering return of his property in 1994 and 
1995, but the Government refused to execute the court order to expel 
illegal occupants from his property.
    In 1999 Sylvia Sanchez, Olman Dompe, and Yolanda Diaz requested 
that the Attorney General's Office reclaim their property from an 
occupant who did not receive title under applicable law. The office, 
however, filed a petition with the court requesting a ruling in favor 
of the illegal occupant.
    The Attorney General's Office filed suit in a civil court in 2007 
to overturn an appellate court ruling that ordered the Government to 
return a 5,349-acre property to Mrs. Lidia Baumister, although the law 
provides that appellate rulings may not be appealed.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--While the law prohibits such actions, several domestic 
NGOs alleged that their e-mail and telephone conversations were 
monitored by the Government.
    On April 20, an FSLN sympathizer threatened opposition leader 
Eduardo Montelegre, telling him that he and his family were ``being 
watched.'' His wife, Eliza Maria McGregor Raskosky, claimed that her 
telephone calls were recorded (see section 3).

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 used 
administrative, judicial, and financial means to limit the exercise of 
these rights. Although the law provides that the right to information 
cannot be subject to censorship, it also establishes retroactive 
liability, implying the potential for penalties for libel and slander. 
Individuals could not always criticize the Government freely without 
reprisal, and at times the Government attempted to impede criticism 
(see section 1.c.).
    One of the largest daily newspapers, La Prensa, claimed that 
government officials insulted and intimidated its journalists and that 
CSJ officials responded aggressively or refused to respond to questions 
about cases involving the constitution, rule of law, and corruption. 
Independent media sources reported during the year that government Web 
sites did not have up-to-date information ordinarily available 
publicly. They claimed that the CSE removed the electoral list from its 
site and that the National Assembly changed its site to make it 
difficult to refer to laws.
    Independent media were active and expressed a variety of views. The 
Government, however, sought to restrict media freedom through 
harassment, censorship, the arbitrary application of libel laws, and 
the use of national security justifications to suppress reporting. 
Private individuals also harassed media outlets for criticizing the 
Government.
    According to La Prensa in January, the Government attempted to 
block the importation of paper needed to produce newspapers. The 
Government attributed the problem to differing tax and customs agency 
views, but media and civil society organizations called these actions 
politically motivated. La Prensa also reported government use of tax 
audits and the denial of transmitting licenses against television and 
radio stations as means to exert pressure on independent media.
    On October 27, alleged pressure by FSLN groups on the owner of a 
Juigalpa radio station forced the cancellation of a daily program, Face 
to Face with the News, and the denial of studio access for its head, 
Lombardo Madriz Fonseca, who broadcast statements critical of the 
Government, condemned the 2008 municipal elections for fraud, and 
criticized the Juigalpa mayor, an FSLN party member.
    The National Assembly considered and defeated in March a bill, 
proposed by FSLN legislators in 2009, which would have required all 
journalists to belong to an FSLN-affiliated union, the Nicaraguan 
Journalists Association. The Committee to Protect Journalists and other 
NGOs had criticized the bill.
    The Government continued to exclude independent media outlets from 
all official media events and to withhold government advertising 
contracts, instead funneling the equivalent of millions of dollars 
worth of its advertising funds and important public announcements only 
to ``official'' media outlets owned or controlled by the Ortega family. 
Opposition news sources reported that during official government 
events, they were generally not permitted to enter the venue, and if 
they were allowed access, were not permitted to interview or question 
officials.
    During the year there were several reported cases of threats or 
acts of violence against press outlets and journalists. After the 
reported mid-July Ometepe prison rape (see section 1.c., Prison and 
Detention Center Conditions), NNP officials in Rivas Department 
reportedly hampered La Prensa efforts to investigate the incident and 
refused to provide any information. The College of Journalists issued a 
notice complaining about NNP behavior.
    On August 27, five men ignored press credentials, assaulted 
independent journalist and photographer Sergio Cruz, and destroyed his 
camera equipment and vehicle while he was photographing an opposition 
mural on a public street. Several civil society groups, including 
Movement for Nicaragua, called the attack politically motivated.
    On August 31, a contract dispute between La Prensa and six 
distribution service providers led to government-inspired action 
against the newspaper. The Government declared La Prensa's contract 
cancellation a violation of worker rights, and the Ministry of Labor 
threatened large fines and mobilized the Sandinista Workers' Center 
(CST), a government-affiliated union umbrella group, which violently 
demonstrated in front of the newspaper offices on September 1 and at 
the homes of newspaper officials on December 10, both reportedly 
without efforts by police to stop or disperse demonstrators (see also 
section 1.d., Role of the Police and Security Apparatus).
    After September and October floods, independent news outlets 
reported they were denied access to, or information about, conditions 
in shelters and camps that housed displaced persons. The shelters were 
mainly controlled and administered through Sandinista-led Citizen Power 
Councils (CPCs) instead of through the Government agency charged with 
disaster response.
    La Prensa continued to have pending libel cases against it in the 
court system, cases that newspaper officials claimed were filed for 
political purposes by individuals affiliated with FSLN-controlled CPCs. 
In January a court dismissed an open libel case against the newspaper 
El Nuevo Diario due to lack of evidence.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or Internet chat rooms; however, for the second year, 
several NGOs alleged that the Government monitored their e-mails. 
Individuals and groups engaged in the expression of views via the 
Internet, including by e-mail. Internet access was available in the 
majority of the country's cities, and there were more than 23,500 
Internet hosts in the country as of 2006, although the International 
Telecommunication Union reported only approximately 3.5 percent of the 
country's inhabitants used the Internet in 2009. Frequent power outages 
and infrastructure problems hampered citizen access to Internet and e-
mail services.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on cultural events.
    In February the Government allegedly interfered with academic 
freedom when, contrary to university statutes, the FSLN influenced the 
election of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN) 
president in Leon. An influential FSLN member and former director of 
state security, Lenin Cerna, reportedly actively influenced the 
election and stated that he would make the UNAN an FSLN bastion, and 
the president-elect, Dr. Roger Gurdian Vijil, declared himself an FSLN 
member and publicly thanked the party for its election support.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--Freedom of 
Assembly.--The law recognizes the right to public assembly, 
demonstration, and mobilization but mandates that demonstrators obtain 
permission for a rally or march by registering its planned size and 
location with the police. Police failed to act against or allowed 
violent demonstrations by pro-Sandinista groups which generally 
impinged on the freedom of movement of others, endangered bystanders, 
and damaged or destroyed property.

    Freedom of Association.--The law provides for this right, including 
the right to organize or affiliate with political parties; however, the 
CSE and the National Assembly used their accreditation powers for 
political purposes. CSE accreditation is mandatory for political 
parties and election-monitoring organizations, and the CSE withheld 
accreditation from election-monitoring NGOs for political purposes (see 
section 5). National Assembly accreditation is mandatory for NGOs to 
receive donations.
    The FSLN made party membership mandatory for public-sector 
employment and used intimidation and violence to prevent opposition 
National Assembly deputies from convening and passing legislation. The 
CPDH reported that employees in various state institutions were 
required to affiliate with the FSLN and claimed that in order to apply 
for a government position, an applicant must receive a written 
recommendation from the FSLN. The CPDH has also received reports that 
the FSLN automatically withdrew party fees from the paychecks of state 
employees.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation; the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) through humanitarian organizations, 
such as the International Organization for Migration, in providing 
protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, 
returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other 
persons of concern.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and there was no reported use of 
it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status, and the Government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees. The National Commission for 
Refugees--composed of six voting members (three government ministries, 
three religious organizations) and five nonvoting members from human 
rights NGOs--is the only entity that may grant refugee status in the 
country. Asylum for political persecution may only be granted by the 
executive branch or by the country's embassies abroad.
    In practice the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. The law provides for regularizing the legal status of 
approximately 6,000 Salvadorans who have lived in the country since the 
1980s civil wars; waiving fines imposed on persons who have been in the 
country illegally and offering them a year-long status-regularization 
period beginning in 2008; and establishing a detention center in 
Managua for refugees during case processing. The center, however, was 
underfunded and understaffed and only had capacity for 30 refugees.
    According to a January UNHCR survey, the Government granted refugee 
status to 120 persons, and there was one person seeking asylum.

    Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived from birth within the 
country's territory and from one's parents. Local civil registries 
normally register births within 12 months upon the presentation of a 
medical or baptismal certificate; however, many persons, especially in 
rural areas, lacked registration or birth certificates. According to 
NGOs the Government attempted to increase the registration of newborns 
by opening service desks in public hospitals, specifically Hospital 
Bertha Calderon in Managua, and not requiring parents to travel to 
distant offices. Additionally, government ``social-promoter'' programs 
have visited rural neighborhoods and encouraged registration.
    Due to the high cost, persons without citizenship documents were 
unable to obtain ``cedulas'' (national identity cards). A credible 
December poll released by M&R Consultants estimated that more than 
460,000 citizens, approximately 12 percent of the eligible population, 
lacked cedulas. Persons without cedulas had difficulty participating in 
the legal economy, conducting bank transactions, or voting and were 
subject to restrictions in employment, access to courts, and land 
ownership. Women and children lacking citizenship documents were 
reportedly more vulnerable to sexual exploitation by traffickers. Civil 
society organizations and the media reported that the Government 
deliberately manipulated issuing cedulas to citizens within and outside 
the country for political purposes. The December M&R Consultants poll 
found that 70 percent of surveyed citizens lacking cedulas were members 
of opposition parties or independents.
    In August the CSE raised the cost of a cedula to 300 cordobas 
(approximately $14), a 600 percent increase, without National Assembly 
approval. Numerous civil society organizations objected and declared 
the cost too expensive for the average citizen whose old cedulas had 
expired, almost half of whom lived on less than 22 cordobas 
(approximately one dollar) a day. Additionally, several organizations 
expressed concern by alleging that the cost increase and the increased 
potential for voting irregularities with new cedulas disguised a 
governing-party attempt to manipulate voter rolls before the 2011 
election while government and political party resources were used to 
purchase large numbers of cedulas for party members.

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; however, the Government restricted the exercise of this 
right in practice.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On January 19, the CSE 
issued regulations governing electoral observation for the March 
regional elections in the RAAN and the RAAS. Civil society 
organizations and the opposition claimed the regulations differed 
greatly from previous elections, limited electoral-observer 
eligibility, and tightly controlled the observation process. On January 
22, the CSE disqualified numerous opposition candidates, months after 
the disqualification deadline. Civil society organizations reported 
that FSLN officials and FSLN-affiliated members of the Yatima political 
party were granted use of government and military transportation staged 
in the RAAN and the RAAS to facilitate movement of ballots and poll 
watchers, while opposition members were not. Opposition party members 
and poll watchers stated that CSE officials denied them access to 
voting stations on election day. Voting fraud was widely reported in 
the elections, and the ruling FSLN won a majority of council seats.
    In addition to being threatened by an FSLN sympathizer on April 20 
with surveillance and claiming that her telephone calls were recorded 
(see section 1.f.), opposition leader Eduardo Montelegre's wife, Eliza 
Maria McGregor Raskosky, declared she was threatened by Sandinista 
party members on April 30. She reported that a truck--bearing CSJ 
markings, displaying party colors, and occupied by FSLN supporters--
forced the car she was driving off the road, blocked her exit, and 
pointed homemade mortars at her. They ordered her to move her vehicle, 
as did a police officer with no badge displayed, who appeared but 
refused to provide his name or badge number. She reported the 
harassment to CENIDH and the CPDH; both labeled the actions as FSLN 
efforts to silence opposition.
    On April 20, FSLN supporters led by FSLN-member Supreme Court 
justices Rafael Solis and Armengol Cuadra gathered outside the National 
Assembly--in support of the January 9 presidential decree that extended 
their terms of office and the terms of other government officials 
including those on the CSE--and prevented opposition deputies from 
convening inside the building. The crowd forced the deputies to 
assemble at a local hotel, later attacked that hotel, fired homemade 
mortars, and held the deputies hostage for several hours. The next day 
FSLN supporters again prevented the deputies from convening at the 
National Assembly. The deputies took refuge at an opposition party 
office that FSLN supporters also mortared. Demonstrators burned several 
deputies' vehicles and held them hostage for approximately seven hours. 
Witnesses claimed that FSLN members who worked for several government 
sectors took part in the demonstrations. Police did not act to disperse 
the crowd or stop the violence.
    There were 21 women in the 92-seat National Assembly, three women 
in the 16-member CSJ, and 12 women in 29 cabinet-level posts. Eight 
persons from indigenous and other ethnic groups were deputies in the 
National Assembly.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. World 
Bank indicators reflected that corruption was a serious problem.
    In the executive branch, officials dispensed funds outside the 
normal budgetary process controlled under law by the legislature. 
Officials who drew these funds, from the equivalent of hundreds of 
millions of dollars in economic and developmental assistance loaned by 
the Venezuela-led multigovernmental Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples 
of Our America (ALBA), claimed they were administered by a joint 
venture between the state-owned oil companies of Venezuela and 
Nicaragua. That arrangement prevented public oversight or basic 
accounting to track the money. Government explanations of ALBA-related 
spending were often contradictory. Media reported that ALBA-funded 
contracts were awarded to companies run by individuals with ties to 
President Ortega's family. Media sources estimated these funds from 
Venezuela total the equivalent of approximately $500 million annually 
and referred to this sum as a separate budget tightly controlled by the 
FSLN and not subject to the normal oversight and scrutiny.
    An IEEPP study released on February 16 raised concerns about the 
Government's food-assistance/poverty-reduction program ``Zero 
Hunger''--a program to grant livestock, seeds, and tools to poor 
citizens that was administered through government-controlled CPCs. The 
NGO study presented evidence that the FSLN used the program to direct 
assistance to areas with higher FSLN party affiliation, rather than to 
the poorest areas. The IEEPP claimed the program rewarded party loyalty 
and was a potential election tool.
    Independent media, human rights groups, and opposition political 
parties reported that the Ortega administration blurred distinctions 
between party and government by using FSLN-directed CPCs. The 
Government administered subsidized food and other government benefits 
directly through CPCs, which reportedly coerced citizens into FSLN 
membership. During the severe flooding of September and October, the 
Government dispensed the majority of aid strictly through CPCs and not 
through an existing government disaster-response agency. Additionally, 
persons seeking to obtain or retain public-sector employment were 
obliged to obtain recommendation letters from CPC block captains. Civic 
groups complained that government agencies required CPC recommendation 
letters from persons seeking voter registration and national identity 
documents.
    Within the judicial branch, the CSJ was demonstrably susceptible to 
corruption throughout the year, especially by political parties and 
drug cartels.
    On August 11, the governing Sandinista party replaced seven 
boycotting Supreme Court justices affiliated with the opposition, 
thereby consolidating FSLN control of the judiciary. Five of the seven 
alternate justices appointed by the National Assembly were members of 
the Sandinista party; the other two were Constitutionalist Liberal 
Party (PLC) members. Media sources reported that the FSLN paid the two 
PLC justices a bribe of 1,088,000 cordobas (approximately $50,000) each 
plus the salaries of the two boycotting justices they replaced. Many 
constitutional scholars declared the actions illegal; civil society 
NGOs claimed the actions were part of a Sandinista campaign to control 
the judiciary to legitimize the president's coming reelection campaign. 
Following the installation of these alternate justices, the CSJ on 
September 30 reaffirmed the October 2009 decision of its Constitutional 
Chamber that allowed the president to run for reelection, despite what 
many interpreted as a constitutional ban. Also in September, without 
obtaining the mandated supermajority in the National Assembly, the 
Government published a revised version of the constitution so as to 
allow high-level public officials to remain in their positions beyond 
the expiration of their terms.
    The law requires that cash seized in antinarcotics operations 
remain under judicial-system control, until a conviction sentence is 
issued, but it does not clearly specify how seized cash should then be 
distributed. Cars seized by the NNP in drug cases reportedly were given 
to members of the judiciary contrary to the law requiring seized assets 
to be distributed equally among five government agencies.
    Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws, and the 
Office of the Comptroller is responsible for combating government 
corruption.
    Although the law mandates public access to government information 
and statistics, it was rarely applied. Generally no reason was given 
for denial of access, or government agencies stated they would respond 
later with the information but rarely did. Government Web sites 
frequently did not contain this information, or the information was not 
current. An appeal mechanism existed if authorities denied or ignored 
an appropriate information request, but its processes were slow and 
burdensome. The CPDH, unable to obtain information from the CSE about 
its actions during 2008 municipal elections, filed a case in 2009 with 
the Court of Administrative Disputes to compel information release. At 
year's end the CSJ had not provided any information on the case status 
nor responded to CPDH information requests.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups 
operated in the country. Civil society organizations that focused on 
humanitarian activities generally operated without government 
restriction. However, government officials harassed and intimidated 
domestic and international NGOs that criticized the Government or the 
FSLN. Civil society organizations continued to report governmental 
confrontations with NGOs, adversarial conditions, and a climate of fear 
created to suppress organizations critical of the Government. The 
Government continued to prevent non-FSLN-affiliated NGOs and civil 
society organizations from participating in government social programs, 
such as Zero Hunger and Programa Amor.
    The CSE made the resignations of Roberto Courtney and Mauricio 
Zuniga--outspoken critics of the Government--from Ethics and 
Transparency and the Institute for Democracy and Development, 
respectively, a requirement for their accreditation as election-
monitoring organizations.
    Domestic NGOs and their members who were under investigation 
reported problems in access to the justice system and delays in filing 
petitions with courts. Many believed that comptroller and tax 
authorities audited their accounts as a means of intimidation. NGOs 
reported encountering severe problems scheduling meetings with 
authorities and an unwillingness to reveal any information due to a 
growing culture of secrecy.
    There were fewer death threats against members of civil society and 
human rights NGOs during the year; however, many NGOs reported being 
met with hostility or aggression when questioning or speaking with 
government officials on subjects such as corruption and rule of law. 
During the August CST demonstrations against La Prensa, progovernment 
demonstrators threatened CENIDH workers, including Executive Director 
Bayardo Izaba, with death.
    The Government generally cooperated with international 
organizations and permitted visits by the UN Development Program and 
other UN representatives. However, on September 1, the Government 
reportedly forced the transfer of UN Children's Fund director Maria 
Jose Conde after she brought attention to the level of the country's 
infant mortality.
    The Government maintained a human rights ombudsman in the National 
Human Rights Institute (PDDH). However, the presidency, without 
apparent constitutional authorization, extended the terms of the 
ombudsman, as well as those of the 25 members of the PDDH, and new 
elections to replace them were not held. This led the NGOs CPDH and 
CENIDH and several National Assembly deputies to label the PDDH as an 
illegitimate, highly partisan body.
    The PDDH, which is required to present an annual report to the 
National Assembly, stated that it did so in December for the first time 
since 2007. The institute reported receiving a total of 3,672 
complaints, an 11 percent increase from 2009, as well as investigating 
and ruling on 1,471 of those cases (and referring the remainder to 
other agencies). Of those investigated, the PDDH claimed to have found 
proof of violations in 495 cases and that public institutions complied 
with 114 resolutions (23 percent) of the total resolutions it issued. 
It also maintained a weekly newsletter that detailed some activities 
and recommendations.
    The National Assembly operated a human rights committee that 
focused primarily on amnesties and pardons. Civil society organizations 
viewed the committee as controlled by partisan political forces and not 
credible.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status. In practice the Government 
often did not enforce these legal prohibitions, and aggrieved persons 
filed few discrimination suits or formal complaints.

    Women.--The law criminalizes all forms of rape, regardless of the 
relationship between the victim and the accused, and the Government 
generally enforced the law. However, many women were reluctant to 
report abuse or file charges due to the social stigma attached to rape, 
fear of retribution, and loss of economic security. NGOs reported that 
both sexual and domestic violence increased. During the year the NNP 
listed a total of 25,803 reported cases of violence against women, 
encompassing 2,737 cases of sexual crimes that included 1,276 cases of 
rape, 407 cases of rape of a minor, and 188 cases of attempted rape. 
There were no statistics available as to prosecutions, convictions, or 
punishment.
    On May 9, rape victim and former government worker Fatima Hernandez 
began a hunger strike in front of the CSJ to protest the release from 
prison of her alleged rapist, Farington Reyes, her former co-worker at 
the Ministry of Migration and a Sandinista supporter. On June 8, a 
court convicted Reyes of the July 2009 attack and sentenced him to 
eight years in prison; throughout the proceedings, Hernandez claimed 
that family members of Reyes threatened her repeatedly. On October 18, 
the scheduled appeal date, family and friends of Reyes, carrying knives 
and stones, threatened and verbally assaulted Hernandez and forced her 
to shelter nearby and miss the trial. At the rescheduled trial on 
October 25, without receiving any new evidence, the appellate court 
dismissed the case and set Reyes free, based on his defense that a 
prior romantic relationship existed between Hernandez and him. She 
resumed her hunger strike shortly thereafter and, on November 8, was 
hospitalized for malnutrition and dehydration. The next day an 
appellate court in Managua sentenced Reyes to a reduced sentence of six 
years; he appealed the decision to the CSJ, which postponed the case 
until January 2011.
    The law requires female victims of sexual crimes to undergo a 
medical examination by CSJ forensic specialists before proceeding 
legally against alleged perpetrators; the lack of female forensic 
doctors deterred women from taking legal action. Rape victims were 
often unaware or uninformed about the procedures required to process 
their cases officially, and much time transpired before victims 
received the necessary physical and psychological examinations.
    Rape and sexual abuse of adolescent girls continued. According to 
the NNP, approximately 24 percent of rape cases during the year 
involved minors. A June study by the IML showed that 74 percent of rape 
victims were between the ages of 11 and 17 and persons known to the 
victim committed 88 percent of the rapes. A November Amnesty 
International report noted that incidents of rape and sexual abuse in 
the country were ``widespread.endemic,'' that the majority of victims 
were young, that young women faced many obstacles in reporting sexual 
violence, that the Government did not provide girls sufficient 
protection, and that many victims did not have access to comprehensive 
support services.
    The law criminalizes domestic violence and provides prison 
sentences up to six years. The law also provides for the issuance of 
restraining orders to protect women who fear for their safety. NGOs 
asserted that victims of violence did not have reasonable access to 
justice; only approximately 10 percent of cases went to court, while 
the majority of cases were resolved through mediation. NGOs asserted 
that this form of case resolution was ineffective and led to patterns 
of abuse and impunity.
    During the year the NNP reported 2,943 cases of domestic violence. 
NGOs and the NNP asserted, however, that domestic violence remained 
widespread and underreported, primarily due to cultural attitudes. 
During the year the IML released a study that showed total domestic 
violence cases rose from 10,208 to 11,313 in the period 2005-09 and 
concluded that more than 70 percent of women in the country were 
victims of domestic violence, with the majority between the ages of 25 
and 36.
    The NNP reported that 34 women were killed during the year due to 
domestic and sexual violence, 41 percent of these killings were 
committed by spouses, and 27 percent of the victims were sexually 
abused before death. Many victims were often raped, beaten, maimed, or 
mutilated. According to the IML and the Center for the Prevention of 
Violence, as of October, 80 women were killed, eight of whom were young 
girls. Courts convicted seven individuals of the killings, while 
another 29 awaited trial.
    Recent increases in the reporting of domestic violence and violence 
against women were attributed in part to a higher frequency of 
occurrence, in part to a greater public willingness to come forward, 
and in part to the NNP's continued campaign (``A Home Cannot Be Built 
Out of Violence. Give Love To Your Family'') aimed at raising public 
awareness of such violence and helping domestic-abuse victims. Also, 
local organizations such as the Women's Network against Violence and 
the Center for Prevention of Violence were instrumental in raising 
awareness.
    During the year 38 NNP women's commissariats operated in the 
country, three more than in 2009. 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. Although the 
Government and the NNP intensified media and community outreach 
campaigns to encourage women to report spousal abuse and other 
violence, commissariats lacked sufficient government-provided equipment 
and funding to discharge their responsibilities adequately. There were 
no government-operated shelters dedicated to female victims of violence 
or abuse, although there were seven nongovernment-operated women's 
shelters, two less than in 2009--a number the NNP labeled as 
insufficient.
    The law imposes a penalty of five to seven years' imprisonment for 
convicted sex-tourism offenders. The country was a source, destination, 
and transit point for sex tourism. A December 23 NNP report listed 11 
reports received of sex trafficking, of which four had judicial 
proceedings opened, and the Prosecutor General's Office reported 13 
cases of sex trafficking during the year, with no information available 
to determine if those trafficking cases were related to sex tourism. 
Government efforts to combat sex tourism reportedly were inadequate. 
Several NGOs reported that sexual exploitation of young girls was 
common, as was the prevalence of older men (often foreigners) who 
exploited young girls under the guise of providing them support. 
Generally NGOs provided care and rehabilitation to victims trafficked 
for sex tourism. Casa Alianza reported caring for 27 such victims 
during the year and referring 13 cases to the NNP for investigation 
(two were initiated).
    The law prohibits sexual harassment, and those convicted face 
between one- and three-year prison terms, or three- to five-year 
sentences if the victim is under age 18. By year's end there were no 
statistics on sexual harassment cases or related prosecutions available 
from the Public Ministry.
    The Ministry of Health's family-planning norms provide couples and 
individuals the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of 
their children and to have the information and means to do so free from 
discrimination. Access to information on contraception and skilled 
attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were more available in 
urban areas but have improved in remote areas, such as the Atlantic 
coast. Women generally received better access than men to diagnostic 
services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including 
HIV, because NGO efforts and government campaigns focused on women's 
reproductive health. Health centers and hospitals provided information 
on the benefits of family planning and breast feeding and generally had 
programs in place to address problems. A 2010 Population Reference 
Bureau report indicated that 70 percent of married women ages 15-49 
used a modern contraceptive method and that the gap between urban and 
rural users had decreased.
    Women in some areas, such as the RAAN and the RAAS, did not have 
widespread access to medical care or programs, and maternal death was 
generally more likely to affect poor rural women than their urban 
counterparts. The Ministry of Health reported 70 maternal deaths per 
100,000 live births during the year, while in 2008 the UN Population 
Fund estimated the maternal mortality rate at 100 deaths per 100,000 
live births. Most of the women who died in childbirth were older than 
35 years or adolescents who lived in rural areas and had low education 
levels.
    The law provides that women enjoy the same rights as men, including 
in the family and the workplace and regarding property. However, women 
generally experienced economic discrimination in access to employment, 
credit, and pay equity for substantially similar work, as well as in 
owning and managing businesses. A 2010 World Economic Forum survey 
estimated that women earned approximately 45 percent less than men for 
comparable work. The NNP Office of the Superintendent of Women is 
responsible for enforcing the law to protect women. In practice 
authorities often discriminated in property matters against poor women 
who lacked birth certificates or national identity cards. The Human 
Rights Ombudsman's Special Prosecutor for Women and the Nicaraguan 
Women's Institute, the principal government entities responsible for 
protecting the legal rights of women, had limited effectiveness.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory and from one's parents; the Ministry of the Family, 
Adolescents, and Children (MiFamilia) is responsible for registering 
births (see section 2.d.), but did not make statistical data available.
    ``Programa Amor,'' the child-welfare program launched in 2007 by 
the president's wife, was designed to end child labor and child 
homelessness, but questions were raised regarding organizational 
transparency and information accuracy. For example, a 2009 MiFamilia 
estimate of 25,000 homeless children in Managua differed significantly 
from the estimate of 238,000 such children in a 2005 National Child and 
Adolescent Labor study, and a 2009 CENIDH investigation reported that 
the situation concerning homeless children in the country had not 
changed significantly since Programa Amor's inception. On May 24, La 
Prensa questioned the program's effectiveness and the Government's 
reluctance to make public its funding sources, budget, and statistics 
about progress, and there was no information on Programa Amor's 
effectiveness available on MiFamilia's Web site.
    The NNP reported that approximately 13 percent of the victims of 
domestic and sexual violence were children, the majority of whom were 
between the ages of 15 and 17. Save the Children reported that both 
child abuse and violations of children's human rights increased most 
notably in poor rural areas. The NNP conducted a public-outreach 
campaign to raise awareness of domestic violence.
    NGOs stated that, while child marriage was uncommon, it existed in 
rural areas. There were no reported government efforts to combat it.
    The law prohibits promoting or engaging in child prostitution, but 
it remained a problem. Penalties include four to 10 years in prison for 
a person who entices or forces a child under age 12 to engage in sexual 
activity, and one to five years in prison for the same acts involving 
persons between the ages of 12 and 18. The law defines statutory rape 
as sexual relations with children who are 13 years old or younger, and 
there is no law prohibiting prostitution by juveniles 14 years of age 
or older. Local organizations, especially in Granada Department, worked 
with hotel owners and tourist service providers to curb child 
prostitution related to sex tourism.
    The law also prohibits promoting, filming, or selling child 
pornography. The penalty for an individual convicted of inducing, 
facilitating, promoting, or using a minor younger than 16 years for 
sexual or erotic purposes, or forcing such a person to watch or 
participate in such an act, is five to seven years in prison. If the 
victim is older than 16 years, but younger than 18 years, the penalty 
is reduced to four to six years in prison. The NNP reported no new 
cases of child pornography during the year. In February a court 
convicted three individuals in a 2009 case involving child pornography, 
trafficking in persons, and abuse of minors and sentenced them to 
imprisonment terms ranging from seven to 37 years.
    According to the IML midyear report, 76 percent of sex crimes were 
with minors younger than 17 years old. The country was a destination 
for child sex tourism, primarily in Granada and Managua Departments; 
however, there were no officially reported cases during the year.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance with the convention at http://
travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--
4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community numbered fewer than 50. There 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 the provision of state services. Laws related to 
persons with disabilities did not stipulate penalties for companies 
noncompliant with its provisions, although penalties may be issued 
under the general labor inspection code. MiFamilia is responsible for 
the protection and advancement of rights for persons with disabilities. 
The Government did not effectively enforce the law with regard to the 
protection of such individuals, did not mandate accessibility to 
buildings for them, and did not make information available on efforts 
to improve respect for their rights. The PDDH reported that less than 1 
percent of public sector employees were persons with disabilities and 
that public institutions lacked coordination with the Ministry of Labor 
(MITRAB) regarding rights for persons with disabilities.
    On November 13, representatives of several organizations of 
citizens with disabilities demonstrated in front of the Managua mayor's 
office and called for implementation of the budget for accessible 
public works projects. The demonstrators lamented the lack of 
government attention to such problems, but at year's end there was no 
reported execution of projects to create or improve accessibility for 
persons with disabilities.
    Government clinics and hospitals provided care for veterans and 
other persons with disabilities, but the quality of care was generally 
poor.
    At year's end there was no information available, and none was 
expected, on the remaining three cases from 2007 regarding abuse of 
children with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Various indigenous and other 
ethnic groups from the RAAN and the RAAS attributed the lack of 
government resources devoted to the Atlantic coast to discriminatory 
attitudes toward the ethnic, racial, and religious minorities in those 
regions. In contrast to the rest of the country, the racial makeup of 
the RAAN and the RAAS was predominantly black and Amerindian.
    Exclusionary treatment based on race, skin color, and ethnicity was 
common, especially in higher-income urban areas. Darker-skinned persons 
of African descent from the RAAN and the RAAS, along with foreigners 
assumed to be from those areas, experienced social discrimination in 
the interior and Pacific areas and were denied access to private clubs 
and restaurants in Managua. Persons with darker skin claimed that 
authorities at the Managua airport targeted them for extra security 
measures; that police stopped them to conduct illegal searches; and 
that while travelling through the RAAN and the RAAS, authorities 
frequently stopped and searched them but not Mestizo persons from the 
Pacific coast.
    There was no information available on government efforts to address 
discrimination based on skin color, race, or ethnicity.

    Indigenous People.--Indigenous persons constituted approximately 5 
percent of the country's population and lived primarily in the RAAN and 
the RAAS. The five major identifiable indigenous groups--the Miskito, 
the Sumo, the Garifuna (of Afro-Amerindian origin), the Mayangna, and 
the Rama--alleged government discrimination through underrepresentation 
in the legislative branch. For instance, the RAAN and the RAAS had 
generally the same population as Leon and Masaya Departments but had 
only five representatives in the National Assembly, compared with 10 
for the two departments.
    Indigenous group members often lacked birth certificates, national 
identity cards, and land titles. Although they formed political groups, 
these often held little sway over politics and were ignored or used by 
major national parties to advance their own agendas. Most indigenous 
persons in rural areas lacked access to public services, and 
deteriorating roads made medicine and health care almost unobtainable 
for many communities. The rates of unemployment, illiteracy, and 
absenteeism of school-age children were among the highest in the 
country. By year's end there continued to be no information available 
regarding any government action to meet the 2008 request, by the UN 
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, to develop a 
national strategy to combat racism and forge a new relationship with 
indigenous and ethnic minority communities.
    On March 20, a group of Creole citizens protested in front of the 
NNP station in Bluefields in response to the arrest and reported 
beating of Charles Sanders, who claimed that local business owners 
discriminated against him and harassed him because of his skin color 
and that local police responded to the incident and arrested and beat 
him. There were no developments in the case by year's end.
    Human rights organizations and indigenous rights groups claimed 
that the Government failed to protect the civil and political rights of 
indigenous communities, including their rights to land, natural 
resources, and local autonomy. The PDDH reported receiving 26 
complaints related to indigenous rights during the year.
    There were no significant developments regarding the April 2009 
declaration of independence from the central government by the Miskito 
Council of Elders in the RAAN.
    Although the law requires that the Government consult with 
indigenous persons regarding the exploitation of their areas' 
resources, and give the indigenous population a percentage of profits, 
some indigenous communities continued to complain that government 
authorities excluded indigenous persons in the RAAN and the RAAS from 
meaningful participation in decisions affecting their lands, cultures, 
traditions, and the allocation of natural resources. Representatives of 
autonomous regions and indigenous communities regularly complained to 
the Government, media, and NGOs that the Government failed to invest in 
infrastructure in those regions. On August 27, the Government ratified 
the International Labor Organization (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal 
Peoples Convention of 1989 (No. 169), but there was no significant 
change in government behavior toward indigenous persons reported 
afterward.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--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. LGBT 
persons continued to face widespread societal discrimination and abuse, 
particularly in employment, housing, and education. In 2009 the human 
rights ombudsman created the position of a special prosecutor for 
sexual diversity to champion LGBT issues; the LGBT community generally 
regarded this position as ineffective and deficient in resources. It 
was difficult to measure trends, because LGBT human rights violations 
were underreported and often mischaracterized.
    Although not authorized by the Government, during the year two gay 
pride events occurred in Managua. There were no reports of violence 
directed against these events.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The law provides 
specific protections for persons with HIV/AIDS against discrimination 
in employment and health services. However, persons with HIV/AIDS 
continued to suffer societal discrimination based on their alleged HIV/
AIDS status. Communities often stigmatized persons with HIV/AIDS, and 
there was a general lack of awareness and education among the public 
and health care professionals regarding prevention, treatment, and 
transmission of HIV/AIDS. Several NGOs worked to educate communities 
regarding HIV/AIDS discrimination.

Section 7. 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 form and join independent unions of their 
choice. Workers exercised this right in practice. Workers are not 
required to notify their employer or MITRAB of their intention to 
organize a union. At year's end the Government and private business 
leaders estimated the national workforce at approximately 2.5 million. 
In general labor unions were allied with political parties.
    In March 2009 anonymous CPC members sent death threats to Alvaro 
Leiva Sanchez, the leader of the Ministry of Transportation and 
Infrastructure and Democratic Federation of Public Service Employee 
unions, because of his public lobbying for improved labor rights on 
behalf of the employees he represented. He reported the threats to 
police, but by year's end there was no investigation because the police 
claimed a lack of evidence. The Ministry of Transportation and 
Infrastructure fired Leiva on September 30 without showing proper 
cause.
    The constitution recognizes the right to strike, and the law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without government interference. 
However, there were reports of government interference in union 
activities. There were reports of illegal dissolution of unions not 
associated with the ruling FSLN party. The CPDH reported that since 
2007 there have been 116 unions illegally disbanded by government 
ministries. Burdensome and lengthy labor code conciliation procedures 
impeded workers' ability to call strikes. During a strike employers 
cannot hire replacement workers. If a strike continues for 30 days 
without resolution, MITRAB has authority to suspend the strike and 
submit the matter to arbitration. The ILO noted that this provision 
limits the right to strike and called for amendment of the law.
    MITRAB often declared strikes illegal, even when workers followed 
legal strike procedures. Wildcat strikes were common, the most notable 
being among taxi drivers and other transportation workers. In November 
municipal employees in Leon conducted a strike, claiming violation of 
their right to back pay in accordance with their collective bargaining 
agreement. Although the workers claimed legal exercise of their right 
to strike, MITRAB declared the strike illegal and fined the union 
leaders eight days' salary.

    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. The Government protected these 
rights and often sought to foster resolution of labor conflicts through 
informal negotiations rather than formal administrative or judicial 
processes. Companies in disputes with their employees must negotiate 
with the employee union, if one exists. By law several unions may 
coexist at any one enterprise. The law permits management to sign 
separate collective bargaining agreements with each union operating at 
the enterprise.
    The law establishes fines against employers who violate labor 
rights by engaging in antiunion discrimination, such as interfering 
with the formation of unions or strikebreaking. In practice many 
employers in the formal sector continued to violate worker rights with 
impunity by blacklisting or firing union members, or delaying payment 
of severance pay to fired workers. Employers also avoided legal 
penalties by organizing ``white unions'' (employer-led unions) for 
their employees, which lacked independence. Labor leaders complained 
that employers routinely violated collective bargaining agreements and 
labor laws with impunity. The PDDH reported receiving 140 complaints 
related to labor problems.
    Union leaders asserted that employers and union leaders who 
supported the Ortega administration continued to pressure workers 
affiliated with non-FSLN unions to resign and register with FSLN 
unions. Politically motivated firings of workers continued. According 
to the CPDH, since 2007, 21,000 public-sector employees were fired 
without just cause or due process of law. The CPDH reported that these 
firings were carried out for political reasons, such as refusal of the 
worker to join the FSLN or to participate in FSLN demonstrations.
    Although employers must reinstate workers fired for union activity, 
MITRAB may not legally order employers to rehire fired workers; that 
requires a judicial order. The law allows employers to obtain 
permission from MITRAB 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 or 
pay the severance due to weak enforcement of the law.
    Although the law establishes a labor court arbitration process, 
long waiting time and lengthy, complicated procedures detrimentally 
affected court-mediated solutions, and many labor disputes were 
reconciled outside of court. The ILO worked with the Government and 
labor leaders to reform this process and make it more accessible to 
employees in disputes. However, at year's end the Government had not 
presented ILO recommended reforms to the Labor Code to the National 
Assembly for legislation.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the country's 41 export processing zones, also known as free trade 
zones (FTZs). Approximately 10 percent of the estimated 75,000 FTZ 
workers were union members. Because a high proportion of FTZ unions had 
fewer than 50 members, many lacked effective collective bargaining 
power. MITRAB generally conducted inspections of companies that 
operated in the FTZ's and issued fines where violations occurred.

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

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--
Although 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. The Government did not 
effectively enforce the law to protect children from workplace 
exploitation. The most recent available national survey of adolescent 
and child labor (2005) estimated that there were approximately 239,000 
working children between five and 17 years old, of whom 36 percent were 
younger than 14 years of age. MITRAB reported conducting 205 special 
inspections into child labor.
    The law establishes the minimum age for employment at 14 years and 
limits the workday for any child between 14 and 18 years of age to six 
hours and the workweek to 30 hours. Children between 14 and 16 years 
must have parental approval to work or to enter into a formal labor 
contract. The law prohibits teenage domestic workers from sleeping in 
the houses of their employers. It is also illegal for minors to work in 
places that MITRAB considers harmful to their health or safety, such as 
mines, garbage dumps, night-entertainment venues, and many agricultural 
sectors.
    All employees older than age 14 must be enrolled in the national 
social security system. The law also provides for eight-year prison 
terms and substantial fines for persons employing children in dangerous 
work and permits inspectors to close those facilities. The Government 
did not provide adequate resources for MITRAB to enforce the law 
effectively, except in the small formal sector.
    Most child labor occurred in the large informal sector, including 
on coffee plantations and subsistence farms, and in forestry and 
fishing. Children also worked in the production of sugarcane, crushed 
stone, and to a lesser extent in the production of bananas and tobacco. 
Child labor also occurred in cattle raising, dairy production, street 
sales, garbage-dump scavenging, and transport. According to the ILO's 
International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor, children 
engaged in the worst forms of child labor in plantation agriculture, 
shellfish harvesting, pumice and limestone quarrying, gold mining, 
industrial manufacturing, construction, commercial/retail, hospitality, 
and as domestic servants.
    Children working in agriculture suffered from sun exposure, extreme 
temperatures, and dangerous pesticides and other chemicals. Children 
working in the fishing industry faced polluted water and dangerous 
ocean conditions.
    The Government continued activities to incorporate working 
adolescents into the formal workforce by transferring children above 
the legal working age from the worst forms of child labor into 
nondangerous jobs. NGOs offered vocational training to help adolescents 
develop job skills for FTZ factory employment. During the first six 
months of the year, MITRAB reported that it removed 64 child workers 
from employment in hazardous conditions.
    MITRAB has in place a 10-year plan (2007-16), La Hoja de Ruta, to 
end child labor. Its execution by the National Commission for the 
Progressive Eradication of Child Labor and Adolescent Worker Protection 
(CNEPTI) requires all government programs to include child-labor 
prevention and eradication initiatives. However, the organizations that 
comprised CNEPTI have not convened since September 2009, and most NGOs 
considered CNEPTI ineffective. The Government continued its Programa 
Amor, which had a primary goal of eradicating child labor by 
reintegrating abandoned children into society; however, information on 
specific activities, funding, and effectiveness remained unavailable. 
La Prensa reported there was no concrete evidence that Programa Amor 
objectives were being reached (see section 6, Children).

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The national minimum wage law 
establishes statutory minimum wages for nine different economic 
sectors. It is calculated differently for each sector, and the average 
was 2,635 cordobas (approximately $120) a month. An increase of 6 
percent was implemented in August; however, the minimum wage was 
generally enforced only in the formal sector and was thus applicable 
only to approximately one-third of the working population. Several 
labor NGOs reported that the minimum wage did not cover the cost of 
inflation or provide a decent standard of living for a worker and 
family.
    The standard legal workweek is a maximum of 48 hours, with one day 
of rest; however, this provision was often ignored by employers who 
claimed that workers readily volunteered for 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 Government did not allocate adequate staff or resources to enable 
the Office of Hygiene and Occupational Safety to enforce these 
provisions. The law mandates the creation of regional offices for the 
National Council of Labor Hygiene and Safety. The council is 
responsible for worker safety legislation and for collaboration with 
other government agencies and civil society organizations in developing 
assistance programs and promoting training and prevention activities. 
The Government did not enforce the new law effectively. During the 
first eight months of the year, MITRAB conducted 2,097 health and 
safety inspections and 1,205 workplace accidents were reported, 
including one registered death. No end-of-year statistics were made 
available.
    The law provides workers with the right to remove themselves from 
dangerous workplace situations without jeopardizing continued 
employment, but many workers were unaware of this right due to the lack 
of government dissemination of information.

                               __________

                                 PANAMA

    Panama is a multiparty constitutional democracy with an estimated 
population of 3.4 million. In May 2009 voters chose Ricardo A. 
Martinelli Berrocal as president in national elections considered 
generally free and fair by international and domestic observers. 
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Human rights problems included the use of excessive force by police 
during protests, which was investigated; harsh prison conditions; 
prolonged pretrial detention; corruption, ineffectiveness, and alleged 
political manipulation of the judicial system; political pressure on 
the media; corruption in the executive and legislative branches as well 
as in the security forces; discrimination and violence against women; 
trafficking in persons; substantial discrimination against individuals 
with disabilities; continued marginalized participation of indigenous 
communities in decisions that affected them; widespread societal and 
employment discrimination against indigenous persons; societal 
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS; and violation of some 
worker rights.

                        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 July 9, workers Antonio Smith and Fernan Castillo died in 
Changuinola, Bocas del Toro Province, during violence associated with 
protests over a controversial, multifaceted law (Law 30) and with 
security-force actions. On July 10, the UN High Commissioner for Human 
Rights (UNCHR) regional representative reminded the Government that 
``the use of force and firearms by officers responsible for upholding 
the law must be restricted and exceptional.'' Mid-July initial reports 
by the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Human Rights Everywhere and 
the Office of the Ombudsman signaled that the failure by police to 
adhere to basic regulations for controlling protesters was a factor 
contributing to the killings.
    A government-appointed independent investigatory commission 
reported in October that the July 9 violence injured 772 individuals 
(two were permanently blinded and more than 50 suffered some vision 
loss), including 56 police officers. The report attributed the two 
confirmed deaths to shootings from a distance of less than 16 yards and 
attributed two other deaths (Ruben Marbin Becker Abrego and Liandro 
Santos Breabu) to an inability to transport persons injured by police 
tear gas to a hospital. There were no arrests by year's end, and 
authorities were investigating other deaths to determine whether they 
were also attributable to police actions.
    In continuing investigations of 47 cases of killing or 
disappearance during the 1968-89 military regime, cases were under 
consideration or underway at year's end.
    There were no known developments in investigations the attorney 
general opened in 2008 regarding the alleged killings in 1982-83 of 
more than 20 persons reportedly thrown from helicopters.
    In December the Supreme Court acceded to the 2009 request by the 
Attorney General's Office and the prosecutor to try former minister of 
government and justice Daniel Delgado for a 1971 killing. By year's end 
a court date was not set.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances. However, during the mid-July violence in Bocas del Toro 
Province (see section 1.a.), Valentin Palacios reportedly disappeared. 
On August 15, he reappeared in good health at a hospital in Almirante, 
Bocas del Toro Province, but an explanation for his disappearance 
remained unclear at year's end.
    Contractual and procedural issues continued to delay the DNA 
testing of the remains of four persons, including disappeared priest 
Hector Gallego, that were sent abroad in 2008 and for whose testing the 
Public Ministry requested permission from family members in 2009. In 
July President Martinelli announced funding to help conduct DNA tests 
abroad on the remains located at the Legal Medical Institute of 
approximately 30 other individuals believed disappeared during the 
military regime, but as of year's end no funds were disbursed.
    In April the Second Superior Court agreed to try former National 
Guard members Melbourne Walker, Manuel Antonio Noriega, Moises Correa, 
Pablo Garrido, Lucino Miranda, Pedro del Cid, Gabriel Correa, and 
Aquilino Sieiro for the disappearance and killing of Heliodoro Portugal 
in 1970 during the military dictatorship (see section 1.e., Regional 
Human Rights Court Decisions).
    In March the Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation of 
Panamanian National Police (PNP) Director Gustavo Perez de la Ossa for 
alleged human rights abuses during a 1989 military operation. 
Specifically, media reports claimed that the Defense Force dishonorably 
discharged then lieutenant Perez de la Ossa in 1990 for having 
participated the previous year in taking foreign civilians hostage to 
exchange them for Panama's military personnel captured during a foreign 
invasion of the country. The media reports had not been confirmed by 
year's end, and the investigation remained open.

    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.
    As of September the PNP Directorate of Professional Responsibility 
(DRP) had not opened any cases alleging abuse of prison inmates by 
prison guards, compared with two such investigations in 2009 (both of 
which remained open at year's end).
    There were no known developments in the case of two persons in 
custody and charged with involvement in the 2007 killing of an inmate 
and the injuring of another in the Basilio Lakas detention facility, 
and none were expected.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--The Ministry of Government 
(formerly the Ministry of Government and Justice) oversees all prisons 
in the country. Prison conditions remained harsh and, in some cases, 
life threatening. Problems included overcrowding, use of police 
stations as detention facilities, and failure to separate inmates 
according to the type or severity of their alleged crimes. 
Additionally, there was little ventilation or lighting. One of the main 
prisoner complaints was the lack of access to medical care.
    As of September the prison system, with an official capacity of 
7,187 persons, held 12,293 prisoners. Pretrial detainees shared cells 
with convicted prisoners due to space constraints. In September the 
Government released 388 inmates who had served two-thirds of their 
sentences in an attempt to alleviate overcrowding.
    Prison medical care was inadequate. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, 
hepatitis B, and other communicable diseases were common among the 
prison population. Only 14 physicians served the entire prison system, 
and they worked limited morning hours. A 60-bed clinic, opened at La 
Joyita Prison in 2008, remained unused due to the lack of guards to 
watch ill detainees; authorities transferred patients to public clinics 
instead.
    PNP officers provided perimeter security at all prisons but 
generally lacked training for prison duty. At La Joya and La Joyita 
prisons, PNP officers also provided internal security, although 
civilian custodians were also present. In all prisons, inmates 
complained of limited time outside cells and limited access to family 
visits. Small jails attached to local police stations sometimes held 
prisoners for the entire length of their sentences, but police officers 
who guarded them lacked the necessary custodial training to prevent 
abuses, and typically the detention facilities were not suitable for 
long-term detention.
    Female and male prisoners were held separately. Although prison 
conditions for women were generally better than those for men, they 
remained characterized by overcrowding, poor medical care, and lack of 
basic supplies for personal hygiene.
    Juvenile pretrial and custodial detention centers throughout the 
country did not have resources to provide education or adequate 
supervision and suffered from overcrowding and poor conditions. The 
main male facility in the country, in Panama City, held more than twice 
the number of detainees for which it was designed, and a diplomatic 
representative observed inhumane conditions there during an October 
visit. Lack of funding led to cancellation of virtually all 
rehabilitative (workshops and job-training programs) and recreational 
activities; that and a severe shortage of custodial guards resulted in 
the majority of detainees spending nearly all their time in cells.
    The Ombudsman's Office intervened in cases involving the prison 
system by negotiating and petitioning on behalf of prisoners and 
receiving complaints about prison conditions. The office reportedly 
received six complaints by prisoners during the year: one for verbal 
abuse by a PNP prison guard, four for physical abuse by PNP officers in 
the course of prisoner detention, and one for physical abuse by a 
civilian custodian. One of the four physical-abuse cases was under 
investigation by the Public Ministry at year's end.
    Prisoners were able to submit complaints to judicial authorities 
without censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations 
of inhumane conditions, but authorities did not document the results of 
such investigations in a publicly accessible manner. The Government 
investigated and monitored prison and detention center conditions.
    The Ombudsman's Office conducted weekly prison visits, and the 
Government generally did not monitor its meetings with prisoners. 
However, authorities repeatedly denied access to human rights 
organizations, particularly after one organization filed two lawsuits 
against the Ministry of Government on behalf of prisoners. By year's 
end the lawsuit regarding a lack of potable water was pending, while 
the court had dismissed the lawsuit about a lack of access to fresh air 
and sunlight. Prisoners at some facilities had reasonable access to 
visitors and were permitted religious observance; however, this was not 
the situation at high-security facilities, such as La Joya and La 
Joyita, where prisoners had very little time outside their cells.
    An ombudsman may serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees to 
consider such matters as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent 
offenders to alleviate overcrowding; to address the status and 
circumstances of the confinement of juvenile offenders; and to improve 
pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures to ensure that 
prisoners do not serve beyond the maximum sentence for the charged 
offense.
    Ground was broken in August for a new mega-prison that would hold 
5,500 male and female prisoners in separate facilities. During a mid-
November prison reform conference, Minister of Government Roxanna 
Mendez announced that the mega-prison plan had been modified to set out 
four separate facilities. More than 160 new corrections officers were 
hired during the year, although 38 reportedly resigned due to a low 
monthly salary of 400 balboas ($400).

    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.
    On July 10, media reported that authorities arrested at least 50 
union leaders and members of civil society in Panama City as they 
emerged from a meeting at Hotel Soloy during which they had agreed to 
launch a national strike to protest Law 30. Authorities also issued 
arrest warrants for 17 union leaders and a former presidential 
candidate who participated in the meeting. Authorities released those 
arrested that same day and lifted the arrest warrants on July 13 
without taking any further legal action.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--Civilian authorities in 
the new Ministry of Public Security (formed on April 1 from the 
Ministry of Government and Justice) maintained effective control over 
all police, investigative, border, air, and maritime forces in the 
country, which has no regular military forces. The PNP remains 
responsible for internal law enforcement and public order. The 
Government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and 
corruption, and there were no reports of impunity involving security 
forces during the year.
    Law 18 includes guidelines for the use of force, including deadly 
force; requires that police respect human rights; and prohibits 
instigation or tolerance of torture, cruelty, or other inhumane or 
degrading behavior. On October 24, the National Assembly modified Law 
18 so that, in its changed form as Law 74, police accused of using 
excessive force may not be detained prior to trial, suspended, nor face 
other internal discipline unless and until convicted.
    From January to September, the PNP's DRP opened 1,040 disciplinary 
proceedings against police, including 145 for inappropriate conduct, 12 
for physical aggression, and 220 for abuse of authority. Also as of 
September, there were 80 incidents reported of domestic violence by 
police. Through September the Ombudsman's Office received 37 complaints 
against police for abuse of authority. Investigations in most of these 
cases were ongoing at year's end, although authorities dismissed 50 PNP 
officers and placed many others on ``semipermanent vacation.''
    In September a jury found two PNP agents not guilty of killing a 
construction worker during a 2007 demonstration against poor labor 
conditions.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police 
generally apprehended persons openly and did not practice arbitrary or 
secret arrest and detention. The law provides that suspects be brought 
promptly before a judge; however, lack of prompt arraignment 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. The law provides for bail, and a 
functioning bail system exists for a limited number of crimes. 
Detainees were allowed prompt access to legal counsel and family 
members, and the Government provided indigent defendants with a lawyer.
    The law prohibits police from detaining suspects for more than 48 
hours without judicial authorization but permits detention of minors 
for 72 hours. By law the preliminary-investigation phase of detention 
may last from eight days to two months, and the follow-up investigation 
phase, another two to four months, depending on the number of suspects. 
However, in practice inmates were regularly imprisoned for more than a 
year before a judge's pretrial hearing, and their pretrial detention 
exceeded the maximum sentence for the alleged crime. Such extended 
pretrial detention continued to be a serious problem, largely due to 
judicial inefficiency and the use of a written inquisitorial system. 
According to government statistics, as of August, 63 percent of 
prisoners were pretrial detainees. In Veraguas Province, courts 
initiated a system that greatly decreased case backlog in preparation 
for introduction of the accusatorial system.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary; however, the judicial system was susceptible to 
corruption and outside influence and there were allegations of 
manipulation by other government branches.
    The Directorate of Judicial Investigation, under PNP administrative 
control, provides investigative services to the judicial system.
    In August the attorney general was officially removed from office 
after a trial for ``abuse of authority'' that human rights groups 
claimed was politically motivated.
    At the local level, mayors appoint ``corregidores'' (administrative 
judges), who exercise jurisdiction over minor civil cases and the 
arrest and imposition of fines or jail sentences of up to one year. 
Outside of Panama City, this system had serious shortcomings. 
Defendants lacked adequate procedural safeguards. Corregidores usually 
had no legal training or other pertinent expertise. In actuality appeal 
procedures were generally nonexistent. Affluent defendants often paid 
fines while poorer defendants were incarcerated.

    Trial Procedures.--The law provides that all citizens charged with 
crimes enjoy a presumption of innocence and have rights to counsel, 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 proceedings.
    In August 2009 the Government postponed until September 2011 
implementation of a new Code of Criminal Procedure designed to 
transition from an inquisitorial to an accusatory system of justice. 
The Government budget contained 38 million balboas ($38 million) for 
implementation.
    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 rendering or amplifying statements or for confronting witnesses. 
Trials are conducted on the basis of evidence presented by the public 
prosecutor. Defendants have the right to be present at trial and to 
consult with an attorney in a timely manner. Defendants may confront or 
question witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on 
their behalf. Defendants and their attorneys have access to relevant 
government-held evidence. Defendants have a right of appeal. The law 
extends these rights to all citizens, and the judiciary generally 
enforced them.
    The law obliges the Government to provide public defenders for the 
indigent, and an estimated 70 percent of inmates used them. Many public 
defenders, however, were appointed late in an investigation, after the 
prosecutor had evaluated most evidence and decided to recommend trial. 
Public-defender caseloads remained very high, averaging 395 cases per 
attorney per year. The court system has maintained a backlog of 
approximately 45 percent of cases since 2004, which was also a large 
contributing factor to prison overcrowding.

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

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--In its May 28 order in the 
case concerning the disappearance of Heliodoro Portugal, the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights ruled that the Government fully complied 
with requirements for widespread circulation of the 2008 court 
judgment, for payment of damages (254,000 balboas ($254,000)) and 
costs, and for public acknowledgement of the Government's 
responsibilities. Compliance remained pending at year's end with 
requirements for immediate medical and psychological care of Portugal 
family members, for enactment within a reasonable time of legal 
definitions of the offenses of forced disappearance and torture, and 
for investigation of the Portugal disappearance plus prosecution and 
punishment of those responsible. In April judicial authorities agreed 
to try the eight former National Guard members allegedly involved in 
the disappearance and killing of Portugal (see section 1.b.).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The constitution and the 
judicial code establish an independent judiciary in civil matters. 
Alleged political manipulation of the judicial system remained a 
problem, and bureaucratic delay hindered access to judicial and 
administrative remedies for human rights violations. Problems continued 
in enforcement of domestic court orders.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government 
generally respected these prohibitions; however, there were complaints 
that in some cases law-enforcement authorities failed to follow legal 
requirements and conducted unauthorized searches. The Public Ministry 
maintained representatives in each PNP division to approve searches, 
and they approved numerous searches during the year.
    The law also sets forth requirements for conducting wiretap 
surveillance. It denies prosecutors authority to order wiretaps on 
their own and requires judicial oversight. During the year several 
citizens claimed to have been wiretapping targets after making 
statements critical of the Government, but there was no confirmation.

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 individuals generally enjoyed freedom of 
expression. However, during the year the Government used a variety of 
means to impede freedom of expression and attempt to silence criticism 
of its actions.
    The independent media were active and expressed a variety of views 
without restriction. The law prohibits newspapers from holding radio 
and television concessions and vice versa. International media operated 
freely in the country.
    Journalists alleged that the Government purchased advertising space 
to reward news organizations for publishing favorable stories and 
withdrew advertising funding from news organizations engaged in 
unfavorable coverage. Legal actions brought by officials of the former 
government remained pending against many journalists. The Inter-
American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Inter-American Press 
Association (IAPA), the NGO Reporters without Borders, and other groups 
criticized these measures as efforts to censor the press.
    The law allows prosecution of journalists for vague charges related 
to exposing private information and documents, even those deemed of 
public interest. The law also permits prosecution of journalists for 
publishing information restricted on national security grounds. NGOs 
asserted that these provisions threatened freedom of speech and press.
    Journalists alleged that members of the Government, including 
President Martinelli and Secretary of Communication Alfredo Prieto, 
telephoned them to complain about stories printed or aired concerning 
the Government. Journalists asserted that those calls had a chilling 
effect, especially on reporters, resulting in frequent self-censorship. 
There was at least one report of threats against a leading journalist 
by a member of the Government.
    In May the director of El Siglo newspaper, Jean Marcel Chery, filed 
a complaint with the IACHR that alleged the Government had launched a 
campaign of intimidation after El Siglo ran a story on government 
failure to collect garbage in poor Panama City neighborhoods. 
Transcripts of text messages between Chery and Communications Secretary 
Prieto were published. In the complaint Chery also accused Prieto of 
having commentators attack him on Prieto's privately owned television 
station. The IACHR was evaluating the complaint at year's end.
    Also in May the Supreme Court of Justice fined the national 
newspaper of record, La Prensa, 300,000 balboas ($300,000) for ``moral 
damages'' after it reported the 2005 firing and subsequent 
reinstatement of a prosecutor. The story had been covered by six other 
papers, none of which were cited in the damages suit. Leading 
journalists condemned the ruling as ``absurd'' and warned of 
intimidation. La Prensa's appeal was pending at year's end.
    In July a group of leading media figures met with the president and 
complained about the Government's behavior toward journalists.
    In early July authorities detained La Prensa journalist Paco Gomez 
Nadal, a foreign national with a valid permit to work in the country 
who was also a human rights activist from the NGO Human Rights 
Everywhere and an editorial adviser and contributor to foreign 
publications, as he attempted to board a flight to another country. In 
the ensuing controversy, the Government made several contradictory 
public claims about its reasons, all involving alleged tax and 
immigration irregularities; reportedly told him that he could leave if 
he promised not to return; but released him after several hours. At 
year's end he continued to reside in the country and publish his 
articles critical of the Government.
    Controversy continued regarding the decriminalization of defamation 
and slander. In late September Acting Attorney General Giuseppe Bonissi 
filed an opinion with the Supreme Court that stated the 2008 reform 
that decriminalized defamation or slander of high-ranking public 
officials was unconstitutional. On the other hand, many civil society 
groups advocated even broader decriminalization of slander.
    Also in late September, the Second Superior Court convicted 
television journalists Sabrina Bacal and Justino Gonzalez of criminal 
slander, banned them from professional work for one year, and ordered 
them each to pay a fine of 3,650 balboas ($3,650) or serve one year in 
prison--notwithstanding that two lower courts had dismissed the same 
charges earlier in the year. The appellate court's decision sparked 
protests and public criticism of the Government over its possible lack 
of compliance with international standards regarding freedom of 
expression. In early October the Ethics Committee of the National 
Council for Journalism requested that the Inter-American Court of Human 
Rights review the case. However, since there were case-related 
constitutional issues awaiting a Supreme Court decision, the Inter-
American Court had not accepted the case by year's end. Meanwhile, on 
October 7, a full pardon of both journalists by President Martinelli 
took effect.
    In mid-November Guillermo Adames, president of the National Council 
for Journalism, claimed that the Government retaliated for his 
criticism of its policy toward freedom of expression by sending tax 
inspectors to his radio station, Omega Stereo. The council shortly 
thereafter declared a ``permanent state of alert'' because of what it 
described as a ``government attack against freedom of speech.''
    In April 2009 a judge sentenced the director of El Siglo, Jean 
Marcel Chery, and two journalists to two years in prison for 
trespassing while reporting in 2001 on corruption allegedly involving 
Supreme Court Justice Winston Spadafora. Local journalists and the IAPA 
criticized the judgment as judicial harassment. Chery appealed, but the 
court upheld the earlier ruling. At year's end the case remained at the 
Superior Court level without a final judgment. However, since the law 
requires commutation of prison sentences into fines in all cases where 
the final ruling has not been made within two years, Chery and the two 
journalists were not imprisoned.
    The appeal by La Prensa's Rafael Berrocal of a September 2009 
conviction for calumny and libel against a former vice president of the 
country, since deceased, remained pending at year's end. The court had 
sentenced Berrocal to 200 days in prison or a fine of 400 balboas 
($400).
    The impact of the 2008 Supreme Court ruling that overturned former 
president Moscoso's pardons of several journalists convicted of libel 
remained uncertain at year's end, because the court returned the cases 
to their ``original state,'' which required clarification. Meanwhile, 
in October police detained one of the journalists, due to a criminal 
slander case pending from 2001, but released him the same day.
    At year's end an appeal remained pending of a 2008 judicial order 
seizing the assets of the newspaper El Periodico, which subsequently 
went out of business.
    In June journalist Carlos Nunez Lopez served 18 days of a one-year 
sentence in prison in connection with a 2007 criminal conviction for 
defaming a property owner in a 2004 La Cronica story about 
environmental damage in Bocas del Toro Province.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet, but there were anecdotal reports that the Government 
monitored private e-mails. In a few cases, law-enforcement monitoring 
of suspects' computers led to arrests for sex crimes. Individuals and 
groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the 
Internet, including by e-mail. The International Telecommunication 
Union reported that 28 percent of inhabitants used the Internet in 
2009, an increase of 5 percent from 2008.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedoms of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice. The law also states that anyone 
who, through use of violence, impedes the transit of vehicles on public 
roads or causes damage to public or private property may be sentenced 
to imprisonment for six to 24 months.
    Several labor leaders claimed that they received anonymous 
threatening phone calls due to their participation in meetings held 
abroad on July 20 with foreign officials and legislators to discuss 
concerns related to Law 30 and a pending bilateral free trade 
agreement.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government generally cooperated with the Office of the UN 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, persons under 
temporary humanitarian protection (THP), asylum seekers, stateless 
persons, and other persons of concern.
    The Government generally permitted freedom of movement for 
documented refugees and asylum seekers; however, it restricted the 
freedom of movement of Colombian nationals living in the region 
bordering Colombia under the THP regime, who could only leave those 
locations with special temporary permits issued by the National Office 
for the Protection of Refugees (ONPAR).
    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, and the Government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees. The 1998 Executive Decree 23 
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' THP status to 
``displaced persons'' in the case of a large influx; in actuality the 
Government did not enforce the two-month time limit. A Colombian THP 
group has continued to live in the Darien region for 14 years, 
notwithstanding a 2008 law that, until November 9, 2010, provided a 
legal mechanism by which all those persons under refugee status who had 
been in the country for 10 years or more were enabled to apply for 
permanent residence.
    In practice the Government provided some protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. At times, however, border officials and authorities in large 
urban centers did not have a clear understanding of their 
responsibilities when dealing with persons seeking asylum or refugee 
status, which resulted in arbitrary detention and risk of return to 
countries where their lives or freedom could be threatened.
    Authorities did not provide asylum seekers and refugees with 
documentation in a timely fashion, and the documents provided were not 
always recognized as valid by public officials, including police, 
health service providers, schools, and banking institutions. Work 
permits were issued after a lengthy bureaucratic process, but the 
Government did not permit displaced Colombians to work or move outside 
of their assigned villages.
    There were approximately 1,213 recognized refugees in the country. 
During the year 454 persons approached the Government seeking refugee 
status, according to ONPAR. The law requires that the Government's 
National Commission for the Protection of Refugees, convened by ONPAR, 
meet at least once every three months to determine the status of 
persons seeking refugee status. The commission met four times during 
the year, reviewed 140 cases, and granted refugee status to 13 persons. 
Local NGOs claimed that the Government arbitrarily denied admission to 
the refugee-status determination process and often refused asylum-
seeker requests on the basis that they failed to prove past persecution 
or a well-founded fear of future persecution.
    For most of the year, the law enacted in 2008 allowed persons who 
had been recognized as refugees for 10 years or more to apply for 
permanent residence. By November 9, when that law expired, 300 
applicants had requested this status, and the Government had approved 
277 such cases.
    Persons under THP included 899 displaced persons, mainly of Afro-
Colombian heritage, and 289 of their dependents, some of whom were 
citizens born in Panama of marriages between displaced Colombians and 
Panamanian citizens. Seventy individuals were from the Embera 
indigenous group.
    The Government reported an increase in migration of persons from 
outside the region, primarily from Asia and East Africa, who transited 
the country en route to North America. The Government regularly 
detained undocumented migrants from this population and provided those 
individuals who requested international protection with access to the 
asylum process; however, nearly all such individuals abandoned their 
applications and continued on their migration route before a refugee-
status determination was completed. The UNHCR estimated that 70 such 
persons applied for asylum during the year.
    The UNHCR classified approximately 15,000 persons living in the 
country as ``persons of concern'' in need of international protection. 
These included persons for whom the Government had denied refugee 
status and persons in the country who did not apply for refugee status 
due to lack of knowledge or fear of deportation. The UNHCR had a 
permanent office in the country and was generally granted access to 
refugees and project sites where it could provide services to refugees, 
internally displaced persons, and persons under THP.

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. The law 
provides for direct popular election every five years of the president, 
the vice president, legislators, and local representatives. Naturalized 
citizens may not hold specified categories of elective office.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In May 2009 voters chose 
Ricardo A. Martinelli Berrocal, the opposition Alliance for Change 
candidate, as president in national elections considered generally free 
and fair by independent observers. More than two million citizens voted 
in elections for president, vice president, legislators, mayors, and 
local representatives, including citizens residing overseas who had 
registered via the Internet and voted by mail-in ballot.
    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 presidency and National Assembly, provides for the 
autonomy of the National Electoral Tribunal, and limits the immunity of 
representatives in the National Assembly by permitting the Supreme 
Court to prosecute criminal cases against representatives.
    On October 24, the National Electoral Tribunal organized, 
regulated, and monitored the Ngobe-Bugle community's elections of 
local, regional, and general congress delegates. The elections were 
controversial (community leaders claimed the tribunal sought to deprive 
them of their autonomy), community leaders encouraged a boycott, and 
participation was only 20 to 30 percent of registered voters. NGO Human 
Rights Everywhere observers described the elections as ``confusing'' 
and ill-timed and recommended consultations between the tribunal and 
traditional authorities to resolve matters. Although the Ngobe-Bugle 
community stated they would not validate the election results, their 
elected officials did receive and accept credentials from the 
Government.
    Women held six seats in the 71-member legislature and five places 
in the 17-member cabinet.
    Five seats in the legislature were designated to represent the 
country's recognized indigenous regions. In general deputies in the 
legislature, cabinet members, or members of the Supreme Court did not 
identify themselves as members of ethnic or racial minorities.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government sometimes implemented these laws. However, there were 
also instances when government officials engaged in corrupt practices 
with impunity. Corruption remained a problem in the executive, 
judicial, and legislative branches as well as in the security forces, 
and World Bank indicators reflected that evaluation. Anticorruption 
mechanisms such as asset forfeiture, whistleblower and witness 
protection, plea bargaining, and conflict-of-interest rules existed.
    Corruption among police officers continued to be a problem, 
although the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) improved accountability 
within the security services. The PNP worked with the MSP to reform the 
Directorate of Professional Responsibility (DRP) to create a more 
transparent method for handling traditional internal affairs problems 
for all security services. Proposed changes included incorporation of a 
semi-independent civilian staff to monitor DRP investigations. The MSP 
opened three cases against PNP officers for embezzlement and one for 
corruption during the year, all of which continued under investigation 
at year's end.
    In July authorities fired a number of senior National Aero-Naval 
Service officers and several senior PNP officers, reportedly due to 
involvement in narcotics-related crime.
    In September authorities opened an investigation into allegations 
of high-level immigration officials involved in a ring smuggling 
Chinese citizens. Several officials were fired, and several more 
remained under investigation at year's end.
    Although the law provides for judicial appointments through a 
merit-based system, civil-society groups maintained that political 
influence and undue interference by higher-level judges undermined the 
system. In midyear a commission formed by civil-society members and 
members of the judiciary began meeting to discuss legislative changes 
that would address this issue, but by year's end there were no known 
developments.
    In February authorities released former minister of education 
Belgis Castro on bail of 150,000 balboas ($150,000) while August 2009 
charges of embezzlement concerning contracts awaited adjudication.
    In the case of six Ministry of Education employees charged in 2008 
with embezzling 1.5 million balboas ($1.5 million), the Third Criminal 
Court of the Special District of San Miguelito postponed the May 5 
preliminary hearing, returned the file to the First Anticorruption 
Prosecutor's Office for expansion, and did not set a new hearing date.
    Despite the Government-instituted Internet-based procurement system 
that required publication of all proposed government purchases, 
evaluations of proposals, monitoring of the procurement process, and 
advance public notice of intended procurement, there were many reports 
of government purchases made via direct contracts that circumvented the 
system during the year. The media reported up to one billion balboas 
($1 billion) in approximately 1,300 direct contracts.
    Public officials were subject to financial disclosure laws, but 
this information was reported to the Government and not the public.
    The transparency law provides public access to information from and 
about public entities with the exception of cabinet meeting minutes. In 
practice the Government was not always forthcoming in response to 
information requests, obliging journalists to resort to legal remedies. 
When denying requests, authorities generally provided the rationale for 
the denials. Requesters may appeal access decisions to the Supreme 
Court.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
generally were cooperative and responsive to their views.
    The ombudsman, elected by the National Assembly, had moral but not 
legal authority, enjoyed the Government's cooperation, and operated 
without government or party interference. Between January and 
September, the Ombudsman Office received 578 complaints. During the 
year the office issued reports on the violence associated with protests 
in Bocas del Toro Province (see section 1.a.) and on environmental 
contamination and prison conditions, with recommendations to which the 
Government had not responded by year's end.
    In accordance with an October 2009 law to improve legislative 
efficiency, the National Assembly merged its Human Rights Committee 
with the Government Affairs Committee. At year's end an effort was 
underway to re-separate the committees.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status, but the Government allegedly did not 
enforce these prohibitions effectively.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, with 
prison terms of five to 10 years and eight to 10 years under 
aggravating circumstances (use of a weapon), and the Government 
enforced the law effectively. Rapes constituted the majority of sexual 
crimes investigated by the PNP, and its Directorate of Judicial 
Investigation reported 481cases of rape in the context of domestic 
violence for the period January to September.
    Domestic violence against women continued to be a serious problem, 
and the number of reported cases increased during the year. Although 
the law criminalizes domestic abuse and family violence with prison 
terms of two to four years and makes domestic violence an aggravating 
circumstance in homicide cases, there were few convictions for domestic 
violence, except for killing in the course of domestic abuse. In 
October the NGO Queen Sofia Center reported a high rate of domestic 
femicide in the country. The PNP's Directorate of Judicial 
Investigation reported 2,397 cases of domestic violence for the period 
January to June, and 46 women died as a result of domestic violence 
during the period January to October.
    The Government-operated shelter in Panama City for victims of 
domestic abuse--the only one in the country--offered social, 
psychological, medical, and legal services.
    The law prohibits sexual harassment in cases of established 
employer/employee relations in the private sector and in teacher/
student relations; violators face one- to three-year prison sentences. 
The extent of the problem was difficult to determine because 
convictions for sexual harassment were rare, and preemployment sexual 
harassment was not actionable. The effectiveness of law enforcement 
could not be determined due to the small number of cases brought before 
the courts.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children, and had the information and 
means to do so free from discrimination. The UN estimated the country's 
maternal mortality ratio in 2008 as 71 deaths per 100,000 live births. 
Access to information on contraception and skilled attendance at 
delivery and in postpartum care were widely available, except in 
comarcas (provincial-level indigenous regions), where it was limited, 
according to the American Red Cross. The law limits sterilization to 
women who are 33 years of age or older, have at least five children, 
and are of a low socioeconomic level (undefined). Various groups 
considered the law discriminatory, and legislation remained pending at 
year's end that would allow women to seek sterilization regardless of 
age or number of children but not regardless of socioeconomic level. 
Women and men were given equal access to diagnostic services and 
treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    The law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, and women 
enjoyed the same rights as men under family, property, and criminal 
law. The law recognizes joint or common property in marriages, but the 
Government did not enforce the law effectively.
    The law mandates equal pay for men and women in equivalent jobs, 
but according to a 2010 World Economic Forum survey, women received 
approximately 41 percent less on average than men for comparable work. 
The Ministry of Social Development (MIDES), through the National 
Institute of Women, promoted equality of women in the workplace and 
equal pay for equal work, attempted to reduce sexual harassment, and 
advocated legal reforms.

    Children.--Although the law provides that citizenship is derived by 
birth within the country's territory, children in remote areas 
sometimes had difficulty in obtaining birth registration certificates.
    MIDES received complaints regarding physical abuse of children. The 
ministry maintained a free hotline for children and adults to report 
abuses and advertised it widely. From January to the beginning of 
December, the hotline received 1,781 calls reporting child abuse (242 
other cases were reported in person at one of the Integral Guidance and 
Attention Centers), 294 reports of abandonment, and 581 reports of 
neglect. The ministry provided funding to children's shelters operated 
by NGOs in seven provinces and continued a program that used pamphlets 
in schools to sensitize teachers, children, and parents about 
mistreatment and sexual abuse of children. The independent National 
Secretariat for Children, Adolescents, and the Family (SENNIAF) was 
created to coordinate, execute, and follow-up all policies designed to 
protect the rights of children and adolescents.
    Lack of reporting on sexual exploitation of minors 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 law prohibits consensual sex with a girl aged 14 to 18 and 
provides for one to three years' imprisonment; when the child is 
younger than 14, the sanction is four to 10 years' imprisonment. The 
law provides for three- to five-year prison terms for anyone who 
practices, facilitates, or promotes the corruption of a minor and also 
criminalizes child pornography, for which it also provides the same 
imprisonment penalty.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance with that convention at http://
travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--
4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was a Jewish population of approximately 
10,000 persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination based 
on physical or mental disability; however, the constitution permits the 
denial of naturalization to persons with mental or physical 
disabilities. The law mandates access to new or remodeled public 
buildings for persons with disabilities and requires that schools 
integrate children with special needs. In practice persons with 
disabilities experienced substantial discrimination in employment, 
education, access to health care, and the provision of other state 
services. Some public schools admitted children with mental and 
physical disabilities, but most did not have adequate facilities for 
children with special needs. The Government installed ramps in some 
schools and mainstreamed some children with disabilities. Few private 
schools admitted children with special needs.
    On August 2, the National Assembly passed a law mandating that the 
National Electoral Tribunal register citizen disabilities as well as 
blood type and allergies on the citizen identification card to be able 
to deal with situations in which an individual collapses or loses 
consciousness. The law also requires the National Transportation 
Authority to include the same information on individual driver's 
licenses.
    The National Secretariat for the Social Integration of Persons with 
Disabilities is the Government agency responsible for protecting the 
rights of persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Education and 
MIDES share responsibilities for educating and training minors with 
disabilities.
    MIDES opened a new educational resource center for blind children--
the first of its kind in the country--in September to provide access to 
books, maps, and other documents in Braille. In October the ministry 
also translated into Braille a guide to the Labor Code so that blind 
workers could read about their labor rights. The law provides that a 
minimum of 2 percent of workers at a given company should be persons 
with disabilities, with the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development 
(MITRADEL) responsible for placing workers with disabilities in 
suitable jobs; however, in practice placement remained difficult. 
During the period January to July, the Ombudsman's Office received 26 
complaints of government violations involving the labor rights of 
persons with disabilities; information was not available on the 
resolution of those complaints.
    In October the Social Security Administration announced a new 
system enabling deaf patients to make medical appointments via the 
Internet.
    The Government disbursed 50 balboas ($50) monthly and donated 
rehabilitation equipment to low-income persons with disabilities.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--Minority groups have generally 
been integrated into mainstream society, but problems continued with 
negative attitudes among all ethnic communities toward members not 
belonging to their particular group. Prejudice was directed at recent 
immigrants; cultural and language differences and immigrant status 
hindered integration into mainstream society by immigrant and first-
generation individuals from China, India, and the Middle East. 
Additionally, some members of these communities were themselves 
reluctant to integrate into mainstream society. Members of these groups 
often owned major businesses or worked in the country's retail trade: A 
constitutional provision reserving retail trade for citizens of the 
country generally was not enforced.
    The Afro-Panamanian community continued to be underrepresented in 
positions of political and economic power, and many blacks remained 
clustered in the economically depressed areas of Colon Province and 
Panama City. These areas conspicuously lacked government services and 
social-sector investment. Prejudice toward blacks was generally subtle, 
taking the form of unofficial ``right-of-admission'' policies at 
restaurants and commercial establishments that discriminated against 
darker-skinned individuals or those of lower social status.
    The law prohibits discrimination regarding entry to public or 
commercial establishments; however, cases of discrimination were 
difficult to prove in practice, and legal remedies, difficult to 
obtain.
    There were reports of racial discrimination against various ethnic 
groups 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. Some businesses discriminated against citizens with 
darker skin through preferential hiring practices. Employers often 
required job applicants to submit photographs with their resumes, which 
the employers used to discriminate against persons based on appearance.

    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 
individuals have the legal right to take part in decisions affecting 
their lands, cultures, traditions, and the allocation and exploitation 
of natural resources. However, in practice their participation 
continued to be marginalized, and conflict emerged when the internal 
regulations of indigenous groups conflicted with the country's laws or 
constitution (see section 3, Elections and Political Participation). 
There were legally designated comarcas governed by traditional 
community leaders for five of the country's seven indigenous groups, 
including the Embera-Wounaan, Ngobe-Bugle, and Kuna communities. The 
Government did not recognize comarcas for the Bri-Bri and Naso 
communities.
    The Ministry of Government maintained an Office of Indigenous 
Policy. Although the country's law is the ultimate authority on 
indigenous reserves, local groups maintained considerable autonomy. For 
example, the Government recognized traditional Kuna marriage rites as 
the equivalent of a civil ceremony.
    Many indigenous persons misunderstood their rights and failed to 
employ legal channels when threatened, because they did not have an 
adequate command of the Spanish language. Outside-settler encroachment 
continued to threaten indigenous comarcas, which were not well 
demarcated.
    On June 3, the Naso community petitioned the IACHR for urgent 
interim measures to protect the integrity of its land and to open 
negotiations with the Government on economic development projects. The 
community claimed discrimination, because the Government refused to 
recognize its territorial rights, and irreparable damage, because 
hydropower projects were being implemented. By year's end there was no 
further information available on this situation.
    In July a Compliance Advisor Office ombudsman team from the 
International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group visited the 
country and obtained key-stakeholder agreement to address Chiriqui 
Province community-organization concerns about the Pando Montelirio 
hydroelectric power plant project through a facilitated dialogue 
process. The social and environmental concerns listed in the community 
organizations' complaint filed on January 27 included lack of a 
participative consultative process and endangerment of local 
communities, fish and water resources, plants, and the natural 
landscape.
    On May 28, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights denied the 
IACHR's January 19 request for provisional measures in the case of four 
Ngobe-Bugle communities (Charco La Pava, Valle del Rey, Guayabal, and 
Changuinola Arriba) that in 2008 had initiated proceedings before the 
IACHR concerning the Government's issuance of concessions for the 
exploration and exploitation of natural resources along the Changuinola 
River, Bocas del Toro Province. The court took the opportunity to note 
that a crucial factor for IACHR consideration was whether the 
restriction of community property rights implied denial of traditions 
and customs in a way that endangered group subsistence and also to note 
the obligation of governments to guarantee community participation in 
consultations in good faith through culturally adequate procedures. At 
year's end IACHR consideration continued.
    Societal and employment discrimination against indigenous persons 
was widespread. Employers frequently did not afford indigenous workers 
basic rights provided by law, such as a minimum wage, social security 
benefits, termination pay, and job security, and MITRADEL conducted 
limited oversight of working conditions in remote areas due to limited 
staff. Laborers in the country's sugar, coffee, and banana plantations 
(the majority of whom were indigenous persons) continued to work in 
overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Employers were less likely to 
provide quality housing or food to indigenous migrant laborers, and 
their children were much more likely to work long hours of heavy farm 
labor than nonindigenous children (see section 7.d.).

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The law does not prohibit 
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
    There was societal discrimination based on sexual orientation and 
gender identity, which often led to denial of employment opportunities. 
The PNP's regulations describe homosexual conduct as a ``grave fault.''
    In July the advocacy group New Men and Women of Panama issued a 
report that documented incidents between April and June of 
discrimination against lesbians involved in child-custody cases and of 
PNP agents who refused to aid a stabbed transsexual who was a minor or 
take him to the hospital. No known investigations were pending at 
year's end.
    In June the advocacy group organized an annual gay pride parade 
that the Government authorized. There was no police protection for 
parade participants, but no incidents were reported.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--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 a lack of mechanisms for ensuring compliance. The 
Ministry of Health and Social Security provided treatment for HIV/AIDS. 
The only local NGO dedicated to HIV/AIDS patients, the Foundation for 
the Welfare and Dignity of People Affected by HIV/AIDS (PROBIDSIDA), 
received a government subsidy to help defray its payroll and mortgage 
expenses. During the year PROBIDSIDA inaugurated its first clinical 
laboratory for conducting AIDS diagnostic tests. Pregnant women and 
teenagers were tested there at no cost, while others paid a nominal 
fee.

Section 7. 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 with the Government. The law requires a 
minimum of 40 persons to form a private-sector union (either by company 
across trades or by trade across companies) but permits only one trade 
union per business establishment. The ILO Committee of Experts (COE) 
continued to criticize both provisions as violations of worker rights 
to organize, stating that the 40-person minimum was too high when 
workers want to form a union within a company. The Government, private 
sector, and unions supported keeping the figure at 40 individuals.
    The constitution requires Panamanian citizenship to serve on a 
trade union executive board. The ILO observed that this requirement 
could deprive some workers of the right to elect their representatives 
in full freedom and noted, for example, that migrant workers could be 
adversely affected in sectors in which they accounted for a significant 
share of the membership. According to labor officials, approximately 17 
percent of the workforce was unionized.
    The law provides that if the Government does not respond to a 
registration application within 15 days, the union automatically gains 
legal recognition; however, union officials asserted that such 
automatic registration did not occur in practice. MITRADEL reported 
that inadequate personnel resources, case backlogs, and incomplete or 
inaccurate information in applications delayed the processing of new 
registrations within the required time frame.
    The law prohibits public servants from forming unions but allows 
them to form associations that may bargain collectively on behalf of 
members. However, the law stipulates that there may not be more than 
one association in a public-sector institution and that, while 
associations may have provincial or regional chapters, no more than one 
chapter per province is permitted. The ILO noted that these provisions 
should be amended. Member associations represent public-sector workers, 
such as doctors, nurses, firefighters, and administrative staff in 
government ministries. A 2009 law raised the minimum number of public 
servants required to form a worker's association from 40 to 50--a level 
considered too high by the ILO COE.
    Workers exercised their right to conduct their activities without 
government interference, including the right to strike. However, union 
leaders expressed concerns about government actions, such as auditing 
union budgets, which they characterized as intimidation.
    The law provides private-sector workers with the right to strike 
but requires that the strike be supported by a majority of employees. 
The law prohibits strikes that are unrelated to a collective bargaining 
agreement. In practice and in law, restrictions on collective 
bargaining in enterprises that have been in existence for less than two 
years limited the right to strike in those enterprises.
    The law grants public-sector employees a limited right to strike, 
except for those in areas vital to public welfare and security, 
including police and health workers. By law the National Federation of 
Public Servants (FENASEP), an umbrella federation of 21 public-sector 
worker associations, is not permitted to call strikes or negotiate 
collective-bargaining agreements. The ILO COE noted that FENASEP 
reported in November 2009 that the Government eliminated its standing 
as a worker organization, thereby denying it membership and 
participation rights in the National Organization of Organized Workers 
and access to public funding.
    Nevertheless individual associations under FENASEP may negotiate on 
behalf of their members. In the event of a strike, at least 25 percent 
of the workforce must continue to provide minimum services in the case 
of administrative workers, and 50 percent of the workers providing 
``essential public services''--such as transportation, firefighting, 
mail, and telecommunications--must continue to provide those services. 
The ILO COE criticized the Government's definition of ``essential 
services'' as overly broad and also noted concerns regarding legal 
provisions that permit compulsory arbitration at one party's request. 
The law allows arbitration by mutual consent, by employee request, or 
during a collective dispute in a public service company and allows 
either party to appeal if arbitration is mandated during a collective 
dispute in a public service company.
    The ILO COE expressed continued concerns that the Government had 
not amended the law to permit strikes by federations. The ILO also 
requested that the Government take the necessary steps to guarantee the 
right to strike for public servants who do not exercise authority in 
the name of the state, such as transport workers or workers in export 
processing zones. Executive decrees issued in 2009 and during the year 
increased transportation workers' ability to strike by limiting the 
scope of strike restrictions on essential transportation services to 
those involving public passenger services.
    The law governing the autonomous Panama Canal Authority prohibits 
the right to strike for its 9,500 employees but does allow unions to 
organize and bargain collectively on such issues as schedules and 
safety and provides for arbitration to resolve disputes. The Government 
is a party to the ILO Maritime Labor Convention. In April MITRADEL 
issued a document that reaffirmed the Labor Code's application to 
maritime laborers, directed the ministry to ensure the existence of 
mechanisms for maritime workers to file complaints, and required that 
workers be informed of their rights.
    Controversial Law 30, which revised aspects of the Labor Code and 
eight other laws in June, sparked opposition from labor leaders among 
others as well as widespread protests and a strike by the Sitrabana 
union in early July in Bocas del Toro Province. A government-appointed 
investigatory commission attributed two deaths to police actions, and 
authorities initiated investigations into other deaths (see sections 
1.a., 1.d., and 2.b.).
    The Dialogue Table formed by the Government to decide how to revise 
Law 30, which included union participation, agreed in October to divide 
the law into six individual bills with reworked provisions acceptable 
to all the participants. Notable changes to labor provisions made by 
Law 68 in October included the following: reaffirmation of the 
requirement for employers to deduct union dues; permission for owner 
access to an on-strike work site for maintenance purposes; 
reaffirmation of the right of the two largest union federations, the 
National Council of Organized Workers and the National Confederation of 
Independent Unions, to choose attendees to international workers' 
conferences; and authorization for pretrial detention for allegedly 
improper actions taken by police officers in controlling public 
protests.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law 
provides all private-sector and most public-sector workers the right to 
organize and bargain collectively, with some exceptions. Enterprises 
that have been in existence for less than two years as well as those in 
Export Processing Zones (EPZs) are not obligated to bargain 
collectively. In June, Law 29 created a special economic area in Baru 
region. For specific investments in Baru under that law, employers are 
not required to bargain collectively for the first six years of 
operation.
    Private-sector unions widely exercised the right to organize and 
bargain collectively. In addition to the court system, the Conciliation 
Board of MITRADEL has the authority to resolve some labor disputes, 
such as internal union disputes, enforcement of the minimum wage, and 
some dismissal issues. The separate Tripartite Conciliation Board has 
sole competency for disputes related to domestic employees, some 
dismissal issues, and claims of less than 1,500 balboas ($1,500). While 
labor leaders approved of the conciliation board, some lawyer groups 
criticized it as a route for circumventing the judiciary, for leaving 
interpretation of labor laws to the discretion of persons who might 
lack expertise, and for opening the labor dispute-resolution system to 
political pressure.
    For public-sector workers, the Board of Appeal and Conciliation in 
the Ministry of the Presidency hears and resolves complaints. If not 
resolved by the board, complaints are referred to an arbitrage 
tribunal, which consists of representatives from the employer, the 
employee association, and a third member chosen by the first two. 
Tribunal decisions are final.
    Executive decrees issued in 2009 and 2010 provide that an employer 
may not enter into collective negotiations with nonunionized workers 
when a union exists. However, these decrees have not been tested in 
court. Based on previous practice, MITRADEL's Manual of Labor Rights 
and Obligations provides that unorganized workers may petition MITRADEL 
regarding labor-rights violations and may exercise the right to strike. 
Supreme Court decisions recognize that collective agreements negotiated 
between employers and unorganized workers have legal status equivalent 
to collective-bargaining agreements, although collective agreements 
negotiated by a union have precedence over collective agreements 
negotiated by nonunionized employees.
    A 2009 executive decree protects employees from employer 
interference in labor rights, specifically including ``employer-
directed unions,'' and mandates that unions be freely chosen by workers 
without penalty. However, the Government lacked sufficient mechanisms 
to ensure that laws prohibiting employer interference in unions and 
protecting workers from employer reprisals were adequately enforced. 
The Labor Code prohibits employer antiunion discrimination and protects 
workers engaged in union activities from loss of employment or 
discriminatory transfers; however, these occurred in practice. 
Employers in the retail industry frequently hired temporary workers to 
circumvent code requirements for permanent workers; temporary workers 
have the same rights established under a collective-bargaining 
agreement as do other employees, except relating to dismissal. 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 rehiring them. Employers also 
circumvented the law requiring two-week notice for discharges by 
dismissing some workers one week before a holiday. Due to laws that 
make it difficult to fire employees who have worked two years or more, 
employers frequently hired workers for one year and 11 months and 
subsequently laid them off. Two 2009 executive decrees strengthened the 
ability of workers to bargain collectively by clarifying the criteria 
for legitimate subcontracting and by establishing an enforcement plan 
to protect the rights of temporary workers.
    Unions and collective bargaining are permitted in EPZs and call 
centers, some of which operated under the law applicable to EPZs. A 
strike in the EPZs is considered legal only after 36 workdays of 
conciliation; striking workers may be fined or fired if they stop work 
without the strike being considered legal. There were approximately 
2,790 employees in EPZs and 8,830 employees in call centers. Other call 
centers registered with the Public Services Authority were not subject 
to EPZ laws.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--No law expressly 
prohibits forced labor of adults or children, although the Government 
stated that forced labor could be prosecuted under provisions of 
constitutional law and other civil and criminal statutes. There were no 
reports that forced labor occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law contains provisions to prevent exploitation of children in the 
workplace. MITRADEL, which has responsibility for enforcement, was 
reasonably effective in enforcing the law in the formal sector. During 
the year the ministry performed inspections to ensure compliance with 
child labor regulations.
    The labor code prohibits the employment of children under age 14, 
although exceptions can be made for children 12 and older to perform 
light farm work so long as it does not interfere with their school 
hours. Children who have not completed primary school may not begin 
work until age 15. The law prohibits 14- to 18-year-old children from 
engaging in potentially hazardous work and identifies such hazardous 
work to include work with electrical energy, explosives, or flammable, 
toxic, or radioactive substances; work underground and on railroads, 
airplanes, or boats; and work in nightclubs, bars, and casinos. Youths 
under 16 years may work no more than six hours per day or 36 hours per 
week, while those 16 and 17 years old may work no more than seven hours 
per day or 42 hours per week. Children under 18 may not work between 
6:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.
    Businesses that employ an underage child are subject to civil 
fines, while employers who endanger the physical or mental health of a 
child may face two to six years' imprisonment. MITRADEL enforced these 
provisions in response to complaints and has authority to order the 
termination of unauthorized employment. The Government acknowledged 
that it was unable to enforce some child labor provisions in rural 
parts of the country; due to insufficient staff, MITRADEL conducted 
only limited inspections in those areas.
    According to the 2010 child labor survey performed by the 
Government in conjunction with the ILO International Program on the 
Elimination of Child Labor, approximately 60,700 children and 
adolescents (7 percent of the overall population in the five-to-17-
year-old age group) were found working. This was a 32 percent decrease 
from the previous survey in 2008, when approximately 89,800 children 
were found working. Sixty-nine percent of working children also 
attended school. Seventy-seven percent of working children and 
adolescents said they worked less than 25 hours per week, and 57 
percent worked with their families.
    Child labor violations occurred most frequently in rural areas in 
agriculture and fishing, especially during the harvest of melons, 
tomatoes, onions, coffee, and watermelon. The harvest season for these 
products is in January and February, with planting occurring in March 
and April. Children generally work five to eight hours per day while 
working these crops.
    According to the 2010 survey, approximately 36,400 children (and 
almost all of the employed indigenous children) worked in the 
agricultural sector. Farm owners often paid according to the amount 
harvested, leading many laborers to bring their young children to the 
fields to help. The problem of child labor in agricultural areas fell 
most heavily on indigenous families that often migrated from their 
isolated communities in search of paid work and whose frequent 
migrations interrupted schooling. Many indigenous families believed in 
the importance of children working to obtain necessary life skills and 
preferred to bring women and children to the fields for safety.
    Also according to the survey, approximately 1,870 children between 
the ages of five and 17 worked as domestic servants, compared to 4,500 
in 2009, although the law prohibits such employment under age 14. 
Government enforcement regarding labor violations in this sector was 
traditionally weak, because the places of work were private residences. 
Children also worked in the informal sector; for example, approximately 
5,100 performed personal services; 9,200 worked in trade and the repair 
of motor vehicles and appliances; 3,100 worked in manufacturing; and 
2,200 worked in construction. According to NGO Casa Esperanza, fewer 
children worked in urban areas as street vendors, vendors working at 
fixed locations, baggers in supermarkets, fare collectors on buses, 
shoe shiners, window washers, car washers, loaders, port workers, hair 
stylists, manicurists, and painters. The number of children collecting 
garbage in Panama City and Colon decreased, because that work was 
privatized.
    On February 23, by decree, MITRADEL established the National 
Directorate for the Eradication of Child Labor and the Protection of 
Working Adolescents (DIRETIPPAT). Primary DIRETIPPAT responsibilities 
were to promote strict application of child labor laws, including on 
the eradication of child labor, and to protect lawfully employed 
adolescents.
    Also on February 23, First Lady Marta Linares de Martinelli 
announced the country's Roadmap toward the Elimination of Child Labor 
that outlined a specific strategic plan to achieve the goals of the 
National Plan for the Eradication of Child Labor (2007-11). The 
national plan, adopted in 2006, contained goals of eliminating the 
worst forms of child labor by 2015 and eradicating all illegal child 
labor by 2020. The roadmap, a joint effort of the ILO's International 
Program on the Elimination of Child Labor and the Committee for the 
Eradication of Child Labor and the Protection of Working Adolescents 
(CETIPPAT), identified the following six dimensions of the effort: 
fighting poverty, improving education, improving healthcare, protecting 
basic rights, increasing social mobility, and increasing knowledge 
about the hazards of child labor.
    The Government continued to raise awareness about and provide 
training for officials and civil society on combating child labor, 
although its budget to combat child labor shrank from approximately 
541,000 balboas ($541,000) in 2009 to 253,000 balboas ($253,000) during 
the year. CETIPPAT outreach decreased from 1725 children in 96 schools 
in 2009 to 200 children in nine schools during the year, while the 
number of inspectors decreased from 196 in 2009 to 178 during the year. 
From April to October, DIRETIPPAT conducted more than 30 training 
sessions on child labor in which more than 1,000 individuals 
participated, including workers, businesspersons, parents, students, 
union leaders, and local officials.
    The National Secretariat for Children, Adolescents, and the Family 
(SENNIAF) continued operations with a budget of 2.3 million balboas 
($2.3 million), an increase from its startup budget of 2 million 
balboas ($2 million) in 2009, and more than doubled its staff members 
to 72. SENNIAF operated programs that offered comprehensive services to 
children at risk and their families, including home and school visits, 
tutoring, and parental counseling. During the year it assisted 2,470 
children and adolescents rescued from child labor and identified and 
assisted 81 child and adolescent street laborers. To improve 
traditionally poor communication among government agencies involved in 
combating child labor, SENNIAF in midyear organized the first Symposium 
for Inter-Institutional Coordination to bring together similar 
institutions to share information about programs and services for 
children and adolescents in vulnerable situations.
    During the year CETIPPAT provided outreach to 654 children engaged 
in or at risk of child labor. The National Institute of Vocational 
Training for Human Development implemented programs for parents of 
those children involved in DIRETIPPAT's outreach program.
    The NGO Casa Esperanza, CETIPPAT, and MIDES continued programs in 
the comarca of the Ngobe-Bugle, in Santiago de Veraguas, and in 
Chorrera that provided scholarships for working children, so they could 
begin or return to primary school, and provided job-training and 
literacy programs for their parents.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--At year's end the minimum wage 
ranged from 1.06 to 2.00 balboas ($1.06 to $2.00) per hour, depending 
on region and sector.
    Working 40 hours per week, 50 weeks a year, and earning at the 
minimum-wage median, a worker would earn approximately184 to 347 
balboas ($184-$347) per month. The poverty line was 94 balboas ($94), 
while the extreme poverty line was 53 balboas ($53) per month per 
person or 212 balboas ($212) for a family of four. Food and the use of 
housing facilities were considered part of the salary for some workers, 
such as domestic and agricultural workers. The agricultural and 
construction sectors received the lowest and highest minimum wages, 
respectively. Most workers formally employed in urban areas earned the 
minimum wage or more. Approximately 40 percent of the population worked 
in the large informal sector and earned well below the minimum wage, 
particularly in most rural areas, where unskilled laborers earned from 
three to six balboas (three to six dollars) per day without benefits. 
MITRADEL was less likely to enforce labor laws in most rural areas (see 
section 6, Indigenous People).
    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. MITRADEL generally enforced these 
standards in the formal sector.
    MITRADEL is responsible for setting and enforcing health and safety 
standards and generally did so. Information on the number of workplace 
inspections during the year was unavailable.
    Inspectors from MITRADEL and the occupational health section of the 
Social Security Administration conducted periodic inspections of 
hazardous employment sites and responded to complaints. However, the 
Government did not enforce health and safety standards adequately. For 
example, during the year eight construction workers in Panama City died 
due to accidents suffered on the job. MITRADEL's Department of 
Inspection conducted 1,713 construction inspections during the year, 
approximately half of which were initiated by a request. Some 
construction workers and their employers were occasionally lax about 
conforming to basic safety measures, frequently due to their perception 
that it reduced productivity. Equipment was often outdated, broken, or 
lacking safety devices, due in large part to a fear that it would be 
cost prohibitive to replace such equipment. Construction workers and 
safety inspectors needed training to enable them to use new 
construction technologies.
    The Labor Code requires employers to provide a safe workplace 
environment, including the provision of protective clothing and 
equipment for workers, but does not specifically recognize the right of 
a worker to leave a dangerous work situation without jeopardy to 
continued employment. In practice workers removed themselves from 
situations that presented an immediate health or safety hazard without 
jeopardizing their employment. Law 68 enacted in October requires that 
the resident engineer and a MITRADEL safety officer remain on 
construction sites, establishes fines for noncompliance, and identifies 
a tripartite group composed of MITRADEL, the Chamber of Construction, 
and construction union Suntracs to regulate adherence.

                               __________

                                PARAGUAY

    Paraguay is a multiparty, constitutional republic with an estimated 
population of seven million. In 2008 Fernando Lugo of the Patriotic 
Alliance for Change won the presidency in elections that were generally 
free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    There were reports of killings by government officials and police 
that were not always investigated or prosecuted. Government agents 
reportedly abused some prisoners with impunity. Prisons were routinely 
overcrowded and did not meet international standards. Political 
interference, corruption, and inefficiency in the judiciary were 
common, as was lengthy pretrial detention. Government corruption 
remained a serious problem. Violence against women continued, as did 
discrimination against women, persons with disabilities; indigenous 
persons; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
individuals. Trafficking in persons persisted. Exploitation of child 
labor and violations of worker rights also remained serious 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 did not commit any politically motivated killings. However, 
there were reports that some security forces and government 
prosecutors, acting in official capacity but without government 
knowledge or support, occasionally killed individuals for personal 
gain.
    On July 9, authorities arrested and charged Prosecutor Dionisio 
Daniel Fleitas Ramirez and five police officers (Miguel Leguizamon, 
Gervasio Almiron, Carmelo Ojeda, Isidro Torres, and Castro Dario 
Aguilera) with killing Marcos Roberto Carrion, a Brazilian. Carrion's 
body was found in a field near Ciudad del Este several days after a 
videotape showed Fleitas and the officers taking Carrion from the 
apartment building where he lived. The videotape also showed Fleitas 
wiping Carrion's blood off the building stairwell floor. The alleged 
motive was the theft of $26,000 that Carrion was carrying.
    On August 30, prosecutors charged 17 police officers working for 
the 911 system with manslaughter in the death that day of 47-year-old 
Gustavo Munoz, who refused to show identification when approached by 
police. There were no further developments in the case by year's end.
    On September 10, a three-judge panel sentenced police officers 
Daniel Alvarez, Luis Gonzalez Rodriguez, and Arsenio Fernandez Zayas to 
prison for killing Pedro Luis Morinigo Servin in April 2009.
    There were no developments and no investigation in the August 2009 
case in which the father of Higinio Aquino Santos alleged police killed 
his son after an extortion attempt in Ciudad del Este, and none were 
expected.
    In October 2009 police officer Nestor Eduardo Gonzalez Alonso fired 
warning shots to disperse a crowd in Villa Hayes, killing 16-year-old 
Roberto Ramon Mendoza. Prosecutors charged Alonso with murder. The case 
remained pending at year's end, and no developments were expected.
    On March 27, a court selected a three-judge tribunal to try eight 
police officers charged in the 2008 shooting of Leticia Veronica Lugo 
in Villa Elisa. However, as of year's end, a trial had not begun.
    There were no known developments in the 2008 arrest of police 
officer Gustavo Arnaldo Duarte for the killing of security guard 
Salinas Vicente Gonzalez, and none were expected.

    b. Disappearance.--There were reports of ``express kidnappings'' 
for ransom, including by prosecutors and police officers, which 
occasionally resulted in unsolved disappearances.
    In September Daniel David Castelli disappeared while carrying 
200,000 euros (approximately $270,000) that he allegedly received in 
conjunction with a large drug deal. Suspects included three police 
officers (German Arevelo, Marcos Valezquez, and Hector Ortiz); the 
attorney general was investigating the case at year's end.
    On January 18, kidnappers calling themselves the Paraguayan 
People's Army (EPP) released cattle rancher Fidel Zavala Serrati, whom 
they had captured in mid-October 2009.
    Free Fatherland Party members Aristides Vera Silguero, Roque 
Rodriguez Torales, Simeon Bordon Salinas, Basiliano Cardozo Jimenez, 
Agustin Acosta Gonzalez, and Gustavo Lezcano Espinola remained 
incarcerated awaiting trial for the 2004 kidnapping and killing of 
Cecilia Cubas.
    Throughout the year officials excavated a gravesite in the Tacumbu 
area of Asuncion containing remains of suspected Stroessner-era 
political prisoners. The remains of at least eight victims have been 
recovered since the site's discovery in July 2009. As many as 40 
additional victims were possibly buried there. At year's end, 
excavation and forensic work continued.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such treatment, and the Government 
generally respected these legal provisions, although there were reports 
that some government agents employed such practices. The Coordinator of 
Human Rights in Paraguay (CODEHUPY), made up of 33 nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) and civic organizations, reported several 
allegations of police torture and other abuses designed to extract 
confessions or intimidate detainees.
    There were no new developments, and none were expected, regarding 
the January 17 CODEHUPY accusation that police and military forces 
deployed in San Pedro Department tortured several farmers following a 
2008 attack on a military outpost in Tacuati.
    On October 13, Precinct Chief Alfredo Pineda filed a complaint 
against police officers Osvaldo Jose Navarro Diaz and Oscar Calestra 
for a May beating of a handcuffed 15-year-old youth in police custody 
at the 24th Precinct in Asuncion. On November 22, prosecutors also 
charged police officer Oscar Raul Rolon Unzain with causing bodily 
injury in this case. The alleged perpetrators videotaped the beating. 
An investigation remained pending at year's end.
    On November 7, Carlos Sanchez accused two unidentified police 
officers from the Second Police District, Caaguazu Department, of 
beating him following his arrest on November 5. The police chief stated 
that doctors confirmed that Sanchez had injuries to his face, eyes, and 
nose. The investigation remained pending at year's end.
    In January police reinstated Virginia Villar as Guayaybi District 
police chief. Six alleged victims had previously accused Villar of 
torture, and in 2008 she was convicted of the 2004 shooting of Eseer 
Arens Ocampos. After a public outcry, authorities removed Villar as 
district chief and assigned her to other duties. Andrews Ramon Rotela 
Acosta accused Villar in March of having made him sit naked on an 
anthill. The August 2009 allegation that Villar beat Emiliana Quinonez 
Espinola to unconsciousness in connection with a theft in Guayaybi 
District remained under investigation at year's end.
    There were no developments in the reopened case against former 
interior minister Walter Bower and police officers Basilio Pavon, 
Merardo Palacios, and Osvaldo Vera. Bower and Pavon reportedly tortured 
Alfredo Caceres following an alleged coup d'etat in 2000. The case 
remained in the courts at year's end.
    On April 8, a three-judge panel convicted National Military Academy 
cadets Cesar Antonio Candia Britos, Francisco Sotelo Blanco, Leonardo 
Fabio Martinez Rotela, Gustavo Joel Ramon Benitez, and Guillermo 
Benitez Adorno of sexual abuse of a defenseless person in the 2008 rape 
of a female cadet. The panel found Carlos Caniza not guilty on 
technical grounds and sentenced Candia, Sotelo, and Martinez to eight 
years and three months in prison; Ramon Benitez to three years; and 
Benitez Adorno to two years and six months. Judicial authorities denied 
initial appeals to substitute ``conditional liberty'' and ``house 
arrest'' but, on November 10, granted conditional house arrest to both 
Ramon Benitez and Benitez Adorno.
    On November 3, first-year military cadet Antenor Rafael Saiz Ribes 
filed a complaint against the military academy alleging he was brutally 
beaten and verbally assaulted in October as part of a common hazing 
ritual. Accused cadets Derlis Milciades Villagra Castillo, Joel 
Alejandro Velazquez Meza, and Carlos Luis Coronel claimed Saiz received 
his injuries playing soccer. President Lugo replaced the commander of 
the corps of cadets following the controversy.
    The Government continued to improve hygienic conditions and 
implement controls to monitor and prevent abuse at the Neuropsychiatric 
Hospital in Asuncion in further compliance with the 2008 Inter-American 
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ruling on abuse at the hospital. The 
hospital opened an additional group home in September. A verbal 
agreement ending IACHR oversight of the hospital was pending formal 
announcement at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally did not meet international standards. A 
2008 Senate Human Rights Committee report stated that prisons remained 
in ``deplorable'' condition. The most serious problems included 
violence, mistreatment, overcrowding, inadequate and poorly trained 
staff, deteriorating infrastructure, unsanitary living conditions, poor 
food safety standards, and inadequate medical and psychological care.
    The Government permitted independent monitoring of prison 
conditions and granted the media, human rights groups, and diplomatic 
representatives access to prisons with prior coordination from the 
Ministry of Justice and Labor (MJT). Media, Red Cross representatives, 
and other NGOs conducted prison visits during the year.
    The country's 15 penitentiaries held more than 6,200 inmates 
(including 240 women), approximately 16 percent more than their design 
capacity of 5,340. The penitentiary in Ciudad del Este, designed to 
hold approximately 300 inmates, held more than 620. Pretrial detainees 
made up approximately 70 percent of the prison population and were held 
together with convicted prisoners in all but two penitentiaries. In May 
the director of adult prisons estimated that 30 percent of prisoners 
were held beyond their constitutional minimum sentence for lack of a 
judicial decree ordering their release (see section 1.d., Arrest 
Procedures and Treatment While in Detention).
    Prisons lacked adequate security controls. Inmates frequently 
carried weapons and committed acts of violence, particularly against 
other inmates. During the year the MJT recorded 18 deaths of prisoners 
in custody, some of whom were killed by other inmates, and 18 injuries. 
The MJT also recorded nine inmate escapes during the year. There were 
cases of inmates conducting illicit activities by bribing and 
conspiring with prison guards. Visitors were required to pay informal 
bribes to designated prisoners whose job was to alert inmates of 
visitors. This informal payment system hindered effective 
representation of inmates by public defenders.
    On September 17, following reports that inmates at Tacumbu Prison 
in Asuncion used Christian ministry computers to blackmail female 
minors into entering the prison and submitting to the videotaping of 
sex acts, prosecutors raided the prison, seized computers, and charged 
prisoners Jorge Abe Pereira Colman and Feliciano Lopez Lopez with the 
production of child pornography videos and coercion. Unidentified 
prison guards also were allegedly involved. On October 6, prosecutors 
charged ministry pastors Horacio Danilak and Felix Duarte Dupont with 
failure to report a crime. The MJT suspended Prison Director Julio 
Acevedo, and on October 11, he resigned after prosecutors charged him 
and Tacumbu security chief Silverio Baez with several crimes related to 
the production of child pornography and failure to report a crime. A 
judge released Acevedo and Baez on bail on November 18, and all cases 
remained pending at year's end.
    In September 2009 prosecutors arrested Pablo Soley and Eligio 
Lagrana, the director and the chief of security at the Social 
Rehabilitation Center at Cambyreta, for alleged extortion of prisoners. 
Soley resigned in January, and the case remained pending at year's end.
    Although the MJT assigned minors convicted of juvenile crimes to 
five youth correctional facilities in the country, some juvenile 
offenders served their sentences in adult prisons. Living conditions in 
juvenile facilities were generally better than in adult prisons.
    Prison officials and unauthorized prisoner leadership frequently 
separated inmates based on their ability to pay for better living 
conditions. Inmates could upgrade their accommodations for a monthly 
fee ranging from 15,000 to 700,000 guaranies (approximately $3 to 
$150).
    On July 9, President Lugo created the National Commission on Prison 
Reform by presidential decree.
    The Government's prison construction and relocation plan continued 
apace, with new prisons projected in the cities of Ciudad del Este, San 
Juan Bautista, and elsewhere.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arrest and 
detention without an arrest warrant signed by a judge and stipulates 
that persons detained must appear before a judge within 24 hours for an 
initial hearing. Police may arrest without warrant a person apprehended 
in the act of committing a crime, and the Public Ministry may detain 
persons up to six hours. There were some reports of arbitrary arrest 
and detention of persons without a warrant.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The National Police, 
under the authority of the Interior Ministry, preserves public order, 
protects the rights and safety of persons and entities and their 
property, prevents and investigates crimes, and implements orders given 
by the judiciary and public officials. The military, under the 
president's authority, guards the country's territorial integrity and 
defends lawfully constituted authorities. The Defense Ministry, also 
under the president's authority but excluded from the military's chain 
of command, handles some defense matters. The law authorizes the 
Antinarcotics Secretariat (SENAD) and the Antiterrorism Secretariat 
(SEPRINTE), both under the president's authority, to enforce the law 
and maintain order in matters related to narcotics trafficking and 
terrorism.
    Civilian authorities generally maintained control over the security 
forces. The security forces did not effectively coordinate law 
enforcement efforts. Although the Government has mechanisms to 
investigate and punish security force abuses and corruption, there were 
regular reports of police involvement in crimes that went unpunished. 
In a change from previous years, authorities fired several police 
officers for criminal behavior (although they were not convicted).
    The 23,000-member National Police force was poorly trained, 
inadequately funded, generally corrupt, and shielded by impunity. 
Police officers were routinely accused of ``express kidnappings'' and 
holding civilians for short periods until bribed for their release. 
Some prosecutors routinely conspired with police and criminal 
organizations to extort and blackmail individuals.
    On November 1, prosecutors charged precinct police chief Juan 
Pereira and deputy police officer Nicodemos Mendez Torres with 
aggravated robbery of 32 million guaranies (approximately $6,900) and 
assault of two moneychangers on October 30; authorities also charged 
two other officers with complicity. The cases remained open at year's 
end.
    The Government continued to take steps to decrease and punish human 
rights violations committed by police. However, some officers often 
acted with impunity. Although the National Police trained officers in 
human rights, there were routine incidents of police involvement in 
homicide, arms and narcotics trafficking, car theft, robbery, 
extortion, and kidnapping throughout the country, with such abuses 
particularly widespread in Ciudad del Este and other areas bordering 
Brazil (see section 4).
    On request from President Lugo, Congress approved a 30-day ``state 
of exception'' in late April to permit domestic use of the military in 
five departments to support locating the EPP guerrilla group and 
detaining individuals involved in its attacks. On May 11, Amnesty 
International (AI) cautioned the president about the state of exception 
and mentioned the need to specify the rights to be restricted and to 
avoid violations of those rights. In the event, the populace supported 
the measure, and the Government maintained its activities did not lead 
to restrictions on or violations of human rights. Authorities 
apprehended approximately 180 individuals during the state of 
exception, roughly half of whom were the subjects of outstanding arrest 
warrants. As of year's end, there were no known further developments in 
these cases.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Police may 
arrest individuals when authorized by a judicial or prosecutorial 
warrant or when they discover a crime in process. The law provides 
that, after making an arrest, police have up to six hours to notify the 
Prosecutor's Office, whereupon the Prosecutor's Office has up to 24 
hours to notify a judge of its intention to prosecute the case.
    The law provides detainees with the right to a prompt judicial 
determination regarding the legality of the detention, and authorities 
appeared to respect this right in practice and inform detainees 
promptly of the charges against them. The law permits detention without 
trial until the accused completes the minimum sentence for the alleged 
crime. This often occurred in actuality. The law stipulates that 
pretrial detention may range from six months to five years, based on 
the nature of the crime; in practice, detention was arbitrarily 
lengthy, and some detainees were held beyond the maximum allowable 
detention time. Judicial inefficiencies and corruption in the judiciary 
caused significant trial delays and extended pretrial detention.
    On November 6, the Supreme Court Penal Tribunal ordered the release 
of Rogelio and Hector Paiva Vera, who were detained in prison since 
2007 under grand theft charges. The maximum pretrial detention for 
grand theft is two years.
    The law allows judges to utilize ``substitute measures,'' such as 
house arrest and bail, in felony cases. In nonfelony cases, judges 
frequently set relatively high bail, and many poor defendants were 
unable to post bond and thus waited in prison for trial. At the same 
time, minimal or no bonds were required of those with political or 
economic connections.
    The law grants accused criminals the right to counsel, and the 
Government provided representation to poor defendants. The quality of 
representation was degraded by the size of the public defenders' 
caseloads. The Government permitted defendants to hire attorneys at 
their own expense. Detainees had access to family members.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary; in practice, however, political interference 
seriously compromised that independence. Courts remained inefficient 
and subject to corruption. Politicians and interested parties routinely 
attempted to influence investigations and pressure judges and 
prosecutors. There were also frequent accusations that judges and 
prosecutors solicited bribes to drop or modify charges against 
defendants.
    On September 14, appellate judges Maria Doddy Baez, Silvio Reyes, 
and Enrique Alfonso released Jose Martinez Mendi Pavao, the son of one 
of the country's most-wanted narcotics traffickers, on technical 
grounds. A judicial review board suspended the decision and replaced 
the judges and prosecutors the following day, pending an investigation. 
As of year's end, there were no known further developments.
    The nine-member Supreme Court appoints lower-court judges and 
magistrates based on slates of three candidates submitted by the eight-
member Magistrate's Council. The council also nominates for Senate 
approval a slate of three candidates for Supreme Court vacancies. Both 
selection processes were highly politicized, with specific seats 
customarily allocated by political party.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, which the judiciary nominally enforced through a lengthy 
trial process. In June 2009 a Center for Judicial Studies report 
revealed that only 47.9 percent of cases initiated in 2008 were 
resolved within one year. Wealthy or well-connected defendants received 
impunity by conspiring with judges and filing often-specious motions 
that slowed legal progress until their cases reached the statute of 
limitations.
    The law provides for the use of three-judge tribunals in lieu of 
juries to rule on procedure, determine guilt or innocence, and decide 
sentences. A majority opinion is required to convict. One judge 
presides over civil cases and misdemeanor cases when the maximum 
punishment does not exceed two years in prison.
    All trials are open to the public. The law requires prosecutors to 
indict accused persons within 180 days of arrest. Prosecutors and 
public defenders at the Public Ministry lacked the resources to perform 
their jobs adequately. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence and 
a right of appeal, and defendants and prosecutors may present written 
testimony from witnesses and other evidence. Defendants and their 
attorneys have the right of access to state evidence relevant to their 
cases.

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

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--On August 24, in the Xakmok 
Kasek indigenous community case, the Inter-American Court of Human 
Rights judged that the country violated the complainants' rights to 
life, personal integrity, collective property, humane treatment, and 
freedom from discrimination. The court criticized the Government's 
passive and unresponsive administrative procedures and specifically 
directed the return of property by 2013, the funding of development 
projects, and the payment of compensation.
    During the year the Government partially complied with two other 
court rulings. Concerning the 2006 decision in favor of the Sawhoyamaxa 
indigenous community, the Government continued to provide monetary 
restitution but did not award the group land. Regarding the 2005 
judgment in favor of the Yakye Axa indigenous community, the community 
accepted in principle the Government's purchase of approximately 37,000 
acres of alternative land for resettlement to replace ancestral land on 
which its members were living--an agreement negotiated in September 
through an IACHR representative. However, the community later reversed 
its position, and the alternative lands were not purchased. In both 
cases the legislature prevented implementation of the executive 
branch's preference for expropriation as a means to provide title for 
native lands to indigenous inhabitants.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Citizens have access to 
the courts to bring lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, 
human rights violations. There are administrative and judicial remedies 
for alleged wrongs, although authorities rarely granted them to 
citizens. The Government experienced problems enforcing court orders.

    Property Restitution.--The Government generally enforced court 
orders with respect to seizure, restitution, or compensation for taking 
private property. However, systemic failures occurred. For example, in 
Puerto Casado, continuing land disputes dating back to 2000 between 
local residents and landowner Victoria SA have resulted in regular 
clashes and damage to private property. The Government did not enforce 
judicial decisions and court orders to return occupied land to the 
landowner.

    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, and the Government generally respected these 
prohibitions in practice.
    An investigation of former commander of the Presidential Escort 
Regiment Colonel Heriberto Galeano for illegally wiretapping telephones 
from his home remained open at year's end, and no developments were 
expected.

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 criticized the Government publicly and 
privately, generally without reprisal or impediment.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. The media frequently criticized the 
Government and freely discussed opposition viewpoints without 
censorship. Many media outlets reflected personal business or political 
interests, and ethical and professional standards were low.
    Political officials often retaliated against media criticism by 
invoking criminal libel laws and suing the media to intimidate 
journalists and suppress further investigations. For example, during 
the year ABC Color managing director Aldo Zuccolillo faced many 
criminal charges relating to defamation suits brought against him by 
former government officials. On April 7, a judge ordered him to pay 236 
million guaranies (approximately $51,000) plus interest for questioning 
the judicial decision that freed former president Luis Angel Gonzalez 
Macchi from prosecution. The appeals process remained pending at year's 
end.
    During the year journalists were subjected to harassment, 
intimidation, and violence--primarily from drug trafficking gangs and 
criminal syndicates based in departments bordering Brazil--due to their 
reporting. For example, in January ABC Color correspondent Sergio 
Escobar Rober reportedly received anonymous death threats after 
reporting on police abuse. Unidentified assailants allegedly fired 
shots at the car and house of Panambi Vera radio and La Nacion/Cronica 
newspaper reporter Secundino Silguero Rodas after his reporting about 
police involvement in killings. Provincial governor bodyguards and an 
unidentified armed assailant reportedly threatened Vanguardia/ABC Color 
correspondent Fermin Jara and photographer Eduardo Homero after they 
covered vandalism allegedly performed by local officials. On March 2, 
members of the National Police Specialized Unit reportedly attacked and 
threatened with death ABC Color correspondent Higinio Ruiz Diaz who was 
covering a local clash.
    There were no known developments, and none were expected, in the 
following cases: the January 2009 killing of Martin Ocampos Paez, 
director of a community radio station, by an unknown assailant in 
Concepcion; the February 2009 assault on television journalist Richard 
Villasboa and camera operator Blas Salcedo by security officials; the 
March 2009 death threat by a citizen against newspaper journalist Aldo 
Lezcano; and the September 2009 shooting at journalist Javier Nunez by 
alleged petroleum smugglers.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on basic 
access to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail 
or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The 
International Telecommunication Union reported that approximately 16 
percent of the population used the Internet in 2009.

    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. The 
Government generally protected demonstrators from indiscriminate 
violence. The law restricts demonstrations to certain times and places 
and prohibits meetings or demonstrations in front of specified 
government buildings.

    Freedom of Association.--The constitution provides for the right of 
citizens to free association, and the Government generally respected it 
in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government's National Commission of Refugees cooperated 
with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other 
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to 
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum 
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern. The NGO 
Committee of Churches for Emergency Aid acted as the UN's local legal 
representative. At year's end, 115 political refugees were living in 
the country, 80 of whom were Cuban. The law prohibits forced exile, and 
it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country's laws provide for the 
granting of asylum or refugee status, and the Government has 
established a system for providing protection to refugees. In practice 
the Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened 
on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion. The Government also 
provided temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as 
refugees and permits persons refused asylum or refugee status to obtain 
legal permanent residency.

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 2008 multiparty 
general elections, Fernando Armindo Lugo Mendez of the Patriotic 
Alliance for Change won the presidency. International observers 
characterized the elections as generally free and fair.
    Although political parties operated without restriction or outside 
interference, the Government must approve their participation in 
elections. The Government prohibits unregistered parties and 
independent candidates from participating in national and departmental 
elections, although independent candidates may participate in municipal 
elections. Between April and June, the Organization of American States 
conducted a review of the voter rolls in anticipation of November 7 
municipal elections and found a freely and fairly functioning system 
but with some structural deficiencies; the elections were deemed free 
and fair.
    The Superior Electoral Court oversees the electoral process and 
settles election disputes, and the Supreme Court has final appellate 
jurisdiction.
    There were no legal impediments to women's participation in 
government and politics. There were 17 women in Congress (seven of 45 
senators and 10 of 80 national deputies). Of 39 appeals court judges, 
11 were women. Two women served on the Supreme Court; one, as a 
departmental governor; and three, as members of the Mercosur 
Parliament. One woman headed a cabinet-level ministry, and four women 
held ministerial rank. In municipal elections on November 7, women won 
mayoral contests in 18 of the 238 cities where they were held. The 
electoral code requires that at least 20 percent of each party's 
candidates in internal party primaries be women, and this requirement 
was fulfilled.
    Although there were no legal impediments to participation by 
minorities or indigenous persons in government and politics, there were 
no indigenous persons or members of minorities serving as governor or 
in the cabinet, legislature, or Supreme Court.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and some 
officials in all branches and at most levels of government frequently 
engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Under a law that prohibits 
court cases from lasting longer than five years, politicians convicted 
in lower courts routinely avoided punishment by filing appeals and 
motions until the statute of limitations was reached. The World Bank's 
Worldwide Governance Indicators reflected that corruption was a serious 
problem.
    The Public Ministry, under the authority of the attorney general, 
commissioned teams of prosecutors to combat corruption. In October 
there were 11 anticorruption prosecutors. The Public Ministry worked 
with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce's Money Laundering 
Secretariat to investigate and prosecute corruption cases.
    Elected officials are required to disclose their finances before 
running for office; however, many did not. Many engaged in corrupt 
practices with impunity and used political immunity to avoid 
prosecution. Filings often were late, incomplete, or misleading. 
Regarding police financial disclosure, on July 21, the interior 
minister announced that all police officers must file reports of net 
worth every three years and when they are eligible for promotion. As of 
July, individuals filed 174 formal complaints against the police for 
corruption, compared with 175 complaints for all of 2009.
    There were no developments, and none were expected, in the February 
2009 charges against former defense minister Roberto Gonzalez Segovia, 
national deputies Magdaleno Silva and Jose Chamorro, and five others 
for issuing false documents to obtain special low-interest loans or in 
the September 2009 extortion charges against police officers Agustin 
Rios and Ramon Lequizamon.
    Corruption in the 12,000-member military continued. Several senior 
leaders at the military's primary training facility repaid money during 
the year that they had extorted from their subordinates, which resolved 
the case in the eyes of the military justice system. The extortion 
scheme involved instructors diverting a portion of their teaching 
stipend to their nonteaching senior leaders.
    On May 24, prosecutors charged the former governor of Alto Paraguay 
Department, Rosalba Belmonte, with damage to state property in the 
disappearance of 2.7 billion guaranies (approximately $582,000) while 
in office in 2007 and 2008.
    On November 11, prosecutors charged 23 employees of the Civil 
Registry Office with extorting citizens requiring basic services. The 
employees had been filmed demanding and accepting bribes for rapid 
request processing. The Supreme Court ordered suspensions without pay 
starting November 16.
    Following a November 2009 raid, prosecutors charged electoral 
prosecutor Liz Perez Idoyaga on September 7 with the theft of 185 
million guaranies (approximately $40,000) by claiming government 
salaries for more than a dozen nonexistent employees working for her. 
While thee case proceeded, she was initially suspended for 60 days but 
then resumed work as a prosecutor in Quiindy. On October 14, Perez 
Idoyaga obtained a postponement by claiming amnesia, and she filed 
charges against the primary witness in the case for false testimony.
    In the case of Eugenio Escobar Cattebecke, former governor of 
Presidente Hayes Department who was sentenced to two years and six 
months in prison in December 2009 for diverting more than 1.3 billion 
guaranies (approximately $280,000) in public money during his term of 
office, a three-judge tribunal converted his sentence to house arrest 
on January 26.
    There were no updates, and none were expected, in the case 
involving federal prosecutor Victor Maldonado. Eyewitness and press 
reports indicated Maldonado accepted a bribe from fugitive Alberto 
Luciano Chavez Pereira in return for his release. There was no known 
government investigation into the bribery allegation.
    On June 9, a three-judge panel revoked the temporary bond of former 
justice and labor minister Silvio Ferreira and sentenced him to five 
years and six months in prison for embezzlement (allowing overcharging 
on public contracts), but the panel also found him not guilty of 
criminal association. An appeals court confirmed the sentence on 
November 19, but the Supreme Court did not affirm the results before 
the statute of limitations expired, leaving Ferreira without a criminal 
record in this case.
    On January 4, a three-judge Supreme Court panel (composed of 
Colorado Party members) refused to overturn a lower court ruling that 
had limited the illicit enrichment investigation of former president 
(and Colorado Party member) Nicanor Duarte Frutos. A truncated 
investigation remained underway at year's end.
    On August 18, a three-judge panel decided that suspended prosecutor 
Gustavo Gamba's case should proceed to trial. Gamba had been audiotaped 
in June 2009 receiving an initial payment of $90,000 from Senator 
Victor Bernal Garay in return for Gamba's promise to dismiss one of 
five cases pending against the senator, involving his reported misuse 
of funds while serving as director of the Itaipu Binational Entity. 
Bernal continued to enjoy political immunity while in office, and his 
case was transferred to another prosecutor. In October the judges' 
panel scheduled Gamba's trial to start in December 2011.
    The 2008 case involving the detention of 13 officials from the 
National Administration of Navigation and Ports for alleged 
embezzlement remained pending at year's end.
    Although the law provides for public access to government 
information, citizens and noncitizens, including foreign media, had 
limited access to government information. Insufficient infrastructure 
and determined efforts to conspire to hide corruption hindered access, 
although the Government improved transparency by publishing information 
publicly via the Internet.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    More than 50 domestic and international human rights groups, 
including the International Organization for Migration, the 
International Labor Organization (ILO), and the UN Children's Fund, 
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing 
their findings on human rights cases. Major local NGO umbrella 
organizations representing many local human rights NGOs operated 
independently.
    Government officials cooperated with domestic NGOs and met with 
domestic NGO monitors but often did not take action in response to 
their reports or recommendations. The Government generally did not 
restrict domestic NGO operations or suppress criticism by them. The 
Government generally cooperated with international human rights groups, 
humanitarian NGOs, and international governmental organizations and 
regularly permitted visits by their representatives.
    The term of Ombudsman Manuel Paez Monges, the country's primary 
human rights advocate, expired in August, but he continued to serve 
while a replacement was sought. The ombudsman employed approximately 
160 lawyers and support personnel, including 70 who worked in municipal 
offices outside Asuncion. Human rights organizations, victims of the 
Stroessner dictatorship, and several Congress members criticized Monges 
for what they considered ineffective handling of cases. His office 
lacked independence and initiative and issued no significant reports 
during the year.
    The Senate Committee on Human Rights made frequent fact-finding 
trips within the country and highlighted abuses in the military and 
prisons during the year.
    The Ministry of Justice and Labor's director general of human 
rights chaired the National Commission on Human Rights. The office 
forwarded information concerning human rights abuses to the Public 
Ministry for action. The Foreign Ministry's Human Rights Section 
organized an interministerial roundtable on human rights that met 
periodically and served as a forum for human rights officials from the 
Government and NGOs.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    While the law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, 
disability, language, or social status, certain groups faced 
discrimination in practice.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and 
provides penalties of up to 10 years in prison for rape or forcible 
sexual assault. If the victim is a minor under the age of 18, sentences 
range from three to 15 years. According to the Public Ministry, rape 
continued to be a significant problem, although no statistics were 
available for the year. The Government generally prosecuted rape 
allegations and often obtained convictions; however, many rapes went 
unreported, and police were generally reluctant to act on rape reports. 
In its latest available report, the Government investigated 1,316 cases 
of various categories of sexual assault in 2008, including rape.
    Although the law criminalizes domestic violence, including spousal 
abuse, and stipulates a penalty of two years' imprisonment or a fine 
for those who are convicted, it requires that the abuse be habitual 
before considering it criminal. Those convicted were typically fined. 
The law does not specify the amount of the fine but instructs judges to 
take into account the severity of the act on the victim and the 
perpetrator's economic situation.
    Despite increased reports of domestic violence, individuals often 
withdrew complaints soon after filing due to spousal reconciliation or 
family pressure. In some cases the courts mediated in domestic violence 
cases, but there were no reliable statistics available as to the 
results. Domestic violence was very common, and thousands of women were 
treated for injuries sustained in domestic altercations. The emergency 
911 system took 16,974 calls on domestic violence in 2009, and women 
filed 286 formal complaints with police. The National Police opened 
three domestic violence units in Asuncion during the year, staffed with 
approximately 30 police officers and operated from existing police 
stations. From January to November, 1,586 formal complaints of domestic 
violence were filed with them. The Secretariat of Women's Affairs 
(SMPR) received 2,409 domestic abuse complaints in 2009, an 18 percent 
increase from 2008; from January to November, the SMPR attended to 
1,872 victims of domestic violence.
    The SMPR operated a shelter for female victims of trafficking or 
domestic violence in Asuncion. The SMPR coordinated victim assistance 
efforts with the National Police, health care units, the Public 
Ministry, and women's NGOs. NGOs provided health and psychological 
assistance, including shelter, to victims. The SMPR also provided 
victim assistance courses for police, health care workers, and 
prosecutors.
    The law prohibits sexual harassment and stipulates a penalty of two 
years in prison or a fine of an unspecified amount (although the law 
requires the tribunal to take into account the economic situation of 
the perpetrator). Sexual harassment remained a problem for many women, 
although no statistics were available for the year. Prosecutors found 
sexual harassment and abuse claims difficult to prove, and most 
complaints were settled privately without involving prosecutors.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children and had the information and means 
to do so free from discrimination. The Government committed to 
providing access to information on contraception and providing skilled 
attendance at delivery and in prenatal and postpartum care. 
Contraception use among married women between the ages of 15 and 44 was 
79 percent in 2008, according to the Population Reference Bureau. The 
UN Population Fund reported an estimated maternal mortality ratio of 95 
deaths per 100,000 live births and approximately 150 maternal deaths in 
2008. Reproductive health services were concentrated in cities, and 
rural areas distant from government-provided services faced significant 
gaps in promised coverage. Women and men had equal access to diagnostic 
services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including 
HIV.
    Although women generally enjoyed the same legal status and rights 
as men, gender-related discrimination was widespread and deeply 
ingrained. Employers often paid women significantly less than men for 
comparable work, and women experienced more difficulty finding work. A 
2010 World Economic Forum survey estimated that women earned 
approximately 47 percent less than men for comparable work. Women 
generally were employed as domestic workers, secretaries, and customer-
service representatives. According to the General Directorate of 
Statistics, Surveys, and Censuses (DGEEC), the 2009 unemployment rate 
for women in the formal sector was 7.8 percent, compared with 5.5 
percent for men. The SMPR worked to promote the rights of women and 
sponsored programs intended to give women equal access to employment, 
social security, housing, ownership of land, and business 
opportunities. Its minister-level director reported directly to the 
president.

    Children.--Nationality is derived by birth within the country's 
territory, by birth to government employees in service outside the 
country, or by birth to a citizen residing temporarily outside the 
country. Citizenship is conveyed to all nationals who attain the age of 
18 as well as to older individuals when they are naturalized.
    Failure to register all births resulted in some discrimination, 
including the denial of public services. The DGEEC noted registration 
of 49,879 live births in 2007, a shortfall in registrations of 
approximately 65 percent.
    Child abuse and neglect were serious problems. The National 
Commission to Prevent and Eradicate the Exploitation of Children worked 
to prevent the exploitation of child labor. The Secretariat for 
Children and Adolescents (SNNA) and children's NGOs also organized 
programs to combat child abuse.
    The SNNA provided funds to the Grupo Luna Nueva hostel for 
exploited children. The NGO Children's and Adolescents' Care and 
Assistance Center managed a shelter in Ciudad del Este partially 
supported by the SNNA, and local Roman Catholic charities operated 
several children's homes and orphanages in several locations, including 
Asuncion and Encarnacion. The NGO Integral Adolescent Attention Service 
assisted abused children in Villarrica, Guaira Department. In many 
cities, the municipal council for children's rights assisted abused and 
neglected children.
    Sexual exploitation of children, principally in prostitution, was a 
serious problem. According to the SNNA, many underage children were 
forced to work as prostitutes or domestic servants for survival and 
were sexually abused. The law provides penalties of up to six years' 
imprisonment for prostitution of victims between the ages of 14 and 17 
and eight years' imprisonment for victims younger than 14. The minimum 
age for consensual heterosexual sex is 14 when married and 16 when not 
married. While there is a statutory rape law for those under 14, the 
maximum penalty is a fine for opposite-sex partners and prison for 
same-sex partners. Enforcement was not vigorous. Child pornography is 
illegal. Production of pornographic images can result in a fine or up 
to three years in prison. Authorities may increase this penalty to 10 
years in prison depending on the age of the child and the child's 
relationship to the abuser (see also section 1.c. concerning production 
of child pornography in prison).
    On February 19, the minister of defense formally apologized to the 
families of Marcelino Gomez Paredes and Christian Ariel Nunez, child 
soldiers recruited into the armed forces in 1997 at age 14, who 
disappeared in the Chaco in 1998. The apology with monetary payments 
brought the country into compliance with the agreement mediated by the 
IACHR in November 2009.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction at http://
travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--
4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community numbered approximately 1,000. 
There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with physical and mental disabilities in employment, 
education, access to health care, or the provision of other state 
services. The law does not mandate accessibility for persons with 
disabilities, and most of the country's buildings were inaccessible. 
Many persons with disabilities faced significant discrimination in 
employment; others were unable to seek employment because of a lack of 
accessible public transportation. The Ministry of Education estimated 
that at least half of all children with disabilities did not attend 
school because public buses could not accommodate them. The National 
Institute for the Protection of Exceptional People (INPRO) is 
responsible for legally confirming disability status. On October 15, 
authorities issued regulations granting blind persons free passage on 
public transport.
    Although the law requires that persons with disabilities fill 5 
percent of all public-sector jobs, as of April they constituted less 
than 1 percent of public-sector employees. During the year the 
Secretariat for Personnel Management conducted training and outreach 
sessions for human resources offices within the Government.

    Indigenous People.--The law provides indigenous persons the right 
to participate in the economic, social, political, and cultural life of 
the country. However, the Government did not effectively protect 
indigenous civil and political rights. Discrimination and lack of 
access to education, health care, shelter, and sufficient land hindered 
the ability of indigenous persons to progress economically and maintain 
their cultural identity. The law protecting the property interests of 
indigenous persons was not respected in practice. The July 12 Amnesty 
International submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review focused on 
alleged violations of the rights of indigenous persons as provided in 
the country's constitution and specified concerns regarding traditional 
lands, healthcare, water, and sanitation.
    A 2008 census reported an indigenous population of approximately 
108,000 and estimated that 39 percent of indigenous persons above age 
15 were illiterate and that approximately 48 percent were unemployed. 
According to the DGEEC, the average monthly income of the indigenous 
population in 2008 was 778,000 guaranies (approximately $170), 
approximately half the minimum wage of the nonindigenous population. 
Indigenous workers engaged as laborers on ranches earned low wages, 
worked long hours, were paid infrequently or not at all, and lacked 
benefits. This situation was particularly severe for indigenous persons 
engaged as laborers on ranches and estates in the Chaco region. On 
November 22, four indigenous recruits for the national police entered 
into service, including one woman. At year's end, the other 18 
positions (of the 22 set aside in December 2009 for indigenous 
recruits) remained unfilled.
    The National Institute of the Indigenous (INDI), the Public 
Ministry, and the Ombudsman's Office are responsible for protecting and 
promoting indigenous rights. The INDI reported titling approximately 
477,000 acres of land to benefit 18 indigenous communities during a 
three-year program that ended in December. However, the INDI lacked 
funding to purchase land on behalf of indigenous persons and required 
them to register for land at its office in distant Asuncion, and 
Congress did not pass expropriation bills or appropriate sufficient 
funds, as requested by the executive branch, to comply with Inter-
American Court of Human Rights rulings (see also section 1.e., Regional 
Human Rights Court Decisions).
    The law authorizes indigenous persons to determine how to use their 
land, leading many of them to transfer or rent their land to 
nonindigenous persons, some of whom illegally harvested fish or 
deforested the lands through cultivation. There were insufficient 
police and judicial protections from encroachments on indigenous lands, 
and few indigenous persons held title to their ancestral lands. In a 
September 29 statement, Amnesty International pointed out that the 
country had no effective and efficient mechanism for settling ancestral 
land claims (see also section 1.e.).
    In the Kelyemagategma indigenous community's case pending before 
the IACHR, two community leaders reportedly received death threats on 
September 5 while accompanying an international investigatory 
delegation.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The Public Ministry is 
responsible for investigating discrimination cases; however, government 
agents often condoned such discrimination. For example, on April 7, 
family members of 20-year-old Norma Beatriz Machado Rivarola forcibly 
took her from her partner's home, beat her, and locked her in her 
parent's house. The complaint she filed with the prosecutor's office on 
April 23 had not been acted upon by year's end.
    Penalties for the crime of having sex with a minor between the ages 
of 14 and 16 vary, depending on the genders of the victim and 
perpetrator. Same-gender perpetrators are subject to up to two years in 
prison; the maximum penalty for opposite-gender perpetrators is a fine.
    Several LGBT rights organizations, which operated during the year 
without governmental interference, conducted two gay pride marches 
during the year. The Government issued the required permits and 
provided sufficient security in both cases.
    There were no developments regarding the 2008 attacks on and 
killings of transgender persons Lupita, Laura, and Gaby, and none were 
expected.
    There are no laws explicitly prohibiting discrimination against 
LGBT individuals in employment, housing, access to nationality, access 
to education, or health care, but all types of discrimination occurred 
frequently. There was also societal discrimination based on sexual 
orientation.
    In March the Interior Ministry signed a cooperation agreement with 
the NGO Somosgay to provide tolerance and antihomophobia training to 
police.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--The CODEHUPY noted that 
individuals with HIV/AIDS faced discrimination as well as societal 
intimidation in health care, education, and employment. In November the 
NGO Fundacion Vencer introduced a confidential toll-free help-and-
information telephone line dedicated to HIV/AIDS-related problems.

Section 7. 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. The law allows unions to conduct 
legitimate activities without government interference and contains 
provisions that protect fundamental worker rights. Although the 
Government did not always enforce these provisions, workers exercised 
these rights in practice. Approximately 317,000 persons (11 percent of 
the workforce) were members of more than 350 labor unions affiliated 
with six major labor umbrella organizations. Most workers, including 
farmers, ranchers, and informal sector employees, did not have suitable 
labor unions. Many of these workers were members of campesino 
movements.
    There are no restrictions on the right to form or dissolve a union. 
All unions must register with the Ministry of Justice and Labor. 
Although the official registration process can take more than a year, 
the ministry typically issued provisional registrations within weeks of 
application to allow new labor unions to operate.
    The law provides for the right to strike, prohibits binding 
arbitration, and prohibits retribution against union organizers and 
strikers. However, the Government failed to prevent retaliation by 
employers who took action against strikers and union leaders. The 
courts provided due process through mechanisms such as voluntary 
arbitration.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
collective bargaining, and this provision generally was respected in 
practice. The Government did not place restrictions on collective 
bargaining and did not require approval for collective agreements to be 
valid. 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.
    Although the law prohibits antiunion discrimination, discrimination 
occurred in practice. Some union organizers experienced harassment and 
dismissal for union activities. Some workers allegedly chose not to 
protest due to fear of reprisal or anticipation of government inaction.
    There are no export processing zones. Factories (maquiladoras) that 
assemble imported parts for reexport to Mercosur are subject to all 
labor laws.

    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. Also see the Department of 
State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    In May 2009 the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues reported 
allegations of debt labor on the estates and ranches of the Chaco 
region. Receiving little to no wages, some indigenous workers allegedly 
contracted debts with their employers, who advanced them pay to meet 
the cost of food and clothes as well as of sending their children to 
school. This situation was severe for women in domestic service, who 
were reportedly offered no compensation for their work and faced abuse. 
Investigators from the Ministry of Justice and Labor were unable to 
substantiate claims made by the UN; however, they did not deny that 
such conditions could exist. The Government created the Commission on 
Fundamental Rights at Work and the Prevention of Forced Labor to 
address these problems in March 2009; the commission took no known 
public actions during the year.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--Laws 
protect children from exploitation in the workplace, but the Government 
did not effectively enforce them. Child labor was a problem, 
particularly in brick and lime manufacturing, domestic service, and 
agricultural sectors. Also see the Department of State's annual 
Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The law prohibits work by children under the age of 14. The law 
permits minors between 14 and 15 years of age to work, with parental 
authorization, up to four hours per day in nonhazardous working 
conditions. Minors who are 16 and 17 years of age are permitted to work 
up to six hours per day in nonhazardous working conditions.
    A 2007 ILO study reported that 970,000 (53 percent) of children 
between the ages of five and 17 worked more than one hour per day and 
862,0000 worked at least 14 hours per week. Children, primarily boys, 
worked in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors (including cotton, 
beans, soy, sesame, wheat, peanuts, and stevia production) and in the 
hotel, restaurant, and transportation industries. Children also worked 
as vendors in markets. An estimated 60,000 children, primarily girls, 
worked as criadas (child domestic servants) and received no pay. In 
exchange for work, employers promised the child domestic servants room, 
board, and financial support for school. However, they were sometimes 
subject to sexual exploitation and often lacked access to education.
    In addition to domestic servitude, the worst forms of child labor 
occurred where malnourished, abused, or neglected children worked in 
unhealthy and hazardous conditions selling goods or services on the 
street, working in factories, or harvesting crops. Slavery and similar 
practices occurred, particularly in domestic servitude. Parents and 
guardians reportedly sold their children for the purpose of forced 
labor, and children were used, procured, and offered to third parties 
for illicit activities. Some minors worked as drug smugglers along the 
border with Brazil as part of criminal syndicates.
    The Ministry of Justice and Labor is responsible for enforcing 
child labor laws, and the Public Ministry prosecuted violators. The 
country's National Commission for the Prevention and Eradication of the 
Exploitation of Children worked to eliminate exploitative child labor 
by increasing awareness, improving legal protections and public policy, 
and implementing monitoring systems; however, resource constraints 
limited the effectiveness of these efforts. In August the Ministry of 
Justice and Labor approved a commission-produced, intra-institutional 
guide for coordinating agency handling of child workers.
    The SNNA administered the ``Hug Program'' (Programa Abrazo) to 
assist families with children at risk of working in the streets, and 
the Secretariat for Social Action administered the ``Well-being 
Program'' (Programa Tekopora) that paid parents of street children a 
monthly stipend to send their children to school. The SNNA's 
``Operacion Verano'' brought children of street workers into shelters 
when school was not in session. The Ministry of Education and Culture 
continued using the ILO's Supporting Children's Rights through 
Education, the Arts and the Media (SCREAM) child labor intervention 
program in six departments to train and assist educators in identifying 
child laborers and protecting them from exploitation.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The mandatory national minimum 
wage was approximately 1.5 million guaranies ($320) per month, 
sufficient to maintain a minimally adequate standard of living for a 
worker and family, but the Ministry of Justice and Labor did not 
enforce it. In June the Secretariat for Personnel Management reported 
9,234 government workers earned less than the minimum wage, an 
improvement from August 2008's estimate of 28,047. In July the DGEEC 
estimated that 40 percent of private-sector workers and 80 percent of 
public-sector workers earned the minimum wage or higher.
    The law provides for a standard legal workweek of 48 hours (42 
hours for night work) with one day of rest. The law also allows an 
annual bonus of one month's salary and a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 
30 vacation days per year, depending on years of service. The law 
requires overtime payment for hours in excess of the standard; however, 
many employers violated these provisions. There are no prohibitions of 
or exceptions for excessive compulsory overtime.
    The law sets occupational health and safety standards stipulating 
conditions of safety, hygiene, and comfort. The Ministry of Justice and 
Labor and Ministry of Health did not enforce these provisions 
effectively. Workers have the right to remove themselves from 
situations that endanger their health or safety without jeopardy to 
their employment, but authorities did not effectively enforce this 
right.

                               __________

                                  PERU

    Peru is a multiparty republic with a population estimated at 30 
million. In 2006 Alan Garcia Perez of the American Popular 
Revolutionary Alliance (APRA) party won the presidency in elections 
that were considered free and fair. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    The following human rights problems were reported: incidents of 
killings by security forces of protesters during demonstrations, most 
of which were being investigated by authorities; abuse of detainees and 
inmates by prison security forces, for which the Government took steps 
to prosecute and punish those responsible; harsh prison conditions; 
lengthy pretrial detention and inordinate trial delays; lack of full 
compliance with regional human rights court decisions; intimidation of 
the media by local authorities; incomplete registration of internally 
displaced persons; government corruption; violence and discrimination 
against women; violence against children, including sexual abuse; and 
trafficking in persons. There was also some discrimination against 
racial- and ethnic-minority individuals; indigenous persons, lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons; individuals with 
disabilities; and persons with HIV/AIDS as well as a lack of labor-law 
enforcement and the exploitation of child labor, particularly in the 
informal sector.
    The terrorist organization Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) was 
responsible for killings and other human rights abuses, including the 
recruitment of child soldiers, extortion, and intimidation. The 
organization was also deeply involved in narcotics trafficking.

                        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, 
in episodes of societal unrest, protesters and security forces were 
killed.
    On April 4, six civilians were killed and 29 persons, including 
police, were injured during a confrontation, reportedly involving 
gunfire and tear gas, between police and demonstrating miners who 
blocked a stretch of the Pan-American Highway in Chala, Arequipa 
Region. At year's end the Public Ministry was investigating the 
incident, but no formal charges had been brought.
    On July 27, security forces killed a protester during a 
demonstration against the export of natural gas in Quillabamba, Cusco 
Region. At year's end the Public Ministry was investigating the 
incident, but no formal charges had been brought.
    On August 3, a clash between government coca eradication personnel 
and approximately 300 growers who tried to stop the eradication 
operation in an area close to Aguaytia, Ucayali Region, resulted in the 
death of one grower and the injury of two others. At year's end there 
were no reported developments.
    On September 16, clashes between police and residents of Espinar, 
Cusco Region, who protested against the Majes Siguas II dam project, 
resulted in the death of one protester (Leoncio Fernandez Pacheco) and 
the injury of 18 others. At year's end the Public Ministry was 
investigating the incidents, but no formal charges had been brought.
    On June 22, a special congressional committee, created to 
investigate the killings of two protesters during a February 2009 
agrarian strike in Ayacucho, released its final report that concluded 
it was not possible to prove that security forces caused the deaths. At 
year's end court proceedings continued against police officer Carlos 
Alberto Rodriguez Huamani.
    Investigations into the June 2009 clashes between police and 
indigenous protesters in and around Bagua, Amazonas Region, which 
resulted in the deaths of 10 civilians and 24 police officers (see 
section 6, Indigenous People), concluded on January 25 and led to seven 
legal cases in which authorities were investigating 96 indigenous and 
mestizo persons on kidnapping and homicide charges at year's end. 
Several human rights organizations complained that investigators failed 
to question key authorities and most of the 222 police involved and 
that defendants lacked interpreters.
    There were no developments in the September 2009 case of security 
force members who shot four persons attempting to impede Coca 
Eradication Agency workers in Bolson Cuchara, Huanuco Region. One of 
the shooting victims died.
    There were no developments in a prosecutor's investigation into the 
2008 killings of four persons and the disappearances of two children 
during an antiterrorist operation by security forces in the Rio Seco 
area of the Apurimac and Ene River Valleys (VRAE).
    The trial of former intelligence service director Vladimiro 
Montesinos, former armed services chief General Nicolas Hermoza, 
Colonel Roberto Huaman, and Colonel Jesus Zamudio Montesinos--for 
alleged extrajudicial killings following the 1997 rescue of 74 hostages 
at the Japanese ambassador's residence--resumed in March and continued 
at year's end. A former Japanese diplomat, who was among the hostages, 
testified again in December that he saw at least three hostage-takers 
alive at the time of the rescue.
    On January 3, the Supreme Court of Justice announced its December 
30, 2009, decision to uphold the sentencing of former president Alberto 
Fujimori to 25-years' imprisonment for authorizing the mass killings in 
1991 at Barrios Altos and in 1992 at La Cantuta as well as the 
kidnapping of journalist Gustavo Gorriti in 1992. At year's end 
Fujimori remained in prison concurrently serving this sentence and 
others imposed in 2009 and earlier.
    On October 1, the First Special Penal Court convicted members of 
the paramilitary ``Colina Group'' of the killings at Barrios Altos and 
El Santa and the killing of journalist Pedro Yauri in the early 1990s 
and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 15 to 25 years. 
Vladimiro Montesinos, Nicolas de Bari, Julio Salazar, and Juan Rivero--
then leaders of the intelligence service--were among the convicted. The 
court determined that the group received financial and logistical 
support from the military and the presidency.
    Juan Manuel Rivera-Rondon, implicated in the 1985 killings of 69 
villagers during a military raid in the village of Accomarca, remained 
in custody while on trial in the Third Supraprovincial Court. 
Meanwhile, Telmo Ricardo Hurtado Hurtado, also implicated in the 
massacre, remained in a foreign country pending the outcome of 
extradition proceedings.
    The Public Ministry continued investigating a mass grave of unknown 
date discovered in 2006 in Pichari, Cusco Region. The Government's 
Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) awaited DNA results to help identify 
25 of the exhumed bodies; another 36 of the 83 bodies exhumed through 
June were identified, and five were returned to their families.
    During the year the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team identified 
12 of the 37 bodies connected to the 1984 Huanta Stadium case that were 
found in a clandestine mass grave in Pucayacu, Ayacucho Region. 
Analysis of the remains began in December 2009.
    Human rights activists asserted throughout the year that the 
National Penal Court, the highest court handling human rights cases 
against military personnel, proceeded slowly and tended either to 
acquit or issue lenient sentences. However, there was no consensus on 
whether a climate of impunity existed for military personnel accused of 
abuses: some claimed judges were subjected to subtle pressure, such as 
strong public statements supporting the military, but not to direct 
governmental interference; others attributed the situation to 
prosecutorial failure to prepare strong cases, rather than to political 
pressure.
    During the year members of the two Shining Path terrorist 
organization factions conducted 136 terrorist acts in remote coca-
growing areas that resulted in the killings of six police officers, 
nine soldiers, and 10 civilians in the Upper Huallaga Valley. There 
were credible reports that women and children (see section 6, Children) 
participated in Shining Path operations in order to attempt to thwart 
security-force responses or to underpin allegations of abuse by those 
forces.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no reports of politically motivated 
disappearances during the year, and there were no known developments in 
the 2008 disappearances of two children in the VRAE region (see section 
1.a.).

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The law prohibits such practices. There were reports that 
security officials used excessive force, and authorities seldom 
punished those who committed such abuses.
    Allegations of abuse most often arose immediately following an 
arrest, when families were prohibited from visiting suspects and when 
attorneys had limited access to detainees. 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 the nongovernmental Human Rights 
Commission (COMISEDH), some victims were reluctant to pursue judicial 
proceedings for fear that members of the security forces allegedly 
involved in abuses would be released without being charged. COMISEDH 
reported that 30 cases of claimed aggravated torture by security forces 
had been reported to provincial prosecutors.
    On September 16, the Pisco Superior Court sentenced four former 
members of a neighborhood watch patrol (Serenazgo) (Felix Angel 
Guerrero Cana, Cesar Rogger Felipa Ortiz, Juan Guillermo Moreno Solis, 
and Pedro Eusebio Mayhua Quintanilla) to five years in prison and a 
fine for the October 2008 torture of alleged thief Saul Conislla 
Manrique. The ruling was the first such conviction against Serenazgo 
members.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh for most of the country's 45,599 inmates, of whom 2,784 were 
women, 985 were juveniles ages 18-19 years. The National Penitentiary 
Institute (INPE) operates 57 of the country's active prisons, while the 
Peruvian National Police (PNP) has jurisdiction over 14. Prisoners with 
money had access to cell phones, illegal drugs, and meals prepared 
outside the prison; prisoners who lacked funds experienced much more 
difficult conditions. 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. There was basic 
medical care at most prisons, but there were complaints that inmates 
had to pay for medical attention. There was also a lack of doctors; 
only 54 doctors worked at the country's 71 prisons, with 34 based in 
the capital city area. Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS reportedly remained at 
near-epidemic levels. The San Juan de Lurigancho men's prison held 
8,730 prisoners in a facility designed for 3,204.
    Prisons for women were also overcrowded and marked by conditions 
similar to those for men. In an INPE-operated facility for women opened 
in 2008, prisoners continued to complain about dormitory-style sleeping 
quarters. INPE operated a high-security prison in the jungle area of 
Iquitos that was in poor condition and remained under renovation.
    Prison guards and fellow inmates reportedly abused prisoners. 
Guards received little or no training or supervision. There were 
killings in prisons, most attributed to fellow inmates. In addition, 
during a December inspection in Lurigancho prison, authorities found 
the body of Leslie Dayan Paredes, a visitor, in the cell of her 
boyfriend. The inmate, Jackson Sanford Staling Conket, confessed to 
killing Dayan and hiding her body when she visited him in August, and 
authorities suspended police personnel for failing to notice that she 
never checked out of the prison.
    By December authorities had sentenced only 18,223 of the 45,599 
persons held in the country's facilities (see section 1.d., Arrest 
Procedures and Treatment while in Detention). Authorities held these 
detainees temporarily in pretrial detention centers located at police 
stations, judiciary buildings, and the Palace of Justice and in most 
cases with convicted prisoners.
    The Government permitted monitoring visits by independent human 
rights observers. International Committee of the Red Cross officials 
during the year made 48 unannounced visits to inmates in 19 prisons and 
detention centers in accordance with standard modalities and met with a 
total of 222 persons (69 women) of the 712 persons detained in those 
facilities. The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman also made regular 
visits to both Lima and provincial prisons. The ombudsman urged the 
Government to consider such matters as alternatives to incarceration 
for nonviolent offenders to alleviate overcrowding; addressing the 
status and circumstances of confinement of juvenile offenders; and 
improving pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures to 
ensure that prisoners did not serve beyond the maximum sentence for the 
charged offense.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and 
detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without 
censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of 
inhumane conditions. Authorities investigated such complaints and 
documented the results in a publicly accessible manner. The ombudsman 
reported that most complaints stemmed from not being released on time 
due to the slow judicial process and INPE administration, not due to 
inhumane conditions, and that the number of such complaints during the 
year diminished because of improved INPE recordkeeping. Human rights 
advocates maintained that the Government failed to allocate the 
resources needed to monitor and improve prison conditions and 
criticized INPE leadership for lacking competence.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and laws 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally 
observed these prohibitions.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The PNP, with an 
officer and enlisted force as of September of approximately 100,000, 
was responsible for all areas of law enforcement and internal security 
and functioned under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior. The 
PNP's organizational structure comprises directorates that specialize 
in specific areas (such as kidnapping, counternarcotics, and 
counterterrorism) and local police units. Each region, province, 
district, city, and town has a PNP presence.
    On October 7, the president launched the Citizen Security 
Initiative, a first-time meeting of national government authorities, 
the PNP, and newly elected local officials aimed at improving citizen 
safety.
    Observers noted that the PNP was undermanned and its members lacked 
training and professionalism. According to an October 21 Ombudsman's 
Office report, 30 percent of police stations lacked basic equipment and 
infrastructure, thus placing PNP officials and the public at risk and 
undermining PNP capability. More than 50 percent of police stations 
inspected did not have sufficient vehicles, weapons, or gasoline, and 
more than 30 percent lacked sufficient communications equipment.
    The armed forces, with approximately 115,000 personnel, are 
responsible for external security under the authority of the Ministry 
of Defense but also have limited domestic security responsibilities, 
particularly in the VRAE region.
    Corruption and a high rate of acquittals for military personnel 
accused of crimes remained problems (see section 4). The Ministries of 
Interior and Defense employ internal mechanisms to investigate 
allegations of abuses by security forces. The Public Ministry conducts 
investigations, although access to evidence held by the Ministry of 
Defense was not always forthcoming. The ombudsman is another mechanism, 
although she may only refer a case to the Public Ministry.
    On September 1, the Government adopted four executive decrees 
relating to security-force activities and the procedures for civilian 
court investigations of military and police actions. Decrees 1094 
and1096 established a military justice system. Decree 1095 established 
rules for the use of force by the military in situations of 
noninternational armed conflict. At presidential request, Congress 
rescinded one of the decrees (Decree 1097) on September 14 at the 
urging of domestic and international human rights and civil liberties 
organizations, which maintained the decree would have applied a 2003 
statute of limitations and could have granted virtual amnesty to some 
security-force members accused of human rights abuses committed during 
the 1980s and 1990s. (Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa resigned in 
September as president of the Museum of the Memory Commission in 
protest over the decree.) Human rights activists claimed that the three 
other decrees remaining in force created a culture of security-force 
impunity. In particular, activists raised concerns that Decree 1095, 
which some claimed is unconstitutional, expands the rules of engagement 
for military personnel to permit the use of force during societal 
conflicts that take place in areas in which no state of emergency has 
been declared.
    The PNP is charged with witness protection responsibilities but 
lacked resources to provide officer training, conceal identities, or 
offer logistical support to witnesses. Officers often used their own 
homes to protect witnesses.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
permits police to detain persons for investigative purposes. Persons 
were apprehended openly. The law requires a written judicial warrant 
based on sufficient evidence for an arrest unless the perpetrator of a 
crime is apprehended in the act. Only judges may authorize detentions. 
Authorities are required to arraign arrested persons within 24 hours, 
except in cases of terrorism, drug trafficking, or espionage, for which 
arraignment must take place within 15 days. In remote areas arraignment 
must take place as soon as practicable. Military authorities must turn 
over persons they detain to the police within 24 hours. 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; 
authorities respected this requirement in practice.
    The time between an arrest and an appearance before a judge 
averaged 20 hours. Judges have 24 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 family members and to a lawyer of their choice. 
Police may detain suspected terrorists incommunicado for 10 days. The 
Ministry of Justice provided indigent persons with access to an 
attorney at no cost, although these attorneys were often poorly 
trained. Several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) worked with the 
ministry to improve their skills.
    Lengthy pretrial detention continued to be a problem. According to 
INPE statistics, as of October 60 percent of those in prison were 
awaiting trial, the majority for between one and two years. The law 
requires release of prisoners who have been held more than 18 months 
without being tried and sentenced; the period is extended to 36 months 
in complex cases.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice. NGOs and other analysts complained that the 
judiciary was politicized and corrupt (see section 4).
    The 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 (excluding those chosen by popular election) who have 
served in their positions for at least seven years. Withdrawal of CNM 
certification permanently disqualifies a judge or prosecutor.
    The National Penal Court continued investigating cases involving 
allegations of human rights abuses by security forces during the 
internal conflict with the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru 
Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) in the 1980s and 1990s. Several cases 
referred by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission remained pending 
with the court, but only a few involved active investigations.

    Trial Procedures.--The justice system is based on the Napoleonic 
Code. A prosecutor investigates cases and submits an opinion to a 
first-instance judge, who determines if sufficient evidence exists to 
open legal proceedings. A 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, to call witnesses, and to be represented by counsel. The 
Ministry of Justice provided indigent defendants with access to an 
attorney at no cost, although these attorneys were often poorly 
trained. Defendants and their attorneys generally have access to 
government-held evidence related to their cases for recent crimes, 
except in cases connected to human rights abuses of the period 1980-
2000 and particularly with respect to those involving the Ministry of 
Defense. Although citizens have the right to be tried in their own 
language, language services for non-Spanish speakers, who comprise a 
substantial number of persons in the highlands and Amazon regions, were 
sometimes unavailable (see section 1.a.). Defendants may appeal 
verdicts to a superior court and then to the Supreme Court. The 
Constitutional Tribunal decides cases involving such issues as habeas 
corpus.

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

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The Inter-American Court of 
Human Rights issued seven follow-up orders during the year to monitor 
the country's compliance with earlier decisions, all of which involved 
acts during the Fujimori administration. In the following two cases, 
the Government fulfilled none of the required actions, which included 
paying damages as ordered and publishing sentences in the daily 
register: (1) the case involving Gustavo Cesti Hurtado, a former army 
captain who was jailed for two years in 1998 after being illegally 
tried in a military court despite being retired; and (2) the case 
involving the 1992 extrajudicial killings of 42 accused Shining Path 
members and the injury of many others at Miguel Castro Castro 
Penitentiary. Additional cases involved a forced disappearance, the 
mass firing of congressional workers, a revocation of citizenship, and 
two arrests without cause.
    In all the cases, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights 
specified timing for the Government to report compliance progress. For 
two cases--those of Cesti Hurtado and Ivcher Bronstein (a naturalized 
citizen stripped of citizenship after his television station aired 
programming opposing the Fujimori administration)--the deadline was in 
2010, but no such report was issued by year's end in either case. For 
the remaining cases, the follow-up report was due in 2011.
    On April 20, the Ministry of Justice paid a total of 2.1 million 
soles (approximately $740,000) in court-ordered compensation to 
relatives of the forcibly disappeared Santiago Gomez Palomino, to 
relatives of victims of the La Cantuta mass killings, and to two 
victims of torture and inhumane treatment (Bernabe Baldeon Garcia and 
Luis Alberto Cantoral Benavides)--all incidents that occurred in 1992.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--The country has an 
independent judiciary that enables citizens to bring lawsuits for 
violations of their rights; however, court cases often continued for 
years. Press reports, NGOs, and others alleged that those outside the 
judiciary frequently corrupted or influenced judges (see section 4).

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The law prohibits such actions, and the Government 
generally respected these prohibitions in practice. There were reports, 
however, that authorities sometimes entered private dwellings before 
obtaining a warrant. There were no known cases of the Government 
monitoring private communications.

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 national government 
generally respected these rights. However, there were instances of 
harassment of the press, including attacks directed against journalists 
by regional and municipal authorities and police.
    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.
    A number of journalists and media outlets reported experiencing 
threats or intimidation. By December 15, the National Journalists 
Association reported 194 cases of harassment during the year (up from 
180 cases for the same period in 2009) and the Institute of Press and 
Society issued 85 alerts (up from 82 for the same period in 2009). Of 
the harassment cases reported by the National Journalists Association, 
63 involved harassment by civilian authorities and 27 were committed by 
police and military personnel. The Inter American Press Association 
periodically expressed its concern about attacks on freedom of 
expression in the country. Most incidents involved threats; judicial 
and administrative pressure, including revocation of licenses; and 
physical violence. Among the incidents reported by the country's 
journalist associations were the following:
    On February 2, in Chimbote, Ancash Region, members of the Cuenta 
Conmigo party of regional president Cesar Alvarez beat newspaper 
journalists Paul Meza Castaneda (Correo) and George Vergaray Sanchez 
(La Industria de Chimbote) who reported Alvarez's failure to appear at 
a judicial hearing about his alleged involvement in a woman's 
accidental death in 2009.
    On February 12, in Lima, Constitutional Tribunal judge Raul Rosales 
More aimed a gun at photojournalist Carlos Saavedra of Caretas magazine 
after public criticism of a controversial sentence commutation.
    On February 27, police in Barranco District, Lima Province, beat 
and arrested newspaper reporter Jose Puga (El Comercio) and freelance 
photographer Jean Marco Cordova for covering alleged police repression 
against individuals holding an illegal party.
    On June 5, in Iquitos, Loreto Region, the director of the La Voz de 
Nauta program of Radio Anaconda, Salomon Valle, received anonymous 
telephone death threats that demanded he withdraw his complaint against 
the Nauta police station chief, Major Armando Ludena, for allegedly 
seducing a minor. Valle had published photographs of the alleged act on 
Radio Anaconda's Facebook page.
    On August 18, after an Institute of Press and Society appeal and 
NGO allegations of political motivation, the Ministry of Transport and 
Communications reinstated the operating license of Radio La Voz in 
Bagua, Amazonas Region, which it had suspended in June 2009 after 
accusations the station incited violent and deadly protests (see 
section 1.a.).
    On November 15, the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of 
Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) 
stated its general concern about the country's use of defamation 
charges against those who denounce or express critical opinions about 
public officials. The office also declared its particular concern about 
the criminal defamation case brought against Lima Mayor-elect Susana 
Villaran, prior to her run for office, for publishing an Internet 
article in 2009 concerning a 2004 accusation of corruption against a 
government minister. After Judge Benjamin Enriquez Colfer procedurally 
remanded the case to Judge Carmen Nancy Choquehuanca, at year's end the 
case continued. In another defamation case, the Supreme Court ordered 
the release from prison in June of Nor Oriente regional weekly 
newspaper editor Alejandro Carrascal Carrasco after he had served five 
months of a one-year sentence for libeling a local official.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups engaged in the free 
expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The chief 
impediment to Internet access was a lack of infrastructure; the 
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were 31 
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2009.

    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 the right of freedom of 
assembly, and the Government generally respected this right in 
practice. However, the Government maintained emergency zones and 
suspended the freedom of assembly and other freedoms in coca-growing 
areas where Shining Path terrorists operated. The emergency zones were 
located in Ayacucho, Cusco, Huancavelica, and Junin regions.
    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. Police used tear gas and occasional force to disperse 
protesters in various demonstrations. Although most demonstrations were 
peaceful, protests in some areas turned violent, and some deaths and 
injuries resulted (see section 1.a.).

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

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government maintained emergency zones where it restricted 
freedom of movement in several provinces, an effort it stated was 
designed to ensure public peace and restore internal order (see section 
2.b., Freedom of Assembly).
    Narcotics traffickers and Shining Path members at times interrupted 
the free movement of persons by establishing roadblocks in sections of 
the Upper Huallaga Valley and the VRAE region. Occasionally protesters 
blocked roads to draw public attention to grievances.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not engage 
in such practice.

    Internally Displaced Persons.--There were no major incidents of 
internal displacement during the year, and the situation of existing 
internally displaced persons (IDPs) continued to be difficult to 
assess. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR), the number of IDPs remained unknown, because 
officials registered relatively few. The Internal Displacement 
Monitoring Center reported that the Government had estimated in 2007 
that approximately 150,000 persons remained internally displaced from 
the conflict between security forces and the Shining Path and the MRTA 
during the period 1980-92; however, during the year there was no 
evidence of a continuing problem (see section 5).

    Protection of Refugees.--The law provides for the granting of 
asylum or refugee status, and the Government has established a system 
for providing protection to refugees. In practice the Government 
provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to 
countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account 
of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social 
group, or political opinion.
    The Government cooperated with the UNHCR Office 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 refugees on a renewable, year-to-year basis, in 
accordance with CMC recommendations. For the year the UNHCR reported 
264 pending refugee requests and 1,146 refugees who the Government 
recognized.

    Stateless Persons.--Citizenship is derived either by birth within 
the country's territory or from one's parents. If overseas, parents 
must register their child's birth by age 18 in order for the child to 
obtain citizenship. The law provides all citizens with the right to a 
name, nationality, and legal recognition, and it also provides for 
other civil, political, economic, and social rights. An estimated 
226,000 citizens, however, lacked identity documents and could not 
fully exercise these rights. Poor indigenous women and children in 
rural areas were disproportionately represented among those lacking 
identity documents. Undocumented citizens faced social and political 
marginalization and 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 occurred at home. Poor women who gave birth at 
home often could not pay the fees associated with registration.
    In an effort to lower infant mortality rates, the Ministry of 
Health provided free registration for women who gave birth in clinics 
or hospitals.
    The ombudsman investigated complaints about the unlawful practice 
of charging fees to issue identity documents and facilitated refunds 
when such fees had been paid. The ombudsman also helped citizens obtain 
documents promptly.

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.--In 2006 Alan Garcia assumed 
the presidency after two rounds of presidential elections that were 
considered free and fair. In those elections, the president's APRA 
party won 36 congressional seats. Presidential and congressional terms 
are five years, and the law prohibits the consecutive reelection of a 
president.
    Domestic and international observers declared the October 3 
nationwide regional and municipal elections to be fair and transparent, 
despite a few local incidents of violence and long delays in vote 
counting in some areas.
    Political parties operated without restriction or outside 
interference. Registration of a new political party requires the 
signature of 1 percent of the voters who participated in the past 
election. Groups that advocate violent overthrow of the Government are 
barred from participating in the political process. In the October 
elections, there were no parties that so advocated, although a few 
candidates were former members of such groups.
    There were 32 women in the 120-member unicameral Congress. Three of 
17 cabinet members were women, as was one of the 16 justices of the 
Supreme Court. The law mandates that at least 30 percent of the 
candidates on party lists be women, and the parties complied. However, 
many female candidates were low on the lists. The municipality of Lima 
elected its first female mayor on October 3.
    There were 23 Quechua and two Aymara speakers in Congress. Two 
members of Congress identified themselves as Afro-Peruvians.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law criminalizes official corruption; however, the Government 
did not always implement these legal provisions effectively. World Bank 
indicators reflected that government corruption was a serious problem, 
and there was a widespread perception that corruption was pervasive in 
all branches of government.
    On November 18, Congress approved a law that provides independent 
authority to the Office of the Comptroller General (OCG) to sanction 
public officials who commit corrupt acts and that specifies penalties, 
including temporary suspension and termination of employment and 
handling a case as a criminal infraction. Previously the OCG was 
empowered only to recommend punishment to leaders of each department 
and agency of government for their decision, which resulted in many 
corrupt public officials avoiding punishment.
    Corruption in prisons was a serious problem, and in some cases 
guards cooperated with criminal bosses who oversaw the smuggling of 
guns and drugs into prisons.
    There were several reports of military corruption, impunity, and 
resistance to providing information on military personnel under 
investigation for human rights abuses committed during the country's 
internal armed conflict. Security forces sought to strengthen 
accountability with training in human rights and the revision of 
disciplinary procedures but were doing so slowly.
    Fernando Barrios, appointed interior minister in October, resigned 
after a local newspaper reported that he received a large, irregular 
severance supplement upon resigning as the head of the National Social 
Security Service. Members of Congress called for a full investigation 
of the supplement's legality, and Barrios testified before lawmakers, 
but by year's end there had been no determination.
    Numerous members of Congress were involved in scandals during the 
year, but most cases were deemed ethics violations and handled through 
internal congressional investigations and discipline. The judiciary 
investigated a few of the cases, but authorities made no arrests. In 
the 2009 case of Alas Peruanas, a private university under 
investigation for financing travel of several members of Congress, two 
Supreme Court justices faced a disciplinary process by the National 
Council of Magistrates. The council found the justices guilty of an 
infraction, a verdict that was upheld on appeal. The justices were 
reprimanded, and no other proceedings were expected.
    Allegations of widespread corruption in the judicial system 
continued. Experts voiced concerns about increasing politicization of 
the judiciary during the current administration. In August the Judicial 
Defense Council, an executive branch multisectoral consultative 
council, in a report sent to the Prosecutor's Office, the Office of 
Magisterial Oversight, and the Supreme Court, identified and criticized 
a network of corruption in the judiciary and named 116 magistrates, 
some of whom allegedly were linked to narcotics trafficking. None of 
the report's recipients took action explicitly in response to the 
report, although the Magisterial Oversight Office investigated and 
suspended some judges. In December a panel of Supreme Court justices 
elected self-avowed corruption fighter Cesar San Martin as president of 
the judicial branch and the Supreme Court.
    The scandal labeled ``Petroaudios''--the 2008 public release of 
audiotapes suggesting government kickbacks associated with oil 
concessions and the subsequent arrest of former government minister 
Romulo Leon and Perupetro's Alberto Quimper Herrera--led to 
investigations that were completed during the year. At year's end Leon 
remained in jail, Quimper was under house arrest, and a trial was 
expected to start in 2011.
    The January 2009 arrests of several individuals (including former 
navy officers) for illegal wiretapping related to Petroaudios as well 
as further investigation revealed illegal wiretapping of members of 
Congress, judges, and other high-profile individuals. The perception 
persisted that the judiciary sought to limit the scope of the 
investigations, and some of the wiretapping evidence was reported 
during the year as lost or altered. On September 8, the investigation 
by the judiciary's Comptroller's Office concluded that police and 
Prosecutor's Office staffs did not properly manage sensitive 
information; at year's end a judicial investigation continued.
    On December 30, 2009, the Supreme Court upheld the convictions of 
former president Fujimori on embezzlement, bribery, and other charges 
(see section 1.a.).
    Most public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws and 
must submit personal financial information to the OCG prior to taking 
office and periodically thereafter.
    The law provides for public access to government information, and 
most ministries and central offices provided information on Web sites. 
Implementation of the law was incomplete, particularly in rural areas, 
where few citizens exercised or understood their right to information. 
The ombudsman encouraged regional governments to adopt more transparent 
practices for releasing information and monitored their compliance with 
the requirement for public hearings at least twice a year.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A large 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. NGOs seeking 
information from military commanders had to work through the 
Ombudsman's Office.
    The Government's Reparations Council continued assisting persons 
who suffered during the 1980-2000 conflict with the Shining Path and 
the MRTA. The council compiled a registry of victims, which included 
more than 84,000 individuals and 5,600 communities eligible for 
reparations benefits. The Ministry of Women and Social Development 
(MIMDES) also maintained a registry specifically for IDPs that included 
approximately 5,000 individuals. A number of victims and family members 
lacking proper identity documents had difficulties registering their 
eligibility for reparations.
    The Government cooperated with international governmental 
organizations and permitted visits by UN representatives. The UN 
Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and 
Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism--who conducted a fact-
finding mission in September and was scheduled to present his findings 
and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2011--
raised concerns about relatively frequent state-of-emergency 
declarations in the country and derogations from human rights 
obligations because of terrorism.
    The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman operated its 28 offices 
and 10 satellite sites without government or party interference and was 
considered effective, although it lacked adequate resources. During the 
year the office issued four reports with recommendations on sustainable 
forestry policy, children's rights, access to rural electrification, 
and police-station conditions. The Government took account of these 
recommendations in differing degrees.
    Congressional committees included the Justice and Human Rights 
Committee and a committee for health, population, family, and persons 
with disabilities. They made no reports and had limited policy impact; 
credible NGOs did not consider them valuable beyond their legislative 
functions.
    On November 4, the president and other dignitaries laid the first 
stone of the Museum of the Memory dedicated to the victims of the 1980-
2000 internal conflict.

Section 6. 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 
persisted.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, but 
enforcement was not effective. MIMDES reported 4,253 cases of rape 
during the year; there were no available statistics on abusers 
prosecuted, convicted, or punished.
    The law prohibits domestic violence, and penalties range from one 
month to six years in prison. The law authorizes judges and prosecutors 
to prevent the convicted spouse or parent from returning to the family 
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 were 
victims of domestic violence.
    Violence against women and girls, including rape, spousal abuse, 
and sexual, physical, and mental abuse remained a problem. 
Insensitivity on the part of law enforcement and judicial authorities 
toward female victims contributed to a societal attitude of 
permissiveness toward abuse. A trend developed during the year of media 
stories on the mistreatment of women. In some instances such coverage 
compelled authorities to take legal action after initially declining to 
do so. For example, in the August case of a woman whose husband threw 
boiling water on her, by year's end authorities jailed the husband 
pending trial. MIMDES reported that there were 80 femicides and 29 
attempted killings of women for the year through September.
    Many domestic abuse cases went unreported, and NGOs stated that the 
majority of reported cases did not result in formal charges because of 
fear of retaliation or the expense of filing a complaint. The 
protections offered were limited because of legal delays, ambiguities 
in the law, and the short supply of victim shelters.
    MIMDES operated the Women's Emergency Program, which included 114 
centers that combined police, prosecutors, counselors, and public 
welfare agents to help victims of domestic abuse. It also sought to 
address the legal, psychological, social, and medical problems facing 
victims of domestic violence. The level of public services fluctuated 
daily; for example, 920 persons received attention on July 22, and 
1,095 persons received attention on December 20 (most individuals were 
follow-up cases). A 2009 ombudsman report on the centers highlighted 
the Government decentralization process and challenges the centers 
faced, such as a lack of qualified professionals. MIMDES also operated 
a toll-free hotline that answered a monthly average of 1,543 calls 
through November.
    MIMDES continued efforts to sensitize government employees and the 
citizenry to domestic violence, but the ombudsman asserted that police 
officers reacted indifferently to charges of domestic violence, despite 
legal requirements to investigate such complaints.
    Sexual harassment was a problem. The law defines sexual harassment 
as a labor-rights violation subject to administrative punishment, which 
depends on the professional situation in which the violation occurred. 
Government enforcement was minimally effective.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children free from discrimination and 
generally had the means and information to do so. Access to information 
on contraception and family planning was high, according to a National 
Institute of Statistics and Information demographic and family-health 
survey that included figures for the first half of the year: 99.5 
percent of women were aware of some family-planning method, although 
only approximately half were using a modern method. The NGO Population 
Reference Bureau listed the use of all methods of contraception among 
married women ages 15-49 at 73 percent. The availability of skilled 
attendance at delivery varied widely between urban (93.7 percent of 
births) and rural (58.7 percent of births) areas. According to the UN 
Population Fund, in 2008 there were an estimated 98 maternal deaths per 
100,000 live births per year. Women and men were given equal access to 
diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, 
including HIV, and according to Demographic and Health Surveys, had 
approximately the same level of knowledge about those infections.
    The law provides for equality between men and women and prohibits 
discrimination against women with regard to marriage, divorce, and 
property rights, and women from the upper and upper-middle classes 
assumed leadership roles in companies and government agencies. The law 
prohibits racial and sexual discrimination in employment or educational 
advertisements and the arbitrary dismissal of pregnant women; however, 
in practice discrimination continued.
    The law stipulates that women should receive equal pay for equal 
work. However, societal prejudice and discrimination led to 
disproportionate poverty and unemployment rates for women. Women 
usually worked in less-secure occupations as maids, in factories, or as 
street vendors, and were more likely to be illiterate due to lack of 
formal education. According to a 2010 World Economic Forum survey, 
women were paid 38 percent less than men for comparable work.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived either by birth within the 
country's territory or from one's parents. There were problems with 
government registration of births (see section 2.d.). Although this did 
not cause denial of public services, it limited access to social 
welfare programs and public health services.
    The constitution stipulates that primary and secondary education is 
free. However, citizens and NGOs asserted neither was completely free 
in practice, and fees for parental associations, administration, and 
educational materials greatly reduced access for lower-income families.
    Violence and sexual abuse of children were serious problems. MIMDES 
reported 1,768 cases of violence or sexual abuse of children five years 
of age and younger and 4,216 cases of abuse of children ages six to 11 
during the year. Many abuse cases went unreported because societal 
norms viewed such abuse as a family problem to be resolved privately. 
The Women's Emergency Program received information through child-rights 
and welfare-protection offices and worked to help child victims of 
violence.
    The MIMDES Children's Bureau coordinated government policies and 
programs for children and adolescents. At the grassroots level, more 
than 1,300 child-rights and welfare-protection offices resolved 
complaints ranging from physical and sexual abuse of children to 
abandonment and failure to pay child support. Provincial or district 
governments operated approximately half of these offices, while 
schools, churches, and NGOs ran the others. Law students staffed most 
of the units, particularly in rural districts. When these offices could 
not resolve disputes, officials usually referred cases to the Public 
Ministry's local prosecutor offices, whose adjudications were legally 
binding and had the same force as court judgments.
    The law prohibits child prostitution, penalizing perpetrators with 
five to 12 years in prison. The country was a destination for child sex 
tourism, with Cusco and Iquitos as the principal locations. Involvement 
in child sex tourism is punishable by two to eight years in prison. The 
Foreign Trade and Tourism Ministry ran publicity spots to disseminate 
information about the problem.
    Statutory rape law stipulates different rape offenses, including 
rape of a minor younger than 14 years, with penalties ranging from six 
years to life in prison. The penalty for involvement in child 
pornography is four to eight years' imprisonment and a fine.
    Children continued to be used in armed combat, mainly in those 
parts of the country plagued by narcotics trafficking and terrorism. 
The March petition to the IACHR by the NGO National Coordinator for 
Human Rights (CNDDHH) claimed that both the Shining Path groups in the 
VRAE region and the country's armed forces recruited children. 
Documentation of the Shining Path recruitment surfaced in November 
after digital-camera photographs found at the site of an October 
government raid on a suspected Shining Path narcotics-trafficking unit 
showed children ages five to 16, many of them armed with automatic 
weapons, apparently as part of a group led by Leonardo Huaman Zuniga 
(or ``Alipio''), a notorious Shining Path leader known for bloody 
ambushes. It was thought that children such as those were sometimes 
kidnapped from local towns and were sometimes the children of Shining 
Path members.
    The country's military, no longer a conscripted force, bars minor 
children from being enlisted. However, according to the CNDDHH, there 
continued to be credible reports of children under age 18 in the armed 
forces, most apparently minors who misrepresented their ages. According 
to the CNDDHH, the youths most at risk of being recruited were in the 
country's poorest areas, and they were also those most often sent 
patrolling in the VRAE area, which put them particularly at risk of 
death or injury. In March government representatives met with IACHR 
officials to discuss the CNDDHH petition, but it remained unclear 
whether the Government complied with the IAHCR request for a written 
status report. A June report by the NGOs CNDDHH and Save the Children 
stated that the Government and the military had not done enough to end 
child recruitment; however, the NGOs also cited continuing efforts by 
the army commander, who in May 2009 assured them that he had ordered 
the discharge of approximately 1,000 adolescents and an end to the 
recruitment of minors. During the year the Government incorporated 
proposals, which were developed by the National Commission for the 
Study and Application of International Humanitarian Law (in which the 
CNDDHH was an observer), into a draft law to prevent children from 
serving as soldiers and submitted it to Congress.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was a Jewish population of approximately 
4,000 persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The constitution addresses social 
security, health, education, and employment matters for persons with 
disabilities as well as their right to engage in business, trade, and 
industry. The law provides for the protection, care, rehabilitation, 
security, and social inclusion of persons with disabilities; mandates 
that public spaces be free of barriers and accessible to persons with 
disabilities; and provides for the appointment of a disability rights 
specialist in the Ombudsman's Office. In addition the law mandates that 
Internet sites maintained by governmental, institutional, and other 
service providers be accessible to persons with disabilities and 
requires accessibility through the inclusion of sign language or 
subtitles in all educational and cultural programs on public television 
and in media alternatives in all public libraries. The law prohibits 
discrimination against persons with disabilities and establishes 
infractions and sanctions for noncompliance with specified norms.
    However, the Government devoted limited resources to enforcement 
and training, and many persons with physical disabilities remained 
economically and socially marginalized. Government at the national, 
regional, and local levels 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 Braille for the blind. The 
majority of government Web sites remained inaccessible to persons with 
disabilities, and only the congressional television channel offered 
sign language interpretation.
    A report during the year by the Ibero-American Federation of 
Ombudsmen, a group headed by the country's ombudswoman, Beatriz Merino, 
highlighted the gap between policy and implementation and pointed out 
measures not taken since the 2007 ratification of the UN Convention on 
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The report also pointed out 
the lack of enforcement of accessibility standards in buildings and 
public transport and noted that mainstream schools were not prepared to 
incorporate students with disabilities, despite being encouraged to do 
so by the Government.
    The Government failed to enforce laws safeguarding and attending to 
persons with mental disabilities in situations of social abandonment. 
The number of medical personnel providing services in psychiatric 
institutions was insufficient to care for all patients. The Ombudsman's 
Office reported in 2009 that the Government did not adequately protect 
the rights of persons with mental illnesses, inhumanely treated 
institutionalized patients, discriminated in the provision of health 
and social services, and failed to ensure informed consent.
    The Ombudsman's Office tracked instances of abuse of persons with 
disabilities in educational facilities. A 2000 report identified 38 
cases of mistreatment of students with disabilities in special-
education facilities, but there was no statistic for mainstream 
schools. A 2007 report stated that 15.6 percent of teachers and 15.7 
percent of students reported cases of abuse of children with 
disabilities in their mainstream schools.
    The MIMDES National Council for the Integration of Persons with 
Disabilities (CONADIS) is responsible for protecting the rights of such 
persons. CONADIS continued to work with the NGO Sense International to 
provide educational, vocational, and training services to meet the 
needs of hearing- and sight-impaired persons, integrate them into 
society, and foster increased public awareness.
    CONADIS, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, 
established during the year a Strategic Program Design in which 
municipalities were authorized, but not mandated, to use 0.05 percent 
of their budget for construction, repairs, or modifications that would 
improve accessibility to urban infrastructure, including municipal 
buildings. CONADIS also released suggestions for the incorporation of 
resources and expenses to address the rights of persons with 
disabilities during the planning and budgeting process of government 
agencies.
    In 2009 MIMDES developed an Equal Opportunity for Disabled Persons 
Plan for 2009-18, meant to be a strategic plan across various 
government agencies, to promote the rights of persons with disabilities 
based on four fundamental pillars: health, employment, education, and 
social development. A multisectoral commission was created by executive 
decree to monitor and evaluate progress. According to comments by the 
Ombudsman's Office in December, the plan was insufficiently strategic, 
only involved four of the seven-plus targeted agencies, lacked a 
budget, and did not specify indicators for measuring progress. The 
monitoring and evaluation commission did not include representatives 
from organizations for persons with disabilities.

    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.
    In actuality, however, the large minority of individuals of African 
(Afro-Peruvian) descent faced societal discrimination and prejudice. 
Afro-Peruvians generally did not hold leadership positions in 
government, business, or the military. Few Afro-Peruvians served as 
officers in the navy or the air force, although one Afro-Peruvian 
general officer worked in the presidential palace. Despite the law 
prohibiting the mention of race in job advertisements, NGOs alleged 
that employers often found ways to refuse hiring Afro-Peruvians or to 
relegate them to low-paying service positions. Employers often required 
applicants to submit photos.
    Media often used stereotypes in portraying Afro-Peruvians. On April 
7, a local television channel announced the suspension, but not the 
elimination, of the ``Black Mama'' character from its weekly humor 
show. This role long offended some viewers for its negative portrayal 
of the Afro-Peruvian community.

    Indigenous People.--The Government did not provide sufficient 
resources to protect effectively the civil and political rights of 
indigenous persons, and indigenous communities continued to be 
politically, economically, and socially marginalized.
    The constitution and the law provide that all citizens have the 
rights to use their own language before any authority by means of an 
interpreter and to speak their native language. Spanish and Quechua are 
official languages, but the Government also recognizes 49 other 
indigenous languages. In Congress native speakers of Quechua conducted 
some debate in Quechua (translators were available for non-Quechua 
speakers). In August Congresswoman Hilaria Supa, a native Quechua 
speaker, became the chair of the Congressional Committee on Education. 
The National Program of Mobilization for Literacy continued teaching 
basic literacy and mathematics to poor men and women throughout the 
country. However, language barriers and inadequate infrastructure in 
indigenous communities impeded the full participation of indigenous 
persons in the political process.
    Many indigenous persons lacked identity documents, since they did 
not have access to government offices or could not pay the necessary 
bribes to obtain them. Without identity cards, they were unable to 
exercise basic rights, such as voting and gaining access to health 
services and education. The infant mortality rate was higher in rural 
areas where most indigenous persons lived (27 deaths per 1,000 live 
births), compared with the rate in urban areas (17 deaths per 1,000 
live births), a difference mainly related to the economic situation and 
low education of indigenous persons. Public health centers were located 
primarily in urban areas, but the Government was in the process of 
expanding them to rural areas during the year and incorporating roving 
teams.
    While the constitution recognizes that indigenous persons have the 
right to own land communally, indigenous groups often lacked legal 
title to demarcate the boundaries of their lands, making it difficult 
to resist encroachment by outsiders. By law local communities retain 
the right of unassignability, which should prevent the reassignment of 
indigenous land titles to nonindigenous tenants. However, some 
indigenous community members sold land to outsiders without the 
majority consent of their community. Moreover, in the absence of an 
effective representative institution, there were continuing societal 
conflicts between indigenous and nonindigenous persons, particularly 
concerning environmental issues and extractive industries.
    Additionally, mineral or other subsoil rights belong to the state, 
a situation that often caused conflict between mining interests and 
indigenous communities. For example, the Pluspetrol oil company 
reported oil spills into rivers of the Loreto Region in June and 
September which sparked protests in Amazonian communities. A September 
16 demonstration against the construction of a dam in the Majes Siguas 
II project in Espinar Province, Cusco Region, resulted in casualties 
(see section 1.a.). On December 12, the Centauro mining company ceased 
operations due to protests by members of surrounding communities in 
Catac, Ancash Region.
    Indigenous community representatives attributed the deadly June 
2009 clashes in and around Bagua, Amazonas Region, between security 
forces and demonstrators who were demanding repeal of certain 
legislative decrees, in part to the Government not consulting with 
indigenous community representatives prior to approval, as required by 
International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169 on Indigenous and 
Tribal Peoples (see section 1.d., Role of the Police and Security 
Apparatus). Four working groups established to address clash-related 
problems completed their tasks in December 2009. One of the groups led 
a series of consultative meetings during the year aimed at developing a 
new forestry law to replace the one that was repealed as a consequence 
of the clashes. On May 19, Congress approved a law requiring prior 
consultations with indigenous persons, including consultations on draft 
legislation affecting their communities. In June the president returned 
the law to Congress, maintaining among other objections that it awarded 
indigenous groups veto power over development projects; indigenous 
affairs experts did not agree with this conclusion. The Ombudsman's 
Office continued expressing support in October for the passage of the 
consultation law, and the law remained under congressional review at 
year's end.
    On September 24, the newly created Ministry of Culture absorbed the 
ineffective National Institute for the Development of Andean, 
Amazonian, and Afro-Peruvian Peoples (INDEPA)--a government entity with 
the mission of formulating and adopting national development policies, 
programs, and projects. While the Government maintained that funding 
for programs related to indigenous persons would triple under the new 
arrangement, a number of indigenous organizations stated that they 
feared the new entity would be limited to cultural matters and be less 
effective than INDEPA in protecting indigenous rights.
    Many indigenous persons and those with indigenous physical features 
faced societal discrimination and prejudice. They were often the 
victims of derogatory comments and subjected to illegal discrimination 
in public places, including restaurants and clubs.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws specifically 
prohibiting discrimination against persons based on sexual orientation, 
and such discrimination occurred. Government authorities, including 
police, sometimes harassed and abused LGBT persons.
    On March 29, a court handed down a four-year suspended sentence 
against two police members for not assisting a transsexual person who 
was beaten and injured by a gang.
    The case of the January 2009 kidnap and alleged torture of a 
transgender woman, known as Techi, by members of a neighborhood-watch 
patrol remained at year's end in the Second Court of Tarapoto.
    On July 10, a gay pride march occurred in Lima. By law organizers 
must inform the Interior Ministry of their intention to hold a public 
gathering. There were no impediments or incidents related to the march, 
and police provided sufficient protection.
    There were some instances of official and societal discrimination 
based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, statelessness, and 
access to education or health care during the year.
    The Constitutional Tribunal determined in December 2009 that 
homosexuality is not an impediment to entry into the armed forces or 
the police when it ordered the police academy to reinstate an expelled 
student. The Ministry of Interior Handbook of Human Rights Applied to 
the Civil Police stipulates that police must respect human rights, 
especially of the most vulnerable groups, and referred explicitly to 
the rights of lesbian, gay, and transvestite individuals.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
faced extensive discrimination and harassment.
    The Ministry of Health executed policies to combat discrimination 
based on HIV/AIDS status, including a four-year plan to prevent and 
control HIV/AIDS. Some of these policies enjoyed success, such as the 
treatment of HIV/AIDS, but observers noted that education and 
prevention programs needed strengthening.

Section 7. 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; however, the minimum membership required by law to form a union 
is often prohibitively high. (There is a minimum of 20 employees for a 
workplace-level union and a minimum of 50 employees for a sector-wide 
union.) Employers may not prevent employment because of union 
membership. Judges, prosecutors, and members of the police and military 
are not permitted to form or join unions. According to the 
international NGO Solidarity Center, temporary workers may join the 
same unions as permanent workers but face nonrenewal of their 
contracts. More than 72 percent of the 10.6 million-member labor force 
worked in the informal sector. During the year the Ministry of Labor 
and Promotion of Employment (MOL) announced that the number of unions 
registered nationwide increased from 866 to 941 or approximately 8.7 
percent.
    Many businesses hired temporary or contract workers who were 
effectively barred from participating in those firms' unions. The law 
forbids businesses from hiring temporary workers to perform core 
company functions, requires businesses to monitor their contractors, 
and imposes liability on businesses for the actions of their 
contractors. However, employers circumvented these restrictions in a 
number of ways. Allegations of abuse of subcontracted workers in the 
areas of wage and hour violations and associational rights continued to 
be reported. Abuses occurred in a number of industries, including in 
the seafood processing and cannery industry. For example, at Conservera 
las Americas S.A. de Paita, Piura Region, more than 1,000 subcontracted 
workers did not receive wage and hour benefits determined by law, as 
documented by the union that represented them.
    Regulations limited the associational rights of workers in 
nontraditional export sectors (fishing, wood and paper, nonmetallic 
minerals, jewelry, textile, and agroindustry). For example, Legislative 
Decree No. 728 sets out nine different categories of employment 
contracts under which workers can be hired in response to particular 
circumstances. These types of contracts include temporary, project, or 
seasonal ones, which typically dissuade workers from unionizing. The 
MOL reported that there were 2.5 million workers with contracts under 
Decree No. 728 in 2009. Another decree allows employers to hire workers 
on a series of short-term contracts without requiring that the workers 
be made permanent. There were approximately 268,000 workers employed in 
nontraditional export sectors nationally, according to the MOL.
    There have been frustrated attempts at organization by temporary 
workers in nontraditional export sectors, such as palm oil production. 
For example, a group of employees in a palm oil processing plant in 
Santa Lucia did not initially complain about serious workplace matters 
that allegedly included health and safety problems and gender-based 
harassment due to fear of losing their employment contracts. However, 
during the year the workers began to organize and requested an MOL 
inspection. In October workplace inspectors supported the laborers' 
claims and insisted that the company directly hire 300 workers; the 
company did not comply, according to a Solidarity Center report. The 
company resisted the workers' decision to strike in December and cut 
off a number of resources, including food, normally provided to 
employees. At year's end the situation remained unresolved.
    The constitution provides for the right to strike with certain 
limitations. Unions in essential public services, as determined by the 
Government, must provide a sufficient number of workers during a strike 
to maintain operations. This level of employees is determined jointly 
by the union and labor authorities on an annual basis in the first 
trimester of the year. The law also requires strikers to notify the MOL 
before carrying out a job action.
    During the year the Government declared eight out of 119 strikes 
legal. According to labor leaders, permission to strike was difficult 
to obtain, in part because the MOL feared harming the economy. The MOL 
justified its decisions to deem a strike illegal by citing union 
failure to fulfill the legal requirements necessary to strike. The law 
allows unions to declare a strike in accordance with its own statutes 
and also allows nonunion workers to declare a strike with a majority 
vote, so long as the written act is notarized and announced at least 
five working days prior to a strike. Workers who strike legally retain 
avenues for reinstatement that illegal strikers lose. However, all 
workers retain legal protections during the administrative procedure 
period, which means, in practice, that workers may conduct short, 
illegal strikes of up to 14 days with protection of the law. Dismissal 
of striking workers and delays in reinstatement of these workers, in 
both legal and illegal strikes, are the main repercussions that 
employers utilized to dissuade workers from going on strike.
    Despite improved laws that facilitate workers' calling of a legal 
strike, employers continued to dismiss workers for exercising the right 
to strike. Drawn-out judicial processes and lack of enforcement 
following strike-related dismissals, however, threatened to nullify 
such improvements. During the year a domestic NGO drew on MOL data and 
stated that 84 percent of strikes were based on unenforced decisions, 
collective bargaining, noncompliance with legal norms or collective 
bargaining agreements, and dismissals (both general and from antiunion 
animus) and 16 percent were based on wage issues.

    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.
    Significant delays in the collective bargaining process due to 
employers' lack of interest in concluding agreements proved to be a 
common obstacle to compliance with worker rights to bargain 
collectively. Public-sector employers--such as the drinking water 
company in Piura and Lambayeque regions, the electricity company in Ica 
Region, the Federico Villarreal National University in Lima, and the 
National Superintendency of Tax Administration in Lima--did not bargain 
according to established timelines, resulting in no agreements for 
workers in those sectors by year's end.
    Although a conciliation and arbitration system exists, union 
officials complained that the high cost of arbitration made it 
difficult to use. Also, many companies refused to be bound by the 
decisions and appealed to the Constitutional Tribunal. Of the 639 
registered collective bargaining agreement disputes in 2009, the MOL 
reported that 71 percent (454) were resolved that year: 398 by direct 
negotiation, 25 by conciliation, 24 by settlement, five by arbitration, 
and two by MOL administrative decision.
    On January 15, Congress adopted a new labor procedure law (No. 
29497) to improve the efficiency of resolving labor disputes. The new 
law, which entered into force on July 15 and whose implementation was 
not completed by year's end, requires that labor conflicts be resolved 
in less than six months, allows unions or their representatives to 
appear in court on behalf of workers, requires proceedings to be 
conducted orally and video-recorded, and relieves the employee from the 
burden of proving an employee/employer relationship. The law prohibits 
antiunion discrimination and other forms of employer intimidation, and 
workers fired for union activity have the right to reinstatement. 
However, the Government did not effectively enforce the new law, and 
employers engaged in antiunion practices. The International Trade Union 
Confederation (ITUC) noted in its 2009 annual report that the Law of 
Productivity and Competitiveness legalizes unfair dismissals by giving 
companies the right to fire employees without justification, if they 
offer severance pay fixed by law. The ITUC alleged that under this law 
employers pressured unionists to accept severance pay and threatened 
them with nonrenewal of contract.
    In August labor unions, including the General Confederation of 
Workers of Peru (CGTP), reported the dismissal of more than 4,000 
workers during the last four and a half years from a range of economic 
sectors for union-related activities. For example, Diamante factory, a 
fish-processing plant operating in Chancay and Pisco, dismissed 
unionized employees for reasons unrelated to work performance according 
to the CGTP.
    There are no known special laws or exemptions from regular labor 
laws in export processing zones (EPZs), although in actuality 
businesses in the four EPZs had more legal flexibility in hiring 
temporary labor. According to the MOL, there is one recognized public-
sector union with 122 members in one EPZ. All labor in the EPZs 
(estimated at no more than 500 workers) was subcontracted.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor, including labor by children; however, there 
were reports that such practices occurred. Also see the Department of 
State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The ILO estimated in 2006 that 20-40,000 individuals worked as 
forced laborers, primarily in the logging industry in two provinces in 
the Amazonas Region. The ILO Committee of Experts in 2008 observed that 
forced labor practices, including slavery and debt bondage, affected 
many workers from indigenous communities and called upon the Government 
to take the necessary measures in law to criminalize and repress forced 
labor practices. At year's end the Government's response was not known.

    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; however, in practice child labor 
remained a serious problem, especially in the informal sector. The ILO 
estimated that during the year there were approximately 3.3 million 
working children in the country, with 70 percent (2.3 million) working 
in the worst forms of child labor. Child labor was a serious problem in 
informal sector activities of gold mining, brick and fireworks 
manufacturing; stone extraction; and the production of timber, Brazil 
nuts, and coca. According to the country's media reports, children 
worked in hazardous conditions, including approximately 141,000 on the 
streets, 101,000 at night, and 87,000 with trash. Also see the 
Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 
www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The legal minimum age for employment is 14. However, children 
between the ages of 12 and 14 may work in certain jobs for up to four 
hours per day, and adolescents between ages 15 and 17 may work up to 
six hours per day, if they obtain special permission from the MOL and 
certify that they are attending school. In certain sectors of the 
economy, higher minimums were in force: age 15, in industrial, 
commercial, or mining; and age 16, in fishing.
    On April 20, MIMDES published Decree No. 003-2010 that approved a 
list of the worst forms of child labor. This decree differed from its 
predecessor as the list may be modified as necessary. Specifically 
prohibited are a number of occupations considered hazardous for 
children, including 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.
    The MOL Office of Labor Protection for Minors may issue permits 
authorizing persons under age 18 to work legally. During the year the 
MOL granted 520 such permits to children between ages 14 and 17. 
Parents must apply for the permits, and employers must have a permit on 
file to hire a child. In many cases the child worked alongside the 
parents in a family business, usually in areas and sectors identified 
above.
    The MOL is responsible for enforcing child labor laws, and its 
inspectors may investigate reports of illegal child labor. The ministry 
stated that inspectors conducted routine visits without notice to areas 
where persons or organizations reported child labor problems. The 
Government reported that it fined and suspended operations of firms 
that violated labor laws. From January through October, authorities 
fined 11 businesses 17,746 soles (approximately $6,300) for hiring 14 
minors illegally or without seeking the proper authorization.
    Inspectors maintained contact with a wide variety of local NGOs, 
church officials, law enforcement officials, and school officials. 
There were 412 labor inspectors (213 in Lima) whose inspections focused 
on the formal sector.
    The Office of the Ombudsman for Children and Adolescents (DEMUNA) 
worked with the MOL to document complaints regarding violations of 
child labor laws. There were more than 1,000 DEMUNA offices in 
municipalities throughout the country. DEMUNA also operated a 
decentralized child labor reporting and tracking system. MIMDES 
administered a program that sent specialized teachers to the streets to 
provide education and support to minors involved in begging and other 
kinds of work. The MOL instituted several programs aimed at improving 
access to legal work for youth, including the ProCerti and ProJoven 
programs to educate youth regarding, respectively, their rights to work 
and training in a variety of employable skills.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--In November the statutory 
monthly minimum wage was increased from 550 soles (approximately $196) 
to 600 soles ($215), an amount that did not provide a decent standard 
of living for many families. The Government estimated the poverty line 
to be approximately 257 soles ($92) a month per person, although it 
varied by region. The MOL enforced the minimum wage only in the formal 
sector, which employed approximately 30 percent of the labor force, and 
many workers in the unregulated informal sector, most of whom were 
self-employed, received less.
    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 additional compensation for work at night. Labor, business, 
and the Government reported that the majority of companies in the 
formal sector generally complied with the law.
    A decree defines acts of discrimination against domestic workers. 
Employers frequently required long hours from domestic workers and paid 
low wages. During the year the MOL launched an extensive campaign to 
inform domestic workers of their rights.
    Although occupational health and safety standards exist, the 
Government often did not devote sufficient personnel, technical, and 
financial resources to enforce them. Labor sources 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 MOL lacked an efficient tracking 
system and at times due to a lack of political will, according to a 
local labor NGO.
    According to the MOL, its inspectors conducted 46,355 visits to 
worksites for the purposes of orientation (10.7 percent) and inspection 
(89.3 percent) in 2009. Through October the MOL levied approximately 12 
million soles ($4.2 million) in fines on 2,089 companies for failure to 
place employees on labor rolls and health and safety violations.
    The National Federation of Mineworkers reported that 61 miners died 
in mining accidents in the formal mining sector during the year, mainly 
as a result of rockslides, falls, and asphyxiation.
    In cases of industrial accidents, an agreement between the employer 
and worker usually determined compensation. The worker did not need to 
prove an employer's culpability in order to obtain compensation for 
work-related injuries. The law did not provide workers the right to 
remove themselves from potentially dangerous situations without 
jeopardizing employment.

                               __________

                         SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS

    Saint Kitts and Nevis is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy and 
federation, with a population of approximately 39,200. In national 
elections on January 25, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas's Saint Kitts 
and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) won six seats in the 11-seat 
legislature. Independent observers concluded that the election had no 
major irregularities and was generally free and fair, but called for 
electoral reform. The constitution provides the smaller island of Nevis 
considerable self-government under a premier. In 2006 voters in Nevis 
elected Joseph Parry of the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) as premier. 
Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
    Human rights problems included use of excessive force by police, 
poor prison conditions, violence against women, and discrimination 
against homosexuality.

                        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 there were 
no reports that government officials employed them. However, due to 
regular reports of violent incidents involving police, law enforcement 
officials came under increased scrutiny, and some citizens were afraid 
to report crime because of the heavy-handedness with which police have 
carried out their duties. Corporal punishment is legal and an accepted 
measure for juveniles in schools and the justice system. A court can 
order that an accused person receive lashes if found guilty.
    Authorities brought no charges against the police officers 
responsible for two police shootings in 2008, determining at the time 
that the shootings were justifiable.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prisons remained 
overcrowded, and facilities austere. Built in 1840, the prison on Saint 
Kitts had an intended capacity of 150 prisoners but held more than 270 
prisoners; some prisoners slept on mats on the floor. Pretrial 
detainees were sometimes held together with convicted prisoners. There 
were five female inmates and fewer than 10 juveniles, all separated 
from adult male prisoners. Prisoners and detainees had reasonable 
access to visitors, were permitted religious observances, and had 
reasonable access to complaint mechanisms and the ability to request 
inquiry into conditions. The Government investigated and monitored 
prison conditions, and 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 an approximately 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. When warranted, they refer them to an internal 
disciplinary tribunal for adjudication; penalties include dismissal, 
warnings, or other administrative action. No information was available 
as to the number or disposition of cases under consideration during the 
year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in 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.
    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.

    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. Juries are used at the High Court 
level for criminal matters only. 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, including lawsuits regarding 
alleged civil rights violations.

    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. However, during the January 
elections, the opposition party claimed that government-controlled 
media unfairly favored the ruling party.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
According to the International Telecommunication Union, there were 34 
Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2009.

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide 
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, 
and repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights 
in practice.
    The law does not address forced exile, but the Government did not 
use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government has not signed the 1967 
protocol to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. The 
Government has not established a system for providing protection to 
refugees, and it did not routinely grant refugee status or asylum. The 
Government did not expel or return refugees to countries where their 
lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion; however, no such cases arose during the year.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and was prepared to cooperate with 
other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance 
to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum 
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern. There was an 
honorary UNHCR liaison 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 on the basis of 
universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--There is a multiparty 
political system, in which political parties were free to conduct their 
activities.
    In the January 25 general elections, Prime Minister Denzil 
Douglas's SKNLP returned to office after winning six of eight Saint 
Kitts-assigned seats in the 11-seat National Assembly. The People's 
Action Movement (PAM) party won two seats. The Concerned Citizens 
Movement party won two of the three assembly seats assigned to Nevis. 
On election day armed police responded to address unrest over 
allegations of voting fraud in the constituency of the opposition 
leader. International observers from the Commonwealth, the Caribbean 
Community, and the Organization of American States (OAS) concluded that 
the elections were generally free and fair. The Commonwealth observer 
team reported that ``voters were able to exercise their right to vote 
in accordance with legal procedures'' but found ``issues of substance'' 
requiring improvement in the electoral process, including a need to 
tighten residency requirements for voter registration and lack of broad 
and transparent consultation in the appointment of election officials 
and boundary redistribution. The OAS electoral mission made similar 
recommendations and added calls for guaranteed access to the media; 
mechanisms to recruit, train, and finance female candidates; and 
greater civil society support for the electoral process.
    For the January election, the Government successfully implemented 
identity controls for voting, alleviating past concerns over 
duplicative voting and fraud related to false identities. There are no 
campaign finance regulations or prohibitions on political parties 
paying for the transportation of overseas nationals to return to the 
country to vote. Observers remained concerned some voters may be 
registered in constituencies in which they do not live.
    The island of Nevis exercises considerable self-government, with 
its own premier and legislature. It also has the right to secede from 
the federation in accordance with certain enumerated procedures. In 
2006 voters in Nevis elected Joseph Parry of the NRP as premier.
    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 was one woman in the 14-member parliament--a 
cabinet minister--and three of four magistrates were female. In Nevis 
one elected member of the House of Assembly, the appointed president of 
the House of Assembly, and the island's resident judge were women.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were 
isolated reports of government corruption during the year. The 
opposition PAM party continued to allege possible misconduct on the 
part of government officials.
    Public officials are not subject to financial disclosure laws, and 
there is no agency responsible for combating government corruption.
    While no laws provide for public access to government information, 
the Government maintained a Web site with limited information 
concerning government actions.

Section 5. 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 6. 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.--The law prohibits rape, but it 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. There were 15 rapes and 23 indecent assault 
cases reported during the year.
    Violence against women was a problem. The law criminalizes domestic 
violence, including emotional abuse, and provides penalties of up to 
EC$13,500 ($5,000) or six months in prison. Although many women were 
reluctant to file complaints or pursue them in the courts, the Ministry 
of Gender Affairs handled an annual average of 25 to 30 reports of 
domestic violence. The director believed that, due to the nature of the 
crime, many women did not feel comfortable reporting it or asking for a 
protection order. There were no prosecutions or convictions for 
domestic violence during the year.
    The ministry 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.
    The law does not specifically address sexual harassment, and it 
remained a problem.
    Reproductive rights were generally protected; couples and 
individuals had the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of 
children. The National Family Planning Office provided information on 
contraception and support for reproductive rights on a 
nondiscriminatory basis. Skilled attendance at delivery and in 
postpartum care was widely available. A 2008 report by the UN 
Children's Fund indicated that skilled attendance at birth was 100 
percent and estimated the contraceptive prevalence rate at 54 percent. 
Incidence of maternal mortality was not available. Women and men were 
given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for sexually 
transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
    The role of women in society is not restricted by law but was 
circumscribed by culture and tradition; women did not occupy as many 
senior positions as men in society. The Ministry 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. Although no legislation requires equal 
pay for equal work, women and men generally received equal salaries for 
comparable jobs.

    Children.--Children acquire citizenship by birth in the country, 
and all are registered at birth and equally able to access public 
education and public services. Children born to citizen parents abroad 
can be registered by either of their parents.
    Child abuse remained a major problem. The law sets the age of 
consent at 16. Authorities received a number of reports of sexual 
assaults against children during the year and brought charges in cases 
involving alleged sexual activity with minors (indecent assault). Under 
the statutory rape law, sexual relations with anyone under 16 are 
illegal, with penalties ranging from probation to life in prison. Child 
pornography is illegal and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in 
prison.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on 
International Child Abduction. For information on international 
parental child abduction, please see the Department of State's annual 
report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no organized Jewish community, and there 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--In 2009 there were no reports that persons 
were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

    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.
    Persons who are mentally ill and deemed a menace to society can be 
incarcerated for life; there were five such persons in the prison. 
Ministry of Health nurses in the various district health centers deal 
with persons with mental illness, and the General Hospital has a wing 
dedicated to caring for patients with mental illness.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws that 
prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual 
orientation. Male homosexual acts are illegal and carry penalties up to 
10 years in prison. Female homosexual acts are not barred by statute.
    Societal attitudes towards homosexuality impede operation and free 
association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
organizations and the openness of LGBT persons. However, there were no 
reports of actual violence or discrimination based on sexual 
orientation.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Although no statistics 
were available, anecdotal evidence suggested that societal 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS occurred.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--Workers exercised their legal right 
to form and join trade unions. Employers are not legally bound 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 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, was closely 
associated with the SKNLP and was active in all sectors of the economy.
    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.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Labor unions 
have the legal right to organize and to negotiate 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.
    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 workers employed at least one year, based upon their 
length of service.
    There are no export processing zones.

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

    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 reports 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 and domestic service. 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 children looking 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.--The Government sets the minimum 
wage, which was EC$8.00 ($3.00) an hour. Average wages were 
considerably higher than the minimum wage, which would not provide a 
decent standard of living for a worker and family. 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 received 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 are 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 171,000. In generally free and fair 
elections in 2006, 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. In 2007 Stephenson King was appointed prime 
minister following Compton's death. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    There were human rights problems in some areas, including police 
killings, abuse of suspects and prisoners by the police, corruption, 
long delays in trials and sentencing, violence against women, child 
abuse, and discrimination against homosexuality.

                        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 killed four persons during the year. The Criminal 
Investigations Department had investigations and inquests under way at 
year's end. The director of public prosecutions (DPP) reviews all 
police shootings resulting in death and refers matters for inquest.
    On March 28, police shot and killed Peter William while 
apprehending him during a response to a burglary. On April 17, police 
shot and killed Derickson Auguste after Auguste pointed a firearm at 
the police during a routine patrol. The DPP ordered an inquest into 
both of those shootings on July 30.
    On August 31, police shot and killed Hilarion Emmanuel while 
attempting to disarm him during a burglary investigation. The Criminal 
Investigations Department was investigating at year's end.
    One other separate fatal shooting by police was under 
investigation. All four cases involved shootings by police officers 
claiming they acted in self-defense while investigating crimes. No 
additional information on these shootings was available during the 
internal investigations and inquests.
    Inquests were still pending in the 2009 police killings of Anthony 
Fulgence and Alfred James. Criminal charges were filed and were pending 
against the officer involved in the 2008 police shooting of John Garvy 
Alcindor, and a civil suit filed by the family was still pending in the 
2008 police killing of Timothy St Lucre of Bouton.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--The constitution prohibits such practices; however, 
prisoners and suspects regularly complained of physical abuse by police 
and prison officers. There also were reports of beatings by police of 
arrestees either during the arrest or while in custody at the initial 
detention center prior to arrival at the prison.
    During the year citizens filed a number of complaints against the 
police, most of which were for abuse of authority.
    In August a 22-year-old woman claimed she had been raped by members 
of the police. The Government initiated an independent inquiry into the 
allegations. As of year's end, the DPP had sent the matter back to the 
police for additional follow-up investigation, and the police had 
completed the tasks and referred the case back to the DPP.
    Investigations into the May 2009 case in which Keiran Herman 
claimed police beat, kicked, and assaulted him; into the 2008 case in 
which police shot and injured Miguel Edwards; the 2007 incident in 
which members of the police Special Services Unit shot Andre Halls in 
the leg; and the 2006 police shooting of a 17-year-old boy were still 
pending in various stages of review and prosecution with the office of 
the DPP.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions generally met international standards, and the 
Government permitted visits by independent human rights observers.
    The Bordelais Correctional Facility has an intended capacity of 500 
inmates; there were 551 inmates as of December 21, of whom 302 were 
sentenced prisoners and 249 were on remand awaiting trial or other 
judicial disposition. There were nine female inmates and 82 youthful 
offenders ages 16-21. Female inmates were segregated from male inmates, 
as were youthful offenders. Detainees were segregated from sentenced 
inmates.
    A criminal justice expert from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime 
toured the facility during the year. Prisoners and detainees had 
reasonable access to visitors and were permitted religious observance. 
Prison authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit 
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship. Prisoners and 
detainees had access to attorneys for this purpose.
    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, and conditions were substandard. The boys 
in the program normally stay for two years and receive vocational 
training while enrolled. There was no additional information available 
about conditions at the center or plans for a replacement.

    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 826 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 National Security.
    The police force's internal complaints unit, which consists of 
retired police officers, received and investigated complaints made by 
the public and sent its findings to the Police Complaints Commission, a 
civilian body. The commission reviewed the cases and made 
recommendations for internal disciplinary action, but human rights 
monitors considered the process ineffective, and the DPP stated that 
the commission had not made any recommendations for prosecution in many 
years.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The 
constitution 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 are allowed prompt access to 
counsel and family. There is a functioning bail system.
    Prolonged pretrial detention continued to be a problem; 
approximately 270 of the prisoners at Bordelais Correctional Facility 
were on remand awaiting trial. Those charged with serious crimes spent 
an estimated six months to five years in pretrial detention.
    In March prisoner Eugene St. Romain, who alleged that he had been 
detained but never tried since April 2004 on a charge of murder, 
entered a plea of not guilty. At year's end he awaited a trial date.
    In July Shawn Phillip was tried for murder after being held in 
custody on remand since his arrest in 2003. The trial ended in 
acquittal based upon the recantation of evidence by the original 
prosecution witnesses.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
    Trials can be by jury and are public. In cases involving capital 
punishment, legal counsel is provided for those who cannot afford a 
defense attorney. 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 and have access to government-held evidence. An 
attorney can be provided at public expense if needed in cases of 
serious criminal charges.

    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 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.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The 
Internet was largely available in homes, offices, and Internet cafes in 
urban areas; infrastructure limitations restricted Internet access in 
some villages. According to the International Telecommunication Union, 
there were 83 Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2009.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The constitution 
provides for freedoms of assembly and association, and the Government 
generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and the law provide 
for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, 
and repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights 
in practice.
    The constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not 
use it.

    Protection of Refugees.--The country is not a party to the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 protocol, and 
no formal government policy toward refugee or asylum requests existed. 
The Government did not expel or return refugees to countries where 
their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or 
political opinion; however, no such cases arose during the year.
    The Government was prepared to cooperate with the Office of the UN 
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The UNHCR and 
the St. Lucia Red Cross investigated the claims of seven refugees from 
Sri Lanka. One had been repatriated, and one was in the process of 
being repatriated at the end of the year. The other five did not want 
to return to Sri Lanka, and the UNHCR was working on their cases at the 
end of the year.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to 
        Change Their Government
    The constitution provides citizens with the right to change their 
government peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice 
through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In 2006 Sir John Compton's 
UWP defeated Kenny Anthony's SLP by winning 11 of 17 parliamentary 
seats. Electoral observer missions from both the Organization of 
American States and the Caribbean Community considered the elections 
generally free and fair. Following Compton's death in September 2007, 
the governor general, in accordance with the constitution, appointed 
Stephenson King, the person who commanded the majority in the House of 
Assembly, as prime minister.
    Political parties could operate without restrictions.
    There was one woman elected to the 17-seat House of Assembly, and 
the appointed speaker of the house was a woman. There were three women 
in the 11-member appointed Senate; one served as president of the 
Senate, and one served as the sole female member of the 14-person 
cabinet. The governor general was a woman.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented the law effectively. Corruption 
continued to be viewed as serious and was widely discussed by the 
media, the business community, and opposition politicians. Observers 
expressed concern that the country was moving backwards in terms of 
transparency and accountability. There was also concern that some 
foreign assistance programs went through the specific offices of 
parliamentarians, providing the opportunity for graft. There was an 
increasing public perception that certain politicians were wielding 
undue influence over the law enforcement community to shield them from 
investigation for corrupt practices.
    In June the appellate court ruled that actions taken in 2009 by the 
attorney general and other cabinet members to approve a duty-free 
waiver for a colleague were unlawful, unreasonable, irrational, and 
made in bad faith. The court ruling accused the cabinet members of 
being involved in a cover up of fraud and corruption, but there were no 
consequences aside from public disclosure.
    High-level government officials, including elected officials, were 
subject to annual disclosure of their financial assets to the Integrity 
Commission, a constitutionally established commission. The 
parliamentary commissioner, auditor general, and the Public Services 
Commission are responsible for combating corruption. Parliament can 
also appoint a special committee to investigate specific allegations of 
corruption.
    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 5. 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, and government officials often were cooperative and 
responsive to their views.

Section 6. 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.--The law effectively criminalizes rape, but not spousal 
rape. Police and courts enforced laws to protect women against rape, 
which is punishable by 14 years' to life imprisonment. The police were 
not reluctant to arrest or prosecute offenders, although many victims 
were reluctant to report cases of rape or to press charges. No data 
were available about the number of rapes reported, charges brought, or 
convictions obtained. The DPP reported that sexual assault cases were a 
growing problem, but that most cases were not prosecuted due to the 
reluctance of victims to press charges.
    Domestic violence was the most significant human rights problem in 
the country. While police were willing to arrest offenders, the 
Government prosecuted crimes of violence against women only when the 
victim pressed charges. Often victims were reluctant to press charges 
due to their reliance on financial assistance of the abuser. Shelters, 
hotlines, and improved police training were all used to deal with the 
problem, but the lack of financial security for the victim was the key 
impediment. Shelters were operated in private homes, in order to 
preserve the privacy of the victims, but the location of a shelter was 
hard to keep secret. The family courts heard cases of domestic violence 
and crimes against women and children.
    The Ministry of Health Wellness, Family Affairs, National 
Mobilization, Human Services, 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. 
Police arrested and charged perpetrators in a number of domestic 
violence cases.
    The police's Vulnerable Persons Unit, designed to handle cases 
involving violence against women and children, increased police 
responsiveness to these cases. As a result the police reported an 
increase in the reporting of sexual crimes against women and children 
over previous years. This unit worked closely with the Family Court and 
the ministry's Gender Relations and Human Services Divisions.
    The Gender Relations Division also ran the Women's Support Center, 
which provided shelter, counseling, residential services, a 24-hour 
hotline, and assistance in finding employment. Various nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs), such as the Saint Lucia Crisis Center and the 
National Organization of Women (NOW), also provided counseling, 
referral, education, and empowerment services. The crisis center 
assisted in cases of physical violence, incest, nonpayment of child 
support, alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, custody, and visitation 
rights.
    The Family Court can issue a protection order prohibiting an abuser 
from entering or remaining in the residence of a specified person. 
Occupation and tenancy orders provide certain residential rights to 
victims of domestic violence, such as rental payments and other 
protective orders. The Family Court employed full-time social workers 
who assisted victims of domestic violence.
    The criminal code prohibits sexual harassment, but it remained a 
problem, as government enforcement was not an effective deterrent. 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.
    Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely the number, 
spacing, and timing of their children. Skilled attendance at delivery 
and in postpartum care was widely available. Access to contraception 
was widely available. Incidence of maternal mortality was not 
available. Testing for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases was 
nondiscriminatory and also widely available.
    Women generally enjoyed equal rights, including in economic, 
family, property, and judicial matters. Women's affairs were under the 
jurisdiction of the Gender Relations Division, whose parent ministry 
was responsible for protecting women's rights in domestic violence 
cases and preventing discrimination against women, including ensuring 
equal treatment in employment.

    Children.--Children receive citizenship by birth to a Saint Lucia 
parent. Birth certificates were provided to the parents without undue 
administrative delay.
    Child abuse remained a problem. The Division of Human Services and 
Family Affairs handled a number of cases of sexual abuse, physical 
abuse, abandonment, and psychological abuse, but no figures were 
available on its prevalence during the year.
    The few social welfare programs in the country were overwhelmed. As 
a result, parents of sexually abused children sometimes declined to 
press sexual assault charges against the abuser in exchange for 
financial contributions toward the welfare of victims of such abuse. 
Nonetheless, courts heard some child sexual abuse cases and convicted 
and sentenced offenders.
    The human services division 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. The division was also involved with public outreach in schools, 
church organizations, and community groups.
    The Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) 
operated a hotline for families suffering from different forms of 
abuse; however, there was no government shelter for abused children, 
resulting in the return of many children to the homes in which they 
were abused. Through the hotline, CAFRA learned of various cases of 
sexual abuse that were never reported to the police. The Government did 
not provide funding for foster care, and few families were willing to 
take in foster children.
    Laws on rape include statutory rape; the age of consent is 16. 
There was no separate law defining or specifically prohibiting child 
pornography.
    The Catholic Church operated the Holy Family Home for abused and 
abandoned children, with space for up to 40 children who were referred 
to the center by the police or social workers.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no organized Jewish community, and there 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--In 2009 there were no reports that persons 
were trafficked to, from, or within the country.

    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, but only a few 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 the blind up to the secondary level. There 
were isolated cases of persons with disabilities holding jobs, 
including one blind bank teller, but a recent blind graduate from the 
local community college was not able to secure employment. There also 
was a school for persons with mental disabilities; however, children 
with disabilities faced barriers in education, and there were few 
opportunities for such persons when they became adults.
    A new foreign-built mental health facility, completed in October 
2009, was placed in operation during the year. There were no other 
mental health facilities on the island, and mentally ill persons were 
not generally provided much care. The Government's four mental health 
social workers had an average of more than 100 cases each.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Homosexual acts for both sexes 
are illegal under indecency statues, and some male homosexual acts are 
also illegal under anal intercourse laws. Indecency statutes carry a 
maximum penalty of five years, and anal intercourse carries a maximum 
penalty of 10 years in prison.
    There was widespread social discrimination against lesbians, gays, 
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the deeply conservative 
society. There were few openly LGBT persons in the country.

    Other Societal Violence or 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 7. 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. Approximately 25 percent of the total 
workforce was unionized, including most public sector employees. There 
were four major unions, the largest being the National Workers Union 
(NWU), with more than 3,000 members in private sector firms; the civil 
service association, a quasi-union (as civil service workers were not 
legally permitted to join a union), with 1,008 members; the teachers 
union; and the prison service and police welfare associations that were 
also quasi-unions. All the unions belong to the umbrella Saint Lucia 
Trade Union Federation (SLTUF). The NWU recently organized workers for 
the first time in the financial services industry and formed a 
financial services council to look at ways to harmonize benefits and 
wages in the growing financial services sector.
    The law protects the right to strike, and workers exercised that 
right in practice. However, the law prohibits members of the police and 
fire departments from striking on the grounds that these professions 
are ``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. Once workers have 
given notice, the matter is usually referred to an ad hoc tribunal set 
up under the Essential Service Act. The Government selects tribunal 
members, following rules to ensure tripartite representation. The ad 
hoc labor tribunals try to resolve the dispute through mandatory 
arbitration.
    The April 2009 strike against the Government by the civil service 
association and the SLTUF resulted in the Government agreeing to a 14.5 
percent pay raise.

    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.
    The law does not prohibit antiunion discrimination, and workers 
fired for union activity did not have the right to reinstatement. In 
practice many companies were openly antiunion.
    There was no additional information regarding the NWU complaint 
with the labor commissioner that Diamond International Corporation 
engaged in antiunion discrimination through selective dismissal of pro-
union activists. The NWU general secretary also noted that there were a 
number of other instances of antiunion activity on the part of 
corporations, particularly among the foreign-owned hotel chains, but 
that the NWU was not taking issue with them due to the slowing of the 
economy.
    The labor law extends to the export processing zones, and there 
were no administrative or legal impediments to union organizing or 
collective bargaining in those zones. The NWU was the only union 
representing workers in the export processing zones, representing 
workers in eight companies operating there.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The Government 
prohibits forced or compulsory labor, 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 
in the rural areas, primarily where school-age children helped harvest 
bananas from family trees. Children also typically worked in urban food 
stalls or sold confectionery on sidewalks 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 EC$9.60 ($3.55) for a first offense and EC$24 ($8.88) 
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 EC$300 ($111), for shop 
assistants EC$200 ($74), and for messengers EC$160 ($59). The 
Government recognized that the minimum wage law was outdated and 
established a minimum wage commission, which issued a preliminary 
report to Parliament in October. 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. However, a number of smaller establishments paid less than 
the minimum wage, and Haitians and others often received less than the 
minimum wage due to illegal practices of employers.
    The labor commissioner is charged with monitoring violations of 
labor law, including the minimum wage. There were seven compliance 
officers to cover the entire country and to monitor compliance with 
occupational and safety standards, pension standards, and minimum wage 
violations. In practice there were few reported violations as those who 
received less than the minimum wage were often in the country illegally 
and afraid of reprisal, including possible deportation. Labor unions 
did not routinely report such violations.
    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.
    Occupational health and safety regulations were relatively well 
developed. The ministry enforced the act through threat of closure if 
it discovered violations in a business and the business 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 121,000. On December 13, 
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves' Unity Labour Party (ULP) was returned 
to office in elections that international observers assessed as 
generally free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    There were continued human rights problems in some areas, primarily 
impunity for police who used excessive force, poor prison conditions, 
an overburdened court system, violence against women, abuse of 
children, and discrimination against homosexual persons.

                        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 killed one person during the year. The Criminal 
Investigations Department investigated it, as it does all police 
killings.
    On August 7, police Constable Rohan McDowall shot and killed 
Constable Kingsley John. There was no public report of the 
investigation results, but media reports claimed the shooting was 
accidental. Nonetheless, authorities charged McDowall with murder. His 
trial was originally scheduled for November but later was postponed to 
early 2011.

    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 
nongovernmental organization (NGO) St. Vincent and the Grenadines Human 
Rights Association (SVGHRA) continued to assert that a number of 
confessions resulted from unwarranted police practices, including the 
use of physical force during detention. The SVGHRA complained that the 
Government failed to investigate adequately allegations of abuse or 
punish those police officers responsible for such abuses.
    Police officers investigated all complaints from citizens about 
assault or other abuse by the police and submitted their findings to 
the police commissioner. The Government did not normally provide any 
public information about the disposition of such complaints or any 
disciplinary charges or other actions taken.
    In August a police officer accidentally shot three girls during the 
response to a civil disturbance involving a mentally disturbed man. The 
matter was under investigation at year's end.
    In May a coroner's inquest cleared police officers accused of 
fatally shooting three men during a narcotics raid in May 2009, despite 
human rights groups' claims that they had used excessive force.
    In February a local judge fined each of the three police officers 
convicted of the 2008 beating of 15-year-old Jemark Jackson EC$1,512 
($560). The judge declared the three officers should not be jailed for 
being ``overzealous.''

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions remained 
poor. Prison buildings were antiquated and overcrowded, with Her 
Majesty's Prison in Kingstown holding 413 inmates in a building 
intended to hold approximately 150 inmates, a situation that created 
serious health and safety problems. A larger prison, the Belle Isle 
Correctional Facility, with separate buildings for male and female 
inmates, officially opened in October 2009 but remained empty. While 
prisoners were working at the on-site farm, no prisoners were held in 
the facility, and there was no projected date to move prisoners into 
the new facility.
    The SVGHRA reported that prison problems such as endemic violence, 
understaffing, underpaid guards, uncontrolled weapons and drugs, 
increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS, and unhygienic conditions persisted. 
Corrupt prison staff commonly served as a source of drugs, weapons, and 
cell phones. The SVGHRA also alleged that guards routinely beat 
prisoners to extract information regarding escapes, violence, and crime 
committed in the prison.
    The Fort Charlotte Prison held nine female inmates in a separate 
section designed to hold 50 inmates, where conditions were antiquated 
and unhygienic. The facilities at Belle Isle, designed to hold 288 
prisoners, promise to be better, once it is in use. Pretrial detainees 
and young offenders (16 to 21 years of age), 10 percent of the total 
male prison population, were held with convicted prisoners.
    Each convict had a schedule of visitors limited to one visit per 
week. There were no limitations for visitors for those in custody but 
not yet convicted. Local churches organized weekly religious services. 
Prisoners could file complaints by writing the court registrar who 
schedules court hearings.
    Conditions were inadequate for juvenile offenders. Boys younger 
than 16 were held at the Liberty Lodge Boys' Training Center, which 
takes in at-risk boys who can no longer stay at home due to domestic 
problems or involvement with criminal activity. Most of the 25 boys 
were at the center because of domestic problems, and only a small 
number were charged with committing a crime.
    In August citizens formed a local chapter of the global 
organization called the Prison Fellowship. Its mandate is to provide 
counseling services to prison inmates, victims, and families. It will 
also provide prison-based programs such as literacy, formal education, 
and skills training.
    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 
890 members of the police 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 Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--The law 
requires judicial authority to issue arrest warrants. 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 delays occurred.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The law provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected this 
provision in practice.

    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 in the civil 
court or for 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. Lengthy delays occurred in preliminary inquiries for serious 
crimes. A backlog of pending cases continued because the magistrate's 
court in Kingstown continued to lack a full complement of magistrates.

    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.
    The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of 
views without restriction. However, there continued to be accounts of 
the prime minister or other officials rebuking the press for comments 
critical of the Government.
    In February the prime minister threatened to sue a local radio 
station, two talk show hosts, and an advertising company for alleging 
impropriety regarding a deposit in a state-owned bank. Local media 
feared the chilling effect of such threats on media reporting of 
alleged government wrongdoing.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The 
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were 70 
Internet users per 100 inhabitants.

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government has not established a 
system for providing protection to refugees or asylum seekers, and it 
did not grant refugee status or asylum. The Government did not expel or 
return refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be 
threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership 
in a particular social group, or political opinion; no such cases arose 
during the year.
    In September authorities released one Ghanaian and one Liberian 
from prison who had been held for five years without being formally 
charged. According to the chief immigration officer, the men were 
detained because they withheld information in an attempt to avoid 
repatriation. After their release, the Red Cross provided a house for 
the two men while it sought the information needed to deport them.
    The Government was prepared to cooperate 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 and Political Participation.--In elections held on 
December 13, the ruling ULP was returned to office, winning eight 
seats. The opposition New Democratic Party increased its seats from 
four to seven. International observers from the Caribbean Community and 
the Organization of American States declared the elections to be 
generally free and fair.
    There were allegations from both the ruling party and the 
opposition of pre-election violence. Several shootings related to 
political rallies occurred in the weeks leading up to the election, but 
it was unclear if they were politically motivated. Opposition leaders 
filed lawsuits contesting the results in several constituencies. 
However, the director of public prosecutions (DPP) took over the 
prosecution of the 10 criminal charges filed and dismissed them. 
Although the DPP has the legal right to discontinue criminal 
proceedings, his decision was expected to be challenged.
    There was one woman in the 15-seat House of Assembly and two women 
in the cabinet.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively.
    There were no financial disclosure laws for public officials. No 
government agency was specifically responsible for combating government 
corruption.
    The law provides for public access to information, and the 
Government provided such access in practice.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    There were no restrictions on international human rights groups. A 
domestic human rights group, the SVGHRA, generally operated without 
government restriction, investigating and publishing its findings on 
human rights cases, particularly with respect to treatment of 
prisoners. Government officials generally were responsive, but the 
SVGHRA continued to report that its complaints regarding allegations of 
police brutality typically received perfunctory responses from the 
Government. Other advocacy groups, particularly those involved with 
protection against domestic violence and child abuse, worked closely 
with their corresponding government offices.

Section 6. 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.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal, and the 
Government generally 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' imprisonment. The possible sentence of life 
imprisonment was very rarely used. The three court sittings heard 32 
sexual offenses during the year, of which 12 were completed and 20 
carried over to 2011. These included two cases of incest, 18 rapes, and 
12 cases of unlawful sexual intercourse.
    Violence against women remained a serious problem. The law does not 
criminalize domestic violence specifically but provides protection for 
victims. 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 choose not to seek assistance from the police or the 
prosecution of offenders. Furthermore, a number of victims decided not 
to press charges once domestic tensions subsided, after having already 
complained to the police. For this reason police were often reluctant 
to follow up on domestic violence cases, according to the SVGHRA.
    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 for domestic violence victims, educating victims on 
the role of the police, legal matters, 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 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.
    The law does not specifically prohibit sexual harassment, although 
it could be prosecuted under existing laws. Local human rights groups 
considered these laws ineffective.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children, and had the information and means to 
do so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception, 
and skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were widely 
available. Incidence of maternal mortality was not available. Women and 
men were given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for 
sexually transmitted infections.
    Women enjoyed the same legal rights as men. Women received an 
equitable share of property following separation or divorce. The Gender 
Affairs Division continued to assist 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, and this 
was generally enforced in practice.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory or from either of one's parents. There was universal birth 
registration.
    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 division 
referred all reports of child abuse to the police for action and 
provided assistance in cases where children applied for protection 
orders with the family court.
    Some teenagers engaged in prostitution. The minimum age of 
consensual sex is 15 years of age. The penalty for child prostitution 
is 14 years' imprisonment. The law prohibits statutory rape, with 
special provisions for those less than 13 years of age. The penalty for 
statutory rape of a girl over 13 but less than 15 years old is five 
years' imprisonment; for girls less than 13 years old, it is life 
imprisonment. The law does not specifically prohibit child pornography.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was no organized Jewish community, and there 
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law 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 generally observed these prohibitions in 
practice. The law does not mandate access to buildings for persons with 
disabilities, and access for such persons generally was difficult. 
Communications were available for persons with disabilities, but the 
Government did not have any programs to facilitate communication 
through technology. There were no restrictions on voting or other civic 
participation. The Government partially supported a school for persons 
with disabilities. A separate rehabilitation center treated 
approximately five persons daily. The Ministry of National 
Mobilization, Social Development, NGO Relations, Family, Gender 
Affairs, and Persons with Disabilities is responsible for assisting 
persons with disabilities.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--There are no laws that 
prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual 
orientation. Homosexual acts for both sexes are illegal under indecency 
statutes, and some male homosexual acts are also illegal under anal 
intercourse laws. Indecency statutes carry a maximum penalty of five 
years, and anal intercourse carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in 
prison. Although no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence 
suggested there was social discrimination against lesbians, gays, 
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the deeply conservative 
society. There were few openly LGBT persons in the country.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Although no statistics 
were available, anecdotal evidence suggested there was some societal 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law allows workers to form and 
join unions of their choice without prior authorization, and workers 
exercised this right in practice. However, no law requires employers to 
recognize unions. Approximately 20 percent of the work force was 
unionized.
    The organized unions generally maintained good relations with the 
Government, the Employers' Federation, and the Chamber of Commerce and 
Industry. 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 unless they provide at least 
a 14-day notice to the authorities. The law prohibits retaliation 
against strikers, and it was effectively enforced in practice.
    The law provides for establishment of an arbitration tribunal and a 
board of inquiry in connection with trade disputes and allows provision 
for the settlement of such disputes. Arbitration panels are formed on 
an ad hoc basis when a labor dispute arises. Labor unions and 
businesses were generally satisfied with the working of the arbitration 
panels, which have tripartite representation.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law permits 
unions to organize and bargain collectively, and the Government 
protected these rights in practice; however, no law requires employers 
to recognize a particular union as an exclusive bargaining agent. There 
were no reports of antiunion discrimination. The law provides that if 
both parties consent to arbitration, the minister of labor can appoint 
an arbitration committee from the private sector to hear the matter.
    The law protects workers from summary dismissal without 
compensation and provides for reinstatement or severance pay if 
unfairly dismissed. It also protects workers from dismissal for 
engaging in union activities and provides them with reinstatement 
rights if illegally dismissed.
    There are no export processing zones, but there were a few 
industrial parks that functioned like an export processing zone; unions 
were represented at these sites.

    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 persons in government ministries for 
up to one year.
    There was a growing problem of young persons dropping out of school 
and becoming involved in the drug trade. Some children as young as 14 
reportedly worked in the marijuana fields common in the northern part 
of the country. The Government opened a number of new schools, 
providing additional educational opportunities to young persons. The 
Government continued efforts to provide employment opportunities to 
young people to keep them from becoming involved in the drug trade. At-
risk youths were provided with life skills training, technical and 
vocational training, and job readiness training over a seven- to nine-
month cycle. The program placed trained youth in internships and 
assisted them in finding jobs, with a goal of 40 percent job placement 
rate.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The process of setting the 
minimum wage is tripartite and transparent. The Wages Council meets 
every two years to review minimum wages; they were last updated in July 
2008. Minimum wages vary by sector and type of work and are specified 
for several skilled categories. In agriculture the minimum wage for 
workers provided shelter was EC$32 ($11.85) per day, or EC $56 ($20.74) 
if shelter was not provided; for industrial workers it was EC$40 
($14.81) 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. Workers who receive less than the minimum 
wage can file a claim with the Labor Ministry's inspectors, who will 
investigate and, if warranted, refer the matter to arbitration. In 
practice the ministry received very few complaints concerning minimum 
wage violations but did receive complaints regarding wrongful 
dismissal.
    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 provide legal cover 
to a worker who refused to work under these conditions.

                               __________

                                SURINAME

    Suriname is a constitutional democracy, with a president elected by 
the unicameral National Assembly or by the larger United People's 
Assembly. The population is approximately 493,000. After generally free 
and fair elections in May, a coalition government was formed by the 
Mega Combination, the A Combination, and People's Alliance political 
groups. The National Assembly elected former military leader Desire 
Bouterse as president in July. Security forces reported to civilian 
authorities.
    The following problems were reported during the year: overcrowded 
detention facilities; an overwhelmed judiciary with a large case 
backlog; lengthy pretrial detention; self-censorship by some media; 
governmental corruption; 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.--There were no 
reports that the Government or its agents committed arbitrary or 
unlawful killings.
    The trial of former military head of state and current President 
Desire Bouterse and his codefendants for the 1982 extrajudicial killing 
of 15 political opponents continued 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, human rights 
groups and the media continued to express concern about mistreatment by 
police and prison officials and reported isolated incidents of abuse of 
prisoners by prison officials.
    In December 2009 mob violence in Albina erupted after a Brazilian 
man stabbed to death a Maroon (descendants of escaped slaves who fled 
to the interior of the country to avoid recapture) during a dispute. 
The violence, primarily directed towards Brazilian and Chinese 
migrants, resulted in at least three rapes. Twenty persons, including a 
local official, were arrested on charges including rape, theft, and 
arson. During the year trials convened for nine of these suspects and 
continued at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison and detention 
center conditions remained poor, but the Government permitted visits by 
independent human rights observers.
    Violence among prisoners continued sporadically, including two 
riots in September at Santo Boma prison. Prison and local authorities 
restored order and no serious injuries were reported. Poor ventilation, 
limited lighting, and extreme heat remained problems in prisons and 
detention centers. Most prisons and detention centers, particularly the 
older jails, were unsanitary and overcrowded.
    There were three prisons, which held female and male prisoners 
separately. There were also 19 smaller jails, or temporary detention 
centers, in police stations throughout the country.
    There was one juvenile detention facility, Opa Doeli, for boys and 
girls under the age of 18 years old. This facility, located in 
Paramaribo, was considered adequate, provided educational and 
recreational facilities, and was occupied to less than its maximum 
capacity. A separate wing of the detention facility held boys under the 
age of 18 years old who had been convicted of serious crimes.
    Growing numbers of convicted prisoners were held in pretrial 
detention cells due to prison overcrowding. Due to staff shortages, 
police officers rarely permitted detainees to leave their cells. 
Detainees and human rights groups also alleged that meals were 
inadequate.
    Conditions in the women's jail and prison facilities were generally 
better than those in the men's facilities. Following conviction, girls 
under the age of 18 years old were held in the women's detention center 
and in the women's section of one of the prison complexes.
    Prisoners continued to have reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance of their choice. Government officials 
continued regular monitoring of prison and detention center conditions. 
Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to 
judicial authorities without censorship. During the year prisoners from 
the Santo Boma prison sent letters to public officials complaining of 
inadequate food provisions, mistreatment by prison guards, limited 
ventilation, and a lack of rehabilitation programs. Officials took no 
known action on these complaints and at year's end.
    Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) expressed concern over 
the continued tense situation in Santo Boma prison, with declining 
prison conditions, inadequate legal representation, and delayed court 
verdicts.
    The Government permitted monitoring visits by independent human 
rights observers, and such visits occurred during the year. No 
ombudsman served on behalf of prisoners and detainees; prisoners notify 
their defending lawyers and government officials of any problems.
    The Welzijns Institute Nickerie, an NGO operating in the western 
district of Nickerie, continued to visit and provide counseling for 
detainees in the youth detention center in that district. The institute 
continued a program to train prison officers to counsel detainees.
    The Government continued construction on the main pretrial 
detention center to improve conditions and reduce overcrowding. During 
the year the detention center accepted pretrial detainees who were 
previously imprisoned in the 19 smaller jails around the country.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions. However, due to a shortage of judges, prisoners who 
appealed their cases often served their full sentences before the 
lengthy appeals process could be completed.

    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 Ministry of Defense. Civilian police bear primary 
responsibility for the maintenance of law and order and report to the 
Ministry of Justice and Police.
    Police effectiveness was hampered by a lack of equipment and 
training, low salaries, and poor coordination with military forces.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Individuals 
were apprehended openly with warrants based on sufficient evidence and 
brought before an independent judiciary. The law provides detainees 
with the right to a prompt judicial determination of the legality of 
the detention, and authorities respected this right in practice. 
Detainees were promptly informed of the charges against them. Police 
may detain a person suspected of committing a crime for up to 14 days 
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 within 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 
the prosecutor 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 19 detention cells at police 
stations throughout the country that were at or near capacity. In 
accordance with the law, the courts freed most detainees who were not 
tried within the 164-day period. According to human rights monitors, 
factors such as a shortage of judges, large case loads, and large 
numbers of detainees caused trial delays.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence.
    The judiciary lacked professional court managers and case 
management systems to oversee the courts' administrative functions and 
also lacked adequate physical space--factors that 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. All trials are public except for 
indecency offenses. There is no jury system. Defendants enjoy a 
presumption of innocence and have the right to appeal. Defendants have 
the right to be present and to consult an attorney in a timely manner. 
Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence. 
Defendants' attorneys can question witnesses and present witnesses and 
evidence on the defendant's behalf. The courts assign private sector 
lawyers to defend indigent detainees. There were court-assigned 
attorneys for both the civil and the penal systems. The law extends the 
above rights to all citizens.
    Military personnel generally are not subject to civilian criminal 
law, and there are parallel military and civilian court systems. 
Military police investigate crimes committed by members of the armed 
forces. An officer on the public prosecutor's staff directs military 
prosecutions before two military judges and one civilian judge. Due to 
a shortage of judges, military and civilian judges are selected from 
the same pool 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.

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--The Inter-American Court of 
Human Rights has ruled in two cases with regard to the Surinamese 
government.
    No further progress was made on implementing the Inter-American 
Court of Human Rights' ruling on a 2006 case involving 12 Saramaccan 
clans who claimed authority over 60 villages in the Upper Suriname 
River area. The court ruled in 2007 that the Government must recognize 
the collective land rights of the Saramaccan clans, draft legislation 
that complies with international treaties, establish a development fund 
of SR$1,680,000 ($600,000), and provide them with their own land. By 
the end of the year, the Government had paid approximately SR$560,000 
($200,000) toward this amount, but had yet to pay in full or to 
complete the demarcation process.

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--Although there are 
separate procedures for civil processes, the same pool of judges is 
responsible for presiding over these procedures. There is a court to 
consider lawsuits seeking damages for, or cessation of, a human rights 
violation. Despite the installation of new judges during the year, the 
backlog in cases continued. 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 
search warrants, which are issued by quasi-judicial officers who 
supervise criminal 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. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a 
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of 
speech and of the press.
    In October media reported that a government official allegedly 
threatened an investigative journalist from a leading radio station, 
claiming that the journalist's investigations and reporting undermined 
the new government.
    In October 2009 the Government announced it would compensate two 
broadcasting companies for the army's destruction of their radio 
stations under the military dictatorship in 1982. The issue remained 
pending at year's end.
    Some media members continued to practice occasional self-
censorship. This was due to a history of intimidation and reprisals by 
certain elements of the former military leadership or a response to 
pressure applied by senior government officials and important community 
leaders on journalists who published negative stories about the 
administration. In addition many news outlets were affiliated with 
particular political parties, which discouraged journalists from 
reporting on some news items.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. The 
International Telecommunication Union reported that there were 
approximately 31 Internet users per 100 inhabitants in 2009. The 
population in the interior had less access to the Internet due to 
limited infrastructure.

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were no government 
restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.

    b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.--The law provides 
for freedoms of assembly and association, and the Government generally 
respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. No occasion arose during the year for government cooperation 
with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees or other 
humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to 
internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum 
seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.
    Although the law does not address forced exile, the Government did 
not use it.

    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. Under special 
circumstances, persons may be granted refugee status, and in practice 
the Government provided protection against the expulsion or return of 
refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened 
on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a 
particular social group, or political opinion.

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.--The constitution provides 
for direct election by secret ballot of the 51-member National Assembly 
no later than five years after the prior election date. 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, the National Assembly elected 
Desire Bouterse president in July. Political parties could operate 
without restriction or outside interference.
    Historical and cultural factors, particularly in rural areas, 
inhibited equal participation by women in leadership positions in 
government and political parties. Societal pressures and customs, 
particularly with respect to marriage and inheritance, also limited 
female participation in political leadership. While women made limited 
gains in attaining political power, men continued to dominate political 
life. There were six women among the 51 members of the National 
Assembly and two women among the 17 ministers in the cabinet. There 
were five women among the 20 sitting judges. The head clerk of the 
Court of Justice, that body's highest administrative position, was a 
woman.
    Several factors traditionally limited the participation of Maroons, 
the descendants of escaped slaves, and indigenous Amerindians in the 
political process, including a population concentrated in remote areas 
in the interior and removed from the country's centers of political 
activity. Four of the 21 Maroon political parties participated in the 
May elections, and three of the four parties are members of the 
Government, participating as the A-Combination coalition. Voters 
elected 10 Maroons and two Amerindians to the National Assembly, all of 
whom joined in the governing coalition.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; 
however, the Government did not implement the law effectively, and 
officials sometimes engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Long 
delays often occurred before corruption cases came to trial.
    The World Bank's worldwide governance statistics continued to 
indicate corruption was a serious problem. The media frequently 
reported alleged corrupt practices with regard to land rights and land 
titles, misuse of government funds, and other practices.
    In September 2009, 200 pounds of cocaine was stolen from a storage 
vault at a police facility. Six suspects were arrested, including three 
civilians and three police officers. The investigation was ongoing at 
year's end.
    The Personnel Investigation Department (OPZ), an office within the 
Police Department, investigates complaints against members of the 
police force. The OPZ received 190 complaints against members of the 
police force during the year and launched 20 investigations into cases 
involving mistreatment of detainees and civilians. Throughout the year, 
authorities relieved 29 police officers of duty for various offenses, 
20 of whom were jailed.
    Public officials were not subject to financial disclosure laws. 
Various sections of the Ministry of Justice and Police, including the 
Fraud Police and the Attorney General's Office, were responsible for 
combating government corruption.
    Although the law provides for public access to government 
information, such access was limited in practice for citizens and 
noncitizens, including foreign media. While almost every ministry has 
an information service, gaps in official government statistics and 
bureaucratic hurdles made obtaining information difficult.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of independent domestic human rights groups generally 
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing 
their findings on human rights cases. NGOs reported generally positive 
relationships with government officials, although occasionally 
officials were not responsive to their views. No international human 
rights groups operated in the country during the year.
    A legislative commission on human rights continued operating 
throughout the year, but resource constraints hampered its 
effectiveness. The National Assembly also has a commission dealing with 
women's and children's rights.

Section 6. 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. Although 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 various 
sectors of the population, such as women; Maroons; Amerindians; persons 
with HIV/AIDS; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 
persons, suffered forms of discrimination.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, 
prescribes penalties for rape or forcible sexual assault of between 12 
and 15 years' imprisonment. The Government enforced the law 
effectively. During the year the Ministry of Justice and Police 
registered 189 cases of attempted rape, 106 cases of rape, 1,213 cases 
of domestic violence, and 269 cases of child abuse.
    Violence against women was a common problem. The Ministry of 
Justice and Police registered 1,213 cases of domestic violence during 
the year, a drop from 1,769 in 2009. The increase in registered 
domestic violence cases may be due to a greater awareness of domestic 
violence issues.
    The 2009 Law Combating Domestic Violence, which allowed for more 
severe punishments (four to eight years' imprisonment) than are 
available when prosecuting domestic violence cases under the assault 
law, had not been implemented by year's end. The Bureau of Women and 
Child Policy under the Ministry of Justice and Police conducted an 
awareness campaign on domestic violence in 2009 in cooperation with the 
Foundation Ilse Henar Hewith, and the bureau trained government 
officials, social workers, and NGO staff on domestic violence issues. 
The Victim Assistance Bureau in Paramaribo provided resources for 
victims of domestic violence and other crimes. It operated a satellite 
office in Nickerie, the country's second largest city. There were four 
victims' rooms in police stations in Paramaribo and Nickerie, and 
police units were trained to deal with victims and perpetrators of 
sexual crimes and domestic violence. An NGO operated a shelter for 
victims of domestic violence.
    There was no specific legislation on sexual harassment; however, 
prosecutors cited various penal code articles in filing sexual 
harassment cases. There were no reported court cases involving sexual 
harassment in the workplace during the year.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to 
have the information and means to do so free from discrimination, 
coercion, and violence. Access to information on contraception was 
widely available and, according to the Population Reference Bureau, 
contraceptive use among married women was 42 percent. The UN Population 
Fund estimated the maternal mortality ratio in 2008 at 100 deaths per 
100,000 live births, while UNICEF reported that 90 percent of births 
included skilled attendance during childbirth in 2008. Women and men 
were given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for 
sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    Women have the legal right to equal access to education, 
employment, and property; nevertheless, societal pressures and customs, 
especially in rural areas, inhibited their full exercise of these 
rights, particularly with respect to marriage and inheritance. Where 
local customs remain a strong influence on the family unit, girls 
traditionally marry at or near the legal age of consent, and 
inheritance rights pass to their husband.
    Men and women generally enjoyed the same rights under property law 
and under the judicial system. The Bureau for Women and Children under 
the Ministry of Justice and Police worked to ensure the legal rights of 
women and children.
    Women experienced discrimination in access to employment and in 
rates of pay for the same or substantially similar work. 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 in launching small home-based businesses, 
such as sewing and vegetable growing, and provided general legal help. 
The Women's Business Group advocated for business opportunities for 
women, while the Women's Parliament Forum advocated for opportunities 
in the public sector. Stop Violence against Women provided assistance 
to victims of domestic violence, including legal help with dissolving 
an abusive marriage.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory and from one's parents.
    Physical and sexual abuse of children continued to be a problem. 
During the year police received reports of 269 cases of sexual abuse of 
children, compared with 265 reported in 2009. 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, raise awareness about child abuse, and solicit and 
investigate complaints. The Youth Affairs Office continued to raise 
awareness about sexual abuse, drugs, and alcohol through a weekly 
television program.
    Authorities applied various laws to prosecute perpetrators of 
sexual abuse, and several cases of sexual abuse against minors came to 
trial. Sentences averaged three years in prison. In the capital, there 
were several orphanages and one privately funded shelter for sexually 
abused children.
    During the year there was one report of sexual abuse of three 
children in a religious-led orphanage. The suspect was charged, and 
prosecution continued at year's end.
    Although the legal age of sexual consent is 14 years old, it was 
not enforced effectively. The marriage law sets the age of marital 
consent at 15 years old for girls and 17 years old for boys, provided 
parents of the parties agree to the marriage. Parental permission to 
marry is required up to the age of 21. The law also mandates the 
presence of a civil registry official to register all marriages.
    Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of minors remained 
problems.
    The criminal law penalizes child prostitution and provides 
sanctions of up to six years' imprisonment and fine of SR$100,000 
($35,700). The law also prohibits child pornography, which has a 
maximum penalty of six years' imprisonment and maximum fine of 
SR$50,000 ($16,700).
    The UN Children's Fund continued cooperating with the Government in 
providing training to officials from various ministries dealing with 
children and children's rights. The Government operated a ``1-2-3'' 
telephone hotline for children and provided confidential advice and aid 
to children in need.
    The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the 
Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. For information on international 
parental child abduction, please see the Department of State's annual 
report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/
congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There was a declared Jewish community of 
approximately 150 persons. There were no reports of anti-Semitic acts 
or other societal abuses or discrimination based on religious 
affiliation, belief, or practice.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There are no laws prohibiting 
discrimination against persons with physical or mental disabilities in 
employment, education, access to health care, or the provision of state 
services. In practice persons with disabilities suffered from 
discrimination when applying for jobs and services. Some training 
programs were provided for the persons with visual disability and 
others with nonvisual disabilities. There are no laws or programs to 
ensure that persons with disabilities have access to buildings. A judge 
may rule that a person with a cognitive disability be denied the right 
to vote, take part in business transactions, or sign legal agreements. 
Persons with disabilities had equal access to information and 
communications. There were no reports of abuse in educational 
facilities for persons with disabilities.
    A Ministry of Social Affairs working group remained responsible for 
protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, but it made limited 
progress during the year.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The law prohibits 
discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity, and no such 
discrimination complaints were filed during the year. However, Maroons, 
who represent an estimated 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 reduced their access to educational and 
professional opportunities and health and social services. Some forms 
of discrimination that affected indigenous Amerindians also extended to 
Maroons.

    Indigenous People.--The law affords no special protection for, or 
recognition of, indigenous people. Most Amerindians (approximately 2 
percent of the population) live in the remote and undeveloped interior 
of the country, where government services are largely unavailable. 
Geographic isolation afforded limited opportunity to participate in 
national and regional policymaking, including decisions affecting 
interior lands, cultures, traditions, and natural resources.
    Because Amerindian and Maroon lands were not effectively demarcated 
or policed, 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, some of whom were themselves indigenous 
or supported by indigenous groups, 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. Many 
Maroon and Amerindian groups also complained about the Government 
granting land within their traditional territories to third parties, 
who sometimes prevented the villages from engaging in their traditional 
activities on those lands. There are no laws granting indigenous people 
rights to share in the revenues from the exploitation of resources on 
their traditional lands.
    Indigenous groups, with the assistance of the Amazon Conservation 
Team, mapped their lands and presented proposed demarcation charts to 
the Government in 2000 and to the Ministry of Physical Planning, Land, 
and Forestry Management in both 2006 and 2009. At year's end, this 
proposal remained under consideration by the new government.
    Maroon and Amerindian groups continued to cooperate with each other 
to exercise their rights more effectively. Moiwana and other NGOs 
continued to promote the rights of indigenous people.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Although the law prohibits 
discrimination based on sexual orientation, there were reports of 
employment discrimination against LGBT persons. There were no reports 
of official discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, 
access to education, or health care.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--Persons with HIV/AIDS 
continued to experience societal discrimination in employment and 
medical services. An NGO working with HIV-infected persons reported 
that law enforcement agencies and the fire department conducted HIV 
testing as part of their hiring procedures. Catering establishments, 
casinos, and some private companies also reportedly demanded HIV tests 
prior to employment. The Mamio Foundation noted that individuals, 
mostly women, reported physical violence or discrimination after their 
HIV-positive status became known. Insurance companies allegedly denied 
services to HIV-positive clients, having identified their status via 
their medication histories.
    The Ministry of Health continued its efforts to prevent mother-to-
child transmission of HIV/AIDS through a comprehensive outreach program 
involving local health care providers. The program achieved its goal of 
voluntary testing of 90 percent of expectant mothers. The military 
continued its HIV/AIDS awareness program among troops during the year.

Section 7. 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 workers did so in practice. Nearly 60 percent of the 
workforce was organized into unions, and most unions belonged to one of 
the country's seven major labor federations.
    The law provides for the right to strike, and workers in both the 
public and private sectors exercised this right in practice.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--Collective 
bargaining is protected by law, and the Government generally enforced 
this right in practice. Collective bargaining agreements covered 
approximately 50 percent of the labor force. The law prohibits employer 
interference in union activities, and in practice it did not occur.
    There are no export processing zones.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--The law prohibits 
all forms of forced or compulsory labor, including by children; 
however, there were reports that such practices occurred. Also see the 
Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at 
www.state.gov/g/tip.
    The trial of six individuals arrested in 2009 after allegedly 
recruiting 23 men for a cooking course in Trinidad and Tobago and then 
providing them as forced labor upon arrival in that country continued 
at year's end.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law sets the minimum age for most types of employment at 14 years old 
and restricts working hours for minors to day shifts but does not limit 
the number of hours minors can work. Children younger than 14 years old 
are allowed to work only in a family-owned business, small-scale 
agriculture, and special vocational work. The law does not define the 
worst forms of child labor. Children younger than 18 years old are 
prohibited from doing hazardous work, which is defined as work 
dangerous to their life, health, and decency. Children under the age of 
15 years old are not permitted to work on boats. The Ministry of Labor 
and the police enforced the law sporadically, and child labor remained 
a problem in the informal sector, especially in the western districts 
of Nickerie and Saramacca.
    Some children under the age of 14 years old continued to work 
illegally in gold mines and in urban informal sectors. Employers in 
these sectors generally did not assure work safety or provide benefits 
such as access to medical care. There was a general lack of statistical 
data on the labor environment and child labor in the country.
    The Ministry of Labor's Department of Labor Inspection, with 63 
inspectors, of which 22 have finished their theoretical training by the 
end of the year, has responsibility to implement and enforce labor 
laws; however, enforcement was inadequate. Inspectors visited private 
sector companies throughout the country, but no data was available 
regarding the number of inspections performed during the year. 
Employers were required to maintain a Register of Young Persons that 
includes each employee's information. Employing a child less than 14 
years of age is punishable by fines and up to 12 months in prison. 
Parents who permit their children to work in violation of labor laws 
may be prosecuted. The Government did not investigate exploitive child 
labor cases outside urban areas. Labor inspectors were not authorized 
to conduct inspections in the informal sector as responsibility for 
controlling the informal sector lies with the police.
    Children were exploited in agriculture, particularly harvesting 
fruit and rice. Although the Government provided no programs to remove 
children from the worst forms of child labor, it supported vocational 
programs for dropouts and older children to serve as an alternative to 
underage labor and participated in a regional project to combat the 
worst forms of child labor in the Caribbean.
    The National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labor became 
active in 2009. Members included officials from the ministries of 
labor, social affairs, and education, as well as representatives from 
labor unions, the private sector, and NGOs. The commission's mandate 
includes formulating national policy regarding the eradication of child 
labor, initiating specific programs for indigenous children, developing 
a list of occupations involving the worst forms of child labor, and 
monitoring the country's compliance with international child labor 
standards. However, the commission's progress in these policy areas 
stalled during the year.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--There is no legislation 
providing for a minimum wage. The lowest wage for civil servants was 
approximately SR$600 ($214) 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 100,000-member workforce, frequently supplemented 
their salaries with second or third jobs, often in the informal sector. 
During the year the Government continued to implement a new civil 
servant wage system, increasing wages for many civil servants.
    Work in excess of 45 hours per week on a regular basis requires 
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.
    The Government sets occupational health and safety standards. A 10- 
to 12-member inspectorate in the Occupational Health and Safety 
Division of the Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing 
occupational safety and health regulations, but it did not make regular 
inspections. There is 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.

                               __________

                           TINIDAD AND TOBAGO

    Trinidad and Tobago is a parliamentary democracy governed by a 
prime minister and a bicameral legislature, with a population of 
approximately 1.3 million. Tobago has a House of Assembly that has some 
administrative autonomy over local matters on that island. In the May 
24 elections, which observers considered generally free and fair, the 
People's Partnership coalition led by Kamla Persad-Bissessar of the 
United National Congress (UNC) defeated Prime Minister Patrick 
Manning's People's National Movement (PNM) government and secured a 29-
to 12-seat majority in the Parliament. Security forces reported to 
civilian authorities.
    Principal human rights problems were police killings during 
apprehension or custody, inmate illness and injuries due to poor prison 
conditions, high-profile 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, 
41 persons died as of December 17 while in police custody or at the 
hands of law enforcement officers. Authorities investigated or opened 
inquests into some of the killings. All cases were reported to be under 
investigation, but authorities had not brought charges or otherwise 
punished any of the officers by year's end. In the past, when charges 
were brought, 50 percent of the officers were acquitted.
    Authorities were investigating the police Repeat Offenders Program 
Task Force for allegations of misconduct, kidnapping, and murder made 
by members of the public. One allegation concerned Laventille resident 
Keon Glasgow, taken into custody in April and not accounted for since. 
His relatives believed that he was abducted and killed with police 
involvement.
    There were no reported developments in the inquiries into the 2009 
police killing of George Ashby or of the 2008 police killings of 
Mustapha Edwards, Karim Saint Aimee, and Russel Samuel.

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

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution and the law prohibit such 
practices, there were credible reports that police officers and prison 
guards mistreated individuals under arrest or in detention.
    Authorities had 12 police officers from the Central Division Task 
Force and the Robbery Squad under investigation regarding allegations 
that they misused Tasers in March by placing suspects in a barrel of 
water and shocking them. The investigation continued at year's end and 
was pending a decision by the director of public prosecutions (DPP).
    An investigation was underway into the July beating of Wayne 
Roberts, who sought assistance from the police in aiding a woman who 
collapsed on the road. Roberts received blows to the head and body and 
was arrested for using obscene language and resisting arrest. Witnesses 
claimed the police beat Roberts because he called them ``imps'' for 
failing to attend to the woman.
    On July 23, residents of the Scorpion Alley neighborhood in 
Carenage claimed that police opened fire on a group of men and sped 
away in an unmarked car when they realized that someone had been shot. 
Police asserted that they were fired upon while on patrol. Curlon James 
was reportedly shot in the back in the incident. The case was under 
investigation at year's end.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Conditions in the prison 
system's eight facilities continued to be difficult. The designed 
capacity of the prisons was 4,380 inmates, and they held approximately 
3,700 prisoners at year's end. However, some prisons suffered from 
extreme overcrowding, while others had not reached full capacity. The 
Port of Spain prison, originally designed to accommodate 250 inmates, 
held 542 prisoners, compared with 506 in 2009. At peak times, up to 10 
prisoners were kept in 10- by 10-foot cells. Inmates complained of 
insufficient medical care for illness and injuries.
    Inmates at the Immigration Detention Center engaged in a hunger 
strike in June and rioted in August over cell searches and their desire 
to return to their home countries. In a separate incident, four center 
inmates were treated for injuries allegedly inflicted by security 
officers in the month of June. According to the local UN High 
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) representative, when the center first 
opened in November 2009, detainees were permitted to be outside only 
five hours per week, and conditions were worse than at the maximum-
security prison. The Government investigated the situation and improved 
living conditions. The majority of detainees were illegal immigrants 
who could not afford the cost of travel to their home country. The 
center has an intended capacity of 150 and held 46 persons at year's 
end. Men and women had separate facilities.
    Pretrial detainees were held separately from convicted prisoners. 
There were 1,604 inmates awaiting trial in October, compared with 1,403 
at the end of 2009. However, convicted prisoners often were held in the 
remand section until they exhausted their appeals. Since there is no 
female youth facility, some underage female prisoners were placed in 
the Golden Grove women's prison. Of 107 female prisoners, 38 awaited 
trial in October. Although conditions at the women's prison were better 
than those in the Port of Spain men's prison, it occasionally became 
overcrowded, since it held both women on remand and those serving 
prison sentences.
    A new library opened in July at St. Jude's School for Girls, a 
court-ordered detention facility for at-risk girls. An estimated 200 
male juveniles were held separately from adults at the Youth Training 
Center, and 11 female juveniles were in custody at Golden Grove.
    There were 2,200 prison officers. Prison authorities reported 
bringing charges against 29 prison officers for assault and battery or 
for poor conduct on the job, including possession of narcotics and 
provision of cell phones to inmates.
    On July 26, a High Court judge awarded damages of TT$180,000 
($28,600) to an inmate who was beaten by a group of officers in 2006 
when he was held in the remand section of the prison. The beatings 
resulted in several weeks' hospitalization.
    Prisoners and detainees have reasonable access to visitors and are 
permitted religious observance. On October 3, Muslim prisoners at the 
Remand Yard Prison began a hunger strike after they were barred from 
holding a Friday prayer service. Prison officials cancelled the service 
because of fears the group was plotting to riot. The incident was under 
investigation at year's end.
    Prison authorities permit prisoners and detainees to submit 
complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and request 
investigations of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. 
Authorities investigated and monitored prison and detention center 
conditions but did not document the results in a publicly accessible 
manner. Prisoners can also contact the office of the ombudsman, which 
has the authority to investigate complaints related to the functions 
and duties of most government departments. However, in no instances has 
the ombudsman advocated on behalf of prisoners or detainees.
    The Government permitted prison visits by independent human rights 
observers upon approval of the Ministry of National Security; however, 
there were no such requests during the year.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The constitution and the law 
prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, and the Government generally 
observed these prohibitions.
    However, the courts made several awards in cases brought on grounds 
of wrongful arrest and imprisonment: Maurice Koon received TT$60,000 
($9,500) on July 8 for false imprisonment; David Ambrose received 
TT$80,000 ($12,700) on July 20 for wrongful arrest and a three-day 
detainment; Brahim Rampersad received TT$412,000 ($65,400) on July 22 
for wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution, and an improper nine-day 
detainment; Aaron Roodal received TT$168,000 ($26,700) on October 4 for 
breaches of civil liberties, including being served only meals with 
meat even though his Rastafarian religion bans the consumption of meat; 
and Nankishoer Rajpath received TT$55,000 ($8,700) for false 
imprisonment.
    A prisoner was awarded TT$156,000 ($24,800) on July 29 for breach 
of his constitutional rights after documents signed at the prison and 
expected to be filed at the Court of Appeal were delayed by prison 
authorities causing the defendant to miss the filing deadline.

    Role of the Police and Security Apparatus.--The Ministry of 
National Security oversees the police service, immigration division, 
prison service, and 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. Public confidence in 
the Police Service was very low because of high crime and perceived 
corruption.
    The national police force comprises nine divisions, including 17 
specialized branches, with approximately 5,000 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.
    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 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 authority had no power to 
investigate complaints and those investigating complaints against the 
police were themselves police officers.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A police 
officer may arrest a person based on a warrant issued or authorized by 
a magistrate, or without a warrant if 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 immediate access to a 
lawyer and to family members.
    There is a functioning bail system. Persons charged with murder, 
treason, piracy, kidnapping for ransom, and hijacking, as well as 
persons convicted twice of violent crimes, are ineligible for bail for 
a period of 60 days following the charge. However, a judge may still 
grant bail to such persons under exceptional circumstances, and many in 
government argued, during a nationwide debate over bail reform, that 
this occurred too frequently. 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 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 
inefficiencies in the judicial system continued to be a problem. Many 
persons under indictment 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 an additional 10 days pending conclusion of the 
investigation. Officials cited an increase in the number of arrests and 
an antiquated note-taking system in most magistrate's courts as 
explanations for the backlog.

    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. 
Additionally, prosecutors as well as judges stated that witness 
intimidation increased.

    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. 
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 provision of an attorney 
to any person accused of murder. Although the courts may appoint 
attorneys for indigent persons charged with 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.

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

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--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. From 1999 to 2009 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.

    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 lawsuits against civil breaches, 
in both the High Court and petty civil court. The High Court may review 
the decisions of lower courts, order parties to cease and desist from 
particular actions, compel parties to take specific actions, or award 
damages to aggrieved parties. However, the petty civil court is 
authorized to hear only cases involving damages of up to TT$15,000 
($2,400).

    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 judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system 
combined to ensure freedom of speech and of the press.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. 
According to the International Telecommunication Union in 2009, 44 
percent of the population used 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 
and the law provide for freedom of assembly and association, and the 
Government generally respected these rights in practice.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution and various laws 
provide for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, 
emigration, and repatriation, and the Government generally respected 
these rights in practice.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--The Government has not passed legislation 
to implement its obligations under the relevant UN conventions. The 
Government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally 
displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, 
stateless persons, and other persons of concern. The Government placed 
asylum seekers in the care of the Living Water Community (LWC), a local 
Catholic social services agency, while their cases were reviewed by the 
UNHCR and final resolution reached. Pending parliament's approval of 
implementing legislation, the Ministry of National Security's 
Immigration Division handled all requests for asylum on a case-by-case 
basis.
    In practice the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular political group, or political 
opinion. However, it took as long as four years for the Government to 
provide identification cards or work permits to persons granted refugee 
status, due to a lengthy bureaucratic process.
    The Government did not provide temporary protection to persons who 
may not qualify as refugees. The LWC provided such persons with needed 
social services and reported in October that 126 previously filed 
asylum applications were still pending and that 19 new applications had 
been filed during the year. The Government recognized 31 persons as 
refugees.

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 Caribbean Community 
observers found the May 24 national elections to be generally free and 
fair. However, during the campaign period, there were isolated 
incidents of vandalism and violence, and the then incumbent prime 
minister required all television stations to air an interview without 
paying for the airtime. Citizens voted the incumbent party out of 
office and elected a new coalition government that secured 29 of the 41 
parliamentary seats. The Congress of the People (COP) party joined the 
coalition and won six seats, while a new party, New National Vision--
formed by Yasin Abu Bakr, leader of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen group that 
attempted a 1990 coup--garnered few votes and no seats.
    Political parties operated without restriction or outside 
influence, and the two major parties fall loosely along ethnic lines--
the PNM is primarily but not exclusively Afro-Trinidadian, and the UNC 
is primarily but not exclusively Indo-Trinidadian.
    In July the Government held local elections for the first time 
since 2003. Mirroring the national elections, the UNC-led coalition 
took control of 11 of 14 municipal councils.
    Voters elected the 41-member House of Representatives, and there is 
an appointed Senate composed of 31 persons. Of the 72 persons in both 
houses of Parliament, 20 were women; there were six women in the 28-
member cabinet, including the prime minister. There were 13 female 
judges among the 34 judges on the High Court and the Court of Appeals.
    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 was one member of these minorities, of 
Arab ancestry, in the legislature.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively. However, 
the World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected that 
government corruption was a problem.
    The Integrity in Public Life Act mandates that public officials 
disclose their assets, income, and liabilities to an Integrity 
Commission. The commission had been nonfunctioning due to a series of 
resignations but was reconvened in March and continued to meet during 
the year. Public opinion of the commission improved after the naming of 
new commissioners. Officials and candidates for public office were 
reluctant to comply with asset disclosure rules, due in part to fear of 
kidnappings for ransom, but primarily because of the perceived 
invasiveness of the process. The act articulates a process when public 
officials fail to disclose assets, and by year's end the commission had 
publically listed in the newspaper 188 officials who had failed to 
comply.
    Police corruption continued to be a problem, with some officials 
acknowledging there were officers who participated in corrupt and 
illegal activities. On September 13, authorities suspended 35 police 
officers on corruption charges, and the investigation reportedly 
continued at year's end. There were allegations that some officers had 
close relationships with gang leaders.
    In April a report on alleged corruption in the local construction 
industry, including the Government's Urban Development Corporation of 
Trinidad and Tobago (Udecott), was released. The report stated that 
Udecott needed internal restructuring and improved managerial and 
budgetary practices. The leader of the company, Calder Hart, resigned 
and left the country. The Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau and the 
Police Cyber Crime Unit began investigations but had not issued any 
arrest warrants by year's end.
    In June the Integrity Commission recommended that the DPP conduct a 
criminal probe into former prime minister Patrick Manning and a former 
minister of science, technology, and tertiary education regarding the 
awarding of a radio license to a political supporter.
    A minister in the Ministry of National Security issued a directive 
in August to investigate whether corrupt prison guards were complicit 
in the smuggling of cell phones to prisoners, following the fourth 
killing of a prison officer.
    In 2009 the DPP launched an investigation to determine whether the 
then prime minister and his PNM party breached the Prevention of 
Corruption Act or other provision of the law in regard to an alleged 
agreement with the Jamaat al Muslimeen organization prior to the 2002 
general elections. Unconfirmed reports circulated that the group's 
leader, Yasin Abu Bakr, agreed to support the prime minister's party in 
exchange for a promise that his property would not be seized to pay a 
state debt. At year's end the case was under investigation and pending 
a decision by the DPP, but no charges had been filed. In August 
Attorney General Anand Ramlogan held a court-ordered auction of 10 
properties owned by Yasin Abu Bakr to satisfy a debt owed to the 
Government.
    In April 2008 the Privy Council ordered a new trial for former UNC 
party chairman Basdeo Panday stemming from his 2006 conviction for 
failing to disclose a London bank account. This retrial was delayed by 
a series of judicial filings. A second trial focused on an alleged 
25,000 pound ($40,000) bribe, and the Appeal Court was scheduled to 
begin hearing arguments February 14, 2011.
    The Freedom of Information Act provides for public access to 
government documents, upon application. Critics charged, however, that 
a growing number of public bodies have been exempted from the act's 
coverage, which the Government claimed was necessary to reduce the 
volume of frivolous requests.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating human 
rights cases 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 appropriate authority. The 
ombudsman has a quasi-autonomous status within the Government and 
publishes a comprehensive annual report. Both the public and the 
Government had confidence in the integrity and reliability of the 
Office of the Ombudsman and the ombudsman's annual report.

Section 6. 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, social status, 
or gender.

    Women.--Rape, including spousal rape, is illegal and punishable by 
up to life imprisonment; however, the courts often handed down 
considerably shorter sentences. The Government and nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs) reported that many incidents of rape and other 
sexual crimes were unreported, partly due to perceived insensitivity on 
the part of the police. The Crime and Problem Analysis Branch of the 
police service reported that there were 260 reported cases of rape 
between January and December 7.
    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 perpetrators 
of domestic violence, including abusive spouses and common-law 
partners, from their victims. Abusive spouses can also be fined or 
imprisoned. While reliable national statistics were not available, 
women's groups estimated that from 20 to 25 percent of all women 
suffered abuse.
    The NGO Coalition Against Domestic Violence charged that police 
were often lax in enforcing domestic violence laws and asserted that 
rape and sexual abuse against women and children remained a significant 
problem.
    The Division of Gender Affairs (DGA) in the Ministry of Community 
Development, Culture, and Gender Affairs operated a 24-hour hotline 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.
    No laws specifically prohibit sexual harassment. Although related 
statutes could be used to prosecute perpetrators of sexual harassment, 
and some trade unions incorporated antiharassment provisions in their 
contracts, both the Government and NGOs continued to suspect that many 
incidents of sexual harassment went unreported.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children and had the information and means to do 
so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception and 
maternal health was widely available from healthcare providers and 
online sources. The Population Reference Bureau reported a 
contraceptive use rate of 43 percent among married women. Skilled 
attendance at delivery and in postpartum care was also widely 
available. According to the UN Population Fund, the estimated maternal 
mortality rate was 55 per 100,000 live births in 2008. Women and men 
were given equal access to diagnostic services and treatment for HIV/
AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases.
    Women generally enjoyed the same legal rights as men, including 
employment, education, and inheritance rights. No laws or regulations 
require 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. According 
to the World Economic Forum's 2010 Global Gender Gap Report, women 
earned 32 percent less than men on average.
    The DGA had primary government responsibility for protecting 
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.--Children acquire nationality by birth; every person born 
in the country is a citizen at the date of birth, unless the parents 
are foreign envoys accredited to the country. Children born outside the 
country can become citizens at birth if on that date one or both of the 
parents is, or was, a citizen. The Births and Deaths Registration Act 
provides that every child born alive must be registered within 42 days 
of birth.
    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. The Coalition against 
Domestic Violence operated Childline, a free and confidential telephone 
hotline for at-risk or distressed children and young persons up to age 
25. During the year Childline received 4,645 calls, 77 percent from 
females and 23 percent from males. Childline credited a significant 
decrease in calls to a change in how the organization handled prank 
calls. In the first nine months of the year, Childline reported 292 
neglect and abuse cases to the Police and National Family Services of 
the Ministry of the People and Social Development, including 36 cases 
of rape or incest.
    Several children were abused in their own homes or in institutional 
settings. There were allegations of widespread physical, sexual, and 
mental abuse of children at the St. Mary's Children's Home; a 
government investigation was unable to substantiate the allegations but 
recommended hiring additional qualified staff. The beating death of a 
two-year-old boy on October 20 by a family member resulted in calls for 
additional attention to child abuse. The case was under investigation 
at year's end.
    The law defines a child as less than 18 years of age, outlaws 
corporal punishment for children, and prohibits sentencing a child to 
prison. The legal age for marriage is 18 for both men and women. 
However, in practice the minimum legal age for 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 for marriage is 16 for men and 12 for women; the Hindu 
Marriage Act and the Orisa Marriage Act set the minimum legal age for 
marriage at 18 for men and 16 for women.
    Children between the ages of 16 and 18 were suspected of being 
engaged in prostitution. The Sexual Offenses Act of 2000 provides a 
penalty of up to 15 years' imprisonment for anyone who procures a child 
under 16 for prostitution.
    Statutory rape is illegal under the Sexual Offenses Act. The age of 
sexual consent is 16 years for males and females; however, this does 
not apply if the parties are married. Persons found guilty of rape can 
be sentenced from 12 years to life in jail.
    Child pornography is illegal, and penalties for pornographers 
include a fine of TT$2,000 ($320) and four months' imprisonment.
    The Government is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on 
International Child Abduction. For information on international 
parental child abduction, please see the Department of State's annual 
report on the convention at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/
resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html, as well as country 
specific information at http://travel.state.gov/abduction/country/
country--3781.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--The Jewish community was very small. There were no 
reports of anti-Semitic acts.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--There are no statutes either 
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability or mandating 
equal access for persons with disabilities to the political process, 
employment, education, transportation, housing, health care, or other 
citizen services. The minister of the people and social development 
publicly called upon employers both in the private and public sectors 
to end discriminatory practices against persons with disabilities and 
to create inclusive work environments.
    In practice persons with disabilities (an estimated 16 percent of 
the population) 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. Transportation 
was a particular concern, with only five handicap-accessible buses 
(only one of which was in service) for a special on-call transportation 
service. A majority of bus stops were located on high sidewalks without 
ramps. Most government buildings and public places were not accessible. 
There were no restrictions on access to information, communications, 
the right to vote, or to participate in civic affairs. The court system 
and the Elections and Boundary Commission communicated the openness of 
the courts and voting to all citizens. The Government provided some 
funding to NGOs such as Disabled Peoples International. In August the 
Government installed the first elevator on a raised pedestrian walkway 
to allow citizens with disabilities to cross a busy highway.

    Indigenous People.--A very small group of persons 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.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--Although the law criminalizes 
consensual homosexual relations, providing penalties of up to 25 years' 
imprisonment, the Government generally did not enforce such 
legislation, except when paired with more serious offenses such as 
rape. Immigration laws also bar the entry of homosexual persons into 
the country, but the legislation was not enforced.
    The Equal Opportunities Act does not specifically include lesbian, 
gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) persons, and in fact it 
specifically excludes sexual orientation. Other laws, including the 
Domestic Violence Act and the Cohabitational Relationship Act, also 
include language that excludes same-sex partners from the laws' 
protections. LGBT rights groups reported that there remained a stigma 
related to sexual orientation in the country. There were no gay 
marches, although LGBT rights groups attended some election events with 
signs and clothing indicating their membership. LGBT rights groups 
reported individual cases of violence against homosexual persons 
including cases where they were lured to a venue by Internet 
advertisements and then beaten. LGBT rights groups also reported a 
reluctance to report crimes to the police for fear of harassment by the 
police and court officials.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--HIV/AIDS was viewed as 
a significant medical concern for the Government and society. Incidents 
of violence against this group were usually isolated events, and the 
Ministry of Labor partnered with the International Labor Organization 
(ILO) to launch an HIV antidiscrimination program in the workplace.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that all workers, 
including those in state-owned enterprises, may form and join 
independent unions of their own choosing without prior authorization. 
The law also provides for 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 a bargaining unit and can limit union recognition by this 
means. The Industrial Relations Act (IRA) does not recognize domestic 
workers (maids, chauffeurs, gardeners, etc.), and they do not have the 
right to join a union. The Government was consistently unwilling to 
negotiate with public sector unions and refused to amend its 
legislation on ``essential services'' and collective bargaining to 
conform to ILO conventions. According to the National Trade Union 
Center, one of two umbrella organizations in the labor movement, 
approximately 20 percent of the workforce was organized in 
approximately 24 active unions. The percentage of workers represented 
by a union fell as employers increasingly relied on contract employees 
who were not covered by unions.
    The law allows unions to conduct their activities without 
interference; however, there were heavy restrictions on strikes. 
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. The IRA stipulates that 
only strikes over unresolved interest disputes may take place and that 
strikes may be prohibited at the request of one party if not called by 
a majority union.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to participate in collective bargaining, although there were 
heavy restrictions on the practice. According to the International 
Trade Union Confederation, collective bargaining was restricted by the 
requirement that, to obtain bargaining rights, a union must have the 
support of an absolute majority of workers. Furthermore, collective 
agreements must be for a minimum of three years, making it almost 
impossible for workers on short-term contracts to be covered by such 
agreements. According to the National Trade Union Center, the 
requirement that all negotiations must go through the Public Sector 
Negotiation Committee, rather than with the individual government 
agency or government-owned industry, is another heavy restriction that 
adds significant time delays.
    The law mandates that workers illegally dismissed for union 
activities must be reinstated. 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.
    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, there were 
no reports that such practices occurred.

    d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment.--The 
law sets the minimum age for employment in public and private 
industries at 16. However, children ages 14 to 16 may work in 
activities in which only family members are employed or that have been 
approved as vocational or technical training by the minister of 
education. Children under the age of 18 are prohibited from working 
between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., except in a family enterprise 
or within other limited exceptions. Violation of these regulations is 
punishable by fines.
    The Ministry of Labor and Small and Micro Enterprise Development 
and the Ministry of the People and Social Development are responsible 
for enforcing child labor laws. The Government trained 19 inspectors to 
identify cases of child labor. The minister of labor may designate an 
inspector to gather information from parents and employers regarding 
the employment of a person under the age of 18. The Industrial Court 
may issue a finding of contempt on anyone obstructing the inspectors' 
investigation. Although the Government was generally effective in 
enforcing child labor laws, there were a very few reports of children 
working in agriculture or as domestic workers.
    The Ministry of the People and Social Development continued to 
slowly implement its Revised National Plan of Action for Children, 
which includes specific goals for combating commercial sexual 
exploitation of children and exploitive child labor. The Government 
also participated in a regional initiative to combat the worst forms of 
child labor, implemented by the ILO's Program for the Elimination of 
Child Labor. However, the Government did not have comprehensive 
mechanisms for receiving, investigating, and resolving child labor 
complaints. Consequently, it was unclear how many complaints related to 
child labor were received and if any children who work might have been 
involved in exploitive labor situations.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor has a 
tripartite minimum wage committee, with input from trade unions and 
private sector leaders. The committee provides a recommendation for 
setting the minimum wage, which then is brought to cabinet by the 
minister. The national minimum wage was TT$9 ($1.43) per hour, which 
did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. 
The Government provided limited food assistance for poor families 
through a conditional cash transfer program. Actual wages varied 
considerably among industries.
    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.
    Health and safety regulations apply to all workers, regardless of 
citizenship. Foreign laborers brought into the country were generally 
protected by local labor laws, a stipulation usually contained in their 
labor contract.
    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 3.4 million, is a constitutional republic with an elected 
president and a bicameral legislature. In November 2009 in a free and 
fair runoff election, Jose Mujica won a five-year presidential term and 
a majority in parliament. Mujica entered office on March 1. Uruguay has 
a multiparty electoral system with three major parties. Security forces 
reported to civilian authorities.
    Principal human rights abuses included severe overcrowding, inhuman 
conditions, and disrepair in the prison system; violence against women; 
and 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.--There were no 
reports that the Government or its agents committed any politically 
motivated killings; however, police killed one person.
    In September the Government moved to prosecute a police officer for 
homicide and three police officers for concealment after killing a 23 
year-old man who fled instead of complying with an order to stop his 
vehicle. Authorities accused the officers of justifying their actions 
by leaving a firearm on the passenger seat of the victim's vehicle to 
make it appear that they had been attacked.
    There was no information available about the case of the police 
chief and three police officers who faced trial in connection with the 
2008 strangulation death of a detainee.
    The Government continued to investigate the serious human rights 
violations committed during the 1973-85 military dictatorship. In 2009 
a judge sentenced former military dictator Gregorio Alvarez to 25 years 
of prison for his role in aggravated homicides and disappearances. An 
appeals court confirmed this sentence in August and, in November, ruled 
that amnesty was unconstitutional in a number of cases involving human 
rights violations during the dictatorship.
    In February a court convicted and sentenced Juan Maria Bordaberry, 
the democratically elected president in office during the first years 
of the military rule, to 30 years in prison for the same crimes. 
Alvarez was serving his sentence in a military prison, and Bordaberry 
was under house arrest due to poor health.
    In November General Miguel Dalmao and Colonel Jose Chialanza were 
prosecuted on the charge of aggravated homicide and sent to prison 
pending trial for their complicity in the death of Nibia Sabalsagaray. 
Sabalsagaray died from torture during the military dictatorship in 
1974. Dalmao was the first active-duty military officer prosecuted for 
human rights violations in the country.

    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 
continued to be poor, as the Government did not adequately maintain 
aging facilities and provided insufficient resources for the prison 
system.
    Overcrowding was a significant problem despite the Government's 
efforts to build more prison facilities. According to government 
figures, the total prisoner population as of August 31 exceeded design 
capacity by 1,976 prisoners, or 29 percent (the prison ombudsman's 2009 
report defined 20 percent overcrowding as ``critical''). Additionally, 
many necessities were lacking and many prisoners depended on visitors 
for enough food to reach the daily minimum caloric intake.
    Prisoner-on-prisoner violence continued to be a daily problem, 
partially due to the lack of a separate, high-security prison for 
violent criminals. A high percentage of prisoners reportedly used 
drugs.
    Fire hazards and violence continued to plague the prison system. In 
2009 there were 39 deaths due to violence, and fires in prisons were 
reported. In July a cell fire killed 12 prisoners in Rocha Province. In 
August 5 prisoners perished in a cell fire in Comcar Prison in 
Montevideo. The fires started due to handcrafted heaters that set 
makeshift partitions on fire. Initial investigations revealed that fire 
extinguishers were not adequately maintained in both facilities.
    In general overcrowding and understaffing in some facilities 
resulted in problems related to sanitation, ventilation, temperature, 
lighting, access to potable water, and health. Supervision of medical 
care moved to the Ministry of Public Health, which implemented a pilot 
system in July to provide basic and emergency medical care to a prison 
in rural Montevideo that housed 3,000 inmates. An Anti-Tuberculosis 
Commission report confirmed 81 cases of tuberculosis in the prison 
population in 2009.
    The General Assembly elects a prison system ombudsman who is 
responsible for monitoring and reporting to parliament on prison 
conditions in the nation's 29 detention centers. This ombudsman 
receives complaints from prisoners and may present reports and 
recommendations but may not act on behalf of prisoners and detainees to 
consider such matters as alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent 
offenders to alleviate overcrowding. The ombudsman's report does not 
improve pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures to 
ensure that prisoners do not serve beyond the maximum sentence for the 
charged offense. The ombudsman is mandated by parliament to present an 
annual report with his observations and recommendations. The separation 
of powers makes his conclusions valuable but not mandatory to the 
judiciary.
    Government figures from the end of August recorded that there were 
8,091 male and 692 female prisoners, of whom 34 percent had been 
sentenced, while 66 percent were awaiting trial. Pretrial detainees and 
convicted criminals were held together, but female and male prisoners 
were held in separate facilities. During the year, 32 children lived in 
prison facilities with their inmate mothers.
    The Uruguayan Institute for Adolescents and Children (INAU), which 
supervises juvenile detention and is tasked with protecting abandoned 
and orphaned children under age 18, also operated institutions to hold 
minor detainees. Juveniles who committed serious crimes were 
incarcerated in juvenile detention centers, which resembled traditional 
jails and had cells. In September INAU reported 310 juveniles were 
incarcerated. Conditions in some of these facilities were similar to 
adult versions, and conditions in others worsened and security was 
tightened because of frequent escape attempts. Male juvenile 
delinquents were held in a central processing detention center in 
Montevideo for up to 60 days before their sentencing. Independent 
prison observers reported that this detention center suffered chronic 
overcrowding, often with 10 adolescents living in a cell designed for 
six. Additionally, these observers reported that some high-security 
juvenile delinquents were often held in cells with no access to natural 
light or fresh air. Female juvenile criminals were processed and held 
in separate detention centers. Most incarcerated juveniles did not 
receive formal education; however, some detention centers allowed the 
youth to receive vocational training. The prison system ombudsman 
cannot address the status and circumstances of confinement of juvenile 
offenders.
    Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were 
permitted religious observance. The Government permitted general prison 
visits by independent human rights observers, nongovernmental 
organizations (NGOs), religious congregations, and foreign diplomats, 
and such visits occurred during the year. In March 2009 a UN special 
rapporteur on torture issued a report on the inhumane and degrading 
conditions of the prison system. In response the Government made prison 
reforms a priority.
    The Government investigated and monitored prison and detention 
center conditions. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to 
submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to 
request investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. 
There were no reported complaints of police abuse in prisons during the 
year, which some observers attributed to fear of reprisals from prison 
staff; however, the prison ombudsman received unofficial reports of 
maltreatment. Authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane 
conditions. The results were documented by the Ministry of the Interior 
but were not public record.
    In April the Government inaugurated ``El Molino,'' a detention 
center for 30 female prisoners with children. INAU offered kindergarten 
services to these children, and their mothers received education and 
training for their reinsertion into society. Inmates and their children 
received adequate health services.
    In June the Government created the Oficina de Supervision de 
Libertad Asistida (OSLA), a bureau within the National Directorate of 
Prisons. OSLA police officers monitor criminals who receive alternative 
sentences to perform community service work. OSLA officers are required 
to prepare individual profiles on the inmates based on psychological, 
social, legal, and labor records and to supervise their sentence term 
outside prison.
    Despite outlining many concerns, the prison ombudsman's report for 
the year identified some positive practices. The report highlighted an 
increase in prisoners in open prisons (``chacras'') in each province, 
where the detainees were involved in maintaining small land holdings: 
the continuation of a successful clinic in one of the country's largest 
prisons; and advances in providing primary education to inmates. 
Government figures reported that 45 percent of prisoners in the 29 
detention centers study or work.
    In September the Government enacted a law modifying the system of 
temporary releases (salidas transitorias). The law allows judges to 
grant up to a 72- hour weekly release for prisoners with a good record 
of conduct to work or study in the custody of and accompanied by a 
police officer wearing street clothes. According to the law, prisoners 
may choose a family member or an individual, instead of a police 
officer, as legal assurance of their compliance with the activities 
performed outside the detention center.
    The Government accelerated and amplified its program to ease the 
chronic overcrowding. On July 15, it enacted an emergency law to allow 
for a one-time budget allotment of 15 million pesos ($750,000) to build 
additional facilities and refurbish existing ones, expanding the 
capacity of the total prison system by 2,550 places; to purchase or 
rent facilities to redistribute prisoners; to purchase the necessary 
equipment to improve food, hygiene, and health conditions; to use 
military facilities to relocate prisoners; and to hire 1,500 prison 
guards and technical staff (psychologists, psychiatrists, and 
teachers). In order to comply with the plan of action, the law 
simplified bureaucratic procedures until December 31. By year's end, 
the emergency law resulted in roughly 500 additional spaces in the 
prison system, and applications for 800 new technical staff and prison 
guards were processed. The Government opened a special link in its Web 
page to post prison condition updates in order to increase 
transparency.

    d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention.--The law prohibits arbitrary 
arrest and detention, and the Government generally observed these 
prohibitions. 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.--Civilian authorities 
maintained effective control over the national police, and the 
Government has effective mechanisms to investigate and punish abuse and 
corruption. There were no reports of impunity involving the security 
forces during the year.
    The Ministry of the Interior's Directorate of Internal Affairs 
operated a hotline for complaints of police abuse. The directorate 
received 1,232 complaints of police abuse during the year.

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--Persons were 
apprehended openly with warrants based on sufficient evidence, issued 
by a duly authorized official, and brought before an independent 
judiciary. The law provides detainees with the right to a prompt 
judicial determination of the legality of detention 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 police prior 
to a detainee's appearance before a judge and attorney (without police 
present) are not valid. A judge must investigate any detainee's claim 
of mistreatment. A lawyer assigned to each police station reports to 
the Ministry of the Interior concerning the treatment of detainees.
    For a detainee who cannot afford a lawyer, the court appoints a 
public defender at no cost to the detainee. Judges rarely granted bail 
for persons accused of crimes punishable by at least two years in 
prison. Most persons facing lesser charges were not jailed. Detainees 
were allowed prompt access to family members. Some detainees spend 
years in jail awaiting trial, and the uncertainty and length of 
detention contributed to tensions and psychological stress in the 
prisons. Trial delays were caused by lengthy legal procedures, large 
numbers of detainees, and staff shortages.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--The constitution provides for an 
independent judiciary, and the Government generally respected judicial 
independence in practice.

    Trial Procedures.--The constitution provides for the right to a 
fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right.
    Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence. Juries are not used; 
trial proceedings usually consist of written arguments to the judge, 
which normally are not made public. Defendants have the right to 
consult an attorney in a timely manner, and those that do not have an 
attorney are provided one at the state's expense. Only the judge, 
prosecutor, and defense attorney have access to all documents that form 
part of the written record. Defendants can confront or question 
witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their 
behalf. Individual judges may elect to hear oral arguments, but most 
judges choose the written method, a major factor slowing the judicial 
process. Criminal trials are held in a circuit court. Defendants have a 
right of appeal. The law extends these rights to all citizens.

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

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There are transparent 
administrative procedures to handle complaints of abuse against 
government agents. An independent and impartial judiciary handled civil 
disputes, but its decisions were ineffectively enforced. Local police 
lacked the training and work force to enforce restraining orders, which 
often were generated during 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 generally respected these 
rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a 
functioning democratic political system combined to ensure freedom of 
speech and of the press.

    Internet Freedom.--There were no government restrictions on access 
to the Internet or reports that the Government monitored e-mail or 
Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the 
peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.
    The International Telecommunication Union reported that in 2009 
Internet penetration in Uruguay was 38 percent. Internet access was 
widely available and used by citizens; many restaurants, cafes, and 
public areas had free WiFi access.

    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.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt.

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The law provides for freedom of 
movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice. The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, 
refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and 
other persons of concern. 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 laws provide for the granting of 
refugee status, and the Government has established a system for 
providing protection to refugees. 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. In 2009 the Government signed a UNHCR framework agreement 
to accept 15 additional refugees per year. The NGO Servicio Ecumenico 
Para la Dignidad Humana, a member of the National Refugee Committee and 
a UNHCR partner, reported that there are 174 refugees in the country. 
During the year the Government accepted 10 Colombians resettled from 
Ecuador under the ``Plan de Reasentamiento Solidario de Mexico de 
2004.'' While the Government received nine refugee applications through 
the normal UNHCR process, it granted refugee status to only one.
    In practice the Government provided protection against the 
expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or 
freedom would be threatened on account of their race, religion, 
nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political 
opinion. In conjunction with UNHCR, the Government supported 
repatriation of refugees upon request of the individual.

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 based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--In November 2009 Jose 
Mujica of the incumbent Frente Amplio (Broad Front) coalition won a 
five-year presidential term in a free and fair runoff election. The 
runoff followed a series of party primaries in June 2009 and a free and 
fair first-round election among the four leading parties in October 
2009. President Mujica took office on March 1.
    In parliamentary elections in October 2009, the Frente Amplio won 
16 of 30 seats in the Senate and 50 of 99 seats in the House of 
Representatives.
    Political parties operated without restrictions or outside 
interference.
    Women participated actively in the political process and 
government, although primarily at lower and middle levels. Four 
senators and 12 representatives are women. Two of the 13 cabinet 
ministers are women.
    There were no members of minorities in parliament. There was one 
member of a minority in the cabinet.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption, and 
the Government generally implemented these laws effectively. There were 
some formal and informal reports of police corruption, which 
authorities addressed with appropriate legal action. In July a scandal 
involving fraudulent purchases in the Navy was widely reported. The 
investigation continued and many high-ranking Navy officials stepped 
down and/or were criminally charged.
    Public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws. A 
government commission on economic and financial matters collects sworn 
financial statements from public servants, including the president.
    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 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A number of domestic and international human rights groups 
generally operated without government restriction, investigating and 
publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials 
were generally cooperative and responsive to their views.
    In September the UN special rapporteur on trafficking in persons 
visited the country. She recommended that the Government support more 
in-depth statistical research, increase campaigns to raise awareness, 
and train more government, law enforcement, and judiciary officials.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, 
language, or social status, and the Government generally enforced these 
prohibitions effectively, although societal discrimination against some 
groups persisted.
    The Commission Against Racism, Xenophobia, and All Forms of 
Discrimination, headed by the Ministry of Education and Culture's 
director of human rights and including government, religious, and civil 
society representatives, proposes policies and specific measures to 
prevent and combat racism, xenophobia, and discrimination. Since its 
creation in 2007, the commission investigated 70 claims from Afro-
Uruguayans, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
transgender (LGBT) persons. There were five cases brought to the 
commission's attention during the year, only one of which it referred 
for legal action. The commission considered the other cases not valid 
for its action or handled them through mediation or other means.

    Women.--The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape. The law 
allows for sentences of two to 12 years' imprisonment for a person 
found guilty of rape. According to Ministry of Interior statistics, 
between January and December there were 227 cases of rape and 84 cases 
of attempted rape.
    The Ministry of Interior believed that some victims of spousal rape 
did not report such incidents because of failure to understand their 
rights and fear of social stigma.
    The Ministry of Interior reported 11,255 cases of domestic violence 
of which 35 cases resulted in murder. The law allows for sentences of 
six months to two years in prison for a person found guilty of 
committing an act of violence or making continued threats to cause 
bodily injury to persons related emotionally or legally to the 
perpetrator. Civil courts decided most of the 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.
    In October the Government approved the creation of domestic 
violence units in police headquarters in the interior. Human resources 
and budget assignments are allotted by taking into account the 
prevalence of domestic violence in each region.
    Additionally, representatives of the Uruguayan Network against 
Domestic and Sexual Violence formally denounced the Government at the 
Human Rights Committee of the Organization of American States for 
failing to protect women who die in the country as victims of domestic 
violence, despite having presented formal complaints and often 
receiving restraining orders or other preventive measures ruled by the 
judiciary. The network represented 34 NGOs in the country.
    The Montevideo municipal government funded a free nation-wide 
hotline operated by trained NGO employees for victims of domestic 
violence. The Ministry of Social Development, INAU, and NGOs operated 
shelters in which abused women and their families could seek temporary 
refuge.
    The law prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace and punishes 
it by fines or dismissal. The law establishes guidelines for the 
prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace and in student-
professor relations and defines a system of damages for victims.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide freely and 
responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and had 
the information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, 
and violence. Access to information on contraception and skilled 
attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were widely available. 
The Population Reference Bureau reported contraceptive use of 75 
percent among married women. The UN Population Fund reported in 2008 
that the maternal mortality ratio was 27 deaths per 100,000 live 
births. Women and men had equal access to diagnostic services and 
treatment for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
    Under the law, women enjoy 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. The law declares a state 
interest in gender equality and decrees the creation of the National 
Plan for Equal Rights and Opportunity. The National Institute for Women 
supervised the work of a Tripartite Committee on Equal Opportunities 
and Employment, which includes a subcommittee on gender consideration 
in salaries and benefits. There was some segregation by gender in the 
workforce. Women constituted almost half of the workforce but tended to 
be concentrated in lower-paying jobs, with salaries averaging two-
thirds those of men.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory or through one's parents. The Government immediately 
registers all births.
    There were few reports of physical or sexual child abuse.
    Some minors engaged in prostitution and forced labor. INAU found 
that they sometimes did so at the request of their families to increase 
income. The minimum age for consensual sex is 12 years old. When a 
sexual union takes place with a minor under the age of 15, violence is 
presumed and statutory rape laws, which carry a penalty of two to 12 
years in prison, can be applied. However, minors between the age of 12 
and 15 can legally agree to consensual sex; if they consent, any 
presumed violence is waived. Penalties for pimping children range from 
four to 16 years in prison. Child pornography is illegal, and penalties 
range from one to two years in prison. The International Criminal 
Police Organization (INTERPOL) continued to uncover child pornography 
material produced in the country and available on the Internet through 
servers located in central Europe. Interpol and the Ministry of 
Interior authorities responded promptly to one child pornography case 
that became known in June. The authorities, working with information 
received from UK law enforcement officials via INTERPOL, tracked down a 
computer server where child pornography was stored. Authorities 
arrested the producer of the pornography and prosecuted him under the 
child pornography law.
    INAU provided funding for a number of NGOs that had programs to 
assist at-risk children, as well as victims of domestic violence and 
sexual exploitation. Assistance to trafficking victims was provided on 
a case-by-case basis. The Integral System to Protect Children and 
Adolescents Against Violence, an interagency workgroup that provided 
training and awareness-raising campaigns and promoted legislative 
advancements for the protection of children and adolescents, operated 
10 centers to provide assistance to victims of child abuse.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual Report on the Compliance with the Hague Convention on 
the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction at http://
travel.state.gov/abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--
4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--Jewish community leaders reported that government 
officials and society generally respected members of their community, 
which numbered approximately 18,000 to 20,000 according to the Jewish 
Central Committee. Jewish leaders reported effective cooperation with 
police investigating incidents of anti-Semitism.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    Persons With Disabilities.--The law prohibits discrimination 
against persons with disabilities, but the Government did not 
effectively enforce these provisions. Local entities did not devote 
resources to provide appropriate accommodations. Persons with 
disabilities reported discrimination in employment despite government 
efforts to assist in individual cases. The Government did not 
discriminate against persons with disabilities but did not provide 
sufficient services such as transportation, which inhibited some 
persons from accessing these services.
    The Uruguayan Institute for Educational Psychology reported that 
school-age children with disabilities, such as blindness or Down's 
syndrome, received specially adapted laptops under Plan Ceibal (one 
laptop per child).
    A national disabilities commission oversees implementation of a law 
on the rights of persons with disabilities. The law mandating 
accessibility for persons with disabilities to new buildings or public 
services was not consistently enforced. The law reserves 4 percent of 
public sector jobs for persons with physical and mental disabilities, 
but the quota went unfilled.

    National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities.--The country's Afro-Uruguayan 
minority continued to face societal discrimination. A National Bureau 
of Statistics study stated that Afro-Uruguayans are 10 percent of the 
population and indigenous descendents constituted another 3 percent. A 
July 2009 study concluded that 43 percent of Afro-Uruguayans were poor, 
with 5 percent living in extreme poverty. The study concluded that race 
is one of the factors responsible for socioeconomic inequality in the 
country. The NGO Mundo Afro stated that the percentage of Afro-
Uruguayans working as unskilled laborers was much larger than for 
members of other groups in society, despite equivalent levels of 
education. Afro-Uruguayans were underrepresented throughout government 
and academia and in the middle and upper echelons of private-sector 
firms.
    The Government did not fully implement initiatives to increase 
visibility and improve communication amongst the Afro-Uruguayan 
community. For example, Mundo Afro appointed advisors to each ministry, 
but these advisors have had extremely limited roles and do not receive 
financial support. The Government did support the creation of a 
commission to draft the first National Plan Against Racism and 
Discrimination. The Government also continued its outreach to the Afro-
Uruguayan community for participation in the Quijano Scholarship 
Program for postgraduate work. Afro-Uruguayan community 
representatives, however, sought programs focused more on undergraduate 
education, noting that only 1 percent of Afro-Uruguayans attend 
college. For the last two years, the National Police Academy has 
included discrimination awareness training as part of its curriculum.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--No laws criminalize sexual 
orientation, and authorities widely protected the rights of the LGBT 
community. The LGBT community benefits from many rights, specifically, 
the right to civil union for same-sex couples, the right for same-sex 
couples to adopt, and the right for transgender individuals to change 
their gender. However, the technical commission that reviews applicants 
who want to formally request a change of gender has not yet been 
formed; therefore, the right for transgender individuals to change 
their gender exists only in theory and not in practice.
    In September the LGBT community joined with other civil rights and 
gender-rights groups in an annual ``Diversity March,'' which drew 
nearly 10,000 participants. Police generally afforded protection to the 
LGBT community. Hate crimes were rare, but there were isolated reports 
of street violence against individuals leaving gay bars; the police did 
not intervene in these incidents. There were occasional reports of 
nonviolent societal discrimination based on sexual orientation and 
gender identity.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--There were isolated 
reports of societal discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The constitution grants the right of 
association, and the law promotes organization of trade unions, 
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. Legal foreign workers may join unions.
    Unionization was higher in the public sector (more than 42 percent) 
than in the private sector (approximately 10 percent). Agricultural 
workers are not formally represented within the national labor union 
system.
    The constitution provides workers with the right to strike, and 
workers exercised this right in practice.

    b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively.--The law allows 
unions to conduct their activities without interference, and the 
Government protected this right. The law also protects collective 
bargaining, and it was freely practiced.
    Collective bargaining between companies and their unions determines 
a number of private-sector salaries. The executive branch, acting 
independently, determines public-sector salaries.
    The law regulates collective bargaining and grants the Government a 
large role in adjudicating labor disputes. A Superior Tripartite 
Council is made up of 21 officials: nine from the executive branch of 
government, six from the business community, and six from organized 
labor. This council administers the salary councils and has authority 
to make determinations related to labor negotiations. The law also 
designates trade unions to negotiate on behalf of workers whose 
companies are not unionized.
    The law expressly prohibits antiunion discrimination and requires 
employers to reinstate workers fired for union activities and pay an 
indemnity to such workers. The Ministry of Labor's Collective 
Bargaining Division investigates antiunion discrimination claims filed 
by union members. There were generally effective mechanisms for 
resolving workers' complaints against employers. In February a new law 
(No. 18.572) that shortened procedures for resolving disputes went into 
effect. An employer is informed in advance of the reason for the claim 
and the alleged amount owed to the worker. However, articles of the law 
have been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Justice and, 
in practice, the processes to resolve disputes have not been shortened.
    All labor legislation fully covers workers employed in the 12 free 
trade 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 some child labor occurred.

    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. 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 
occurred in the informal sector. The Government's National Committee 
for the Eradication of Child Labor estimated that 8 percent of children 
and adolescents between the ages of eight and 17 years old worked. Some 
children worked as street vendors in the informal sector or in 
agricultural activities; these were areas generally less strictly 
regulated and in which pay was lower than in the formal sector. There 
were isolated reports of parents transferring their children to third 
parties for domestic service or agricultural work in exchange for food 
and lodging.
    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 must undergo physical 
exams to identify possible exposure to job-related physical harm. 
Permits are not granted for hazardous or fatiguing work. Children 
between the ages of 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.
    Violations of child labor laws are generally punishable by fines 
but may extend to imprisonment of three months to four years.
    INAU implemented policies to prevent and regulate child labor and 
provided training on child labor issues. INAU also worked 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 
had five trained inspectors to handle an estimated 1,250 inspections 
per year.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--The Ministry of Labor and Social 
Security enforces a legislated minimum monthly wage that covers both 
the public and private sectors. The ministry adjusts the minimum wage 
whenever public sector wages are adjusted. The monthly minimum wage of 
4,799 pesos (approximately $240) functioned 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. 
While there are no known mechanisms for enforcement, observers believed 
companies generally complied with the regulations.
    The standard workweek ranged from 44 to 48 hours, 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 citizens and foreign workers were 
employed informally and thus did not benefit from certain legal 
protections.
    The Ministry of Labor and Social Security enforced 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, although some workers claimed 
a subsequent loss of other privileges at work based on their refusal to 
work in unsafe conditions.

                               __________

                               VENEZUELA

    Venezuela is a multiparty constitutional democracy with a 
population of approximately 28 million. In 2006 voters reelected 
President Hugo Chavez Frias of the Fifth Republic Movement party. 
International observer missions deemed the elections generally free and 
fair but noted some irregularities. On September 26, voters elected 165 
deputies to the National Assembly. Voting on election day was generally 
free and fair with scattered reports of irregularities. However, 
domestic election observers and opposition political parties criticized 
both the electoral law, claiming it violated the constitutional 
principle of proportionality, and the Government's partisan use of 
state-owned media. There were instances in which elements of the 
security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    The following human rights problems were reported by 
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the media, and in some cases the 
Government itself: unlawful killings, including summary executions of 
criminal suspects; widespread criminal kidnappings for ransom; prison 
violence and harsh prison conditions; inadequate juvenile detention 
centers; arbitrary arrests and detentions; corruption and impunity in 
police forces; corruption, inefficiency, and politicization in a 
judicial system characterized by trial delays and violations of due 
process; political prisoners and selective prosecution for political 
purposes; infringement of citizens' privacy rights; restrictions on 
freedom of expression; government threats to sanction or close 
television stations and newspapers; corruption at all levels of 
government; threats against domestic NGOs; 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.--The Government or 
its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however, 
security forces were accused of committing unlawful killings, including 
summary executions of criminal suspects.
    There were several reports that security forces allegedly committed 
arbitrary or unlawful deprivations of life. The human rights NGO 
Venezuelan Program of Action and Education in Human Rights (PROVEA) 
reported 237 deaths due to security force actions from October 2009 
through September 2010, a 15-percent increase compared with the 
previous year. The causes of death were categorized as 199 executions, 
nine cases of excessive use of force, 16 cases of indiscriminate use of 
force, 10 cases of torture or cruel treatment, and three cases of 
negligence.
    Prosecutors occasionally brought cases against such perpetrators. 
Sentences frequently were light, and convictions often were overturned 
on appeal. According to PROVEA, 463 public officials were involved in 
extrajudicial killings in 2009, the last year for which statistics were 
available. There was no information available on the numbers of public 
officials who received prison sentences for involvement in 
extrajudicial killings.
    On September 1, 19-year-old Wilmer Jose Flores Barrios was killed 
in Aragua State, making him the sixth member of his family to be killed 
since 1998. Since 2004 the Barrios family, including Wilmer, had been 
under protection orders issued by the Inter-American Commission on 
Human Rights (IACHR). The IACHR ``deplored the fact that members of the 
Barrios family in Venezuela have been executed extrajudicially without 
the State having adopted measures to protect the life of these persons 
or to investigate these crimes.'' The IACHR described at least five of 
the family's murders as extrajudicial executions perpetrated by Aragua 
state police agents. On July 26, the IACHR submitted the Barrios family 
case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, noting that the 
Government ``did not provide effective protection measures'' and that 
``the facts of the case fall within a more general context of 
extrajudicial executions in Venezuela by regional police forces, a 
situation the Inter-American Commission has been following closely 
through various mechanisms'' (see section 1.e.).
    There were no known developments in the prosecution of three Merida 
policemen, one member of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN), 
formerly the Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services 
(DISIP), and one civilian in the January 2009 killing of eight young 
persons in a cafe in El Vigia, Merida. The accused remained in the Coro 
Penitentiary pending trial.
    On October 22, the court convicted and sentenced Merida police 
inspector Julio Cesar Carucci to imprisonment for 17 years and six 
months as the material author of the April 2009 killing of student 
leader Yuban Ortega during a demonstration in Merida. Two other police 
officers, Jose Oscar Angel Davila and Pablo Emilio Parra Hernandez, 
were each sentenced to imprisonment for three years, one month, and 15 
days for improper use of weapons and violation of international 
agreements.
    There was no information available about the investigation into the 
May 2009 killing of Anderson Naranjo by 10 individuals dressed as El 
Valle police officials.
    There was no information available about the investigation of two 
Caracas Police Department members, Alejandro Guerra and Jorge Corrales, 
for their alleged involvement in the May 2009 killing of taxi driver 
Freddy Jose Castillin. They remained detained at year's end.
    On October 6, Yeres Smith Reyes and Victoriano Gonzalez Teran 
confessed and were sentenced to imprisonment for 11 years and four 
months for the June 2009 killing of psychologist Ana Matilde Raimondi 
de Bellorin. The trial against two other suspects, Wilmer Flores 
Monsalve and Leonel Matos Gonzalez, remained pending at year's end. The 
four were members of the Libertador Municipal Police Department.
    On June 23, the court sentenced Lieutenant Saher Ernesto Delgado 
Marchan and Sergeant Dirga Miguel Rodriguez Martinez to 18 years in 
prison for the 2008 beating and killing of Jean Carlos Rondon in 
Monagas State. Three other suspects were acquitted.
    There was no information available about the investigation into the 
2008 killing of Roger Oscar Avila by unknown assailants dressed as 
Caracas Metropolitan Police.
    There were no known developments in the 2008 shooting and killing 
of El Rodeo jail inmate Miguel Hiroyuki Baba Barroyeta and the injuring 
of five individuals (inmates Alexander Jose Gonzalez Mosquera, Renato 
Javier Rea Noguera, and Hector Luis Solorzano Dias as well as National 
Guardsman Victor Eduardo Salcedo Ochoa and driver Manuel Eloy 
Gonzales), which occurred while the inmates were in custody and being 
transferred from court to prison. According to the prosecutor general, 
the shooting resulted from prisoners attempting to seize weapons and 
escape.
    There were no known developments in the trial of 10 Lara state 
police officers charged in the so-called Massacre of Chabasquen in 
2008, in which six persons (including four minors) were tortured and 
killed in Portuguesa State. The accused remained in prison pending 
trial.
    There were multiple developments during the year in connection with 
the 1989 killings in Caracas known as the ``Caracazo.''
    On February 24, the Public Ministry claimed to have successfully 
exhumed the remains of 47 persons who may have been killed during the 
Caracazo. Identification of the 47 victims (10 female and 37 male) 
remained underway at year's end. Representatives from The Committee of 
Family Members of the Events that Occurred between February 27 and the 
First Days of March of 1989 (COFAVIC), an NGO representing the families 
of many of the victims, were not allowed to be present during the 
exhumation of victims' remains.
    Throughout the year COFAVIC urged the Government to permit experts 
from the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team to participate in the 
exhumation process, identification of the victims, and collection of 
forensic evidence; to designate a neutral location rather than military 
or police facilities to perform the forensic examinations; and to 
provide full access to its files by the victims' families and lawyers. 
By year's end the Prosecutor General's Office had not responded to 
COFAVIC's requests.
    In February and March the Public Ministry and COFAVIC engaged in a 
dispute over COFAVIC's records containing postmortem and other 
information on the victims. COFAVIC claimed the information had been 
provided confidentially to COFAVIC by victims' families. On February 
26, the prosecutor general threatened COFAVIC with legal charges for 
failure to turn over the information, and on March 1, the director of 
the litigation office of the Prosecutor General's Office accused 
COFAVIC of refusing to cooperate with the Government's investigation of 
the Caracazo. COFAVIC claimed the requested information had already 
been provided to the Government by COFAVIC (on November 26, 1990, and 
on November 24, 2009), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (on 
July 5, 1998), and family members. COFAVIC also charged that the 
Government's statements constituted a serious threat against COFAVIC 
and the families of the Caracazo victims. On March 4, the World 
Organization against Torture, in conjunction with the International 
Federation of Human Rights, publicly called on the Government to 
immediately end its harassment of COFAVIC and to guarantee the security 
and safety of its members.
    On March 18, the Supreme Court approved the March 1 extradition 
request submitted by Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega Diaz for former 
president Carlos Andres Perez in connection with his alleged 
involvement in the Caracazo; Perez died outside the country on December 
25.
    The Public Ministry also announced it was investigating 336 
individuals for their alleged involvement in the Caracazo.
    On March 19, the Public Ministry charged former minister of defense 
Italo Del Valle Alliegro with premeditated homicide and violating 
treaties and international conventions in connection with the Caracazo. 
On June 28, the Ninth Court of Appeals in Caracas dismissed the charges 
asserting the period for filing charges had lapsed. On July 2, the 
Public Ministry asked the Supreme Court to reopen the case. On July 21, 
the Supreme Court announced the dismissal or suspension of 16 judges, 
including the dismissal of two provisional judges, Jose Alfonso Dugarte 
and Juan Carlos Villegas, and the suspension of the third, Angel Zerpa, 
involved in this case. On July 29, the Supreme Court declared the 
appeals court judges' decision to have been an ``inexcusable error.''
    On May 14, the Public Ministry charged the former Caracas Strategic 
Command chief, General Manuel Heinz Azpurua, with premeditated homicide 
and violating treaties and international conventions in relation to the 
Caracazo.
    On May 26, the National Assembly approved 9,282,000 BsF 
($3,570,000) in compensation for the families of 63 of the victims.
    On August 24, the prosecutor general charged retired general Jose 
Rafael Leon Orsoni with premeditated homicide and violating treaties 
and international conventions in relation to the Caracazo.
    There were no known developments in the prosecution of retired 
general Freddy Maya Cardona and the Metropolitan Police commander, 
retired general Luis Guillermo Fuentes Serra, who had been charged in 
connection with the Caracazo.
    There were no known developments in the retrial of two police 
officers for their alleged involvement in the killing of Luis Manuel 
Colmenares during the Caracazo. An appeals court had annulled their 
2003 acquittal in 2004.
    There was one development during the year in connection with the 
so-called El Amparo massacre in 1988, in which government security 
forces allegedly killed 14 persons. In January the Inter-American Court 
of Human Rights convoked a private hearing to obtain information from 
the Government regarding its implementation of the court's 1995 
decision that required reparations to the victims' families, 
continuation of the investigation of the massacre, and prosecution of 
those responsible. On February 4, the court issued a resolution 
requiring the country to implement the 1995 ruling regarding 
reparations and requesting that the Government provide a timeline by 
June 25 with its planned actions to investigate and prosecute those 
responsible for the massacre. On October 26, PROVEA called on the 
Public Ministry to give the El Amparo massacre the same attention as 
other grave human rights abuses that occurred during the 1980s (see 
section 1.e.).
    There was one development during the year in connection with the 
so-called Yumare massacre in 1986, in which nine persons were killed. 
In May former DISIP commissioner German Gustavo Justino Lamoglia 
Mendoza was arrested for his alleged involvement in the massacre. An 
investigation remained pending at year's end. The Public Ministry 
reported in August that there were 29 individuals charged in the 
massacre and 12 persons formally accused.
    There were the following developments during the year in connection 
with the so-called Cantaura massacre in 1982, in which armed forces and 
DISIP members allegedly killed 25 persons:
    Exhumation of victims' remains continued during the year. In May 
the Public Ministry reported having exhumed 17 victims' remains from 
five separate states and Caracas. On October 1, the Government 
announced the exhumation of another victim.
    On September 17, PROVEA published an open letter to President 
Chavez expressing concern about the decision of the United Socialist 
Party of Venezuela (PSUV) to nominate Roger Cordero Lara as a candidate 
for the National Assembly in the September 26 elections. PROVEA alleged 
that Cordero Lara had commanded one of the airplanes that participated 
in the bombardment of the guerrilla camp in Cantaura. Following Cordero 
Lara's election, PROVEA publicly demanded that the newly elected 
National Assembly lift his parliamentary immunity to permit an 
investigation to proceed.
    On December 10, the Public Ministry announced that alleged 
paramilitary chief Sandra Barrera Cardozo would be tried for the 
September 2009 killing of Panamericano mayor Lluvane Alvarez in Tachira 
State and the August 2009 killing of Pablo Ruiz and Willer Quintero 
Valdez. She remained detained at the Western Penitentiary Center at 
year's end. Alix Xiomara Fuentes Ortega had previously been sentenced 
to one year and six months' imprisonment for involvement in Alvarez's 
killing; two other suspects, Roberth Centeno Sanchez and Fernando 
Gonzalez Vergara, were also pending trial for the three killings.
    Societal violence remained high. The NGO Venezuelan Observatory of 
Violence (OVV) reported 16,047 killings nationwide in 2009, or 70 
killings per 100,000 inhabitants, and estimated 17,600 homicides in 
2010. The OVV reported that during the past 10 years there were 20,743 
homicides in Caracas. On August 20, the El Nacional newspaper cited a 
leaked survey by the Government's National Statistics Institute (INE) 
reporting that 19,113 persons were killed nationwide in 2009, or 75 per 
100,000 inhabitants. The OVV reported in February that in 91 percent of 
the 2009 homicide cases there had been no arrest. On August 13, El 
Nacional reported that in the first six months of 2010, police 
initiated 5,186 homicide investigations.

    b. Disappearance.--There were no substantiated reports of 
politically motivated disappearances.
    Criminal kidnappings for ransom reportedly were widespread in both 
urban centers and rural areas. The newspaper El Universal reported on 
April 12 that 405 kidnappings had occurred in the first 100 days of the 
year. However, the newspaper Ultimas Noticias reported in June that 249 
kidnappings had occurred during the first five months. The states with 
the largest numbers of kidnappings were Zulia (37 cases), Carabobo 
(29), and Anzoategui (22). According to the National Federation of 
Cattle Ranchers (Fedenaga), 382 kidnappings took place in 2009 and 157 
in the first six months of the year. However, according to the 
Government's INE survey covering July 2008-July 2009, 16,917 persons 
were victims of kidnappings, of whom only an estimated 60 percent 
reported the crime to authorities. Approximately 75 percent of the 
cases involved ``express kidnappings,'' in which the victims were held 
for several hours and then released. NGOs noted that many victims did 
not report kidnappings to police or other authorities.
    The media frequently reported the public perception of 
collaboration between police and kidnappers. According to the NGO 
Active Peace, in 2008 the average total cost to the victim of a 
kidnapping--based on an average of 12 days in captivity, a negotiator's 
fee, and ransom paid--was approximately the equivalent of 306,800 BsF 
($118,000). Human rights NGOs reported approximately 20 percent of 
kidnapping victims were minors or students. According to the INE 
survey, an estimated 30 percent of the victims were under 25 years of 
age.
    Notable examples of the linkage between police officials and 
kidnappers included:
    On March 9, the Public Ministry charged two Caracas Metropolitan 
Police officers and a police commissioner in the March 3 kidnapping of 
a 33-year-old woman allegedly held for ransom inside the police 
headquarters of Santa Rosalia, in the El Cementerio district of 
Caracas. A trial was pending at year's end.
    On March 12, a group of 17 to 20 men allegedly dressed in Bolivar 
state police uniforms reportedly abducted Gabriel Antonio Ramirez, Jose 
Leonardo Ramirez, and Nedfrank Xavier Cona. According to press reports, 
officers on police motorcycles escorted the car transporting the 
abducted young men. The victims were reportedly working as laborers on 
new university buildings in the city of Barcelona in Anzoategui State. 
On May 27, the Prosecutor General's Office charged six police officers 
(Jhonny Moya, Simon Felice, Juan Prado, Luis Magallanes, Pedro Quero, 
and Hector Romero) from the Simon Bolivar municipality of Barcelona 
with forced disappearance, violation of the home, abuse of authority, 
and violating treaties and international conventions.
    On April 6, the Public Ministry charged three officers of the 
Scientific, Penal, and Penal Investigative Corps (CICPC) in the March 
23 kidnapping of Luis Santiago de Ponce in Antimano. The officers, 
Erarith Rafael Frias Vegas, Jose Raul Blanco Rosales, and Wilfredo 
Camacho Martinez, allegedly kidnapped Ponce at gunpoint, held him in a 
CICPC warehouse, and forced his family to pay a ransom for his return. 
A trial remained pending at year's end.

    c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment.--Although the constitution states that no person shall be 
subjected to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment, there were 
credible reports that security forces tortured and abused detainees. 
During the year the National Assembly did not act on the fourth 
transitional provision of the constitution requiring the assembly to 
adopt by 2001 either a law or a reform of the penal code to provide 
sanctions for torture. The NGO Network of Support for Justice and Peace 
reported that the lack of such a law contributed to the Government's 
failure adequately to punish officials responsible for torture; the 
lack of programs providing medical, psychological, and rehabilitation 
services to victims; and the lack of a fund to compensate victims.
    PROVEA reported that between October 2009 and September 2010 it 
received complaints alleging torture involving 36 victims and cruel, 
inhuman, and degrading treatment involving 350 victims, an 18 percent 
decrease from the 427 cases in the previous year. (PROVEA defines 
``torture'' as methods used by state security force members to extract 
information from victims and ``cruel and inhuman treatment'' as methods 
used by those members to punish or intimidate victims.) PROVEA reported 
that 10 persons died while in state custody as a result of torture or 
cruel treatment (see section 1.a.).
    In August 2009 the Public Defender's Office reported that 
allegations of torture by the police had increased by 10 percent during 
2008. Of the 87 complaint cases filed that year, 66 resulted from 
alleged physical torture and 21 from alleged psychological torture; 62 
percent of the victims were men between 20 and 34 years of age. The 
Public Defender's Office did not publish statistics regarding 
allegations of torture by police for 2010.
    Human rights groups continued to question the commitment of the 
prosecutor general and the public defender to conduct impartial 
investigations. There were no data available on convictions in cases of 
alleged torture.
    Press and NGO reports of beatings and humiliating treatment of 
suspects during arrests were common and involved various law 
enforcement agencies. Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading 
treatment or punishments of prisoners were reported during the year. 
Among the more notable examples were:
    On June 16 two police officers from the municipality of Guanta in 
Anzoategui State were sentenced to four years, two months, and 17 days 
in prison for the April 1 torture of a private citizen held in custody 
at the police headquarters of the town. The officers, Ramon Ernesto 
Garcia Figueroa and Robert Jose Alcala Sabino, were found guilty of 
inflicting personal injury, torture, abuse of authority, and violating 
treaties and international conventions.
    In July the NGO Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons (OVP) publicly 
denounced five cases of alleged torture during June of prisoners in the 
newly opened Yare III penitentiary and requested that the Public 
Ministry conduct an immediate and impartial investigation. The OVP did 
not receive a response to its request. These five cases included 
allegations that guards committed the following abuses: burned Mayker 
Alfredo Plazola Quintero on his nipples with a lighter, subjected him 
to electric shock, and beat him with a bar; beat Eric Jose Coello with 
an aluminum bat and a club for five days while he was in an isolation 
cell and then transferred him to the Puente Ayala penitentiary in 
Anzoategui State; beat Jhonny Anibal Hernandez with a bat and subjected 
him to electric shocks, reportedly in the presence of the prison's 
director, and as a punishment for complaining, transferred him to the 
Puente Ayala penitentiary in Anzoategui State; removed Mohamad Adul 
Raman from the general population during a roll call, placed him in an 
isolation cell, reportedly beat him with a shovel, burned his left 
shoulder with a cigarette, and transferred him to a prison hospital for 
medical treatment the following day after he suffered a series of 
convulsions; and allegedly beat 20 inmates who were being transferred 
from Yare I and reportedly later transferred them to four separate 
facilities around the country.

    Prison and Detention Center Conditions.--Prison conditions were 
harsh due to poorly trained and allegedly corrupt prison staff; 
violence and alleged extortion by guards and inmates, some gang-related 
and fueled by trafficking in arms and drugs; severe overcrowding in 
some prisons; and food and water shortages. The NGO A Window to Liberty 
reported that there were approximately 43,460 inmates in the country's 
33 prisons and penitentiaries as of October and that these prisons were 
filled 300 percent beyond capacity. Leading prison-monitoring NGOs 
estimated that there was capacity for only 12,500-14,000 inmates 
nationwide.
    Security forces and law enforcement authorities often held minors 
together with adults, even though separate facilities existed. Because 
reform institutions were filled to capacity, hundreds of children 
accused of infractions were confined in juvenile detention centers 
where they were reportedly crowded into small, unsanitary cells. Women 
and men generally were held in separate prison facilities. The OVP 
stated that while no prison had good conditions, women's facilities 
were generally less violent and healthier than those for men.
    The National Guard and the Ministry of Interior and Justice have 
responsibility for prisons' exterior and interior security, 
respectively. The Government failed to provide adequate prison 
security. On November 5, the IACHR released an annex to its press 
release on its 140th session that noted a report that the number of 
deaths in prisons had increased 25 percent from 2009, with 352 deaths 
in prison as of that date, and a 31 percent increase in injuries, with 
736 reported through the third quarter of the year. Most such deaths 
and injuries resulted from prisoner-on-prisoner violence, riots, fires, 
and generally unsanitary and unsafe conditions.
    PROVEA reported that, in the first nine months of the year, four 
inmates died and 113 were injured as a result of inmate-organized knife 
fights, commonly known as ``the coliseum,'' which occurred in the 
Uribana penitentiary in Lara State as a way to settle differences among 
prisoners. On November 9, the IACHR denounced the ``coliseum'' violence 
and stressed the Government's obligation to ensure the safety of 
inmates.
    During the year prisoners conducted hunger strikes and violent 
uprisings to protest administrative delays and harsh prison conditions. 
While prisoners and detainees were permitted religious observance and 
had access to visitors, in some cases prison officials allegedly 
harassed or abused visitors. On June 24, Amnesty International reported 
that guards at the Fuerte de Macoa military jail in Zulia State forced 
three female relatives of jailed indigenous Yukpa leader Sabino Romero 
Izarra to undress, touched them inappropriately, and threatened them 
with imprisonment (see section 6).
    On May 11, the press reported that more than 1,000 inmates started 
a hunger strike at Los Teques prison, claiming the National Guard 
mistreated relatives waiting to visit them and subjected them to 
unnecessary physical inspections. Beginning on May 14, the press 
reported that prisoners at the Penitenciaria General de Venezuela, the 
Internado Judicial de San Juan de los Morros, La Planta, Rodeo I, and 
Rodeo II launched hunger strikes demanding a dialogue with the Ministry 
of Interior and Justice to discuss judicial delays and alleged 
mistreatment of family members during visiting hours. According to the 
press, the hunger strike quickly spread to 15 prisons and the list of 
complaints grew to include prison overcrowding and visitation policies. 
The strike was short-lived, but some prisoners and their family members 
continued to demand that the Government declare a prison state of 
emergency and that Supreme Court President Luisa Estela Morales visit 
the prisons and initiate a dialogue on prison reform. National Director 
of Penitentiary Services Consuelo Cerrada issued a press statement on 
May 26 claiming that ``every time there is a little incident in a 
penitentiary facility, the media magnify it with the sole purpose of 
destabilizing the national territory.''
    During the year there were numerous prison riots that resulted in 
inmate deaths and injuries. Among some notable examples were:
    According to the Public Ministry, on January 27, eight inmates were 
killed and more than 17 wounded during an exchange of gunfire at La 
Planta (El Paraiso) prison in Caracas. On January 28, the Public 
Ministry launched an investigation into the incident. The results of 
that investigation were not available.
    On April 12, the OVP reported that seven inmates at the Western 
Penitentiary Center Santa Ana in Tachira State died in a prison riot. 
On May 4, eight inmates died in a second violent confrontation among 
prisoners. According to information released by the authorities, three 
of the victims were killed with firearms and three with bladed weapons, 
while two were burned to death.
    According to official and press reports, on September 27, prisoners 
began a riot at the Tocoron prison in Aragua State that lasted for 
several days and resulted in 16 deaths and 35 injuries. The Government 
sent 800 National Guardsmen and military forces to end the riot. On 
October 1, approximately 5,000 prisoners at Tocoron launched a hunger 
strike to protest the military presence and the suspension of family 
visits. They were joined by an estimated 18,000 inmates at 11 prison 
facilities nationwide, according to the OVP. On October 5, 300 family 
members joined the hunger strike to protest the planned transfer of 
inmates to other facilities. Government officials announced on October 
7 the resumption of family visits and the establishment of provisional 
courts in the prison to ease the case backlog. Following this 
agreement, prisoners at all but one of the prisons ended their hunger 
strikes. Inmates at a prison in Bolivar State continued to demand the 
removal of the warden, improved conditions, and attention to their 
trial delays. On November 24, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights 
determined that the situation at Tocoron Prison was one of ``extreme 
gravity'' and ordered the Government to take definitive and immediate 
measures to protect the inmates.
    Human rights observers continued to experience lengthy 
administrative delays and restricted access to prisons and detention 
centers. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did not 
have access to prisons except for the two controlled by SEBIN and the 
military for security detainees. The public defender did not generally 
advocate on behalf of prisoners and detainees for alternatives to 
incarceration.
    Throughout the year the IACHR issued several statements calling on 
the Government to improve prison conditions and adopt appropriate 
measures to prevent similar outbreaks of violence. On January 30, in 
response to the deaths of prisoners at La Planta prison, the IACHR 
urged the Government to ensure that inmates were adequately protected 
and to adopt appropriate measures to prevent similar outbreaks of 
violence. In March in response to a prison riot at Yare I, the IACHR 
called on the Government to adopt measures necessary to ensure that 
similar events were not repeated. On May 7, in response to the deaths 
at the Western Penitentiary Center, the IACHR issued a statement that 
reiterated its concern over the high rates of violence in the country's 
penitentiaries and the presence in several prisons of criminal 
organizations in possession of large-caliber weapons, and it reminded 
the Government of its duty to take immediate action to guarantee the 
physical, mental, and moral integrity of inmates, as well as their 
right to life.
    The Inter-American Court of Human Rights continued its supervision 
of Venezuelan penitentiaries pursuant to its 2006 decision regarding 
the need for improvement of prison conditions. Since February the court 
required the Government to submit bimonthly reports with specific 
information on actions taken to ``protect the life and integrity'' of 
prisoners, but there was no information publicly available about the 
Government's compliance with this requirement.
    There was no information available about the progress of the 
Government's High-Level Prison Council, established in 2008, to design 
policies to improve the penitentiary system. However, in July the 
Venezuelan embassy in London issued a fact sheet regarding the 
Government's efforts to ``humanize'' its prisons. The fact sheet 
claimed that recent government reforms had led to a ``significant 
reduction in prison violence and improved conditions for inmates.'' 
Among the reforms cited were improved methods for confiscating weapons 
in prisons, the establishment of an itinerant judges program to oversee 
judicial proceedings against those in detention, the establishment of 
Human Rights Defense Councils within prisons to resolve community 
problems between inmates and prison authorities, improved visitation 
policies to permit visits throughout the week rather than on weekends 
only, and the construction of 15 ``prison communities'' to ``ensure 
inmates their rights and social services.'' In addition the fact sheet 
reported that in June the Ministry of Interior and Justice and the 
National Experimental Polytechnic University of the Armed Forces signed 
an agreement to provide vocational training to prisoners and courses on 
human rights, prison administration, and conflict resolution to prison 
personnel. The fact sheet also noted that the Government offered 
cultural opportunities to inmates, including participation in 
orchestra, theater, and sports. Penitentiary Director Cerrada stated in 
June that 2,045 inmates had participated in the symphony orchestra 
program and 6,000 were receiving formal education, 909 at the college 
level.

    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 state law or individual judges may 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 a detainee's whereabouts (see section 1.e.).
    On March 22, Oswaldo Alvarez Paz, a former governor of Zulia State 
and a 1993 presidential candidate, was arrested, held at the SEBIN 
detention facility, and charged with conspiracy, public instigation to 
commit a crime, and dissemination of false information for statements 
he made during a March 8 interview on Globovision's ``Hello, Citizen'' 
talk show. In that interview he alleged that high-level government 
officials had links to groups involved with drug trafficking and 
terrorism, specifically the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and 
the Basque terrorist organization ETA. He also claimed the Government's 
record on these issues was being compiled for potential prosecution in 
international tribunals and that ``the problem is the head of state 
could fall.'' On March 9, National Assembly Deputy Manuel Villalba 
filed a complaint with the Prosecutor General's Office requesting an 
investigation into Alvarez Paz's comments. On May 7, the prosecutor 
general withdrew the conspiracy charge, which legally requires the 
involvement of two persons in the criminal act, and on May 13, the 
judge granted Alvarez Paz conditional release pending trial on the 
condition that he not leave the country, report to the judge every 15 
days, and not discuss his case publicly. The judge deferred the start 
of the trial, originally scheduled for October, until early 2011.
    On July 6, the Public Ministry charged four directors of the 
country's largest brokerages, who had been detained in a May sweep of 
brokerages and foreign exchange houses, with ``illegal 
commercialization of hard currency'' and conspiracy. The four directors 
were indicted under the Partial Reform Law on Illegal Foreign Exchange 
Transactions, which only took effect on May 17, despite the fact that 
the law did not provide for its retroactive application. The law states 
that any legal actions underway at the time of its adoption would be 
decided according to the prior law.
    On April 6, Richard Blanco, the opposition prefect of the Caracas 
Metropolitan District, detained since August 2009, was provisionally 
released pending trial. Blanco had been arrested on charges of 
``injurious and law-breaking behavior'' following a scuffle between 
police and opposition protesters during an August 22 demonstration even 
though video footage showed him intervening to protect a plainclothes 
police officer.

    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 SEBIN (formerly DISIP), which collects 
intelligence within the country and is responsible for investigating 
cases of corruption, subversion, and arms trafficking. The police 
include municipal, state, and national-level forces. Mayors and 
governors generally oversee municipal and state police forces, except 
in Caracas, where the Ministry of Interior and Justice assumed 
authority over the Caracas Metropolitan Police in 2008. The Government 
began the process of gradually incorporating local and state police 
into the new Bolivarian National Police (CPNB).
    During the year Minister of Interior and Justice Tareck El-Aissami 
issued graduation certificates to 3,803 new recruits of the new CPNB, 
which was established in December 2009 and was originally assigned to 
one Caracas municipality. In October the Ministry extended the 
responsibilities of the CPNB to other areas of the city and to the 
protection of railways and the metro system. On December 22, CPNB 
Director Luis Fernandez said the CPNB had a total of 4,222 officers and 
would increase its strength by 12,500 new officers in 2011. He also 
announced CPNB's plan to extend its presence throughout the Caracas 
metropolitan district and to the states of Anzoategui, Tachira, 
Carabobo, Zulia, Lara, Aragua, and Miranda during 2011. He claimed 
that, since its creation, the CPNB had arrested 3,214 individuals and, 
in the areas where it worked, had reduced the most violent crimes by 57 
percent, including homicide by 44 percent, gender-related violence by 
64 percent, robbery by 62 percent, and assault by 64 percent.
    Impunity remained a problem in the police forces. Although Public 
Defender Gabriela Ramirez stated on June 19 that the number of cases of 
police abuse had declined from previous years, ``it continues to 
generate concern.'' The Public Ministry's annual report for 2009 cited 
9,610 complaints of human rights violations by presumed police and 
military officers, of which 315 (3.28 percent) resulted in prosecutions 
and 177 in decisions: 82 confessions, 57 convictions, and 38 
acquittals. There was no information available for 2010.
    According to a July report by the NGO Citizen Observatory of the 
Penal Justice System, the lack of sufficient prosecutors made it 
difficult to prosecute police and military officials allegedly involved 
in human rights abuses. It claimed that in 2008 there were only 64 
prosecutors responsible for investigating police abuses, resulting in 
an average of 174 cases of police abuse per prosecutor. The NGO Network 
of Assistance for Justice and Peace reported on July 30 that more than 
99 percent of the human rights cases under investigation had not been 
resolved with a definitive sentence. Of the total number of complaints 
received by the NGO between 2000 and 2009, 19 percent of the alleged 
violations were committed by CICPC officials and 15 percent by the 
Caracas Metropolitan Police.
    In March, Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega Diaz announced that the 
Public Ministry had created a new forensic unit to investigate human 
rights violations committed by police officers. She said this 
initiative was a form of attacking impunity, ``which has been our 
slogan during this administration.''
    On July 20, the Public Ministry named two additional prosecutors to 
respond to citizen complaints of police abuse. According to the 
ministry, two prosecutors appointed in July 2009 conducted 78 
preliminary investigations between January and June 30.
    On June 19, Public Defender Ramirez announced the establishment of 
a new Office for Victim Assistance, created pursuant to the Organic 
Laws on Police Service and the Bolivarian National Police and a March 
19 resolution, to deal with crime and abuse by police. The offices were 
to be located independently from police stations and staffed by 
interdisciplinary personnel to guarantee ``fair, respectful, equal, and 
nondiscriminatory'' treatment and to protect ``the privacy of the 
complainants, guaranteeing their safety and that of their relatives and 
witnesses.'' Ramirez stated that ``the State cannot be indulgent or 
complacent with regard to police abuse in the disproportionate use of 
force. And the police who act against the law incur personal 
responsibility for this type of crime and should be sanctioned 
firmly.''
    In March the Public Ministry announced it would train 1,500 police 
and military officials on human rights issues. On September 18, the 
public defender announced that 7,000 police officials would receive 
human rights training by the end of the year. There was no information 
available about the implementation of these training programs. The ICRC 
provided training in human rights and humanitarian law at the 
Bolivarian National Police training institute. Some local police forces 
also offered human rights training for their personnel. For example, 
the Chacao municipality of Caracas continued to provide mandatory human 
rights training to all new police recruits. Amnesty International 
worked with the municipality to offer workshops on domestic violence 
case processing. On November 30, the prosecutor general announced the 
establishment of a permanent chair for human rights at the National 
School for Prosecutors.
    In October the new National Experimental University for Security 
(UNES) was inaugurated to professionalize further the security 
services, including the CPNB, state and local police forces, 
firefighters, civil protection authorities, the CICPC, and prison 
personnel. UNES was created in response to a recommendation in 2006 by 
the National Council for Police Reform. The official media reported 
that 3,047 students from Caracas and the neighboring states of Miranda 
and Vargas were selected out of 8,000 applicants for the five-year 
program leading to incorporation into the CNPB. Approximately 22 
percent of the new students were women. UNES Director Soraya El Achkar 
stated that ``the new national police will be trained with respect for 
human rights, since it is a preventive police that is close to the 
community and works with the community.''

    Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention.--A warrant is 
required for an arrest or detention. A detention is possible without an 
arrest warrant when the individual is caught in the act of committing a 
crime. Individuals were sometimes apprehended 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 detention. A person accused of a crime may not be detained 
for longer than the possible minimum sentence for that crime or for 
longer than two years, except in certain circumstances, such as when 
the defendant is responsible for the delay in the proceedings. The law 
requires that detainees be promptly informed of the charges against 
them, and that requirement was generally met in practice.
    Although there is a functioning system of bail, it is not available 
for certain crimes. Bail also may be denied if a person is apprehended 
in the act of committing a crime or if a judge determines there is a 
danger that the accused may flee or impede the investigation.
    Pretrial detention was a problem. In its 2009 annual report, the 
IACHR noted that more than 65 percent of inmates had not received final 
convictions. PROVEA reported that as of June 7, approximately one-third 
of the prison population was formally convicted and sentenced, while 
two-thirds were in preventive detention or pending or undergoing trial. 
On October 29, the NGO A Window to Liberty reported to the IACHR that 
only 15 percent of the inmate population was convicted and sentenced.
    In July the NGO Citizen Observatory of the Penal Justice System 
attributed trial delays to the shortage of prosecutors and penal 
judges. Based on the Public Ministry's annual report for 2009, the NGO 
concluded that approximately 1,300 prosecutors had to process an 
estimated 260,000 cases in 2008, an average of 200 cases per 
prosecutor. The NGO also questioned the low number of penal judges, 
which it calculated to be 2.84 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2009 and 
which resulted in each penal judge being responsible for approximately 
317 cases in 2008. It also noted that the budget for the judicial 
sector accounted for only 2.6 percent of the national budget in 2009.
    In March NGOs testifying before the IACHR estimated that, on 
average, a prosecutor received nearly 2,000 complaints of criminal 
activity a year but investigated only 50. Of those 50 cases, only 20 
ended up in court and only two resulted in convictions. According to 
the Public Ministry's annual report for 2009, 373,044 crimes were 
investigated during the year, of which only 6 percent (23,540) resulted 
in criminal charges and only 11,976 in convictions. In more than half 
the cases (213,962), prosecutors did not find sufficient evidence to 
bring charges and/or take the case to trial.
    On May 21, the Supreme Court restored normal court hours of 
operation to address the judicial backlog; the Government had reduced 
the hours as part of an electricity rationing program implemented in 
December 2009.
    The law requires that detainees be provided access to counsel and 
family members, and that requirement was generally met in practice.

    e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.--While the constitution provides 
for an independent judiciary, judicial independence remained 
compromised according to many observers, and there were allegations of 
corruption and political influence within the Prosecutor General's 
Office.
    On May 18, the Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Court denied the 
appeals of former Caracas Metropolitan Police commissioners Ivan 
Simonovis, Henry Vivas, and Lazaro Forero and also disqualified them 
from running for political office in the September National Assembly 
elections. Along with seven police officers, they remained in the SEBIN 
detention facility serving three- to 30-year sentences for their 
alleged involvement in the killing of pro-Chavez demonstrators during 
events related to the 2002 attempted coup. They continued to maintain 
their innocence and to assert that their prosecution was politically 
motivated. The defendants claimed that the verdicts were reached 
despite a lack of key forensic evidence and asserted that the court 
ignored exonerating video, audio, and eyewitness-testimonial evidence.
    There were several developments in the case involving the 2004 car 
bombing that killed prosecutor Danilo Anderson. In November a former 
trial witness and Anderson's relatives separately alleged that former 
senior government officials had tampered with the investigation and 
witnesses. On December 14, the Supreme Court authorized the foreign 
ministry to request the extradition of Johan Humberto Pena and Pedro 
Vladimir Lander, charged as material authors in Anderson's homicide for 
their alleged involvement in the preparation and placement of the 
explosive device. The three persons convicted in 2007 for Anderson's 
killing remained in a SEBIN detention facility on 27- to 30-year 
sentences despite the 2008 claim by a former prosecutor that their 
convictions were based on false and perjured testimony.
    According to PROVEA, in 2009, 51 percent of lower court judges were 
provisional and temporary. There were no 2010 statistics available. The 
Supreme Court's Judicial Committee may hire and fire temporary judges 
without cause or explanation, and it did so. Provisional and temporary 
judges, who legally have the same rights and authorities as permanent 
judges, were allegedly subject to political influence from the Ministry 
of Interior and Justice and the prosecutor general. PROVEA reported 
that between October 2009 and October 2010 the Supreme Court rejected 
90 percent of judicial cases against the main organs of government (the 
Presidency, National Assembly, Comptroller General, National Electoral 
Council, and Prosecutor General's Office) and all 21 legal actions 
against President Chavez.

    Trial Procedures.--Defendants are considered innocent until proven 
guilty. The law provides for open, public, and fair trials with oral 
proceedings for all individuals. Defendants 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. Defendants 
have the right to question witnesses against them and present their own 
witnesses. Defendants and their attorneys have the right to access 
government-held evidence, but in practice this access often did not 
occur. Defendants and plaintiffs have the right of appeal. Trial delays 
were common.
    The law provides that trials for military personnel charged with 
human rights abuses after 1999 be held in civilian rather than military 
courts.

    Political Prisoners and Detainees.--The Union of Democratic 
Organizations of America (Unoamerica) reported on August 25 that the 
Government was investigating 29 individuals for political reasons. At 
year's end the NGO Venezuelan Awareness Foundation listed 25 
individuals as political prisoners.
    In some cases political prisoners were held in SEBIN installations 
and the Ramo Verde military prison. Authorities permitted the ICRC 
access to these individuals.
    In a March 25 statement, the IACHR and its Office of the Special 
Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression noted ``their deep concern over 
the use of the punitive power of the State to criminalize human rights 
defenders, criminalize peaceful social protests, and persecute through 
the criminal justice system persons the authorities consider political 
opponents in Venezuela.''
    Some examples of persons claiming to be political detainees 
include:
    On May 7, a Venezuelan military tribunal sentenced retired General 
Raul Baduel, former minister of defense and former ally of President 
Chavez, to seven years and 11 months in prison on corruption-related 
charges. He had been detained at the Ramos Verde military prison since 
April 2009. He continued to claim his arrest and imprisonment 
constituted political retaliation by President Chavez for his public 
opposition to the president's proposed constitutional reforms and 
encouragement of the ``no'' vote in the December 2007 constitutional 
reform referendum.
    On May 17, the 50th tribunal ordered the prosecution of Judge Maria 
Lourdes Afiuni on corruption charges despite the prosecutor's statement 
``that it has not been determined that she [had] received money or 
anything else'' to approve the release of banker Eligio Cedeno, who had 
been detained for more than two years without a conviction. The court 
also denied Judge Afiuni's request to be released pending trial as well 
as subsequent repeated requests for medical treatment by her own 
physician. In December 2009 Judge Afiuni had been arrested and charged 
with corruption, aiding in the evasion of justice, abuse of authority, 
and conspiracy, and imprisoned after ordering the conditional release 
pending trial of Cedeno; in her decision she cited a September 1 
opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that determined 
that ``the deprivation of freedom of Mr. Eligio Cedeno is arbitrary.'' 
Two days after her arrest, President Chavez publicly called for her 
imprisonment for 35 years as a lesson to other judges. At year's end 
Judge Afiuni remained in the Women's Detention Facility where women she 
had previously sentenced were imprisoned and where, according to her 
attorney, she was routinely subjected to harassment, threats, and 
attacks by other inmates. On January 11, Judge Afiuni was granted 
precautionary protection measures by the IACHR. On December 10, the 
Inter-American Court of Human Rights ordered the Government to adopt 
immediate measures to guarantee the ``life and physical, psychological, 
and moral integrity'' of Judge Afiuni, to ensure her detention in a 
facility appropriate to her circumstances, to permit her to be seen by 
doctors of her choice, and to report every two months to the court on 
the measures taken.
    Jose ``Mazuco'' Sanchez, former Zulia state security chief, was 
released from prison and placed under house arrest on October 7 
following his September 26 election and September 30 certification by 
the local election board as a National Assembly deputy. Despite article 
200 of the constitution, which provides for immunity for deputies ``in 
the exercise of their functions from their proclamation until the 
conclusion of their term,'' the Supreme Court ruled on October 26 that 
parliamentary immunity did not take effect until the deputies were 
sworn into office. It also ruled that the charges against Mazuco would 
be suspended, but remain pending, during his term as deputy. On 
November 29, however, police took Mazuco into custody again and 
forcibly moved him from Zulia State to Caracas, where a trial against 
him began. On December 22, the court found Mazuco guilty of having 
authorized the killing of a purported military intelligence police 
informant in jail in 2007 and sentenced him to 19 years' imprisonment. 
Mazuco denied the charges and claimed the trial constituted political 
persecution because of his association with opposition leader Manuel 
Rosales (to whom Peru later granted asylum [see section 3]). Mazuco's 
lawyers stated they planned to file an appeal and claimed that Mazuco 
could not be permanently disqualified from holding public office as 
long as there was no final sentence against him.

    Regional Human Rights Court Decisions.--In January the Inter-
American Court of Human Rights admitted a petition by Eloisa Barrios 
and others alleging that the Government was responsible for violations 
of the rights to life, humane treatment, personal liberty, a fair 
trial, and judicial protection set forth in the American Convention on 
Human Rights in connection with the deaths of her family members. A 
February 4 resolution by the court referred to ``the state's failure to 
comply with the measures ordered by the court'' and described the 
situation as one ``of extreme gravity and urgency that puts in grave 
risk the life and integrity'' of the members of the family. On November 
25, the court issued a resolution that said the deaths of Eloisa 
Barrios' family members ``showed the inefficacy of the provisional 
measures, representing serious non-compliance by the state.'' It 
ordered the Government to adopt ``immediate and effective'' measures to 
guarantee the safety of the petitioners, including permanent guards at 
their homes, and to report to the court every two months on the 
measures taken (see section 1.a.).
    On September 3, the acting president of the court issued a 
resolution declaring ``manifestly inadmissible the global attack 
against the Court'' contained in the Government's June 7 submission in 
the case of Leopoldo Lopez, the former mayor of the Chacao municipality 
of Caracas, who challenged the Government's 2005 decisions to 
administratively disqualify him from running for public office on one 
charge until 2011 and on a second until 2014. The Government's letter 
alleged that the court and the justices lacked impartiality. The court 
decided to continue its consideration of the case with the same 
justices. In 2008 Lopez had challenged his administrative 
disqualification in the IACHR, which referred the case to the court in 
December 2009. No date was set for the hearing by year's end (see 
section 3).

    Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies.--There are separate civil 
courts that permit 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.
    In the past there were administrative remedies available, but they 
were generally inefficient. The current consumer protection mechanism 
is enforced by the Institute for Defense of the People in Accessing 
Goods and Services (INDEPABIS) under the auspices of the Commerce 
Ministry. INDEPABIS is empowered to use reconciliation, mediation, and 
arbitration to settle disputes and is able to sanction providers of 
goods and services who violate the law. INDEPABIS also has authority to 
expropriate goods and services. Other entities that provide 
administrative or civil remedies include the National Securities 
Commission and the superintendencies for banks, insurance, cooperatives 
and savings accounts, and the promotion and protection of free 
competition.

    f. Arbitrary Interference With Privacy, Family, Home, or 
Correspondence.--The constitution provides for the inviolability of the 
home and personal privacy; however, in some cases government 
authorities allegedly infringed on citizens' privacy rights by 
searching homes, seizing properties, or interfering in personal 
communications.
    Among the more notable cases of arbitrary interference were:
    On May 1, officials from the National Land Institute and armed 
soldiers occupied the 914-acre family farm of Diego Arria, a former UN 
ambassador. Vice President Jaua claimed the land was unused and that 
Arria did not have clear title. During a May 7 television broadcast, 
President Chavez held up a picture of the colonial ranch house and 
said, ``It looks like 'Falcon Crest'...Tremendous pool. That's the 
bourgeoisie... This is now in the hands of the people, of the 
revolution.'' Arria charged that the expropriation was political 
retribution for his critical public description of President Chavez in 
a March 25 radio interview as a ``natural candidate for international 
criminal courts.'' During the April 26-29 Oslo Freedom Forum, Arria 
spoke about his efforts to bring former Serbian president Slobodan 
Milosevic to justice. In televised interviews on Globovision and CNN 
following the expropriation, Arria stated that ``the sword of 
international justice is hanging over the head of Hugo Chavez Frias.'' 
On May 11, National Assembly Deputy Escarra asked the assembly's 
Commission on Internal Politics and the Public Ministry to investigate 
Arria for those statements, claiming they were an incitement to 
assassination and a coup. In mid-June a 100-acre orange orchard 
belonging to Arria was also expropriated. In an open letter to 
President Chavez on June 22, Arria claimed the expropriation was in 
retaliation for his international campaign to denounce Chavez for human 
rights violations.
    On September 22 and 23, several days before the September 26 
National Assembly elections, government-owned Venezolana de Television, 
on its La Hojilla and Dando y Dando programs, broadcast a recording of 
a private telephone conversation between a prominent pollster and an 
unnamed person. On September 24, government-owned newspaper Diario Vea 
printed a transcript of the taped conversation. The pollster was 
recorded as predicting favorable results for the Government's 
candidates in the elections as a result of President Chavez' strong 
leadership qualities. The media did not explain under what authority it 
had obtained the recording.
    On August 30, agriculturalist Franklin Brito died as a result of 
medical problems caused by the prolonged hunger strikes he had 
undertaken to protest the Government's failure to resolve remaining 
compensation issues related to the 2003 seizure of part of his lands in 
Bolivar State by the National Land Institute. Despite the Government's 
return of the land, compensation for damages, and provision of 
resources to reactivate production, Brito continued to insist on a 
public acknowledgement by the Government that his land rights had been 
violated. The Government had forcibly kept Brito at the Military 
Hospital since December 2009, when the Public Ministry claimed 
responsibility for safeguarding his life and officials took him to the 
psychiatric ward of the hospital for his own ``protection.'' On August 
21, Brito met with Minister of Agriculture and Land Juan Carlos Loyo, 
after which he reportedly agreed to resume intravenous support. 
However, one of Brito's lungs ceased to function properly on August 22, 
and he suffered a heart attack and died on August 30. On September 3, 
the Public Ministry asked the court to dismiss a complaint lodged by a 
citizen alleging that Brito's family had induced him to commit suicide 
through its support for his repeated hunger strikes.
    During the year the Government took no action to stop organized 
land invasions by squatters of two properties owned by the Catholic 
Conference of Bishops in Caracas and seven belonging to evangelical 
communities.
    NGOs expressed concern over official political discrimination 
against, and the firing of, state employees whose views differed from 
those of the Government.

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 laws and 
regulations governing libel and media content, as well as legal 
harassment and physical intimidation of both individuals and the media, 
resulted in practical limitations on these freedoms and a climate of 
self-censorship.
    The law makes insulting the president punishable by six to 30 
months in prison without bail, with lesser penalties for insulting 
lower-ranking officials. Comments exposing another person to public 
contempt or hatred are punishable by one-to-three-year prison sentences 
and fines starting at 55 bolivares fuertes (Bs.F) (approximately $26). 
Inaccurate reporting that disturbs the public peace is punishable by a 
two-to-five-year prison term. The requirement that media disseminate 
only ``true'' information was undefined and open to politically 
motivated interpretation.
    The Government took reprisals against individuals who publicly 
expressed criticism of the president or government policy.
    On February 5, National Guardsmen arrested Miguel Angel Hernandez 
during a baseball game and held him at the SEBIN detention facility. 
The Public Ministry charged him with ``offending the chief of state'' 
for wearing a Homer Simpson T-shirt bearing scatological language 
directed at President Chavez's revolution. Hernandez remained free 
pending trial, which was scheduled for early 2011.
    On July 5, President Chavez called Cardinal Urosa Savino a 
``troglodyte'' for the cardinal's June 27 comments charging that the 
president was leading the country down a ``socialist-Marxist'' path 
``that leads to ruin, the destruction of the economy, [and] much 
greater poverty... We are on the road to a new Cuba.'' On July 12, 
government-controlled television stations rereleased an advertisement 
claiming that the cardinal had written a letter saying that only 
wealthy children should have access to higher education and good jobs; 
the cardinal publicly called the letter a forgery. On July 14, 
President Chavez called for a review of the 1964 concordat with the 
Vatican, an agreement regulating church matters, and on July 16, the 
foreign ministry recalled its ambassador to the Vatican. In response to 
a formal request by the National Assembly, on July 27, the cardinal 
appeared before a five-hour, closed-door session of the assembly to 
explain his remarks.
    On August 11, military prosecutors charged retired brigadier 
general Antonio Rivero with ``slander against the armed forces'' and 
``publicly revealing private information and military secrets'' for his 
April 22 public denunciation of excessive Cuban influence in the 
military. Rivero's comments were made during his announcement of his 
resignation from the armed forces. The indictment occurred several days 
after CNN Espanol broadcast the documentary, ``Chavez's Guardians,'' in 
which Rivero was interviewed and expressed deep concern about the 
potential for serious political violence as a result of the 
Government's alleged arming of its supporters. Rivero's prosecution in 
a military tribunal contravened a 2009 Inter-American Court decision 
requiring the Government to limit military jurisdiction to active-duty 
military for crimes related to their function and to delimit the 
criminal behavior covered as an ``offense to the armed forces.'' On 
August 13, a military judge prohibited Rivero from leaving the country, 
required him to appear before a judge every 15 days, and prohibited him 
from speaking publicly about the charges against him. At year's end 
Rivero remained free pending trial.
    On December 22, the Public Ministry announced that it had opened a 
criminal investigation against Noel Alvarez, the president of the 
national chamber of commerce, Fedecamaras, to determine whether his 
statement earlier that morning violated the law by encouraging the 
armed forces to disobey orders. In a press conference to discuss the 
Government's recent land expropriations and package of socialist 
legislation (see section 3), Alvarez urged the armed forces to 
``exercise their freedom of conscience. to reject orders that they 
consider violate the constitution,'' recalling both article 25 of the 
constitution, which provides that public officials who implement 
measures that violate constitutional rights bear administrative, civil, 
and criminal responsibilities, and the existence of the International 
Criminal Court.
    The country's major newspapers were independently owned. Some print 
media tended to exercise caution in order to secure government 
advertising. Two national newspapers, Diario Vea and El Correo del 
Orinoco, received direct financial support from the Government. In 2009 
a new Caracas newspaper, Ciudad CCS, debuted; the newspaper was run by 
the presidentially appointed Capital District vice president and 
received funding from the mayor of the Libertador municipality of 
Caracas.
    Two private television stations dominated the national airwaves, 
receiving the bulk of audience share despite the Government's ownership 
of six channels, two with nationwide coverage. The Government also set 
up and funded 244 community radio stations and 36 community television 
stations with programming aimed at local audiences throughout the 
country.
    In January, as a result of regulatory changes implemented by the 
National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL), the Government's 
regulatory agency, cable operators ceased broadcasting the privately 
owned cable television station RCTV (see below). In July, President 
Chavez expressed interest in using the shares the Government obtained 
through its intervention of Banco Federal to gain representation on the 
executive board of Globovision, the major privately owned and 
opposition-oriented cable news station, which broadcasted nationally on 
cable and over the air in Caracas and Valencia. Nelson Mezerhane, the 
former owner of Banco Federal, was a minority shareholder of 
Globovision (see below).
    On December 21 and 28, respectively, the Reform of the Law of 
Social Responsibility for Radio and Television (RESORTE) and the Reform 
to the Organic Law for Telecommunications went into effect. The RESORTE 
law extended government content regulations to the electronic media for 
the first time (see below). The law prohibits all media from 
disseminating messages that incite or promote hate or intolerance for 
religious, political, gender-related, racial, or xenophobic reasons; 
incite, promote, or condone criminal acts; constitute war propaganda; 
foment anxiety in the population or affect public order; do not 
recognize legitimate government authorities; incite homicide; and 
incite or promote disobedience to the established legal order. 
Penalties range from fines to the revocation of licenses.
    The telecommunications law declares telecommunications a ``public 
interest service,'' thereby giving the state greater authority to 
regulate the content and structure of the radio, television, and 
audiovisual production sectors. The law reduces the maximum period for 
concessions from 20 years to a renewable 15-year period; establishes 
the ``personal'' character of the concessions, thereby making them 
nontransferable to individuals or successor companies; provides that 
concessions be issued only to persons domiciled in the country; and 
provides that the Government can suspend or revoke licenses when it 
judges such action necessary to the interests of the nation, public 
order, or security.
    On December 17, the National Assembly adopted the Enabling Law, 
which granted President Chavez authority to govern by decree for 18 
months (see section 3) and to ``issue or reform regulatory norms'' in 
the telecommunications sector.
    National and international groups, such as Reporters without 
Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, condemned government 
efforts throughout the year to restrict press freedom and to create a 
climate of fear and self-censorship. The domestic media watchdog NGO 
Public Space reported that, as of the end of November, 195 journalists, 
editors, or media outlets either were attacked or had their individual 
rights violated. The same NGO was targeted for harassment and criminal 
investigation (see section 5). During a December 16 demonstration in 
front of the National Assembly against the new media laws, a 
progovernment militant threw a traffic cone into the group of 
protestors, hitting Carlos Correa, the director of Public Space, and 
causing injury to his head; the militant also reportedly shouted a 
death threat against him.
    During the year journalists and media facilities were subject to 
violent attacks and several journalists were killed. However, the 
widespread violence in the country often made it difficult to determine 
whether the attacks were the result of common criminal activity or 
specifically directed against the media. Among the most notable cases 
were:
    On March 1, Israel Marquez, the director of the newspaper Diario 
2001, was shot six times and killed during an attempted robbery of his 
vehicle by four men. His son was quoted in the press on March 2 as 
saying ``the attack was a product of the insecurity in which the 
country lives.'' According to Chief of the Homicide Division of the 
CICPC Ramon Silva Torcat, the weapons used in the crime had been stolen 
from the CICPC in 2007. Two suspects, Walter Perez Canizalez and Yorman 
de Jesus Elias, reportedly members of a car-theft ring, were charged 
with first degree murder, attempted robbery of a vehicle, and carrying 
a illicit weapon. The accused remain imprisoned at Rodeo I prison 
pending trial at year's end.
    On June 7, unknown attackers threw five Molotov cocktails into the 
Capriles Press Tower in Caracas where the headquarters of the newspaper 
Ultimas Noticias was located. No one was injured. The Public Ministry 
ordered an investigation into the incident; there was no information 
publicly available about the results of that investigation.
    On July 1, two motorcyclists shot into the reception area of the 
newspaper El Nuevo Dia in Coro, resulting in the injury of a 15-year-
old student, who received a bullet wound to his neck.
    Among events regarding cases that occurred in prior years:
    There were no known developments in the prosecution of the suspect 
accused in the January 2009 killing of El Impulso journalist and 
photographer Jacinto Lopez.
    In May authorities convicted and sentenced former Carabobo police 
officer Rafael Segundo Perez to 25 years in prison for the January 2009 
killings of investigative journalist Orel Sambrano and veterinarian 
Francisco Larrazabal. Two additional suspects, Jose Duque Daboin and 
David Antonio Yanez Inciarte, remained in detention pending completion 
of their trials. On August 20, the Public Ministry requested the 
extradition from Colombia of accused narcotrafficker Walid Makled, whom 
it charged in various crimes, including as the ``intellectual author'' 
of Sambrano's assassination.
    In December a Carabobo state appeals court annulled the conviction 
of journalist Francisco ``Pancho'' Perez, restored his political and 
professional rights, and cancelled the fines levied against him. In 
October 2009 the mayor of Valencia had charged Perez with libel for a 
March 2009 article in which he charged the mayor with nepotism.
    There were no known developments in the investigation of the 2008 
killings of Pierre Fould Gerges, vice president of Reporte Diario de la 
Economia, and columnist Eliecer Calzadilla, a contributor to the 
regional newspaper Correo del Caroni.
    Pro-government media personnel also faced violence. For example:
    On January 8, in Portuguesa State, unknown assailants abducted 
Diario Panorama Sub-Director Wilmer Ferrer. Sometime during the 33 days 
before his body was discovered, Ferrer was shot and killed. On February 
22, police arrested a suspect, Oscar David Cabrera Fernandez, and on 
April 8, the Government formally charged him with first-degree murder 
while executing a robbery. The accused remained imprisoned pending 
completion of the trial.
    There were no known developments in the Government's investigation 
of the August 2009 killing of Ministry of Communication and Information 
journalist Daniel Ivan Escamez.
    Senior federal and state government leaders actively harassed and 
intimidated privately owned and opposition-oriented television 
stations, media outlets, and journalists throughout the year using 
threats, property seizures, and criminal investigations and 
prosecutions. Government officials, including the president, used 
government-controlled media outlets to accuse private media owners, 
directors, and reporters of fomenting antigovernment destabilization 
campaigns and coup attempts. Officials made such allegations against 
Guillermo Zuloaga, president and majority shareholder of Globovision; 
Nelson Mezerhane, a minority shareholder of Globovision; Marcel 
Granier, president and chief executive officer of RCTV; Miguel Henrique 
Otero, director of El Nacional newspaper; Andres Mata, owner and editor 
in chief of El Universal newspaper; and Teodoro Petkoff, director of 
the Tal Cual newspaper. Members of the independent print media 
privately said they regularly engaged in self-censorship due to fear of 
government reprisal.
    Among the most notable examples of government harassment of private 
media owners and journalists associated with the independent media 
were:
    During the year the Government repeatedly took measures to harass 
and prosecute Globovision President Guillermo Zuloaga. On March 25, 
authorities detained him upon his return from a meeting of the Inter-
American Press Association (IAPA) in Aruba for his remarks during the 
conference that allegedly criticized the Government's actions to 
``repress the media'' and reportedly accused President Chavez of having 
ordered soldiers to shoot protesters during the April 2002 coup 
attempt; he was released the same day. On June 1, the Public Ministry 
issued an arrest warrant for Zuloaga and his son, Guillermo Jr., for 
``usury'' related to May 2009 charges involving Zuloaga's car 
dealership that were widely considered to be politically motivated. The 
warrant was issued eight days after President Chavez publicly 
complained that only a ``weakness'' in the judicial system had allowed 
Zuloaga to ``walk about freely'' after having made the critical remarks 
about the president in Aruba. On June 2, the Public Ministry initiated 
an investigation of Zuloaga for ``environmental crimes'' for his 
possession of hunting trophies. On July 13, SEBIN seized Zuloaga's 
private airplanes, and on July 29, officials from the National Land 
Institute confiscated Zuloaga's farm in San Fernando de Apure. On 
August 17, the Supreme Court authorized the foreign ministry to submit 
an extradition request for Zuloaga and his son, who remained outside 
the country at year's end. On November 20, several days after Zuloaga 
reportedly criticized the Government during a November 17 forum in 
Washington, DC, President Chavez accused Zuloaga of conspiring against 
the Government and of involvement in an assassination plot against him. 
The following day he demanded that Zuloaga return to the country to 
face pending charges or ``it would be necessary to take actions against 
his companies, among them Globovision, which is blasting the 
Government, the people, distorting the truth, every day.'' In a 
televised special session of the National Assembly on November 23, 
President Chavez said the Government could not remain quiet while 
Zuloaga was going to the ``Congress of the empire to attack Venezuela 
and still has a television channel here.''
    On June 9, La Manana journalist Yunior Lugo reported receiving 
telephone threats following the June 8 publication of his photographs 
showing tons of decomposed food in government-owned warehouses in 
Falcon State (see section 4). The callers allegedly identified 
themselves as members of the ``government of Hugo Chavez'' and accused 
Lugo of committing perjury against the Government. Local political 
leaders denounced Lugo and threatened to bring criminal charges against 
him. The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) and the Graphic 
Reporters Circle of Venezuela denounced the threats and ``deplored the 
harassment and intimidation committed by representatives of state 
government and the executive branch against press workers who are doing 
their job.''
    On July 20, the National Assembly adopted a resolution calling on 
the Public Ministry to ``deepen its investigation'' into foreign 
financing of civil-society members and journalists, including those who 
had participated in exchange programs, to determine whether their 
activities ``could be considered crimes.'' Among the journalists 
denounced were Miguel Angel Rodriguez, Maria Fernanda Flores, Pedro 
Flores, Reynaldo Trompeta, Ewald Scharfenberg, Jesus Torrealba, Ana 
Karina Villalba, Aymara Anahi Lorenzo, and William Echeverria.
    The Government sometimes engaged in direct press censorship. On 
August 14, Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega Diaz opened an investigation 
of the opposition-oriented El Nacional for its August 13 front-page 
photograph showing naked and half-naked bodies piled on tables and on 
the floor of the Caracas morgue. The photo, taken in December 2009, was 
accompanied by an article reporting on Caracas's high homicide rate. 
Ortega alleged that the publication violated the Organic Law for the 
Protection of Boys, Girls, and Adolescents. On August 16 and 17, 
opposition-oriented dailies Tal Cual and Correo del Caroni reprinted 
the photograph. A juvenile court judge issued injunctions on August 16 
and 17 against El Nacional and Tal Cual as well as all other print 
media that prohibited them from publishing ``violent content or 
images'' for a 30-day period, which generally coincided with the 
official campaign period leading to the September 26 legislative 
elections, in which insecurity was a key campaign issue. The judge 
ruled that the constitutional rights of children had to be ``favored'' 
over the constitutional rights to freedom of expression and 
information. On August 19, the judge limited the ban to the publication 
of violent images for the period until the case was decided. 
Journalists and human rights advocates claimed the decision violated 
the constitutional prohibition against prior censorship. The case 
remained pending at year's end.
    The Government also used administrative measures and criminal 
investigations to indirectly censor private cable television stations 
RCTV and Globovision that were critical of the Government.
    For example, on January 21, CONATEL notified RCTV of a new 
regulation that reclassified the station as a ``national'' rather than 
an ``international'' audiovisual producer, thereby requiring it to 
provide live coverage of certain mandatory government broadcasts, 
including most speeches by President Chavez. The regulation also 
affected five smaller cable stations; those stations eventually re-
registered under the new regulation. However, RCTV President Marcel 
Granier called the redesignation an effort to ``silence the voice of 
protest of the Venezuelan people'' and filed an appeal with the Supreme 
Court. Cable operators ceased to broadcast RCTV as of January 24. On 
February 22, RCTV changed its position and submitted applications to 
CONATEL to register as both a ``national'' and an ``international'' 
producer. On March 4, CONATEL denied both applications, arguing that 
the station had missed the registration deadline and had submitted an 
incomplete application. On November 24, the Supreme Court denied RCTV's 
request to be registered as a ``national producer.'' At year's end RCTV 
remained off the air and was only able to broadcast via Internet.
    During the year the Government threatened Globovision's owners and 
directors in an apparent effort to change the station's editorial line.
    On February 18, Globovision Director Alberto Ravell announced his 
resignation, alleging that Energy Minister Ali Rodriguez and Central 
Bank President Nelson Merentes had pressured Globovision shareholders 
Guillermo Zuloaga and Nelson Mezerhane to fire him and controversial 
talk show host Leopoldo Castillo and to soften the station's anti-
Chavez orientation.
    In June and July, the Government took actions against Nelson 
Mezerhane, former president of Banco Federal. On June 14, the 
Government took control of the bank, and on July 1, it issued an arrest 
warrant against him. The Government alleged the bank suffered from 
insufficient liquidity and other irregularities, and the prosecutor 
general claimed the Public Ministry had evidence that Mezerhane had 
taken money from Banco Federal depositors and state-owned companies out 
of the country for personal gain. On July 2, President Chavez stated 
the Government might use Mezerhane's 20 percent share of Globovision to 
reimburse depositors of Banco Federal; on July 20, he claimed that by 
seizing Mezerhane's shares, the Government could own up to 45.8 percent 
of Globovision's shares and have the right to name a representative to 
its executive board, suggesting several progovernment television 
journalists as possible candidates. However, according to a statement 
released by Globovision, the election of board members required a vote 
representing 55 percent of the corporation's shares.
    On August 1, National Guardsmen conducted a search of Mezerhane's 
residence. According to press reports, the security forces prevented 
his attorney, Magaly Vasquez, from witnessing the search, as required 
by law. On August 3, President Chavez alleged the search had uncovered 
evidence of Mezerhane's links to a Colombian paramilitary group. 
Mezerhane denied the allegations and accused the Government of using 
the bank intervention as a way to pressure Globovision.
    On December 3, the Superintendence of Banks and Other Financial 
Institutions assumed control of the Mezerhane-owned Sindicato Avila 
C.A., which held 20 percent of the shares of Globovision. On December 
8, the IACHR's Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of 
Expression issued a statement expressing concern about the possible 
intervention by the Government in Globovision.
    There were no developments in CONATEL's 2008 investigation of 
Globovision for its broadcasts of comments allegedly encouraging the 
assassination of the president and of a speech by the Carabobo state 
governor-elect that allegedly incited violence.
    The Government also exercised control over the media through its 
application of licensing and broadcasting requirements.
    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 practicing 
illegally. These requirements are waived for foreigners and opinion 
columnists.
    The telecommunications law empowers the Government to impose heavy 
fines and cancel broadcasts for violations of its norms, and CONATEL 
oversees the law's application. Media observer organizations called on 
the Government to appoint an independent body to regulate the 
implementation of the law, which it had not done by year's end.
    On August 3, the Official Gazette published a decree transferring 
responsibility for CONATEL from the Ministry of Transportation and 
Communication to the Vice Presidency. In announcing the transfer on 
August 4, Vice President Jaua said the decision was taken ``considering 
that telecommunications is a strategic area for Venezuelan democracy 
and for political stability.'' Telecommunications and human rights 
advocates claimed the decree violated both the Organic Law on 
Telecommunications of 2000, which established CONATEL as an 
``autonomous institute,'' and the constitution, which does not give the 
vice presidency direct responsibility for any ministry or agency of the 
Government. The reform of the telecommunications law adopted in 
December retained CONATEL's character as an ``autonomous institute.''
    The Government also sought to exercise control over the press 
through the Center for National Situational Studies (CESNA), created 
pursuant to a June 1 decree published in the Official Gazette. This new 
government entity, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior 
and Justice, is responsible for ``compiling, processing, and 
analyzing'' both government-released and other public information with 
the objective of ``protecting the interests and objectives of the 
state.'' The Government named Colonel Jose Adelino Ornelas Ferreira as 
the head of CESNA on December 29. The National Journalist Association 
(CNP) and five domestic NGOs publicly expressed concern about the 
potential for abuse and censorship on national security grounds by 
CESNA. On July 15, the NGO Public Space, the CNP, and SNTP filed a 
complaint contesting the formation of CESNA with the Political and 
Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court, which referred the case to 
the Constitutional Chamber on November 17. The court did not act on the 
complaint by year's end.
    During the year the IACHR and its Office of the Special Rapporteur 
for Freedom of Expression expressed their ``serious concern about the 
situation of the right to freedom of expression in Venezuela.''
    Five radio stations belonging to the National Belfort Circuit were 
among 34 radio stations CONATEL ordered closed and the 240 ordered 
reviewed in July 2009. On April 15, the Inter-American Court dismissed 
the IACHR's February 26 request for provisional measures on behalf of 
Belfort Isturiz and others to have the Government adopt measures to 
temporarily reestablish the stations' right to operate. The court 
decided that the request did not meet the requirements of the American 
Convention for ``cases of extreme gravity and urgency, and when 
necessary to avoid irreparable damage to persons.'' On November 24, the 
Supreme Court rejected Belfort's legal challenge of the July 2009 
regulation.
    On July 16, IAPA issued a statement expressing concern about the 
``authoritarian tendencies'' and restrictions of freedom of expression 
in Latin America, particularly in Venezuela. IAPA President Alejandro 
Aguirre said that ``Venezuela is one of the countries where freedom of 
expression is most in danger.''

    Internet Freedom.--During the year there were no government 
restrictions on access to the Internet, and individuals and groups 
could engage in the expression of views via the Internet, including by 
e-mail. However, some NGOs expressed concern that the Government 
monitored e-mails and Web searches. In April El Universal reported that 
nearly 8.8 million inhabitants, or approximately 31 percent of the 
country's population, used the Internet, and more than two-thirds were 
from the poorest sectors of society.
    During the year the Government expressed interest in developing 
regulations limiting the Internet.
    On March 13, President Chavez ordered the prosecutor general to 
open an investigation of the Web site Noticero Digital for falsely 
reporting the assassination of Minister of Housing and Public Works 
Diosdado Cabello and progovernment talk show host Mario Silva. The 
president warned that ``the Internet cannot be something open where 
anything is said and done. No, every country has to apply its own rules 
and norms.'' Noticiero Digital responded by explaining that it did not 
practice prior censorship of comments posted by visitors to the site, 
but it removed comments it considered inaccurate or irresponsible. 
Noticiero Digital removed the comments regarding Cabello and Silva from 
its site within three hours and permanently barred the authors from 
future postings. The Web site announced it would be ``taking measures 
so that these types of incidents do not occur again.'' On September 21, 
the president of the National Assembly Committee on Science, 
Technology, and Communications requested that the prosecutor general 
open an investigation against Web site Noticias 24 for allegedly 
``inciting hate'' through its coverage of the false report; there were 
no known developments in the investigation.
    On June 6, President Chavez again called for an investigation of 
Noticiero Digital for a June 2 column in which the author claimed that 
high-level retired and active-duty officers were working together to 
achieve a civil-military transition in 2010 or early 2011. President 
Chavez stated that ``there keep appearing incitements to a coup and 
that cannot be permitted...this has to be investigated urgently... 
Noticiero Digital keeps saying that rebellion is the path.'' On June 8, 
the Public Ministry opened another investigation against the Web site; 
there were no known developments in the investigation at year's end.
    On July 8, police arrested two users of the social networking and 
microblogging service, Twitter, Luis Enrique Acosta Oxford and Carmen 
Cecilia Nares Castro, in Ciudad Bolivar for allegedly spreading false 
rumors about the banking system via the network. The Government charged 
them with violating article 448 of the Law on Banking and Financial 
Institutions, which prohibits the dissemination of false information 
about banks and carries a possible prison term of up to 11 years. Both 
remained free pending trial.
    On March 15, Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega Diaz called for the 
National Assembly to consider approving regulations on the Internet. 
However, on March 18, President of National Assembly Committee on 
Science and Technology Manuel Villalba announced that the Assembly was 
not planning to introduce legislation to regulate the Internet. 
Nevertheless, on December 20, the National Assembly passed a reform to 
the RESORTE law that made Internet and Internet providers subject to 
government regulations for the first time (see above). The law 
prohibits the dissemination of messages or information that could 
incite violence, promote hatred and intolerance, lead to crime or 
murder, foment anxiety in the populace or disturb public order, or be 
considered disrespectful of public offices or officeholders. It puts 
the burden of filtering electronic messages on service providers, 
provides that CONATEL can order them to block access to Web sites that 
violates these norms, and sanctions them with fines for distributing 
prohibited messages. Human rights and media freedom advocates 
complained that the law further limited freedom of expression. On 
December 15, the IACHR concluded that the RESORTE and 
telecommunications laws ``represent a serious setback for freedom of 
expression that primarily affects dissident and minority groups that 
find in the Internet a free and democratic space to disseminate their 
ideas.''

    Academic Freedom and Cultural Events.--There were some government 
restrictions on academic freedom and cultural events. On December 22, 
the National Assembly passed a controversial University Education Law 
that eliminated the principle of university autonomy, established the 
construction of socialism as the goal of higher education, and 
transferred most responsibilities for the management of universities, 
including admission standards and budgets, from the universities to the 
Ministry of University Education. The Government stated the law was 
needed to democratize university education. Organizations representing 
students, professors, and rectors criticized the law as violating the 
constitutional principles of university autonomy and respect for ``all 
currents of thought'' in education. The law was not officially 
promulgated in the Official Gazette by year's end.
    Government supporters often disrupted university classes, marches, 
and rallies and used violence and intimidation to protest university 
policies and to discourage students from political participation.
    On February 17, unknown assailants shot multiple bullets and threw 
a Molotov cocktail (which did not explode) into the office of the 
rector of the Central University of Venezuela, Cecilia Garcia Arocha. 
In the weeks before the attack, progovernment students had protested 
the rector's decision to erect security doors at the school's entrance 
for greater protection. The Public Ministry opened an investigation 
into the incident on February 18; no information was available at 
year's end on the results. On February 24, Garcia Arocha publicly 
stated that between November 2007 and February 2010 the university had 
been subject to 27 violent attacks with little to no response from the 
police.
    On May 18, approximately 35 armed progovernment students took over 
the rector's office at the Experimental Pedagogical University 
Libertador in Caracas and held the rector hostage for 24 hours in 
protest of his alleged ``malpractice'' and ``aggressive policies...of 
the right.'' The students released the rector after a meeting with the 
vice minister of academic development.
    On December 15, a group of purportedly progovernment militants 
threw bottles and rocks at students from the Catholic University Andres 
Bello (UCAB) protesting the pending University Education Law, resulting 
in 13 injuries. UCAB student representatives told the press on December 
17 that they were collecting video and photographic evidence of the 
incident to submit to the Prosecutor General's Office.

    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.
    Human rights groups continued to criticize the 2005 penal code 
revision for its strict penalties on some forms of peaceful 
demonstration. PROVEA expressed concern over the law's 
``criminalization'' of protests.
    PROVEA noted that 3,315 demonstrations occurred in the country 
between October 2009 and September 2010, a 24 percent increase over the 
2,893 that occurred during the same period one year earlier. PROVEA 
reported that 98.5 percent (3,266) of the demonstrations were peaceful 
in nature. Of the total number of demonstrations, PROVEA reported that 
police and security forces repressed 150, a reduction of 4.6 percent 
compared with the previous year. PROVEA further noted a decrease in the 
number of injuries, detentions, and deaths resulting from security-
force interventions: 368 injuries, 575 detentions, and no deaths, 
compared with 584 injuries, 676 detentions, and four deaths during the 
previous year. PROVEA noted that rallies and street closings were the 
principal forms of protest. However, it also concluded that the 
increased number of hunger strikes, 105 compared with one during the 
previous year, represented a radicalization of protests.
    NGO Public Space reported that Monagas state police shot and killed 
a student, Miguel Hernandez, on July 13 during protests over 
electricity outages in the city of Chaguaramal. The press reported that 
a member of the Monagas police special brigade, Sub-Inspector Enrique 
Gustavo Romero Diaz, also was killed during the protests. There was no 
information regarding any government investigation of the killings.
    During the year government security forces used tear gas, water 
hoses, and rubber bullets to suppress peaceful protests. Among the 
notable examples were:
    Between January 24 and February 4, the press reported that hundreds 
of students nationwide held demonstrations to protest the closing of 
RCTV (see section 2.a.), electricity and water shortages, and the 
general situation of the country. Government security forces responded 
to the demonstrators often dressed in full riot gear using tear gas, 
water hoses, and rubber bullets. The media reported that nationwide 174 
persons were admitted to hospitals for injuries related to inhaling 
tear gas, 83 were injured by rubber bullets, and approximately 85 were 
briefly detained by police. On January 28, President Chavez threatened 
governors and police who failed to halt the protests and replaced the 
head of the state-owned Venezolana de Television who met with student 
protesters the previous day. On February 2, the IACHR called on the 
Government to engage in dialogue and allow the peaceful exercise of the 
right of assembly. A few days later, President Chavez called the 
student protesters ``fascists, subversives, violent, and filled with 
hate and anger,'' and he praised the security services for their 
``firm'' response. On February 7, he accused the student protestors of 
wanting ``to have deaths and wounded people for the fascist television 
cameras behind them, so that they can transmit to the world the idea 
that this is a repressive government.''
    On January 25, the press reported that progovernment Tupamaro 
militants in Merida mobilized a counter-demonstration to that held by 
opposition students. Sixteen persons were wounded and two students were 
killed at the University of the Andes (ULA): progovernment 15-year-old 
Yorsinio Carrillo Torres was struck by a stray bullet and killed while 
inside the Domingo Salazar Residence Hall, and 28-year-old opposition 
student Marcos Rosales Suarez was attacked and killed by progovernment 
motorcyclists at a McDonald's restaurant near the ULA campus. On 
January 26, the National Guard and police repelled the progovernment 
militants throughout a 20-square-block area of the city with tear gas 
and rubber bullets. In a January 27 conflict between the Tupamaros and 
the National Guard, six National Guardsmen were wounded, two by 
bullets. The same day the minister of the interior and justice 
announced a temporary suspension of the electrical and water outages in 
an effort to end the protests. The Public Ministry later announced that 
two suspects were arrested in connection with the killing of the two 
students: Freddy Orta Anez was charged in the death of Carrillo Torres, 
and Ruben Dario Valero was charged with Rosales' death. The courts 
ordered trials to proceed against Orta Anez and Valero on May 20 and 
September 30, respectively. At year's end both remained in custody at 
the Andean Regional Penitentiary pending the conclusions of their 
trials.
    On May 5, according to press reports, state police in Merida fired 
rubber bullets against students demonstrating against quotas on 
subsidized public transportation tickets. The press reported that seven 
students were injured, including one student who reportedly received 
more than 65 bullet wounds on his arms, neck, back, and legs.

    Freedom of Association.--While the constitution provides for 
freedom of association and freedom from political discrimination, the 
Government only partially respected this right. Although indicating 
that they generally operated without interference, professional and 
academic associations complained that the National Electoral Council 
(CNE), which is responsible for convoking all elections and 
establishing dates and procedures for them, repeatedly interfered with 
their attempts to hold internal elections.

    c. Freedom of Religion.--For a complete description of religious 
freedom, please see the 2010 International Religious Freedom Report at 
www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/rpt

    d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of 
Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The constitution provides for freedom 
of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and 
repatriation, and the Government generally respected these rights in 
practice.
    The Government cooperated with the Office of the UN High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations 
in providing protection and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers.
    The law prohibits forced exile, and it was not used.

    Protection of Refugees.--Laws provide for the granting of asylum or 
refugee status, and the Government has established a system for 
providing protection to refugees. In practice the Government provided 
protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries 
where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of their 
race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, 
or political opinion.
    The UNHCR reported 16,413 (cumulative) applicants for refugee 
status in the country from 2002 through September 2010, of whom 2,226 
applied during the year. The UNHCR estimated that there were a total of 
200,000 persons in need of international protection. On December 6, the 
National Commission for Refugees reported that the Government 
recognized 2,700 individuals (cumulative) as refugees as of May, an 
increase from the 1,313 recognized refugees (cumulative) as of the end 
of 2009.
    The Government cooperated with the UNHCR and other humanitarian 
organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The National 
Committee for Refugees had limited physical and human resources to 
address refugee issues, in addition to a lengthy process for examining 
individual refugee applications.

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 through 
periodic free and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

    Elections and Political Participation.--On September 26, voters 
elected 165 deputies to five-year terms in the National Assembly in an 
election in which voter participation reached 66.5 percent. Voters also 
elected 12 deputies to the Latin America Parliament (``Parlatino'').The 
CNE did not invite international election monitoring missions to 
observe the electoral process. However, domestic electoral observers 
and opposition political leaders generally considered the elections 
free and fair despite scattered delays due to problems with old voting 
machines, generalized reports of improper electioneering by the 
official PSUV party, and isolated examples of voter intimidation.
    However, one CNE rector and opposition political parties criticized 
the electoral law and the electoral redistricting for allegedly 
violating the constitutional principle of proportionality. Opposition 
parties claimed the changes led to PSUV candidates winning 
approximately 59 percent of the National Assembly seats (98) despite 
winning only 49 percent of the national vote. Opposition candidates won 
approximately 40 percent of the seats (65) with 48 percent of the 
national vote. A third party won the remaining two seats with 
approximately 3 percent of the vote.
    One CNE rector and the domestic electoral observation NGO Ojo 
Electoral also criticized the Government's partisan use of state-owned 
media in the months before the election and during the official month-
long campaign period. The NGO specifically cited the CNE's failure to 
enforce its regulations providing for ``equality of conditions'' in 
access to the media, especially the president's use of frequent and 
lengthy mandatory broadcasts (cadenas) for partisan campaign purposes.
    On December 5, gubernatorial and mayoral elections were held in two 
states and in 11 municipalities. The elections were considered 
generally free and fair.
    On December 10, claiming he needed the authority to govern by 
decree to address the emergency caused by the severe flooding in the 
country during late November and early December, President Chavez 
called on the National Assembly to pass an enabling law (Ley 
Habilitante) to permit him to legislate by decree, the fourth since he 
took office in 1999. On December 17, the outgoing National Assembly, 
with the constitutionally required three-fifths majority, adopted the 
Enabling Law, which gave the president the authority to decree laws for 
a period of 18 months in the areas of flood relief, infrastructure, 
telecommunications, public services, housing, use of urban and rural 
land, financial and tax matters, citizen security, the judiciary, 
national defense, international cooperation, and the ``socioeconomic 
system of the nation.''
    Opposition leaders claimed the president already had the legal 
authorities necessary to respond to the flood emergency and accused him 
of taking advantage of the flood crisis to ``impose his political 
project'' and to circumvent the newly elected National Assembly, which 
was scheduled to take office on January 5, 2011. Critics also claimed 
the National Assembly did not have the authority to cede legislative 
powers to the president beyond its own term of office and that ``decree 
laws'' issued after January 5 would be unconstitutional. In a December 
14 letter to Organization of American States Secretary General Jose 
Miguel Insulza on behalf of the opposition's ``Unity Table,'' Ramon 
Guillermo Aveledo said the Enabling Law usurped the competencies of the 
newly elected deputies, ``which constituted an evident violation of the 
popular will and constitutional norms relative to legislative 
authority.'' The letter said the situation was ``so serious'' that it 
``suggests a violation of the norms'' contained in the Inter-American 
Democratic Charter. On December 15, the IACHR expressed concern that 
the law failed ``to set the limits necessary for the existence of true 
control over the executive branch's legislative power.''
    Opposition leaders also criticized two other laws adopted by the 
outgoing National Assembly that restricted the freedom of the newly 
elected deputies:
    The Law on Political Parties, Public Meetings, and Demonstrations, 
adopted on December 21, prohibits deputies from voting against 
legislation proposed by the political organization that supported their 
candidacies; ``making common cause'' with ``contrary'' positions, 
parties, or organizations; and changing parliamentary blocs. At the 
request of 0.l percent of the voters and upon the approval of a simple 
majority of the deputies, the comptroller general can penalize a deputy 
for ``fraud against the electorate'' with disqualification from public 
office. Critics claim the law violates article 201 of the constitution, 
which provides that deputies are subject only to their consciences and 
that their votes are ``personal.''
    On December 22, the National Assembly adopted the Law on Internal 
Rules and Debate, which reduces the amount of time a deputy can speak 
on the floor, lowers the threshold necessary to sanction a deputy for 
violating the rules of debate, and restricts access by private 
television media to the National Assembly.
    Opposition political parties operated in an atmosphere 
characterized by intimidation and restricted media access because of 
the fewer number of independent television and radio stations (see 
section 2.a.). The Government used ``administrative disqualifications'' 
as one way to restrict access of opposition leaders to public office. 
According to the annual report presented by Comptroller General 
Clodosbaldo Russian on August 11, during the year a total of 55 
citizens were administratively disqualified from public office as a 
result of allegations of misuse of public funds, including eight 
National Assembly candidates, bringing the total to 622 citizens 
administratively disqualified since 2002 (see section 1.e.). On May 24, 
the comptroller general administratively disqualified former Maracaibo 
mayor and 2006 presidential candidate Manual Rosales for a period of 12 
months; in 2009 Rosales was charged with corruption and left the 
country.
    The Government also prosecuted opposition figures on questionable 
charges. For example, on March 26, the National Assembly lifted the 
legislative immunity of Deputy Wilmer Azuaje so he could be prosecuted 
on charges of insulting a public official and violence against women 
for a purported scuffle with a female police officer the previous day. 
Azuaje had repeatedly and publicly accused the president's family of 
corruption as well as complicity in the February 2009 killing of his 
brother Carlos. On March 27, the Supreme Court ruled that Azuaje could 
not exercise his legislative duties or run for reelection while the 
case against him remained open. The court ordered him to appear every 
20 days, prohibited him from leaving the country, ordered him to be 
evaluated by a court dealing with violence against women, and sent him 
to a center for gender violence awareness training. Azuaje publicly 
criticized his prosecution as ``political.'' On November 1, the 
Official Gazette published the October 27 decree signed by Russian 
administratively disqualifying Azuaje from public office for 12 months; 
the decree alleged that Azuaje had submitted an ``untruthful'' 
financial disclosure statement. On May 5, a court convicted and 
sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment a second person in the killing of 
Azuaje's brother; another person had been convicted and sentenced in 
November 2009.
    There were no developments in the comptroller general's October 
2009 investigation of opposition Miranda state Governor Henrique 
Capriles Radonski for alleged corruption, tax evasion, and other 
financial crimes. There was also no information regarding the case 
against Capriles for alleged involvement in a 2002 violent 
demonstration outside the Cuban embassy. Prosecutors reopened the case 
after a court of appeals annulled an October 2008 acquittal.
    The National Assembly that was to take office on January 5, 2011, 
had 28 female deputies. During 2010 women headed four of the five 
branches of government (legislative, judicial, electoral, and citizen) 
and occupied six cabinet positions. There were 13 women among the 32 
justices on the Supreme Court at year's end.
    The constitution reserves three seats in the National Assembly for 
indigenous persons. Three deputies were elected for these seats on 
September 26. There was one indigenous member of the cabinet.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency
    The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by government 
officials; credible observers alleged the Government did not implement 
the law effectively or fairly and frequently prosecuted its political 
opponents selectively on corruption charges to harass, intimidate, or 
imprison them.
    The World Bank's governance indicators reflected that government 
corruption was a serious problem. According to a study by the INE that 
was leaked to the press in August, survey results of ``corruption by 
officials reveal figures of an elevated occurrence, while in official 
statistics its level is minimal'' (see section 1.a.). There was a 
perception of widespread corruption at all government levels.
    The Comptroller General's Office is responsible for investigating 
and sanctioning corruption by public officials. The Public Ministry and 
the Public Defender's Office investigate abuses by police and military 
officials. The National Assembly can order the Public Ministry to 
undertake investigations.
    Journalists reported many cases of apparent corruption involving 
government officials at all levels, and the Public Ministry regularly 
reported indictments and prosecutions of low-level local officials. In 
its 2009 annual report, released in June, the Public Ministry reported 
2,722 complaints regarding corruption in both the private and the 
official sectors, of which 594 resulted in indictments and 268 in 
convictions. The report also claimed the Public Ministry's fight 
against corruption was ``positive, since it achieved for the first time 
in its history accusations against two former governors and 16 mayors 
or former mayors for irregularities committed in the exercise of their 
responsibilities.'' Both governors charged in 2009 were former 
government allies who had become critics, Eduardo Manuitt and Didalco 
Bolivar. Both left the country during 2009. On April 21, the Supreme 
Court reaffirmed the arrest warrant against Bolivar. There were no 
known developments in the case against Manuitt during the year.
    There was no information publicly available about any 
investigations of high-level officials associated with the Government. 
Among the most notable examples of allegations of high-level corruption 
by public officials were:
    In June the national media reported on the so-called Pudreval 
scandal, in which thousands of tons of decomposed food intended for 
distribution through the Government's subsidized food programs were 
found at government warehouses throughout the country. According to the 
economic daily newspaper El Mundo on July 12, high-level government 
officials, including the then vice president Ramon Carrizales, were 
aware of large amounts of food waiting in the ports as early as January 
2009. On August 11, Comptroller General Russian dismissed media 
inquiries about a possible criminal investigation by observing ``there 
are no conclusive reports about this case.'' Despite calls from the 
opposition and NGOs for an investigation, the Government pursued 
charges against only three current or former employees of PDVAL, the 
food import and distribution unit of the national oil company PDVSA. 
PDVAL Director Luis Pulido Lopez, former executive director of 
operations, Mercedes Vilyeska Betancourt Pacheco, and former general 
manager Ronnal Jose Flores Burgillo were arrested in early June on 
charges of speculation and detained at the SEBIN facility in Puerto 
Cabello; on December 16, the Supreme Court annulled the proceedings and 
ordered a retrial in a different trial court. The defendants remained 
detained awaiting trial at year's end.
    On July 11, El Nacional reported that seven current or former high-
ranking government officials whom President Chavez had selected as 
candidates for the National Assembly had pending accusations of 
corruption in the Comptroller General's Office or the Public Ministry 
that had not been investigated, prosecuted, or sanctioned.
    On October 23, securities regulator Rafael Ramos de la Rosa was 
arrested in Miami on charges of allegedly attempting to extort $1.5 
million from the former owner of a brokerage firm seized by the 
Government in late 2009.Subsequently the head of the securities 
regulatory agency stated that Ramos de la Rosa was not a government 
employee despite the fact that he had been appointed to his position by 
the agency.
    On August 11, Comptroller General Russian expressed frustration 
that his office's annual reports continued to observe ``the same 
recurrent flaws and deficiencies in government administration.'' He 
criticized public servants who ``neither resolved nor even addressed'' 
the problems of citizens, ``unnecessarily delayed'' decisions, or made 
them ``arbitrarily or capriciously.'' He cited one government 
investigation involving a project initiated in 2005 to erect 12,000 
prefabricated houses purchased from Uruguay. The investigation by the 
Comptroller General's Office found that the project had resulted in the 
completion of just 11 of the houses despite the disbursement of $71 
million--almost half the project's total. The report criticized the 
Ministry of Public Works and Housing and the state-owned oil company 
PDVSA for ``reckless mismanagement of public funds.'' However, there 
was no information available about any government investigation or 
prosecution of those responsible.
    Corruption was a major problem in all police forces, whose members 
were generally poorly paid and minimally trained. Impunity for 
corruption, brutality, and other acts of violence were major problems 
explicitly acknowledged by some government officials.
    According to the INE study, police and National Guard members were 
responsible for almost one-eighth of all crimes and a high proportion 
of the crimes of corruption, deprivation of liberty, and extortion. The 
study reported that 19,177 police or National Guard members committed 
crimes between July 2008 and July 2009, of which 4,268 involved 
corruption and 1,334 extortion. In October 2009 Interior and Justice 
Minister Tareck El Aissami stated that police committed approximately 
15-20 percent of the country's crimes, including the most violent ones.
    Public officials as well as all directors and members of the board 
of private companies are required to submit sworn financial disclosure 
statements pursuant to the Organic Law on the Comptroller General of 
the Republic and the National Fiscal Control System and the Law against 
Corruption, respectively (see section 3). The law also provides for 
citizen access to government information. However, human rights groups 
reported that the Government routinely ignored this requirement and 
their requests for information, did not make government information 
available, and usually did not give a reason for not providing it. On 
July 15, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court declared that 
the salaries of public officials were confidential information. The NGO 
Pro-Access Coalition complained that the court's ruling constituted a 
setback in the public's right to access information and to transparency 
in public administration.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and 
        Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human 
        Rights
    A variety of independent domestic and international human rights 
groups generally operated with some government restrictions. Major 
domestic human rights NGOs conducted investigations and published their 
findings on human rights cases. There was no indication the Government 
took action in response to their reports or recommendations.
    Many domestic NGOs reported government threats and harassment 
against their leaders, staff, and organizations. Among the most notable 
examples of government harassment were:
    On March 4, two human rights NGOs requested that the Inter-American 
Court on Human Rights grant provisional measures to representatives of 
COFAVIC because of a series of attacks against the organization and its 
leadership by government officials and the official media. The IACHR 
had granted COFAVIC protective measures in 2002. On May 28, the court 
denied the request for provisional measures.
    On May 11, Rocio San Miguel, director of the military watchdog NGO 
Civil Association of Citizen Control in Venezuela, filed a complaint 
with the Public Defender's Office and the Public Ministry claiming that 
she had received threatening telephone calls and was the victim of 
attacks in the official media following her May 6 public allegation 
that 14 high-level military officials were registered and active in the 
PSUV despite the constitutional prohibition against membership by 
military officials in political parties. On May 17, the Observatory for 
the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, the World Organization 
against Torture, and the International Federation of Human Rights 
issued a joint statement denouncing the ``harassment, threats, and 
defamation against San Miguel'' and urging the Government ``to take 
immediate action to ensure the physical safety of San Miguel.''
    On May 28, OVP Director Humberto Prado submitted a complaint to the 
Public Defender's Office regarding a surveillance operation in the 
vicinity of his home conducted the previous day by seven armed 
militants on motorcycles. The surveillance occurred a week after 
Prado's participation in a May 20 peaceful protest by families of 
prisoners over delays in the judicial process and prison conditions. 
Prado had been subject to previous harassment and had been granted a 
provisional measure by the IACHR in November 2009.
    The Government also threatened NGOs with criminal investigations 
for allegedly illegal receipt of foreign funds:
    On July 15, the Public Ministry named a prosecutor to investigate 
allegations by the PSUV and the progovernment NGO Necessary Journalism 
Movement that certain NGOs had illegally received foreign funding 
through the Pan American Development Fund, in particular the Press and 
Society Institute and NGO Public Space. On July 14, President Chavez 
had asked the Public Ministry to deepen its investigation into foreign 
funding of NGOs, which he claimed was undermining the country's 
sovereignty. On July 20, the National Assembly's Permanent Committee on 
Science, Technology, and Social Communication adopted a resolution 
calling for a ``deepening of the investigation'' of foreign-funded 
programs to determine whether NGOs and journalists had committed any 
crimes. The resolution specifically listed more than 35 foreign and 
domestic organizations and 18 individuals. Human rights defenders 
publicly called the resolution ``a witch hunt'' and an attempt by the 
Government to ``criminalize'' human rights work. There were no known 
developments in the Government's investigation by year's end.
    On July 22, in a decision on a case brought by the NGO Sumate 
challenging the legality of the 2009 constitutional referendum, the 
Supreme Court noted that ``obtaining financial resources, whether 
directly or indirectly, coming from foreign states with the intention 
of being used to the detriment of the Republic, the 
People,...political, social, or economic acts... might eventually 
constitute'' a punishable crime under the penal code.
    On December 21, the National Assembly adopted the Law on the 
Defense of Political Sovereignty and National Self-Determination. The 
law prohibits individuals, political organizations, or organizations 
involved in the defense of ``political rights'' from receiving 
resources from any non-Venezuelan person or entity. It penalizes 
individuals and organizations with fines and/or a potential 5-8 year 
disqualification from running for political office, notwithstanding 
penalties established under other laws. The law defines political 
organizations as those involved in promoting citizen participation, 
exercising control over public offices, and promoting candidates for 
public office. Organizations involved in the defense of political 
rights include those that ``promote, disseminate, inform, or defend the 
full exercise of the political rights of citizens.'' The law also 
prohibits foreign nationals who are sponsored by Venezuelan individuals 
or political organizations from ``issuing opinions that offend the 
institutions of the state, its high officials or go against the 
exercise of sovereignty.'' The law's adoption followed President 
Chavez's November 23 appeal to the National Assembly for a ``severe 
law'' to prohibit ``political parties, NGOs, and people against the 
revolution to continue to be financed with millions and millions of 
dollars from the Yankee empire...to destabilize our country.'' In a 
December 20 letter to the National Assembly, Sumate advised that the 
law violated the rights guaranteed in the constitution to freedom of 
association, political participation, and equality and the right to 
receive resources to promote human rights contained in article 13 of UN 
General Assembly resolution 53/144.
    Domestic NGOs spoke out against government harassment of NGOs and 
threats against organizations receiving foreign assistance. On July 16, 
the Forum for Life, a coalition of human rights NGOs, publicly rejected 
what it characterized as ``politics of harassment and a public campaign 
to discredit the work of Venezuelan human rights NGOs'' and stated that 
international treaties signed by the Government, the constitution, and 
article 13 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders allow for 
NGOs to receive international funding.
    International NGOs and the IACHR also expressed concern about the 
situation of NGOs in the country. On March 25, the IACHR issued a 
statement expressing ``profound concern about the use of the punitive 
power of the State to criminalize human rights defenders.'' On August 
12, 34 members of the International Coalition of Human Rights 
Organizations of the Americas denounced the criminal investigations the 
Government launched against NGOs involved in human rights and media 
freedom issues. On August 24, the NGO Human Rights Watch issued a 
statement urging the Government to ``end its apparent campaign of 
harassment'' against Carlos Correa, the director of the NGO Public 
Space.
    During the year the Government expressed hostility toward 
international human rights bodies (see section1.e.). The Government 
refused to permit a visit by the IACHR, although several working-level 
officials from the OAS visited Caracas for one day in December 2009 to 
meet with NGOs and other groups. The Government has not permitted a 
visit by the IACHR since 2002. The Government also rejected the IACHR's 
2009 report, Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela, publicly released 
on January 22, which identified the following problems preventing the 
full exercise of human rights in the country: the lack of effective 
separation of powers, the lack of guarantees for freedom of expression 
for all viewpoints, use of the Government's punitive power to 
intimidate or sanction contrary views, the lack of conditions for human 
rights defenders and journalists to work freely, and impunity in cases 
of violence. President Chavez said on February 25 that the report was 
``pure garbage'' and threatened to withdraw from the organization, 
saying that ``someday the OAS needs to vanish.'' He publicly told 
Foreign Minister Maduro that the report ``wasn't worth responding to'' 
and instructed him to look into withdrawing from that ``awful 
commission.'' He also criticized IACHR Secretary General Santiago 
Canton, calling him ``pure excrement.'' Public Defender Gabriela 
Ramirez also disputed the report's findings and accused the IACHR of 
unfairly taking some statistics out of context and using others 
selectively to show a pattern of political repression and abuses by the 
Government.
    On June 18, in response to UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of 
Opinion and Expression Frank LaRue's charge that, in the case of 
Globovision President Zuloaga (see section 2.a.), the Government was 
``silenc[ing] critics or those who oppose the state with criminal 
proceedings,'' the country's UN Ambassador Jorge Valero stated that 
these ``declarations, without any basis, constitute a new and 
unacceptable interference by LaRue in the internal affairs of our 
country, and they show the rapporteur's identification with the 
political plans of the coup mongering opposition.'' The ambassador also 
accused LaRue of ``undue use and abuse of his functions in a case that 
does not have anything to do with freedom of expression'' and said the 
country would file a request with the UN Secretary General for the 
rapporteur's dismissal. The Government did not respond to LaRue's 2009 
request to visit the country.
    Although the public defender, appointed by the National Assembly, 
is responsible for ensuring that citizen rights are protected in a 
conflict with the state, human rights NGOs claimed that the Public 
Defender's Office was not independent and rarely acted on public 
interest cases; they also alleged that the public defender was chosen 
in 2007 in a nontransparent process. Reports or recommendations issued 
by the office were not widely available.
    The National Assembly's subcommission on human rights played an 
insignificant role in human rights debates.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
    The law prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, sexual 
orientation, disability, language, or social status; however, 
discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, and indigenous 
persons and discrimination based on sexual orientation were problems.

    Women.--The law prohibits rape, including spousal rape. It is 
punishable by a prison term of eight to 14 years, although cases often 
were not reported to the police. A man may avoid punishment by marrying 
his victim before sentencing. There were no reliable statistics on the 
incidence of, or prosecutions or convictions for, rape. Women faced 
substantial institutional and societal prejudice with respect to 
reporting rape and domestic violence. The INE survey reported that from 
July 2008 to July 2009 there were 5,005 victims of sexual abuse, 927 
involving rape. According to the study, 5 percent of the victims of 
sexual abuse were children.
    The law criminalizes physical, sexual, and psychological violence 
in the home, the community, and at work, as well as sexual harassment 
and slavery. The law punishes domestic violence with penalties ranging 
from six to 27 months in prison. The law requires police to report 
domestic violence to judicial authorities 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. The law also establishes women's bureaus 
at local police headquarters and tribunals specializing in gender-based 
violence. According to a July 1 announcement by the Public Ministry, 57 
prosecutors were assigned to handle cases of violence against women.
    Violence against women continued to be a problem. On April 13, the 
Public Defender's Office cited statistics that every 15 minutes in the 
country a woman was the victim of abuse by her partner, and every 10 
days in Caracas a woman died from domestic violence. In a July 20 
statement, the NGO consortium Network of Support claimed that only 10 
percent of abused women filed complaints with government authorities.
    In April in a press note announcing a course for public officials 
to improve treatment of victims of domestic violence, the Public 
Defender's Office stated that the Public Ministry received 101,750 
complaints nationwide of violence against women; courts had more than 
50,000 cases involving domestic violence; and the specialized courts 
for women had approximately 12,000 cases. In June, Luisa Rodriguez 
Andarcio, vice minister for social strategies of the Ministry of Women, 
stated in a televised interview that, in the first five months of the 
year, there were 200,000 complaints of violence against women. On 
September 16, Prosecutor General Luisa Ortega Diaz stated that since 
January 1, the Public Ministry had received 65,464 complaints of 
violence against women through August 30. She said the figure reflected 
a lessening in the fear and shame attached to reporting these crimes. 
There was no publicly available information regarding the number of 
indictments, prosecutions, or convictions resulting from these 
investigations and cases. However, in its 2009 annual report, the 
Public Ministry reported that the tribunals specializing in gender-
based violence had issued a total of 570 sentences during 2009, of 
which 410 (72 percent) were convictions, 121 (21 percent) were 
acquittals, and 39 (7 percent) were confessions. El Nacional reported 
on November 25 that a total of 120,217 complaints of violence against 
women were filed in the specialized courts, of which 118,417 were in 
the investigative phase, 1,735 were in trial phase, and 60 had 
concluded with final sentences.
    The Government sought to combat domestic violence through public 
awareness campaigns and a national victim-assistance hotline 
administered by the Ministry of Women's Affairs, which succeeded the 
National Women's Institute in 2009. On March 8, the Government-
sponsored newspaper Correo del Orinoco reported that the hotline had 
received 31,921 calls since its creation in 1999. It also reported that 
the National Defenders Office for Women, established in 2001, had 
provided legal and other assistance to a total of 21,553 women and that 
two government-run shelters had saved the lives of 184 women, 155 
girls, and 137 boys. In August the Public Ministry announced the 
planned creation of technical units staffed by medics, psychiatrists, 
and/or psychologists with specialized training to provide assistance to 
women, children, and adolescents who were victims of violence.
    The April 18 killing of Jennifer Carolina Viera by her husband, ex-
world lightweight boxing champion Edwin ``Inca'' Valero, put a public 
spotlight on the problem of violence against women and highlighted some 
limitations in the Government's response to these situations. Valero, 
who committed suicide shortly after confessing to the killing, had been 
questioned or charged with numerous acts of violence and aggressive 
behavior against his wife and other female members of his family since 
2006. On March 25, police had detained him on charges of harassment, 
making threats, and resisting arrest after his wife was hospitalized 
with two broken ribs and other injuries; the court issued a restraining 
order against him. However, Viera asked that the charges be dropped.
    Sexual harassment is illegal and punishable by a prison sentence of 
one to three years. Sexual harassment was allegedly common in the 
workplace, but cases were rarely reported.
    Couples and individuals had the right to decide the number, 
spacing, and timing of children and had the information and means to do 
so free from discrimination. Access to information on contraception and 
skilled attendance at delivery and in postpartum care were widely 
available. Women and men were generally given equal access to 
diagnostic services and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. 
The Population Reference Bureau reported 70-percent use of 
contraception among married women between ages 15 and 49. A 2008 UN 
inter-agency report estimated the maternal mortality rate at 68 deaths 
per100,000 live births in 2008. Maternal health information and online 
resources were generally available.
    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 
Confederation of Workers, these regulations were enforced in the formal 
sector, although women reportedly earned 30 percent less than men on 
average. In its preliminary report to the 11th Regional Conference on 
Women in Latin America and the Caribbean in July, the Government 
reported that it provided between 60 and 80 percent of the minimum wage 
to needy homemakers. The Ministry of Women worked to protect women's 
rights but did not make statistics publicly available.
    The law provides women with property rights equal to those of men. 
In practice, however, women frequently waived these rights by signing 
over the equivalent of power of attorney to their husbands.

    Children.--Citizenship is derived by birth within the country's 
territory. According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), thousands of 
children were not officially registered at birth.
    According to UNICEF and NGOs working with children and women, child 
abuse, including incest, occurred but was rarely reported. Although the 
judicial system acted to remove children from abusive households, 
public facilities for such children were inadequate and had poorly 
trained staff.
    Under the law sexual relations with a minor under age 13 or an 
``especially vulnerable'' person, or with a minor under age 16 when the 
perpetrator is a relative or guardian, are punishable with a mandatory 
sentence of 15 to 20 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.
    Child marriage was not a widespread problem. There were some 
reports of child sexual exploitation during the year, including reports 
of trafficking in children for the purpose of commercial sexual 
exploitation. The law prohibits the production and sale of child 
pornography and establishes penalties of 16 to 20 years' imprisonment. 
There was no publicly available information regarding the number of 
investigations or prosecutions of cases involving the commercial sexual 
exploitation of minors or child pornography.
    According to a March 3 announcement by the Public Ministry, a total 
of 67 prosecutors were assigned to handle cases specializing in the 
protection of children.
    The NGO For the Rights of Children and Adolescents estimated that 
15,000 children lived on the streets. Authorities in Caracas and 
several other jurisdictions imposed curfews on unsupervised minors to 
attempt to cope with this problem, but with institutions filled to 
capacity, hundreds of children accused of infractions, such as curfew 
violations, were confined in inadequate juvenile detention centers. The 
Government's social service mission, Mision Negra Hipolita, provided 
assistance to street children and the homeless.
    The country is a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil 
Aspects of International Child Abduction. For information on 
international parental child abduction, please see the Department of 
State's annual report on compliance at http://travel.state.gov/
abduction/resources/congressreport/congressreport--4308.html.

    Anti-Semitism.--There were reports of societal abuses or 
discrimination based on religious affiliation, belief, or practice, 
including anti-Semitism.
    There were an estimated 9,500 Jews in the country. Jewish leaders 
reported that much of the anti-Semitic graffiti that appeared in 2009 
had not been painted over and was still publicly visible. New anti-
Semitic graffiti appeared on the Episcopal Conference's downtown 
Caracas commercial buildings after their February 7 expropriation by 
President Chavez; press reports indicated that the buildings were 
erroneously rumored to be Jewish-owned. The 11 suspects in the January 
2009 vandalism and desecration of the Tiferet Israel synagogue in 
Caracas remained in prison awaiting trial at year's end.
    Jewish community leaders publicly expressed concern about anti-
Semitic expressions carried in official and government-affiliated 
media. These expressions often increased following government criticism 
of Israeli government policies or actions. For example, on June 2, 
following the Gaza flotilla incident, President Chavez called Israel a 
``genocidal state'' but said he was not an ``enemy of the Jews,'' that 
Venezuelan Jews ``have our affection and our respect,'' and that he 
``could not believe that a Venezuelan Jew.would support this kind of 
massacre.'' On July 11, an anti-Israel advertisement produced by Tatuy 
TVC and Phantom Studios aired on government-owned Venezolana de 
Television during a World Cup soccer game; it showed an Israeli soccer 
team attacking a pregnant woman, an elderly man, and children, followed 
by the text, ``It's not a game, it's a massacre,'' and, ``We are all 
Palestinians.'' In the advertisement boot sounds were audible in the 
background. On July 12, government-owned newspaper Diario Vea published 
an article that claimed that ``to avenge the Shoah, the Jews commit 
their own genocide, [they] massacre families and perpetrate other 
atrocities, like starving the children of Gaza until they die.'' On 
July 13, Diario Vea published a political cartoon depicting Israeli 
Foreign Minister Lieberman, with half his face as Adolf Hitler, holding 
up his hand that was tattooed with a skull with sharp teeth and an 
Israeli flag on its forehead. Government-affiliated Web site 
Aporrea.org published an article on August 6 claiming that ``the people 
are the new enemy of the degenerate neo Zionist fascist race, who are a 
new edition of Hitler's Nazi thinking and his racial superiority 
madness, which has been recovered by Zionist Jewish and Catholic 
thieves and assassins.''
    On August 9, Foreign Minister Maduro met with representatives of 
the Latin American Jewish Congress, who later stated publicly that the 
foreign minister had promised to provide security to the Jewish 
community during the Jewish High Holidays and to monitor anti-Semitism 
in the media. The Government provided increased security to Jewish 
religious and community centers in response to their concerns.
    On September 16, Jewish community leaders met with President Chavez 
and issued a communique which stated that they had expressed their 
``profound concern'' to the president regarding the ``anti-Semitic 
statements, practically daily, which started years ago, in the official 
and government-affiliated media.'' They noted the possible negative 
consequences of expressions of hate, such as threats to the security 
and integrity of Jewish institutions and individuals, and ``officially 
requested the President of the Republic to intervene and stop these 
expressions.'' In a televised September 17 meeting with PSUV party 
representatives, President Chavez said the Jewish community had his 
``respect and affection and can count on the respect of the revolution, 
of the PSUV, and of the Bolivarian state.'' With respect to the request 
to end anti-Semitic expressions in the media, President Chavez called 
``for all of us to respect the Jewish community in Venezuela as another 
community, as other Venezuelans.'' After a temporary lull, Jewish 
community representatives reported a renewed rise in anti-Semitism in 
the media. On October 13, government-affiliated Web site Aporrea.com 
published an article recommending the anti-Semitic book, The Protocols 
of the Learned Elders of Zion.

    Trafficking in Persons.--For information on trafficking in persons, 
please see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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 were practically nonexistent. 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 did not make a significant effort to implement the law, 
inform the public of it, or combat societal prejudice against persons 
with disabilities. Online resources and access to information were 
generally available to persons with disabilities.

    Indigenous People.--The law prohibits discrimination based on 
ethnic origin, and senior government officials repeatedly stated 
support for indigenous rights. However, some NGOs complained of 
government mismanagement and paternalistic attitudes toward the 
indigenous population. Of the country's approximately 300,000 
indigenous persons in 27 ethnic groups, many were isolated from urban 
areas, lacked access to basic health and educational facilities, and 
suffered from high rates of disease. The Government included indigenous 
persons in its literacy campaigns, in some cases teaching them to read 
and write in their native languages as well as in Spanish.
    The law provides for three seats in the National Assembly for 
deputies of indigenous origin and for ``the protection of indigenous 
communities and their progressive incorporation into the life of the 
nation.'' Nonetheless, NGOs and the press reported that local political 
authorities seldom took account of indigenous interests when making 
decisions affecting indigenous lands, cultures, traditions, or the 
allocation of natural resources. Indigenous persons called on the 
Government to recognize lands traditionally inhabited by them as 
territories belonging to each respective indigenous group. The Yukpa 
indigenous group also called on the National Assembly to recognize the 
jurisdiction of indigenous courts to handle criminal cases involving 
its members.
    Conflict between cattle ranchers/landowners and indigenous persons 
occurred sporadically. Civil-society organizations criticized a 
government land-transfer program, which gave private dairy farms in 
Zulia State to the Yukpa indigenous group, for causing tension and 
violence in the region.
    On July 7, 80 Yukpas began a vigil in front of the Supreme Court to 
demand a response to their request that murder charges against Yukpa 
leader Cacique Sabino Romero and two Yupka members, Alexander Fernandez 
and Olegario Romero, be handled through their own indigenous legal 
system. The three were arrested in October 2009 in connection with the 
killing of three Yukpa members in a dispute over alleged cattle thefts.
    The protestors cited article 260 of the constitution and article 
141 of the Organic Law on Indigenous Peoples and Communities, which 
provide for indigenous communities to handle certain crimes in their 
own judicial system. The Supreme Court did not respond to the 
protesters' request; however, it transferred jurisdiction of the case 
from Zulia to Trujillo State, stating the decision to change venues was 
made to avoid ``local interests.'' On October 18, Jose Maria Korta, the 
81-year-old Jesuit founder of the Indigenous University of Venezuela, 
announced a hunger strike to demand that the three Yukpas be judged 
according to indigenous traditions. Korta ended the hunger strike on 
October 25 when Vice President Jaua met with him to discuss indigenous 
jurisdiction and the National Demarcation Process of Yukpa ancestral 
lands in Sierra de Perija.

    Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The constitution provides for 
equality before the law of all persons and prohibits discrimination 
based on sex or social condition. On this basis the Supreme Court ruled 
in 2008 that no individual may be discriminated against by reason of 
sexual orientation in any way that implies treatment in an unequal 
fashion.
    Violence against lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual (LGBT) 
communities reportedly occurred during the year.
    On October 29, the president of the NGO Diversity and Sexual 
Equality before the Law testified before the IACHR on the rights of 
LGBT persons. According to her testimony, based on a 2008 study 
involving more than 750 interviews, more than 50 percent of lesbians 
and gays reported suffering from societal violence or police abuse. In 
cases of transgender persons, 83 percent reported having been victims 
of such violence or abuse. She also claimed the Government 
systematically denied legal recognition to transgender persons by 
preventing them from obtaining identity documents required for 
accessing education, employment, housing, and health care. She said the 
Supreme Court had not yet acted on her 2004 petition for legal 
recognition.
    On July 14, the NGO Diverse Venezuela reported that six transgender 
persons were killed in Caracas in 2009. Nationwide statistics of 
violence against transgender persons were unavailable. Media frequently 
reported on hate crimes against transgender persons, but NGOs reported 
difficulties in following individual cases.
    The media and leading advocates for the rights of LGBT persons 
noted that victims of hate crimes based on sexual orientation 
frequently did not report the incidents and were often subjected to 
threats and/or extortion if they filed official complaints with local 
police or authorities.
    On May 5-7, the Public Defender's Office hosted an international 
seminar on sexual diversity in Caracas in order to promote discussion 
on ways to eliminate discrimination against the LGBT sector. The public 
defender said the event was undertaken as a way to help public 
defenders develop the methodological and conceptual tools to process 
complaints by LGBT persons of human rights violations.

    Other Societal Violence or Discrimination.--According to the NGO 
Citizen Action against AIDS, persons diagnosed with HIV/AIDS frequently 
were discriminated against at the workplace and often were refused 
access to government health services.
    The prison monitoring NGO A Window to Liberty and the media 
reported that a La Planta inmate, under the pseudonym ``Jesus 
Sotillo,'' was denied HIV/AIDS treatment and medicine by Second 
Metropolitan Tribunal Judge Jorge Timaury on August 6 because his case 
was not deemed critical enough to warrant medical attention. Sotillo 
alleged he contracted the disease following a 2003 attack by 20 inmates 
who, upon learning of his homosexuality, reportedly beat and sexually 
abused him. Sotillo claimed he had not received any medical treatment 
by prison officials in more than 10 months.
    On November 19, the Ministry of Interior and Justice published in 
the Official Gazette guidelines for the National Police and its 
officers relating to respect for gender identity and sexual 
orientation.

Section 7. Worker Rights
    a. The Right of Association.--The law provides that all private and 
public sector workers (except armed forces members) have the right to 
form and join unions of their choice. However, according to labor 
sources and media reports, the Government continued to undermine this 
right by restricting the composition of union leadership and refusing 
to negotiate collective bargaining agreements. Approximately 10 percent 
of the 13-million-person total labor force was unionized. According to 
INE statistics cited by PROVEA, approximately 6.8 million workers were 
in the formal sector as of August.
    The Government provided no statistics on newly registered trade 
union organizations during the year, but other sources estimated that 
the number of such organizations increased slightly to approximately 
6,500. According to labor leaders, the Government was responsible for 
the creation of many of these organizations, because it sought to 
create ``parallel'' unions to dilute the membership and effectiveness 
of traditional unions. In general these new unions were not subject to 
the same government scrutiny and requirements regarding leadership 
elections.
    The CNE has the authority to administer internal elections of labor 
unions, federations, and confederations. By law elections must be held 
at least every three years. The law prohibits union leaders from 
engaging on anything beyond administrative tasks, including 
representing workers in negotiations, if CNE-administered and -
certified elections are not held within this time period. Labor unions 
complained of long delays in obtaining CNE concurrence to hold such 
elections and in receiving certification of the election results. The 
International Labor Organization (ILO) noted that it repeatedly found 
cases of interference in trade union elections by the CNE that were 
incompatible with ILO Convention 87. On June 21, the ILO Governing Body 
determined that the intervention of the CNE in the elections of the 
SNTP executive board ``seriously violated'' ILO Convention 87. In the 
cases of the SNTP and the Single Organized National Trade Union of 
Workers of the Judiciary, the governing body urged the Government to 
prevent any interference by the CNE in the elections to the executive 
boards of these unions, to refrain from invoking alleged irregularities 
or appeals to prevent them from engaging in collective bargaining, and 
to take measures to amend or repeal legislation that allows 
interference by the CNE in trade union elections.
    On August 1, in his weekly column ``Lines from Chavez,'' President 
Chavez claimed ``that in Bolivarian Venezuela we do not have unionists 
assassinated.'' PROVEA issued a statement on August 3 challenging that 
claim and subsequently published a list of 122 unionists killed between 
June 2008 and August 2010, mostly in conflicts allegedly related to 
obtaining jobs.
    In its November 12 report, the ILO Committee on Freedom of 
Association expressed grave concern about the allegations of contract 
killings of 200 workers and the June 2009 murder of three union 
officials and noted that freedom of association could be exercised only 
when fundamental rights relating to human life and personal safety were 
fully respected and guaranteed. It called on the Government to 
intensify its judicial investigations into these killings. It also 
called on the ILO Governing Body to pay special attention to this case 
``because of the extreme seriousness and urgency of the matters.''
    There was no new information regarding the prosecution of Julio 
Cesar Arguinzonez for his alleged role in the 2008 killings of three 
trade union leaders (Richard Gallardo, Carlos Jose Requena, and Luis 
Hernandez) in Aragua State at the time of a collective-bargaining 
dispute.
    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; however, 
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.''
    In November the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association called on 
the Government to take the necessary steps to immediately release six 
PDVSA workers detained for their participation in a June 2009 strike 
and to drop the criminal charges against them. It also called on the 
Government to amend the INDEPABIS law (see section 1.e.) to exclude 
services ``which are not essential in the strict sense of the term and 
so that in no event may criminal sanctions be imposed in cases of 
peaceful strikes,'' and to partially amend the Organic National 
Security Act, whose criminal penalties of five to 10 years' 
imprisonment for ``activities to disrupt or adversely affect the 
organization and operation of public services'' could apply to the 
lawful exercise of the right to strike.
    At year's end the Government continued to refuse to adjudicate or 
resolve the cases of 19,000 state-owned petroleum-company employees who 
were fired during and after the 2002-03 national strike. The Ministry 
of Labor continued to deny registration to UNAPETROL, a union composed 
of these workers.

    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; however this right is restricted in practice. The law 
stipulates that employers must negotiate a collective contract with the 
union that represents the majority of their workers but does not allow 
minority organizations to jointly negotiate in cases where no union 
represents an absolute majority. The ILO objected to this provision and 
requested that the Government amend it. In practice CNE delays in 
administering union elections and certifying their results hampered 
unions' ability to bargain collectively because union leaders were not 
permitted to represent workers in negotiations (see section 7.a.). 
During the year a report by the International Trade Union Confederation 
noted that more than 3,700 collective bargaining agreements in both the 
public and private sectors were expired. The Government's refusal to 
negotiate or renew the public-sector agreements meant that only 9 
percent of the sector's workers were covered by them. According to 
PROVEA, more than two million public-sector employees worked under 
expired collective agreements during 2009; the Ministry of Labor 
provided no comparable statistics for 2010.
    The leader of the largest national union federation, the National 
Workers' Union, stated that the framework agreement for public 
administration had not been discussed for five years and the one 
covering Labor Ministry employees had not been discussed for 18 years. 
There were no developments reported during the year concerning the 
formal complaint lodged with the ILO by the Teachers' Federation and 
its 27 affiliated organizations to request that the Government restore 
its collective bargaining rights, which were blocked in 2006.
    In November the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association requested 
that the Government immediately release and compensate union leader 
Ruben Gonzalez, who was detained in September 2009 for protesting the 
state-owned iron ore mining company's alleged violation of a collective 
agreement.
    There are no special laws or exemptions from regular labor laws in 
the sole export processing zone.

    c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor.--While the law 
generally prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, 
there were isolated reports of trafficking in children for employment 
purposes, particularly in the informal economic sector (see also 
section 7.d.). International organizations and NGOs also reported that 
there were men, women, and children from Brazil, China, and Colombia 
subjected to forced labor, although there was no information available 
regarding the extent of the problem.
    Also see the Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.

    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.
    Children most frequently worked in agriculture, retail trade, 
hotels, restaurants, manufacturing, and community and social services. 
Hundreds of thousands of minors were believed to be working but not 
receiving the salary and benefits due them under the law. According to 
the Government, in 2006, 131,902 boys and 10,196 girls worked in the 
agricultural sector, 3,772 boys and 10,285 girls worked in industrial 
manufacturing, and 36,106 boys and 746 girls worked in construction.
    There were reports that children were trafficked for exploitation 
as domestic servants and forced begging. (Also see the Department of 
State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/g/tip.)
    The law sets the minimum employment age at 14 years and permits 
children aged 12 to 14 years to work only if the National Institute for 
Minors or the Ministry of Labor grants special permission. Children 
aged 14 to 16 years may not work without the permission of their legal 
guardians. Those under 16 years of age may 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 and in occupations that risk life or health or could damage 
intellectual or moral development.
    Fines are established for employing children ages eight to 11 and 
for employing 12- or 13-year-olds without authorization. Employing a 
child younger than eight years of age is punishable by one to three 
years' imprisonment. Employers must notify authorities if they hire a 
minor as a domestic worker. 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, and the Government also continued to provide 
services to vulnerable children, including street children, working 
children, and children at risk of working. However, there was no 
independent accounting of the effectiveness of these and other 
government supported programs.

    e. Acceptable Conditions of Work.--On May 5, the Government 
announced a 25-percent increase in the monthly minimum wage and in the 
salaries of all public-sector employees, implemented in two stages, 
which raised the minimum wage to 1,223.89 Bs.F (approximately $470). 
However, the 25-percent increase was below the country's recent annual 
inflation rate of 28-30 percent. Moreover, the real annual purchasing 
power of the minimum wage was reduced with the devaluation of Bs.F from 
2.15/$1 to 2.60/$1 for goods the Government defined as essential and 
the establishment of a second 4.30/$1 official exchange rate on January 
8 for goods the Government deemed nonessential. According to the INE, 
as of October the basic food basket cost 1,353 Bs.F, although the NGO 
Workers' Center for Documentation and Analysis reported that for the 
same month a basic food basket cost 2,428 Bs.F--almost twice the 
minimum wage. The Labor Ministry enforced minimum wage rates 
effectively in the formal sector, but approximately half the population 
worked in the informal sector, where labor laws and protections 
generally were not enforced.
    The law stipulates that the workweek 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 conducted infrequent inspections to 
implement the health and safety law. Employers are required to report 
work-related accidents, and the law obligates employers 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. 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. While statistics are not publicly available, PROVEA and 
the press reported some industrial accidents and at least one fatality 
during the year stemming from accidents at facilities operated by PDVSA 
and other heavy industrial operations. Numerous complaints of unsafe 
conditions continued in Bolivar State. 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; there is no information about whether this right 
was respected in practice.

                               __________



                               APPENDIX A

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                  Notes on Preparation of This Report

                              ----------                              

    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. 
This report reflects the Department of State's assessments and 
concerns with respect to the human rights situation around the 
world. The Department of States does not use sources or 
information it believes lack credibility.
    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 August 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 will not reflect 
developments that became known after the end of the year. 
However, 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 c onsistency in the reports despite the 
multiplicity of sources and the problems associated with 
varying degrees of access to information, structural 
differences in political, legal, and social systems.
    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 individuals 
who are believed, based on all the evidence available, to have 
committed human rights or other related 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 
in the reports human rights problems affecting women, children, 
persons with disabilities, and indigenous people. 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 6, we discuss socioeconomic discrimination; 
discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS; societal violence 
against women, children, the gay, lesbian and transgender 
community, 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. This section 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. 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 free of 
corruption 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 of law by individuals and 
efforts to coerce or forbid membership in a political 
organization. The reports discuss the 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 under ``Discrimination and Societal Abuses.''

    Use of Excessive Force and Other Abuses in Internal 
Conflicts.--This optional section describes abuses in countries 
experiencing significant internal conflict. Includes 
indiscriminate, nonselective killings arising from excessive 
use of force, or by the shelling of villages (deliberate, 
targeted killing of civilians is discussed in the section on 
``Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life''). This section 
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 expression of 
opinion via the Internet. Another subsection, entitled 
``Academic Freedom and Cultural Events,'' includes 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 or licenses for meetings 
and 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.--All country reports have a hyperlink 
to the most current International Religious Freedom Reports 
published by the Department of State. Examples of anti-Semitism 
are moved to Section 6 under its own subsection, appearing 
after Children and before Trafficking.

    Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, 
Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons.--The section 
discusses whether and under what circumstances governments 
exiled citizens, restricted foreign travel, especially for 
women, and revoked passports. It includes subsections 
``Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)'' (if applicable), 
``Protection of Refugees,'' and ``Stateless Persons'' (if 
applicable.) As defined in the 1951 Convention Relating to the 
Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, refugees are persons 
outside their country of origin or, if stateless, outside their 
country of habitual residence who have a well-founded fear of 
persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, 
membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, 
and who are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the 
protection of that country. Under certain regional instruments, 
such as the Organization of African Unity convention governing 
the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa, the term 
refugee may refer to persons displaced by civil strife, 
widespread violence, or natural disaster. The subsection 
``Protection of Refugees'' reviews the government's extension 
of assistance and protection to refugees, including 
nonrefoulement, the provision of temporary protection, support 
for voluntary repatriation, longer term integration 
opportunities, and third country resettlement. It also covers 
abuse and discrimination against refugees. The subsection on 
stateless persons examines whether a country has habitual 
residents who are legally stateless (not recognized as 
nationals under the laws of any state) or de facto stateless 
(not recognized as nationals by any state even if these 
individuals have a claim to nationality under the laws of a 
particular state). The report reviews whether the government 
has effectively implemented laws and policies to provide such 
persons the opportunity to gain nationality on a 
nondiscriminatory basis. The subsection also examines, among 
other matters, whether there is violence or discrimination 
against stateless persons in employment, education, housing, 
health services, marriage or birth registration, access to 
courts, or the owning of property.

    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.

    Official Corruption and Government Transparency.--Covers 
allegations of corruption in the executive, legislative and 
judicial branches of government and actions taken to combat it. 
Also, the section 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; Anti-
Semitism, Trafficking in Persons; Persons with Disabilities; 
Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on 
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity; and Other Societal 
Violence or Discrimination. If applicable, also includes 
subheadings on National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Indigenous 
People, and Incitement to Acts of Discrimination. The section 
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. A paragraph on reproductive 
rights reports on the basic right of couples and individuals to 
decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing 
of their children.
    The subsection ``Children'' discusses violence or other 
abuse against children.
    The subsection on ``Anti-Semitism'' discusses anti-Semitic 
abuses. The material used to be found under 
Section 2.c. on 
Religious Freedom; that section now contains a hyperlink to the 
most recent International Religious Freedom Report. Within that 
report, there is material on anti-Semitism, but such 
information is also included in the Country Reports.
    The ``Trafficking in Persons'' subsection contains a 
hyperlink to the most recent Trafficking in Persons report of 
the Department of State.
    The subsection ``Persons with Disabilities'' covers 
discrimination against persons with physical or mental 
disabilities in, among other things, employment, education, and 
the provision of other government services. The subsection on 
``Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based 
on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity'' notes laws 
criminalizing sexual orientation and reports on discrimination 
against gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender persons.

                     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, 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 November 24, 
2010 will be described as ``terrorists'' in the reports.
    When describing whether a government provides ``protection 
against refoulement,'' the reports are referring to whether the 
government refrained 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 and 
antitrafficking standards, including the Conventions and 
Recommendations of the International Labor Organization (ILO) 
and the UN Organized Crime Convention Protocol to Prevent, 
Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons. Differences in the 
levels of economic development are taken into account in the 
formulation of the standards related to acceptable conditions 
of work. Some specific guidelines derived from international 
standards are discussed below.


 A. ``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 the public sector and in essential 
        services, the interruption of which would endanger the 
        life, personal safety, or health of a significant 
        portion of the population, 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.
 B. ``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.
 C. ``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.'' The UN Trafficking 
        Protocol definition also references forced labor or 
        services.
 D. ``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.
 E. ``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)
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                            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    Z
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afghanistan...................................................   P    -    -    P    -    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    S    P    P    P    -
Albania*......................................................   S    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Algeria.......................................................   P    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    -    S
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    S
Argentina.....................................................   -    P    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    P
Australia.....................................................   P    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    P
Azerbaijan....................................................   P    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    -    P    P    -
Bahrain.......................................................   P    P    -    P    -    P    P    -    -    -    P    P    P    P    -    -    -    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Bangladesh....................................................   P    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    S
Belarus.......................................................   P    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    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    S
Bhutan*.......................................................   -    -    -    -    -    P    P    -    -    -    -    -    S    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    P    -    P    -    S
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    S
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    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    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    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    S
Cambodia......................................................   -    P    P    P    P    P    P    S    -    S    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Cameroon......................................................   P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Canada........................................................   P    -    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    S
Central African Republic......................................   2    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    S
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    P
China.........................................................   2    -    -    P    -    P    P    -    -    P    -    -    P    S    P    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    S
Comoros.......................................................   -    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    -    -    P    P    -    -    -    -    -    P    P    P    P    S    P    P    S
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    S
Cook Islands..................................................   -    -    -    -    -    P    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    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    S
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    P
Cuba..........................................................   P    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    S
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    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    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    S
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    P
East Timor....................................................   -    P    P    -    P    -    P    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    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    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    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    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    S
Ethiopia......................................................   P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P
European Union................................................   -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    S
Fiji..........................................................   P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    -    -    P    P    -    P    -    -    P    -    P    P    S
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    S
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    P
Gabon.........................................................   -    P    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    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    P
Ghana.........................................................   2    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Greece........................................................   P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Grenada.......................................................   1    P    P    1    P    P    P    -    -    1    1    P    S    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    S
Guatemala.....................................................   P    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    P
Guinea-Bissau.................................................   -    P    -    -    P    P    P    -    -    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    S    P    -    P
Guyana........................................................   1    P    P    -    P    P    P    -    -    -   ...   P    P    P    P    -    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Haiti.........................................................   2    P    P    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    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    P
Iceland.......................................................   -    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
India.........................................................   P    P    -    P    -    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    -    -    -    -    P    S    P    -    P
Indonesia.....................................................   -    P    P    -    P    P    P    -    -    P    -    P    P    P    P    -    -    -    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    S
Iran..........................................................   S    P    -    P    -    P    P    S    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    S    S    -    -    P    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    S
Israel........................................................   P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    S
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    P
Jamaica.......................................................   P    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    S
Jordan........................................................   P    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    S
Kenya.........................................................   -    P    -    -    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    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    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    P
Lebanon.......................................................   2    P    -    P    P    P    P    -    -    P    -    P    P    P    P    -    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Lesotho.......................................................   P    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    S
Libya.........................................................   P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
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    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    S
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    S
Malawi........................................................   P    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    P
Maldives*.....................................................   -    -    -    P    -    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    P
Malta.........................................................   P    P    P    -    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
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    P
Mexico........................................................   P    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    -    S
Mongolia......................................................   P    -    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    -    P
Morocco.......................................................   P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    S    S    P    P    P    P    P
Mozambique....................................................   -    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    -    -    P    P    P    -    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Namibia.......................................................   -    P    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    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    S
New Zealand...................................................   P    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    P
Niger.........................................................   P    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    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    S
Oman*.........................................................   -    P    -    -    -    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    S
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    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    P
Peru..........................................................   -    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    P    S    P    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    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    S
Portugal......................................................   2    P    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    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    S
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    S
Rwanda........................................................   -    P    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    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    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    P
Serbia........................................................   -    P    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    P
Sierra Leone..................................................   P    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    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    P
Solomon Islands...............................................   P    P    -    -    -    P    P    -    -    P    P    -    1    -    1    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    -    P    -    S
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    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    P
Sri Lanka.....................................................   P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    -    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    S
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    P
Sudan.........................................................   P    P    -    -    P    P    P    -    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    -    S    P    P    P
Suriname......................................................   2    P    P    -    P    P    P    -    -    1    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    -    P    P    S
Swaziland.....................................................   1    P    P    -    P    P    P    -    -    P    1    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Sweden........................................................   P    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    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    P
Togo..........................................................   2    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    S
Tonga*........................................................   1    -    -    P    -    P    P    -    -    1    1    1    P    -    -    -    -    -    -    P    P    -    -    P    -    S
Trinidad & Tobago.............................................   P    P    P    -    P    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    S
Tunisia.......................................................   P    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    P
Turkmenistan..................................................   P    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    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    P
United Arab Emirates..........................................   -    P    -    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    P
United States.................................................   P    -    -    P    -    P    P    -    -    P    P    P    P    P    S    -    P    S    -    S    S    S    P    S    P    S
Uruguay.......................................................   S    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    -    S    P    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    -    S
Vanuatu*......................................................   -    -    P    -    P    P    P    -    -    -    1    P    -    -    -    -    -    -    -    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    S
Yemen.........................................................   P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    -    P    P    P    P    P    P    P    P
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    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-CEDAW  W-Torture  X-Rights of the Child  Y-ILO Convention 182  Z-Disabilities
  Convention



                               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 or Compulsory 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).C

 Z. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 
        December 13, 2006.

                                                                       APPENDIX E
                                                       FY 2010 Foreign Assistance Actuals, Part I
                                                                    ($ in thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   All                   GHCS-      GHCS-       GHCS
                                Accounts       DA        USAID      STATE      Total       ESF         TI       AEECA      INCLE       NADR       IMET
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL........................  35,490,592   2,520,000  2,468,600  5,359,000  7,827,600  8,817,831     55,000    741,632  2,778,660    754,000    108,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Africa.......................   8,111,776   1,075,632  1,145,205  3,516,103  4,661,308    648,104         --         --     35,538     47,894     15,130
  Angola.....................      84,115      20,192     45,750     10,300     56,050         --         --         --         --      7,500        373
  Benin......................      36,580       5,364     30,900         --     30,900         --         --         --         --         --        316
  Botswana...................      77,331          --         --     76,443     76,443         --         --         --         --         --        688
  Burkina Faso...............      21,737       1,375      6,000         --      6,000         --         --         --         --      1,143        261
  Burundi....................      35,618      12,124     12,060         --     12,060         --         --         --         --         --        345
  Cameroon...................       9,261       1,344      1,500      1,250      2,750         --         --         --         --         --        267
  Cape Verde.................         727          --         --         --         --         --         --         --        603         --        124
  Central African Republic...       6,013          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         60
  Chad.......................     106,384         473         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,143        375
  Comoros....................         661          --         --         --         --        550         --         --         --         --        111
  Cote d'Ivoire..............     103,605          --         --    103,305    103,305         --         --         --         --        300         --
  Democratic Republic of the      282,699          --     65,700     19,635     85,335     77,600         --         --      1,700        841        500
   Congo.....................
  Djibouti...................      13,566       6,542        396        150        546         --         --         --         --      1,970        379
  Ethiopia...................     909,419      82,177     87,200    286,699    373,899         --         --         --         --      2,225        336
  Gabon......................         720          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        200
  Ghana......................     141,441      73,497     59,100      7,000     66,100         --         --         --        500         --        794
  Guinea.....................      23,618      14,518      7,500         --      7,500         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Guinea-Bissau..............       1,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,500         --         --
  Kenya......................     797,889      79,395     71,550    528,760    600,310      4,000         --         --         --      9,750        959
  Lesotho....................      28,227          --      6,400     21,650     28,050         --         --         --         --         --        177
  Liberia....................     230,513       1,375     34,850        800     35,650    153,000         --         --      9,000         --        488
  Madagascar.................      91,023      10,500     58,400        500     58,900         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Malawi.....................     148,199      29,851     63,600     36,448    100,048         --         --         --         --         --        300
  Mali.......................     120,336      55,891     49,950      1,500     51,450      1,000         --         --         --      1,143        411
  Mauritania.................       7,902       1,199         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,556        147
  Mauritius..................         600         150         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        300        150
  Mozambique.................     386,335      38,107     64,175    261,953    326,128         --         --         --        300      2,000        385
  Namibia....................     102,899          --      1,950    100,809    102,759         --         --         --         --         --        140
  Niger......................      66,551       1,973         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        842         --
  Nigeria....................     616,180      70,967     69,100    471,227    540,327         --         --         --        500      1,520      1,016
  Republic of the Congo......       4,926          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        132
  Rwanda.....................     212,351      45,900     37,500    124,072    161,572         --         --         --         --         --        512
  Sao Tome and Principe......         501          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        171
  Senegal....................     109,480      56,528     48,350      1,768     50,118        400         --         --         --      1,143        991
  Seychelles.................         118          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        118
  Sierra Leone...............      31,353          --         --        500        500     18,000         --         --        250         --        403
  Somalia....................     152,176          --      1,550         --      1,550     31,270         --         --         --      2,353         --
  South Africa...............     579,930      16,316     14,500    545,969    560,469         --         --         --         --      1,500        845
  Sudan......................     705,021       1,300     30,010      7,036     37,046    296,034         --         --     16,000      3,900        793
  Swaziland..................      27,767          --      6,900     20,700     27,600         --         --         --         --         --        167
  Tanzania...................     467,739      38,252     83,525    336,254    419,779         --         --         --        450      2,110        397
  The Gambia.................         118          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        118
  Togo.......................         319          95         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        224
  Uganda.....................     458,100      72,025     66,000    271,584    337,584         --         --         --        235      1,030        591
  Zambia.....................     358,235      46,054     50,900    253,661    304,561         --         --         --         --         --        366
  Zimbabwe...................     168,481          --     24,500     24,330     48,830     40,200         --         --         --         --         --
  African Union..............       3,000       1,500         --         --         --      1,500         --         --         --         --         --
  State Africa Regional (AF).      40,675          --         --         --         --     22,550         --         --      4,500      3,625         --
  USAID Africa Regional (AFR)     129,190     108,916     19,774         --     19,774        500         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Central Africa             20,500      20,500         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Regional..................
  USAID East Africa Regional.      58,428      48,093      9,585         --      9,585        750         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Southern Africa            30,727      26,927      2,000      1,800      3,800         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Regional..................
  USAID West Africa Regional.     100,992      86,212     14,030         --     14,030        750         --         --         --         --         --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Asia and Pacific........     805,553     240,824    128,520    106,968    235,488    190,900         --         --     18,575     32,687      8,878
  Burma......................      38,600          --      2,100         --      2,100     36,500         --         --         --         --         --
  Cambodia...................      72,614      19,000     31,500      3,000     34,500     15,000         --         --         --      3,015         99
  China......................      27,200      12,000      4,000      3,000      7,000      7,400         --         --        800         --         --
  Indonesia..................     220,789      73,500     36,950      5,250     42,200     65,000         --         --     11,570      6,700      1,819
  Laos.......................      10,927         513      1,000         --      1,000         --         --         --      1,000      5,000         71
  Malaysia...................       2,250          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,300        950
  Marshall Islands...........         534         500         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         34
  Micronesia.................         500         500         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Mongolia...................      13,256       7,500         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        250      1,006
  North Korea................       3,500          --         --         --         --      3,500         --         --         --         --         --
  Papua New Guinea...........       2,500          --      2,500         --      2,500         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Philippines................     157,178      40,310     33,220         --     33,220     30,000         --         --      1,365      5,675      1,850
  Samoa......................          36          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         36
  Singapore..................         500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        500         --
  Taiwan.....................         575          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        575         --
  Thailand...................      18,362       6,151      1,000        500      1,500      2,500         --         --      1,740      3,300      1,571
  Timor-Leste................      26,803      20,200      2,000         --      2,000      3,000         --         --        800         --        303
  Tonga......................         500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Vietnam....................     134,078      16,500         --     94,978     94,978     16,000         --         --         --      4,200        400
  State East Asia and Pacific      16,211          --         --         --         --     12,000         --         --      1,300      2,172        739
   Regional..................
  USAID Regional Development       58,640      44,150     14,250        240     14,490         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Mission-Asia (RDM/A)......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe and Eurasia...........     861,296          --     14,600     13,378     27,978     33,000         --    610,882         --     21,049     30,532
  Albania....................      29,521          --         --         --         --         --         --     22,000         --      3,559        962
  Armenia....................      45,599          --        400         --        400         --         --     41,000         --        750        449
  Azerbaijan.................      28,101          --      1,250         --      1,250         --         --     22,000         --        965        886
  Belarus....................      15,000          --         --         --         --         --         --     15,000         --         --         --
  Bosnia and Herzegovina.....      42,840          --         --         --         --         --         --     36,000         --      1,850        990
  Bulgaria...................      11,519          --         --         --         --         --         --        800         --         --      1,719
  Croatia....................       3,814          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        450        864
  Cyprus.....................      11,000          --         --         --         --     11,000         --         --         --         --         --
  Czech Republic.............       7,892          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,892
  Estonia....................       3,656          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,156
  Georgia....................      78,956          --         --        850        850         --         --     59,000         --      1,300      1,806
  Greece.....................         105          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        105
  Hungary....................       2,060          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,060
  Kosovo.....................      99,270          --         --         --         --         --         --     95,000         --      1,070        700
  Latvia.....................       3,600          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,100
  Lithuania..................       3,800          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,100
  Macedonia..................      27,975          --         --         --         --         --         --     22,000         --      1,020        955
  Malta......................       1,004          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        400        149
  Moldova....................      21,421          --         --         --         --         --         --     19,650         --        290        731
  Montenegro.................      10,648          --         --         --         --         --         --      8,500         --        550        398
  Poland.....................      49,198          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      2,198
  Portugal...................          95          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         95
  Romania....................      14,760          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,760
  Russia.....................      71,500          --      8,500      3,000     11,500         --         --     59,000         --      1,000         --
  Serbia.....................      51,553          --         --         --         --         --         --     49,000         --        650        903
  Slovakia...................       2,214          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        964
  Slovenia...................       1,194          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        694
  Turkey.....................       8,187          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      3,195      4,992
  Ukraine....................     117,932          --      4,000      9,528     13,528         --         --     89,000         --      2,500      1,904
  Eurasia Regional...........      43,541          --        450         --        450      3,000         --     38,591         --      1,500         --
  Europe Regional............      36,341          --         --         --         --      2,000         --     34,341         --         --         --
  International Fund for           17,000          --         --         --         --     17,000         --         --         --         --         --
   Ireland...................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Near East....................   6,403,401      64,935      8,000         --      8,000  1,725,900         --         --    828,250     85,385     18,520
  Algeria....................       8,648         710         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        775        950
  Bahrain....................      20,471          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        800        671
  Egypt......................   1,295,700          --         --         --         --    250,000         --         --      1,000      2,800      1,900
  Iraq.......................   1,116,789          --         --         --         --    382,500         --         --    702,000     30,300      1,989
  Israel.....................   2,220,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Jordan.....................     692,997          --         --         --         --    463,000         --         --      1,500     24,725      3,772
  Lebanon....................     238,300          --         --         --         --    109,000         --         --     20,000      6,800      2,500
  Libya......................         769          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        300        319
  Morocco....................      35,285      19,546         --         --         --      3,000         --         --        750      1,200      1,789
  Oman.......................      12,028          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,655      1,525
  Saudi Arabia...............         207          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        200          7
  Tunisia....................      21,945          --         --         --         --      2,000         --         --         --         --      1,945
  United Arab  Emirates......         230          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        230         --
  West Bank and Gaza.........     495,900          --         --         --         --    393,400         --         --    100,000      2,500         --
  Yemen......................      80,328      35,000      8,000         --      8,000      5,000         --         --      1,000      4,975      1,153
  Middle East Multilaterals         1,000          --         --         --         --      1,000         --         --         --         --         --
   (MEM).....................
  Middle East Partnership          65,000          --         --         --         --     65,000         --         --         --         --         --
   Initiative (MEPI).........
  Middle East Regional              5,000          --         --         --         --      5,000         --         --         --         --         --
   Cooperation (MERC)........
  Multinational Force and          26,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Observers (MFO)...........
  Near East Regional.........       2,325          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      2,325         --
  Near East Regional               40,000          --         --         --         --     40,000         --         --         --         --         --
   Democracy.................
  Trans-Sahara Counter-            13,800          --         --         --         --      6,000         --         --      2,000      5,800         --
   Terrorism Partnership
   (TSCTP)...................
  USAID Middle East Regional       10,679       9,679         --         --         --      1,000         --         --         --         --         --
   (OMEP)....................
South and Central Asia.......   6,642,946     112,788    285,799     24,164    309,963  4,672,000         --    130,750    763,050     97,195     13,404
  Afghanistan................   4,144,868          --     91,827        500     92,327  3,346,000         --         --    589,000     57,655      1,756
  Bangladesh.................     167,905      66,271     53,200         --     53,200         --         --         --        350      3,575      1,009
  India......................     126,653      31,250     78,200      9,000     87,200         --         --         --         --      3,200      1,269
  Kazakhstan.................      22,722          --      2,200        600      2,800         --         --     10,400         --      1,900        779
  Kyrgyz Republic............      53,608          --      1,200        475      1,675         --         --     46,000         --      1,590        843
  Maldives...................       1,203       1,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        203
  Nepal......................      62,226          --     25,000         --     25,000     27,000         --         --      3,700        700        896
  Pakistan...................   1,911,617          --     29,722         --     29,722  1,292,000         --         --    170,000     23,875      5,000
  Sri Lanka..................      29,903       9,900         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        450        731
  Tajikistan.................      57,972          --      1,450        524      1,974         --         --     42,500         --      1,725        456
  Turkmenistan...............      16,512          --        600         75        675         --         --     12,500         --      1,075        262
  Uzbekistan.................      12,040          --      2,400        590      2,990         --         --      8,250         --        600        200
  Central Asia Regional......      23,500          --         --     12,400     12,400         --         --     11,100         --         --         --
  State South and Central           7,850          --         --         --         --      7,000         --         --         --        850         --
   Asia  Regional (SCA)......
  USAID South Asia Regional..       4,367       4,367         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Western Hemisphere...........   3,279,589     420,451    130,589    172,411    303,000  1,270,540         --         --    930,024     16,835     16,315
  Argentina..................       1,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --        300        300        900
  Belize.....................         278          --         --         20         20         --         --         --         --         --        258
  Bolivia....................      72,524      35,248     16,910         --     16,910         --         --         --     20,000         --        366
  Brazil.....................      25,099      16,789      5,000      1,300      6,300         --         --         --      1,000        400        610
  Chile......................       1,949          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        450        899
  Colombia...................     516,192          --         --         --         --    201,790         --         --    243,900      4,750      1,694
  Costa Rica.................         366          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        366
  Cuba.......................      20,000          --         --         --         --     20,000         --         --         --         --         --
  Dominican Republic.........      49,194      24,600      9,050      9,250     18,300         --         --         --      4,450         --        844
  Ecuador....................      30,972      24,783         --         --         --         --         --         --      4,500         --        375
  El Salvador................      56,122      23,904      5,490         20      5,510     25,000         --         --         --         --      1,708
  Guatemala..................     104,036      38,726     14,600         --     14,600         --         --         --      7,500         --        797
  Guyana.....................      22,034       4,809         --     16,525     16,525         --         --         --         --         --        300
  Haiti......................   1,412,398          --     22,800    121,240    144,040    920,750         --         --    168,767         --         92
  Honduras...................      50,268      37,491     11,000      1,000     12,000         --         --         --         --         --        777
  Jamaica....................      10,511       7,559      1,200        300      1,500         --         --         --         --         --        752
  Mexico.....................     403,597      10,000      3,458         --      3,458     15,000         --         --    365,000      3,900        989
  Nicaragua..................      35,035      27,344      5,900        897      6,797         --         --         --         --         --        894
  Panama.....................       7,320       6,420         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        150        750
  Paraguay...................      11,781       8,287      2,100         --      2,100         --         --         --        500         --        394
  Peru.......................     119,741      63,334     11,240         50     11,290         --         --         --     40,000      2,000        627
  Suriname...................         650          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        250
  The Bahamas................         350          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        200
  Trinidad and Tobago........         567          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        167
  Uruguay....................       1,223          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --        200        523
  Venezuela..................       6,000          --         --         --         --      6,000         --         --         --         --         --
  Barbados and Eastern             37,901      14,818      5,750     14,550     20,300         --         --         --         --         --        783
   Caribbean.................
  State Western Hemisphere        182,292          --         --         --         --     82,000         --         --     74,107      4,685         --
   Regional  (WHA)...........
  USAID Central America            29,348      17,786      5,391      6,171     11,562         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Regional..................
  USAID Latin America and          63,857      57,369      5,400      1,088      6,488         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Caribbean Regional (LAC)..
  USAID South America               6,484       1,184      5,300         --      5,300         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Regional..................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asia Middle East Regional....      58,506      52,356      5,500        650      6,150         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Asia Middle East Regional..      58,506      52,356      5,500        650      6,150         --         --         --         --         --         --
Complex Crises Fund..........      50,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Complex Crises Fund........      50,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
DCHA--Democracy, Conflict,      1,475,886     110,438     13,000         --     13,000     37,500     55,000         --         --         --         --
 and Humanitarian Assistance.
  DCHA--FEWSNet..............      18,000      18,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/ASHA..................      23,500      23,500         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/CMM...................       3,500       3,500         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/CMM--Reconciliation         26,000      10,000         --         --         --     16,000         --         --         --         --         --
   Programs..................
  DCHA/DG--Core..............      28,500      12,000         --         --         --      6,500         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/DG--Elections and           32,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Political Process Fund....
  DCHA/DG--Global Labor             7,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Program...................
  DCHA/DG--SPANS, Special          52,000      24,000     13,000         --     13,000     15,000         --         --         --         --         --
   Protection and Assistance
   Needs of Survivors........
  DCHA/FFP--Contingency......     192,948          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/FFP--Non-Contingency..       5,288       5,288         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/OFDA..................   1,017,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/OTI...................      55,000          --         --         --         --         --     55,000         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/PPM...................      14,150      14,150         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
DRL--Democracy, Human Rights       70,500          --         --         --         --        500         --         --         --         --         --
 and Labor...................
  DRL--China.................      15,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DRL--Global Forensic              3,500          --         --         --         --        500         --         --         --         --         --
   Assistance................
  DRL--Global Funds..........      42,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DRL--Muslim World Outside        10,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   the  Middle East..........
EGAT--Economic Growth             292,834     280,334         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Agriculture and Trade.......
  USAID Economic Growth,          292,834     280,334         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Agriculture and Trade
   (EGAT)....................
G/TIP--Office to Monitor and       21,262          --         --         --         --     12,000         --         --      9,262         --         --
 Combat Trafficking In
 Persons.....................
  State Office to Monitor and      21,262          --         --         --         --     12,000         --         --      9,262         --         --
   Combat Trafficking in
   Persons (G/TIP)...........
GH--Global Health............     320,342          --    320,342         --    320,342         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Global Health--Core........     320,342          --    320,342         --    320,342         --         --         --         --         --         --
GH--International                 417,045          --    417,045         --    417,045         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Partnerships................
  GH/IP--Blind Children......       2,000          --      2,000         --      2,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
  GH/IP--Commodity Fund......      20,335          --     20,335         --     20,335         --         --         --         --         --         --
  GH/IP--Global Alliance for       78,000          --     78,000         --     78,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Vaccine Immunization
   (GAVI)....................
  GH/IP--International AIDS        28,710          --     28,710         --     28,710         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).
  GH/IP--Iodine Deficiency          2,000          --      2,000         --      2,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Disorder (IDD)............
  GH/IP--Microbicides........      45,000          --     45,000         --     45,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
  GH/IP--Neglected Tropical        65,000          --     65,000         --     65,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Diseases (NTD)............
  GH/IP--Pandemic Influenza       151,000          --    151,000         --    151,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   and Other Emerging Threats
  GH/IP--TB Drug Facility....      15,000          --     15,000         --     15,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
  GH/IP--New  Partners Fund..      10,000          --     10,000         --     10,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
INL--International Narcotics      193,961          --         --         --         --         --         --         --    193,961         --         --
 and Law  Enforcement Affairs
  INL--Alien Smuggling/Border       1,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,000         --         --
   Security..................
  INL--Anti-Crime Programs...       4,150          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      4,150         --         --
  INL--CFSP, Critical Flight       20,750          --         --         --         --         --         --         --     20,750         --         --
   Safety  Program...........
  INL--Civilian Policing.....       4,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      4,000         --         --
  INL--Criminal Youth Gangs..       8,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      8,000         --         --
  INL--Cyber Crime and IPR...       5,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      5,000         --         --
  INL--Demand Reduction......      14,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --     14,000         --         --
  INL--Fighting Corruption...       4,750          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      4,750         --         --
  INL--GPOI, Global                 5,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      5,000         --         --
   Peacekeeping  Operations
   Initiative................
  INL--ILEA, International         37,200          --         --         --         --         --         --         --     37,200         --         --
   Law Enforcement Academy...
  INL--Inter-regional              60,088          --         --         --         --         --         --         --     60,088         --         --
   Aviation Support..........
  INL--International                4,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      4,500         --         --
   Organizations.............
  INL--International                1,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      1,000         --         --
   Organized Crime...........
  INL--Program Development         24,523          --         --         --         --         --         --         --     24,523         --         --
   and  Support..............
IO--International                 390,400          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Organizations...............
  IO--ICAO International              950          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Civil Aviation
   Organization..............
  IO--IDLO International              600          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Development Law
   Organization..............
  IO--IMO International               400          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Maritime  Organization....
  IO--International                 7,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Conservation  Programs....
  IO--International Panel on       13,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Climate Change / UN
   Framework Convention on
   Climate Change............
  IO--Montreal Protocol            25,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Multilateral Fund.........
  IO--OAS Development               5,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Assistance................
  IO--OAS Fund for                  3,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Strengthening  Democracy..
  IO--UN OCHA UN Office for         3,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   the Coordination of
   Humanitarian Affairs......
  IO--UN Voluntary Funds for        1,425          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Technical Cooperation in
   the Field of Human Rights.
  IO--UN-HABITAT UN Human           2,050          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Settlements Program.......
  IO--UNCDF UN Capital                625          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Development Fund..........
  IO--UNDF UN Democracy Fund.       4,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--UNDP UN Development         100,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Program...................
  IO--UNEP UN Environment          11,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Program...................
  IO--UNESCO/ICSECA                 1,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   International
   Contributions for
   Scientific, Educational,
   and Cultural Activities...
  IO--UNFPA UN Population          51,400          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Fund......................
  IO--UNHCHR UN High                7,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Commissioner for Human
   Rights....................
  IO--UNICEF UN Children's        132,250          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Fund......................
  IO--UNIFEM Trust Fund......       3,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--UNIFEM UN Development         6,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Fund for Women............
  IO--UNVFVT UN Voluntary           7,100          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Fund for Victims of
   Torture...................
  IO--WMO World                     2,050          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Meteorological
   Organization..............
  IO--WTO Technical                 1,050          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Assistance................
ISN--International Security       262,485          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    262,485         --
 and  Nonproliferation.......
  State International             262,485          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    262,485         --
   Security and
   Nonproliferation (ISN)....
MFS--Multilateral Food             66,600      66,600         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Security  Programs..........
  Multilateral Food Security       66,600      66,600         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Programs..................
ODP--Office of Development         57,637      57,637         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Partners....................
  ODP--Bilateral and                1,000       1,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Multilateral  Donors (BMD)
  ODP--Board for                      300         300         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   International Food and
   Agricultural Development
   (BIFAD)...................
  ODP--Cooperative                 10,000      10,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Development Program (CDP).
  ODP--Development Grants          40,000      40,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Program (DGP).............
  ODP--Partnership for              1,000       1,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Democratic Governance
   (PDG).....................
  ODP--Private Sector               5,100       5,100         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Alliances (PSA)...........
  ODP--Volunteers for                 237         237         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Prosperity (VfP)..........
OES--Oceans and International     178,800          --         --         --         --    178,800         --         --         --         --         --
 Environmental and Scientific
 Affairs.....................
  OES/CC Climate Change......     145,500          --         --         --         --    145,500         --         --         --         --         --
  OES/FTA-E FTA Environment..       5,000          --         --         --         --      5,000         --         --         --         --         --
  OES/OESP OES Partnerships..       2,350          --         --         --         --      2,350         --         --         --         --         --
  OES/OP Other Programs......       5,950          --         --         --         --      5,950         --         --         --         --         --
  OES/SPFF South Pacific           18,000          --         --         --         --     18,000         --         --         --         --         --
   Forum  Fisheries..........
  OES/W Water................       2,000          --         --         --         --      2,000         --         --         --         --         --
PM--Political-Military            242,880          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     65,295      5,221
 Affairs.....................
  PM--Conventional Weapons         65,295          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     65,295         --
   Destruction...............
  PM--FMF Administrative           54,464          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Expenses..................
  PM--IMET Administrative           5,221          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --      5,221
   Expenses..................
  PM--TSCTP, Trans-Sahara          21,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Counter-Terrorism
   Partnership...............
  PM--GPOI...................      96,900          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Policy, Planning and Learning       4,900       4,900         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Policy, Planning and        4,900       4,900         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Learning (PPL)............
PRM--Population, Refugees,      1,903,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 and  Migration..............
  PRM, Administrative              26,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Expenses..................
  PRM, Emergency Funds.......      45,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, Humanitarian Migrants       25,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   to Israel.................
  PRM, OA--Africa............     385,780          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--East Asia.........      44,020          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Europe............      47,850          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Migration.........      16,200          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Near East.........     604,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Protection             175,200          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Priorities................
  PRM, OA--South Asia........     160,950          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Western Hemisphere      48,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, Refugee Admissions....     324,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Reserve......................      78,892      30,305         --         --         --     48,587         --         --         --         --         --
  Unallocated Earmarks.......      78,892      30,305         --         --         --     48,587         --         --         --         --         --
S/CT--Office of the               125,175          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    125,175         --
 Coordinator for
 Counterterrorism............
  State Coordinator for           125,175          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --    125,175         --
   Counterterrorism (CT).....
S/GAC--Office of the Global     1,525,326          --         --  1,525,326  1,525,326         --         --         --         --         --         --
 AIDS  Coordinator...........
  S/GAC, Additional Funding        40,000          --         --     40,000     40,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   for Country Programs......
  S/GAC, International            793,000          --         --    793,000    793,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Partnerships..............
  S/GAC, Oversight/Management     140,754          --         --    140,754    140,754         --         --         --         --         --         --
  S/GAC, Technical Support/       551,572          --         --    551,572    551,572         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Strategic Information/
   Evaluation................
USAID Management.............   1,646,800          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Capital Investment        185,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Fund......................
  USAID Development Credit          8,600          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Authority Administration..
  USAID Inspector General          54,400          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Operating Expense.........
  USAID Operating Expense....   1,398,800          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
USAID Program Management            2,800       2,800         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Initiatives.................
  USAID Program Management          2,800       2,800         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Initiatives...............
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Account Acronyms: DA Development Assistance; GHCS Global Health and Child Survival; ESF Economic Support Fund; TI Transition Initiatives; AEECA
  Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia; INCLE International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement; NADR Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism,
  Demining, and Related Programs; IMET International Military Education and Training; FMF Foreign Military Financing;  PKO Peacekeeping Operations; ERMA
  U.S. Emergency Regugee & Migration Assistance; IO&P International Organizations and Programs; MRA Migration and Refugee Assistance; FFP Food for
  Peace; IDA International Disaster Assistance; DF Democracy Fund; AID Admin USAID Administration; CCF Christian Childrens Fund


                                                                       APPENDIX E
                                                       FY 2010 Foreign Assistance Acutals, Part II
                                                                    ($ in thousands)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              FMF         PKO        ERMA       IO&P       MRA        FFP        IDA         DF     AID Admin     CCF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL...................................   4,301,169     331,500     45,000    390,400  1,858,000  1,840,000  1,305,000    120,000  1,646,800     50,000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Africa..................................      17,950     187,600         --         --         --  1,422,620         --         --         --         --
   Angola...............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Benin................................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Botswana.............................         200          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Burkina Faso.........................          --          --         --         --         --     12,958         --         --         --         --
   Burundi..............................          --          --         --         --         --     11,089         --         --         --         --
   Cameroon.............................         350          --         --         --         --      4,550         --         --         --         --
   Cape Verde...........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Central African Republic.............          --          --         --         --         --      5,953         --         --         --         --
   Chad.................................         500          --         --         --         --    103,893         --         --         --         --
   Comoros..............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Cote d'Ivoire........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Democratic Republic of the Congo.....       1,450      14,000         --         --         --    101,273         --         --         --         --
   Djibouti.............................       2,000          --         --         --         --      2,129         --         --         --         --
   Ethiopia.............................          --          --         --         --         --    450,782         --         --         --         --
   Gabon................................         520          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Ghana................................         550          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Guinea...............................          --       1,600         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Guinea-Bissau........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Kenya................................       1,500          --         --         --         --    101,975         --         --         --         --
   Lesotho..............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Liberia..............................       6,000      10,000         --         --         --     15,000         --         --         --         --
   Madagascar...........................          --          --         --         --         --     21,623         --         --         --         --
   Malawi...............................          --          --         --         --         --     18,000         --         --         --         --
   Mali.................................         200          --         --         --         --     10,241         --         --         --         --
   Mauritania...........................          --          --         --         --         --      5,000         --         --         --         --
   Mauritius............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Mozambique...........................          --          --         --         --         --     19,415         --         --         --         --
   Namibia..............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Niger................................          --          --         --         --         --     63,736         --         --         --         --
   Nigeria..............................       1,850          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Republic of the Congo................          --          --         --         --         --      4,794         --         --         --         --
   Rwanda...............................         200          --         --         --         --      4,167         --         --         --         --
   Sao Tome and Principe................         330          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Senegal..............................         300          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Seychelles...........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Sierra Leone.........................         200          --         --         --         --     12,000         --         --         --         --
   Somalia..............................          --     102,000         --         --         --     15,003         --         --         --         --
   South Africa.........................         800          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Sudan................................          --      44,000         --         --         --    305,948         --         --         --         --
   Swaziland............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Tanzania.............................         700          --         --         --         --      6,051         --         --         --         --
   The Gambia...........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Togo.................................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Uganda...............................         300       6,000         --         --         --     40,335         --         --         --         --
   Zambia...............................          --          --         --         --         --      7,254         --         --         --         --
   Zimbabwe.............................          --          --         --         --         --     79,451         --         --         --         --
  African Union.........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  State Africa Regional (AF)............          --      10,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Africa Regional (AFR)...........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Central Africa Regional.........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID East Africa Regional............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Southern Africa Regional........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID West Africa Regional............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Asia and Pacific...................      59,100          --         --         --         --     19,101         --         --         --         --
   Burma................................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Cambodia.............................       1,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   China................................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Indonesia............................      20,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Laos.................................          --          --         --         --         --      3,343         --         --         --         --
   Malaysia.............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Marshall Islands.....................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Micronesia...........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Mongolia.............................       4,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   North Korea..........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Papua New Guinea.....................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Philippines..........................      29,000          --         --         --         --     15,758         --         --         --         --
   Samoa................................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Singapore............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Taiwan...............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Thailand.............................       1,600          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Timor-Leste..........................         500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Tonga................................         500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Vietnam..............................       2,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  State East Asia and Pacific Regional..          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Regional Development Mission-             --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Asia (RDM/A).........................
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Europe and Eurasia......................     137,855          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Albania..............................       3,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Armenia..............................       3,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Azerbaijan...........................       3,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Belarus..............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Bosnia and Herzegovina...............       4,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Bulgaria.............................       9,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Croatia..............................       2,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Cyprus...............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Czech Republic.......................       6,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Estonia..............................       2,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Georgia..............................      16,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Greece...............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Hungary..............................       1,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Kosovo...............................       2,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Latvia...............................       2,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Lithuania............................       2,700          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Macedonia............................       4,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Malta................................         455          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Moldova..............................         750          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Montenegro...........................       1,200          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Poland...............................      47,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Portugal.............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Romania..............................      13,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Russia...............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Serbia...............................       1,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Slovakia.............................       1,250          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Slovenia.............................         500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Turkey...............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Ukraine..............................      11,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Eurasia Regional......................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Europe Regional.......................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  International Fund for Ireland........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Near East...............................   3,627,498      26,000         --         --         --     18,913         --         --         --         --
   Algeria..............................          --          --         --         --         --      6,213         --         --         --         --
   Bahrain..............................      19,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Egypt................................   1,040,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Iraq.................................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Israel...............................   2,220,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Jordan...............................     200,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Lebanon..............................     100,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Libya................................         150          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Morocco..............................       9,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Oman.................................       8,848          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Saudi Arabia.........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Tunisia..............................      18,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  United Arab Emirates..................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  West Bank and Gaza....................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Yemen.................................      12,500          --         --         --         --     12,700         --         --         --         --
  Middle East Multilaterals (MEM).......          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Middle East Partnership Initiative              --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (MEPI)...............................
  Middle East Regional Cooperation                --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (MERC)...............................
  Multinational Force and Observers               --      26,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (MFO)................................
  Near East Regional....................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Near East Regional Democracy..........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism                  --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Partnership (TSCTP)..................
  USAID Middle East Regional (OMEP).....          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South and Central Asia..................     311,312          --         --         --         --    232,484         --         --         --         --
   Afghanistan..........................          --          --         --         --         --     58,130         --         --         --         --
   Bangladesh...........................       1,500          --         --         --         --     42,000         --         --         --         --
   India................................          --          --         --         --         --      3,734         --         --         --         --
   Kazakhstan...........................       6,843          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Kyrgyz Republic......................       3,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Maldives.............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Nepal................................         800          --         --         --         --      4,130         --         --         --         --
   Pakistan.............................     294,169          --         --         --         --     96,851         --         --         --         --
   Sri Lanka............................       1,000          --         --         --         --     17,822         --         --         --         --
   Tajikistan...........................       1,500          --         --         --         --      9,817         --         --         --         --
   Turkmenistan.........................       2,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Uzbekistan...........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Central Asia Regional.................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  State South and Central Asia Regional           --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (SCA)................................
  USAID South Asia Regional.............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Western Hemisphere......................      92,990          --         --         --         --    229,434         --         --         --         --
   Argentina............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Belize...............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Bolivia..............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Brazil...............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Chile................................         600          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Colombia.............................      55,000          --         --         --         --      9,058         --         --         --         --
   Costa Rica...........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Cuba.................................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Dominican Republic...................       1,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Ecuador..............................         500          --         --         --         --        814         --         --         --         --
   El Salvador..........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Guatemala............................          --          --         --         --         --     42,413         --         --         --         --
   Guyana...............................         400          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Haiti................................       1,600          --         --         --         --    177,149         --         --         --         --
   Honduras.............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Jamaica..............................         700          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Mexico...............................       5,250          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Nicaragua............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Panama...............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Paraguay.............................         500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Peru.................................       2,490          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Suriname.............................         400          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   The Bahamas..........................         150          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Trinidad and Tobago..................         400          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Uruguay..............................         500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Venezuela............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Barbados and Eastern Caribbean........       2,000          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  State Western Hemisphere Regional           21,500          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (WHA)................................
  USAID Central America Regional........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Latin America and Caribbean               --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Regional (LAC).......................
  USAID South America Regional..........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asia Middle East Regional...............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Asia Middle East Regional.............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Complex Crises Fund.....................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     50,000
  Complex Crises Fund...................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --     50,000
DCHA--Democracy, Conflict, and                    --          --         --         --         --   --95,052  1,305,000     50,000         --         --
 Humanitarian  Assistance...............
  DCHA--FEWSNet.........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/ASHA.............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/CMM..............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/CMM--Reconciliation Programs.....          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/DG--Core.........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --     10,000         --         --
  DCHA/DG--Elections and Political                --          --         --         --         --         --         --     32,500         --         --
   Process Fund.........................
  DCHA/DG--Global Labor Program.........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --      7,500         --         --
  DCHA/DG--SPANS, Special Protection and          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Assistance Needs of Survivors........
  DCHA/FFP--Contingency.................          --          --         --         --         --   --95,052    288,000         --         --         --
  DCHA/FFP--Non-Contingency.............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/OFDA.............................          --          --         --         --         --         --  1,017,000         --         --         --
  DCHA/OTI..............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  DCHA/PPM..............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
DRL--Democracy, Human Rights and Labor..          --          --         --         --         --         --         --     70,000         --         --
  DRL--China............................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --     15,000         --         --
  DRL--Global Forensic Assistance.......          --          --         --         --         --         --         --      3,000         --         --
  DRL--Global Funds.....................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --     42,000         --         --
  DRL--Muslim World Outside the Middle            --          --         --         --         --         --         --     10,000         --         --
   East.................................
EGAT--Economic Growth Agriculture and             --          --         --         --         --     12,500         --         --         --         --
 Trade..................................
  USAID Economic Growth, Agriculture and          --          --         --         --         --     12,500         --         --         --         --
   Trade (EGAT).........................
G/TIP--Office to Monitor and Combat               --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Trafficking In Persons.................
  State Office to Monitor and Combat              --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP).......
GH--Global Health.......................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Global Health--Core...................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
GH--International Partnerships..........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  GH/IP--Blind Children.................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  GH/IP--Commodity Fund.................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  GH/IP--Global Alliance for Vaccine              --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Immunization (GAVI)..................
  GH/IP--International AIDS Vaccine               --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Initiative (IAVI)....................
  GH/IP--Iodine Deficiency Disorder               --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (IDD)................................
  GH/IP--Microbicides...................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  GH/IP--Neglected Tropical Diseases              --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (NTD)................................
  GH/IP--Pandemic Influenza and Other             --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Emerging Threats.....................
  GH/IP--TB Drug Facility...............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  GH/IP--New Partners Fund..............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
INL--International Narcotics and Law              --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Enforcement Affairs....................
  INL--Alien Smuggling/Border Security..          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  INL--Anti-Crime Programs..............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  INL--CFSP, Critical Flight Safety               --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Program..............................
  INL--Civilian Policing................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  INL--Criminal Youth Gangs.............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  INL--Cyber Crime and IPR..............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  INL--Demand Reduction.................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  INL--Fighting Corruption..............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  INL--GPOI, Global Peacekeeping                  --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Operations  Initiative...............
  INL--ILEA, International Law                    --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Enforcement  Academy.................
  INL--Inter-regional Aviation Support..          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  INL--International Organizations......          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  INL--International Organized Crime....          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  INL--Program Development and Support..          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --  .........
IO--International Organizations.........          --          --         --    390,400         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--ICAO International Civil Aviation           --          --         --        950         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Organization.........................
  IO--IDLO International Development Law          --          --         --        600         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Organization.........................
  IO--IMO International Maritime                  --          --         --        400         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Organization.........................
  IO--International Conservation                  --          --         --      7,500         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Programs.............................
  IO--International Panel on Climate              --          --         --     13,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Change / UN Framework Convention on
   Climate Change.......................
  IO--Montreal Protocol Multilateral              --          --         --     25,500         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Fund.................................
  IO--OAS Development Assistance........          --          --         --      5,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--OAS Fund for Strengthening                  --          --         --      3,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Democracy............................
  IO--UN OCHA UN Office for the                   --          --         --      3,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
  IO--UN Voluntary Funds for Technical            --          --         --      1,425         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Cooperation in the Field of Human
   Rights...............................
  IO--UN-HABITAT UN Human Settlements             --          --         --      2,050         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Program..............................
  IO--UNCDF UN Capital Development Fund.          --          --         --        625         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--UNDF UN Democracy Fund............          --          --         --      4,500         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--UNDP UN Development Program.......          --          --         --    100,500         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--UNEP UN Environment Program.......          --          --         --     11,500         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--UNESCO/ICSECA International                 --          --         --      1,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Contributions for Scientific,
   Educational, and Cultural Activities.
  IO--UNFPA UN Population Fund..........          --          --         --     51,400         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--UNHCHR UN High Commissioner for             --          --         --      7,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Human Rights.........................
  IO--UNICEF UN Children's Fund.........          --          --         --    132,250         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--UNIFEM Trust Fund.................          --          --         --      3,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
  IO--UNIFEM UN Development Fund for              --          --         --      6,000         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Women................................
  IO--UNVFVT UN Voluntary Fund for                --          --         --      7,100         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Victims of Torture...................
  IO--WMO World Meteorological                    --          --         --      2,050         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Organization.........................
  IO--WTO Technical Assistance..........          --          --         --      1,050         --         --         --         --         --         --
ISN--International Security and                   --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Nonproliferation.......................
  State International Security and                --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Nonproliferation (ISN)...............
MFS--Multilateral Food Security Programs          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Multilateral Food Security Programs...          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
ODP--Office of Development Partners.....          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  ODP--Bilateral and Multilateral Donors          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (BMD)................................
  ODP--Board for International Food and           --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Agricultural Development (BIFAD).....
  ODP--Cooperative Development Program            --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (CDP)................................
  ODP--Development Grants Program (DGP).          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  ODP--Partnership for Democratic                 --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Governance (PDG).....................
  ODP--Private Sector Alliances (PSA)...          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  ODP--Volunteers for Prosperity (VfP)..          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
OES--Oceans and International                     --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Environmental and Scientific Affairs...
  OES/CC Climate Change.................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  OES/FTA-E FTA Environment.............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  OES/OESP OES Partnerships.............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  OES/OP Other Programs.................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  OES/SPFF South Pacific Forum Fisheries          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  OES/W Water...........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
PM--Political-Military Affairs..........      54,464     117,900         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PM--Conventional Weapons Destruction..          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PM--FMF Administrative Expenses.......      54,464          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PM--IMET Administrative Expenses......          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PM--TSCTP, Trans-Sahara Counter-                --      21,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Terrorism  Partnership...............
  PM--GPOI..............................          --      96,900         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
Policy, Planning and Learning...........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Policy, Planning and Learning             --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (PPL)................................
PRM--Population, Refugees, and Migration          --          --     45,000         --  1,858,000         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, Administrative Expenses..........          --          --         --         --     26,000         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, Emergency Funds..................          --          --     45,000         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, Humanitarian Migrants to Israel..          --          --         --         --     25,000         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Africa.......................          --          --         --         --    385,780         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--East Asia....................          --          --         --         --     44,020         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Europe.......................          --          --         --         --     47,850         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Migration....................          --          --         --         --     16,200         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Near East....................          --          --         --         --    604,500         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Protection Priorities........          --          --         --         --    175,200         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--South Asia...................          --          --         --         --    160,950         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, OA--Western Hemisphere...........          --          --         --         --     48,500         --         --         --         --         --
  PRM, Refugee Admissions...............          --          --         --         --    324,000         --         --         --         --         --
Reserve.................................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  Unallocated Earmarks..................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
S/CT--Office of the Coordinator for               --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Counterterrorism.......................
  State Coordinator for Counterterrorism          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   (CT).................................
S/GAC--Office of the Global AIDS                  --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
 Coordinator............................
  S/GAC, Additional Funding for Country           --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Programs.............................
  S/GAC, International Partnerships.....          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  S/GAC, Oversight/Management...........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  S/GAC, Technical Support//Strategic             --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
   Information/Evaluation...............
USAID Management........................          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --  1,646,800         --
  USAID Capital Investment Fund.........          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --    185,000         --
  USAID Development Credit Authority              --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --      8,600         --
   Admin................................
  USAID Inspector General Operating               --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --     54,400         --
   Expense..............................
  USAID Operating Expense...............          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --  1,398,800         --
USAID Program Management Initiatives....          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
  USAID Program Management Initiatives..          --          --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --         --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Account Acronyms: DA Development Assistance; GHCS Global Health and Child Survival; ESF Economic Support Fund; TI Transition Initiatives; AEECA
  Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia; INCLE International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement; NADR Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism,
  Demining, and Related Programs; IMET International Military Education and Training; FMF Foreign Military Financing;  PKO Peacekeeping Operations; ERMA
  U.S. Emergency Regugee & Migration Assistance; IO&P International Organizations and Programs; MRA Migration and Refugee Assistance; FFP Food for
  Peace; IDA International Disaster Assistance; DF Democracy Fund; AID Admin USAID Administration; CCF Christian Childrens Fund


                                                  APPENDIX F.--United Nations General Assembly's Third Committee  Country Resolution Votes 2010
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Belarus  Belarus   Burma   Burma   Burma   DPRK    DPRK    DPRK    DRPK    Iran    Iran    Iran    Iran    Burma   DPRK    IRAN    Burma   DPRK    Iran
                                           '06       7      '06      7      '08     '05     '06      7      '08     '05     '06     '07     '08     '09     09      09      '10     '10     '10
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afganistan............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       n       n       n       n       y       y       n       y       y       n
Albania...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Algeria...............................       n        n       n       n       n       a       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Andorra...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Angola................................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Antigua-Barbuda.......................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Argentina.............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Armenia...............................       n        n       y       y       y                       y               n       n       n       n       y               n       y               n
Australia.............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Austria...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Azerbaijan............................                        n               n       y       a               a       n       n       n       n       n       a       n       n       a       n
Bahamas...............................       a        y       a       y       y       a       a       y       y       a       a       y       y       a       a       a       y       y       y
Bahrain...............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       y       y       n       n       n       n       a       y               n       y       n
Bangladesh............................       n        n       n       n       n       a       a       y       y       n       n       n       n       n       a       n       n       a
Barbados..............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Belarus...............................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Belgium...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Belize................................       a        a       a       a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Benin.................................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       y       a
Bhutan................................       a        y       a       a       a       y       y       y       y       a       a       a       a       a       y       a       a       y       a
Bolivia...............................       y        a       y       y       a       y       y       a       a       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       n
Bosnia/Herzeg.........................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Botswana..............................       a        a       a       a       y       a       a       a       y       a       a       a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Brazil................................       a        a       y       y       y       y       y       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       y       a
Brunei Dar-Salam......................       a        a       n       a       n       a       a       a       a       n       n       a       a       n       a       a       n       a       n
Bulgaria..............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Burkina Faso..........................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Burundi...............................       a        y       y       y       y       a       a       y       y       a       y       y       a       y       y       a       y       y       a
Cambodia..............................                a       n                               a       y       a               a                       a       a       a       n       a       a
Cameroon..............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Canada................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Cape Verde............................       a        a       a       a       a               a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       y
Central Afr Rep.......................                        a               a               a               a       a                       a       a       a       a       a       y       a
Chad..................................                                a       a                       a       a                       a       a
Chile.................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       *       y
China.................................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Colombia..............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Comoros...............................                a               a       a               y       y       y               n       n       n       a       a       n       a       a       n
Congo.................................       a        a       n       a       a               a       a       a               a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Costa Rica............................       a        y       a       y       y       y       a       y       y       y       a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Cote D'ivoire.........................       a        a       a       a       n       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Croatia...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Cuba..................................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Cyprus................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Czech Republic........................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Dem Rep of Korea......................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Dem Rep of Congo......................       n        a       n       a               a       a       a               a       n       n               a       a       a       a       a
Denmark...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Djibouti..............................       a        a       a       a               a       a       a               n       n       n                                       a       y       a
Dominica..............................                a               a       a                       a       a                               a
Dominican Rep.........................       y        a       y       a       y       y       y       a       a       y       y       a       a       y       y       y       a       a       y
Ecuador...............................       a        a       y       a       a       y       y       y       a       y       y       a       a       a       a       n       a       a       a
Egypt.................................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
El Salvador...........................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Equat Guinea..........................                a               a       a       a               a       a       y               a       a       y       y       y
Eritrea...............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       y       y       a       a       a       n       a       y       n       a       y       n
Estonia...............................       y        y       y       y       y       a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Ethiopia..............................       n        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Fiji..................................       y        a       a       a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       a       y       a
Finland...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
France................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Gabon.................................                                                                                                                                        a       a       a
Gambia................................                n                       a       n                       a       n               n       n       a       a       a       a       a       y
Georgia...............................       y        y               y       y       y       y       y       y               a       a       a       y       y       a       y
Germany...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Ghana.................................       a        a       a       y       a       a       y       y       y       a       a       a       a               y       a       y       y       a
Greece................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Grenada...............................                                        a                               a                               a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Guatemala.............................       y        a       y       y       a       y       y       a       a       y       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       y       a
Guinea................................       a        a       n       a       a       n                       n       n       n       n       n       a       a       n       a       a       n
Guinea-Bissau.........................       a                a               a       a       y               a       a                       n       a       y       n       a       a       a
Guyana................................       a        a       a       y       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       y       a       a       y       a       a
Haiti.................................       a        a       a       a       a       y       a       a       a       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Honduras..............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Hungary...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Iceland...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
India.................................       n        n       n       n       n       a       a       a       a       n       n       n       n       n       a       n       n       a       a
Indonesia.............................       n        n       n       a       a       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       a       n       n       a       a       n
Iran (Islamic Rep)....................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Iraq..................................                                        y       y       y       y       y       a                               y       y               y       y
Ireland...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       a       y       y       y       y       y       y
Israel................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Italy.................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Jamaica...............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       y       y       a       y       y       a
Japan.................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Jordan................................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       y       a               a               a       a       a       a       a       y       a
Kazakhstan............................       n        n       a       y       y       y       y       y       y       n       n       n       n       y       y       n       y       y       n
Kenya.................................       a        a       a       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Kiribati..............................                                        y                               y       y       y               y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Kuwait................................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       n       n       n       n       a       a       n       a       a       n
Kyrgyzstan............................       n        n       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       n       n       n       n       a       a       n       a       a       n
Lao Rep...............................       a        a       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       a       a       a       a       n               a       n       a       a
Latvia................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Lebanon...............................       n        n       y       y       y               y       y       y       n       n       n       n       y       y       n       y       y       n
Lesotho...............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Liberia...............................                y               y       a               a       y       y                       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Libyan AJ.............................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Liechtenstein.........................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Lithuania.............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Luxembourg............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Madagascar............................       a                a                               a       a       y               a                       a       y       y       a       y
Malawi................................       a        a       a       a       a               y       y       y               a       a       n       y       y       a                       a
Malaysia..............................       n        n       n       n       n       n       a       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Maldives..............................                                        y       y       y       y       y       n       n                       y       y               y       y       y
Mali..................................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Malta.................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Marshall Islands......................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Mauritania............................       a        a       a       y       a               a       y       a       n       n               n       a       a       n                       n
Maurtius..............................       a        a       y       y       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       y       a       a       y       a       a
Mexico................................       a        a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Micronesia (FS).......................       y        y       y       y               y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Moldova...............................       y        a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Monaco................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y               a       y       y       y
Mongolia..............................       a        a       y       y       y                                       a       a       a       a       y       y       y       y               a
Montenegro............................       y        y       y       y       y               y       y       y               y       y       y       y       y       a       y       y       y
Morocco...............................       n        a       y               y       a       y       y       y       n       n       n               a       a       a       y       y       a
Mozambique............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       n       n       n       a       a       a
Myanmar...............................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n               a       a       n       n       n
Namibia...............................       a        a       a       a       n       a       n       a       n       a       a       a       a       y       y       y       a       a       a
Nauru.................................                a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       a       a       a       y       y       y
Nepal.................................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       y       y       y       a       a       a
Netherlands...........................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
New Zealand...........................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       n       a       n       y       y       y
Nicaragua.............................       y        n       y       a       n       y       y       y       n       y       y       n       n       a       a       n       n       a       n
Niger.................................       a        a       a       a       n       a       a       a       a       n       n       n       n       y       a       n       a       a       n
Nigeria...............................       a        a       a       a       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       y       y       y       y       a       a
Norway................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       n       n       n       y       y       y
Oman..................................                n               n       n                       n       n       n       n       n       n       a       a       n       n       n       n
Pakistan..............................       n        n       n       n       a       a       a       n       a       n       n       n       n       y       y       y       a       a       n
Palau.................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Panama................................       a        a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       a       a       y       y       a       y       y       y       y       y
Papua N Guinea........................       a        a       a       a       a       y       y       y       y       y       a       a       a       y       y       a       y       y       y
Paraguay..............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       a       y       y       y       y       y       a
Peru..................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       a       a       a       y       y       y
Philippines...........................       a        a       a       a       a       a       y       y       a       a       a       a       a       y       y       y       a       a       a
Poland................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Portugal..............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       a       a       n       y       y       y
Qatar.................................       n        n       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       n       n       n       n       y       y       a       a       a       n
Rep of Korea..........................       y        y       y       y       y       a       y       a       y       a       a       a       a       y       y       y       y       y       a
Romania...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Russian Federation....................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Rwanda................................       a                a       a       a               a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       y
St Kitts-Nevis........................                a               a       a       a               a       a                       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Saint Lucia...........................                a               a       y       a               a       y       n               a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
St Vincent-Green......................                a               a       a       y               a       a       y               a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Samoa.................................       a        a       a       a       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
San Marino............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Sao Tome Principe.....................                                        a                                                               a                               y       y       y
Saudi Arabia..........................       a        a       a       a       a       y       y       y       y       n       n       n       n       a       y       y       a       a       a
Senegal...............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       n       n       n       n       a       a       n       a       a       n
Serbia................................       y        y       y       y               y       y       y               y       y       y       n
Seychelles............................                                                                                                                a       a               y       y       y
Sierra Leone..........................       a        a       a       a               a       a       a               a       a       a               a       y       a       y       y       y
Singapore.............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Slovakia..............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Slovenia..............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Solomon Islands.......................       a        a       a       a       a       a       y       a       a       y       y       a       a       a       a       a       y       y       y
Somalia...............................                                n       n                       n       n       n               n       n       a       n       n       n       *       n
South Africa..........................       n        n       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       n       n       n       n       y       a       a       y       a       a
Spain.................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Sri Lanka.............................       a        a       a       a       n       a       a       a       a       n       n       n       n       n       a       n       n       a       n
Sudan.................................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       m       n       n       n       n       n
Suriname..............................       a        a       a       y       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Swaziland.............................       a        a       a       a       a       n       a       a       a       n       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Sweden................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Switzerland...........................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Syrian AR.............................       n        n       n       n       n       y       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Tajikistan............................       n        n               a               n       n       n               n       n       n       n       a       a       n       a       a       n
Thailand..............................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
The FYR Macedonia.....................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Timor-Leste...........................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y               y       y       a       y       y       a       y       y
Togo..................................       a        a       a       a       y       a       n       a       y       n       n       n       n       y       y       a       y       y       a
Tonga.................................       y        y       y               y               y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Trinidad-Tobago.......................       a        a       a       a       a       a               a       a       a               a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Tunisia...............................                                                a                               n       n       n       n                       n                       n
Turkey................................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y                                       y       y               y       y
Turkmenistan..........................       a        n       a       a       a       n       a       a       a       n       a       n       n       a       a       n                       n
Tuvalu................................       y                y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       n       y       n       y       *       y
Uganda................................       a        n       a       n       a       a       a       n       a       a       a       n       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Ukraine...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
U A Emirates..........................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       n       a       y       n
United Kingdom........................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
U R Tanzania..........................       a        a       a       y       a       a       a       y       y       a       a       a       a       y       y       a       y       y       a
United States.........................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Uruguay...............................       y        y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y               a       a       a       y       y       a       y       y       a
Uzbekistan............................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n               n       n       n       n
Vanuatu...............................                y               y       y       a               y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y       y
Venezuela.............................       n        y       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Vietnam...............................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       s       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
Yemen.................................       a        n       a       a       a       a       a       y       a       n       n       n       n       a       a       n       a       a
Zambia................................       a        a       a       a       a       a       a               a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a       a
Zimbabwe..............................       n        n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n       n
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Final Vote
  yes.................................      70       68      79      88      89      84      91      97      95      77      70      72      70      92      97      74      96     100      80
  no..................................      31       32      28      54      29      22      21      23      24      51      48      50      51      26      19      48      28      18      44
  abstain.............................      67       76      63      66      63      62      60      60      62      46      55      55      60      65      65      59      60      60      57
  * vote was yes......................                                                                                                                                               *3
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                               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

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